This is part IV of my GTA V review. You can read part I, part II and part III to get my thoughts on the game's early stages.
Twelve hours sounds like a long time to be playing a game, but in GTA V you'll lose 12 hours like you just had a rohypnol milkshake. The game proves to be even more immersive than anticipated and, as the three main characters stories unfold, you find yourself with three times as many side missions, random encounters and opportunities for chaos. Also stocks.
Without revealing too much story, I do want to dispense one piece of advice that I've learned 12 hours into GTA V: play those stocks. Pay attention to what the characters handing out missions have to say because some of them directly mention which stocks will be affected by an upcoming caper. I made over $100k playing the stock market on two separate missions. And in the world of GTA V cash is king. You want to buy as many fun toys as you can, not to mention that elusive "earn $200 million" achievement.
In fact, money has been the chief distraction for me during this phase of the game. After receiving the money from my first major heist I found myself spending an awful lot of time hijacking sports cars and taking them to Pay 'N' Spray to customize. Bulletproof tires for $4,000? Yes, please.
After twelve hours it feels like I'm finally getting into the "core" of GTA V. I've finally met all three main characters, everyone is in Los Santos and each character has multiple missions to complete. Instead of feeling overwhelming, though, GTA V manages to offer a lot of options but still have a casual feel about it. You don't HAVE to log hours and hours on end to enjoy the game. It's entirely possible to enjoy the game in more bite-sized pieces and play for fifteen or twenty minutes at a time. A side quest here, a police chase there and its more than enough to satisfy a casual gaming urge.
GTA V isn't without its flaws though. I've found that the shooting mechanic is still far from perfect. I've had several encounters now where, for some reason, entering cover causes my weapon to disarm. This means that I pop up to shoot someone and instead throw a punch at nothing and then get shot in the face. Also the reticle is insanely small and easy to lose on screen. GTA V clearly wants users to take advantage of an auto aim system that centers on enemies' torsos as soon as you pop up from cover, but this is at odds with the headshot requirements needed to earn "gold" level completion of a mission.
The actions is still very good, and although the shooting isn't as perfect as I'd like it is by no means impossible to manage. But when it comes down to nut-cutting time on a missions don't be surprised if you end up getting killed because your gun isn't there or you thought you were in cover but were actually just standing behind an object.
Is the combat horrible? No, but compared to the sublime balance of the driving, the acerbic writing and the breathtaking landscape this occasionally clunky cover system kills the buzz a little bit.
