GTA 5 has set the bar very high for its long-awaited successor. Yet there are some features we’d rather not see again in GTA 6.
This year, we finally get to play Grand Theft Auto 6. We should after such a long time. And the bar has been set high after the monstrous success of GTA 5.
After all, its predecessor showed how to keep a game interesting for more than a decade. That includes not only a good storyline, but also numerous features. Only some features we would rather not see again in GTA 6.
These features we no longer need in GTA 6
Much of GTA 5’s success also stems from its addictive GTA Online. For years, Rockstar provided it with updates and expansion, bringing new features to the story mode as well.
Just give me wheels on my bike. (image: Rockstar Games)
As crazier and crazier vehicles were added, Rockstar encountered a bit of criticism. Namely, more and more absurd things were added that dwarfed GTA’s original luxury and prestigious sports cars.
So we saw flying cars and motorcycles, a flying ship straight out of a scifi movie and the frustrating orbital cannon. As fun as it was to fiddle with these things, it took away from the enjoyment of play for a number of gamers. Especially since these gadgets were incredibly expensive.
No more Shark Cards
To pay for all those expensive gadgets in GTA Online, you needed a lot of dough. There were plenty of missions to do and setting up your own business could also help you get money fast. Yet there was another faster way to get millions deposited into your bank account.
With the Shark Cards, players could use real money to quickly get virtual dollars into their accounts. This created some unfairness in a number of ways. The big, expensive vehicles could suddenly be bought by anyone who threw enough money at them.
I’ll work for my pennies though! (image: Rockstar Games)
It’s not very surprising if GTA 6 gets its own online variant. It is then to be hoped that Rockstar leaves the Shark Cards – or whatever microtransactions – out of the game.
Cutscenes you can’t skip
Features could also be left out in terms of how the story is told. Especially the cutscenes that you can’t skip. That was not the case in GTA 5’s story mode, but it was different in GTA Online.
Especially in the beginning of the game, you are bound to have a number of attempted cinematics that are frustratingly long. For example, you get to see a long cutscene as soon as you go online for the first time, as well as when you get killed for the first time. In 9 out of 10 cases, the two are particularly close together.
(image: Rockstar Games)
It caused some impatience while you are eager to explore the online mode. Why do these cutscenes have to be watched while in single player you could skip whatever you wanted? For GTA 6, let it be only the latter.
Unnecessary smartphone use
Building on the ingenious feature from GTA 4, we saw the return of the smartphone in GTA 5. How could it be otherwise in a game set in the present? For both single player and online, the phone was important for completing missions.
Indeed, important contacts from the story could call you. Often this was to announce a new available mission. Here is where it also went a little wrong with some characters. When you didn’t want to do a mission for a while, you were not stalked just yet.
The barrage of text messages and phone calls caused irritation when you preferred to leave the mission for a while. Especially in GTA Online this was noticeable. Characters like Lester would call you every five to ten minutes to tell you that a mission was ready for you. Thanks, Lester, but I have a street race with my buddies first. So Rockstar: be careful which goofballs you give a phone to in GTA 6.
