Skip to main content

Have You Played... Grand Theft Auto V?

Of course

Have You Played? is an endless stream of game retrospectives. One a day, every day, perhaps for all time.

I haven't played Grand Theft Auto V since just a few months after its release, but parts of its city are still as clear in my memory as some of the real cities I've lived in.

I like the streets around Michael's house, from which you can quickly reach downtown San Andreas or nip up into the hills towards where Franklin comes to live. I like the Santa Monica-style beachfront, where Michael's therapist's office is. I like the big park with the nice pond, and the long ocean road that leads to the tunnel, and a dozen other little mundane areas.

This is true of every 3D Grand Theft Auto game, for me. I don't care about nor finish the story and I can barely stand the characters, but as places they're first rate. Red Dead Redemption 2 doesn't excite me nearly as much, either, because it's cities I'm interested in. Horses are fine, but deserts and canyons are to be travelled across, not lived in.

Read this next

Graham Smith avatar
Graham Smith: Rock Paper Shotgun's editorial leader, corporate dad, and breezy evening news writer.
View comments (41)
In this article

Grand Theft Auto V

PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS3, Xbox 360, PC

Related topics

Rock Paper Shotgun is better when you sign in

Sign in and join us on our journey to discover strange and compelling PC games.