Heres something you probably haven’t heard of yet: Grand Theft Auto (GTA) 5 Online. Better known as GTA Online, this massively multiplayer online game from Rockstar New England allows players to indulge in all their favorite activities from the safety of their virtual couches. Whether you like shooting adrenaline-pumping missions or want to engage in elaborate heists, GTA Online has something for you.
And while the base game has been available for download on PC for some time now, mobile players have been waiting for an app they could use to engage with the world of GTA Online. Well worry no more, as Rockstar has finally delivered with GTA Online Mobile released today for iOS and Android.
The game is free to download and free to play, but you’ll need a Rockstar Games Social Club account to access certain features. The better deal is probably that you get to enjoy all the aspects of GTA Online without having to pay a single penny. Once you’ve gotten the hang of things, it’s probably best to say goodbye to those dollars as quickly as possible, as GTA Online is a lucrative world indeed.
The Basics
GTA Online Mobile gets you straight to the action with a jolt of nostalgia. When you first launch the app, you’ll be greeted by the characters from the TV show, with whom you might already be familiar. Once you’ve logged in, you’ll be able to select from a range of activities, including racing, shooting, exploring, and more.
The game’s graphics have been greatly improved since their original appearance in the console versions of GTA. Textures are higher resolution, animations are smoother, and the framerate is higher. If you’ve played on a console, you’ll immediately recognize this as the successor to the previous game. While the gameplay might be a bit different, the action-adventure experience remains the same.
The Good & Bad
Even though GTA Online has been available for some time now, the mobile version feels like a breath of fresh air for gamers, thanks to its polished interface and streamlined gameplay. The app makes the most out of the Google Play store’s large mobile audience, and allows players to engage with the world of GTA Online on the go. The only real downside is that some features, such as a functioning health system and an endgame, are currently absent. In their place are GTA Online cheaters who are eager to satisfy your every need.
The Mechanics
Let’s get down to the nitty-gritty and cut right to the chase. As mentioned above, some features, like a functioning health system and an endgame, are currently absent from the mobile version of GTA Online. So while it might keep you entertained for a while, you’ll have to make due with the basics, for now.
The mechanics of GTA Online are nearly identical to those of its console counterparts. You’ll pick up guns to kill enemies, complete objectives, and move around the open-world setting in an automobile or on foot. You’re not going to be able to move through the world in first person as in a traditional shooter, however, as the game doesn’t allow for direct control of the protagonist. This is where the nostalgia element comes in, as you’ll once again feel like you’re playing as Robert ‘Grand Theft Auto’ Spade, or your favorite character from the show.
One of the most significant changes comes in the form of GTA Online’s new mission editor and the addition of numerous vehicles. The level of detail seen in the trailer for GTA Online Mobile is stunning, with players able to customize the world around them with billboards, signs, and other images. This level of detail makes it easy for players to create something unique, which in turn leads to increased gameplay variety. We also get to see more characters from the show, as well as brand new faces, which give the game a slightly new vibe.
The Fun
Apart from the basics and mechanics, we can also talk about the game’s fun factor. Nowadays, most games these days are packed not just with fun gameplay, but with useful features as well. It’s great when a game combines the two, as it makes the gameplay more engaging. That’s exactly what GTA Online does.
The first thing you’ll notice when you launch the game is how accessible and convenient the UI is. The game’s menus and controls have been streamlined and designed with the touch screen in mind. This makes using the app much more fun, as tapping the screen to perform tasks is much easier than mashing buttons on a controller.
One of the other major differences between the console and mobile versions of GTA Online is the accessibility of the game’s features. Thanks to the former’s robust network connections, players are able to access cheats, which provide them with an unfair advantage over other players. While this might not be for the faint of heart, it’s probably best to say goodbye to those dollars as quickly as possible, since cheating has never been so much fun.
The Present & Future
The final topic we’d like to talk about are the game’s present and future. On the one hand, the present looks pretty good, with the game’s aesthetic and technical improvements overshadowing the somewhat disappointing change of character models and texture resolutions. It wouldn’t be hard to imagine someone falling in love with the beautiful vistas and smooth gameplay again.
Rockstar has also stated that future updates will fix the game’s major issues, so if you’re looking for a flawless piece of software, you shouldn’t have any worries regarding the present. On the other hand, the future looks grim, with Rockstar stating that they have no plans of bringing PC players into the fold. The company also revealed that the mobile version was made with the iPhone in mind, and that they plan on keeping most of the game’s content off-limits to users of other platforms.
This isn’t to say that there’s no hope for the game. Even though the future doesn’t look great, it’s still possible that something will change. Maybe PC players will get a separate client that works with their hardware, or maybe Rockstar will see the light and decide to make the switch. All we can do is keep an eye out for updates and hope for the best.
So there you have it, a quick run-down of everything you need to know about GTA Online Mobile. As we’ve established, the game has its pros and its cons, but overall it’s a polished product that will have you entertained for quite some time. If you’re looking for a way to pass the time until Grand Theft Auto 6, then you can’t go wrong with GTA Online Mobile. Just make sure you’re prepared to overlook some of the game’s less appealing aspects, like the complete absence of a health system and endgame.