Alrite, let's get this out of the way right off the bat: I'm not happy that I'm writing this. I too am getting sick of the flood of hypothetical and speculative things to hit this site lately, especially about games that have not yet been anounced. However, the rumor of a summer reveal of the next GTA got my mind racing about the potential ideas that could take the series forward. If I don't share them somewhere, then I will feel as if I wasted a lot of valuable thinking time. So, yes, I am indeed wasting even more time to speculate about a game that is only speculated to be announced. Call me a trend-follower, a hypocrite, a sell-out or whatever you will, but I now present to you my wishlist for the next GTA game.
1. Location
Ah, location. We're always told that this is what it's all about. While the location in many games is often just a backdrop for whatever you may be shooting or blowing up Michael Bay style, it has always been a central part of the GTA world. It is a character just as much as the many exaggerated stereotypes that you will meet along the ride. I believe that R* should move away from the cities that have already been used - stories have already been told there, and while there could undoubtably be some cool reasons for revisiting it, we've already explored these cities and discovered their secrets. Those of you yearning for a remade Vice City or San Andreas should just go boot up those games. They may not be HD, but they're still a hell of a lot of fun. Many also want the game to be set in England or Japan, but I feel the GTA series would lose a lot of its charm by moving elsewhere, though R* could prove me wrong. My personal favorite choice would have to be the city of Detroit. I know the people there are falling on hard times, and no disrespect to them, but I feel as if the current state of the city would be ripe for a story involving corruption and the rise of gang forces. It could also be funny to have a character who is a satire of Eminem. If not Detroit, then I would also love to go on crime sprees in the windy city, Chicago. Of course this is just my personal opinion, and if you disagree feel free to state your top choice in the comments section.
2. Story vs. Craziness and Fun Factor
GTA was praised by critics for its deeper and more meaningful story, free of some of the wackiness of the earlier games. However, in its attempt to become more realistic, many fans of the old GTA games felt it had also lost what made the other games so damn fun to play well after the story had ended. Gone were the Jetpacks, planes, and dildo swords. While the game was still fun to roam around in, many found that they become bored of the city much faster as a result of the ommision of oddities and insanity. It was as if people went into a movie expecting an action packed comedy, but instead got a more serious crime drama. They didn't necessarily think it was bad, but it was not as they expected. People were therefore dissapointed. This puts R* in a bit of a situation. They have proven that they can tell a wonderful and cinematic story through both GTA4 and Red Dead Redemption, but seriousness in the story often comes with a decreased fun value for the players. I therefore propose a radical suggestion. R* should keep their serious story and more serious world to go along with it, but only until before the credits roll. After that, when the city is only available for free roam, players will be able to discover many new oddities and fun within the world. Or R* could take a page from Crackdown and include a mode akin to Keys to the City, separate from the world of the story and meant to be nothing more than fun and chaos that the player controls. By having two separate but similar worlds through different modes, R* would be able to incorporate all of what they are best at into a single game.
3. Reworked Gameplay:
GTA 4 brought the gameplay of GTA into a more modern era with the inclusion of a cover system and reworked gunplay and hand to hand combat. However, it was still not perfect and R* could take a few pages from other games to make the gameplay in GTA as smooth as possible. The first game R* could borrow from is Gears of War. GTA 4 already incorporated the cover sytem that Gears popularized this gen, but it was a bit clunky, especially when compared to the fluid action of Gears. Like Gears, the next GTA should have a universal button which allows players to get into cover, hop back and forth between cover, vault over cover, and evade with a sideways roll. Another thing GTA could borrow from Gears is the ability to take a foe (or bystander) and use them as a human shield. This wwould be a great mode of protection in GTA when you are in a tight spot and need protection. Imagine if you could grab a gang member to stop their fellow gang members from shooting at you, or doing the same with a civilian when fighting off the cops. Even if they still open fire, there is a layer of protection between you and their gunfire. Another game that GTA should borrow from is Assassins Creed. The free running system in these games are great and could be implemented as parkour in GTA. Imagine if instead of tapping A or X repeatedly to sprint, you just held the button down to run and jump/climb anything in your path. It would have to be toned down to work in the more realistic setting, but it would open up the possibilities for smooth on foot chase sequences or jumping from rooftop to rooftop with ease. GTA could also borrow a page from Assassins Creed when it comes to hand to hand combat, which allows you to smoothly deal with many enemies at once. This was a major problem in GTA 4 and while I realise that it would again have to be toned down because the character is not a master assassin, it would make your fists a much more viable option in combat.
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