Sandboxing with Grand Theft Auto V and L.A. Noire

I have played Grand Theft Auto V on the Playstation 3 and have completed the main story. It took me on and off almost a month, but it was an enjoyable month as well. I loved the planning of the missions and the variety, and all three of the main characters had stories that I found worth exploring. I did feel that some of the opening magic was lost later in the game, and limiting the game to six heist missions is a shame, as I would have loved much more. There was still lots to do between the main missions, and some of the side quests are to collect cars and equipment to complete the main heist missions which were often more enjoyable and more varied than the main heist itself. I liked that you were given a choice of how you wished to accomplish the heist, quietly or noisily, front entrance or back door. Although I felt some of the choices you could make were irrelevant, i.e. who you brought along to assist you in the mission heists, as their contribution seemed pointless, but took varying amounts of the profits. I liked the way it told a bigger story by having you play three totally different characters, whereas in previous Grand Theft Auto games you only got to see the story from one viewpoint.

The only other time a sandbox game had employed this switching viewpoint as a story narrative was the final chapter in Rockstar’s L.A. Noire (a brilliant sandbox police procedure Grand Theft Auto-alike with an original interrogation mechanic), where towards the final chapter of the game you no longer played the hero police detective, but instead his private detective opposite. Its a classic movie and novel technique, but after having invested a lot into your character, it felt bad he was taken away from you and you were given a lesser character to finish the game with. Whilst the sandbox elements were not as extensive as any Grand Theft Auto game, it did have collectibles in the form of seeing sights in the city, lots of little side missions where you rescued passers by and performing many driving feats of speed, jumps and driving all the cars. The difference between this game and others was that the city wasn't fictional, but instead based on the 1950s Los Angeles, complete with post-war feel and city design. A lot of the story was set to this background, including new housing estates being built, people working in jobs that were involved with the mafia and low level crime.

I didn't like the way Grand Theft Auto V ended with each of the main characters murdering the nemesis of one of the other main characters. It felt empty and made me wonder why they didn't do this many weeks earlier as it would have saved a ton of problems. Still the game has some memorable moments and visually and aurally amazing, with the dialogue being the strongest element of the game. Still the game kept me occupied almost every night for over a month, and I’ve not really explored the multiplayer content at all, and very unlikely to either.