Like most gamers, yesterday’s GTA 5 trailer release got me very excited about diving headlong into Rockstar’s amoral universe once again. But that excitement is tinged by a large amount of concern. Because the trailer hints, once again, at the gaming giant’s ever more visible social conscience. The serious approach is a risky strategy for Rockstar to take with GTA 5 and one which could seriously impinge on its success. This game will sell, of course, but the very future of the franchise depends on the mistakes of GTA IV being learned.
The trailer’s pointed reference to homelessness and poverty, as well as a glimpsed shot of a house being foreclosed, suggests America’s social issues are going to be brought to the fore of GTA 5. There’s almost no doubt in my mind that this will lead to a wider comment on ‘the 99 per cent’ movement and the whole ‘bankers are w**nkers’ thing. Frankly, this is not the place for such things.
For one, there’s no way that such vital issues can be done justice in GTA 5. Yes, Rockstar’s writers are more than capable, but with GTA IV they seemed obsessed to the point of desperation about crafting something movie-like. That game suffered from a pointed lack of fun, with missions becoming tedious and the brooding Niko Bellic turning into a rather tiresome one-dimensional character after you’d spent a few hours in his company.
Trying to tackle economic woes which are very specific to the years we’re living through will make GTA 5 date very badly, very quickly. Yes, a game, like a film, can be a snapshot of a period. But I don’t want that from such an immersive title as GTA. It’s no coincidence that when GTA IV ditched the whole ‘immigrant and the social issues of NYC’ angle for its Ballad of Gay Tony downloadable content, it became far more interesting and a joy to play.
The trailer and teaser material for GTA 5 certainly suggests that there’ll be plenty of fun to be had, as well as the chance to explore the wider San Andreas area. But if there’s not enough Vice City-style chaos, I for one will be left disappointed. The last GTA title lacked anything like the insouciant charm of previous titles and suffered from it long term. It took an age to get going and many of the missions felt forced, with cut scenes and characters often lacking any real amusement value. It felt like Rockstar had forgotten what made this franchise a best-seller in the first place.
So here’s my wish, my plea. Let’s drop the whole wider social commentary angle. It’s got no place here. Sure, take a pop at brands and offer up amusing incidental asides about modern culture. But please Rockstar, don’t make that the centre of the story. GTA 5 needs to be fun to succeed properly. Sure it’ll sell well, but don’t expect many to complete it once they start getting bashed over the head with hackneyed political dialogue.
