Introducing Grand Theft Auto Online
Relatively little was known about GTA Online even after the game was released. The single player portion of the game is a resounding success, attracting praise from both the press and gamers themselves. Rockstar’s Social Club suffered severely over launch week as millions of players worldwide scrambled to be a part of the biggest gaming launch of all time.
Delivered via a small 60MB update, GTA Online is finally here, and it too, is a thing of beauty. The game uses a “persistent” online world, with servers of up to 16 players able to take part in all manner of activities together. As expected, the title uses Rockstar’s Social Club to pair you and your friends via crews, of which you can be a member of more than one, or you can go it alone and play with complete strangers.
To access Grand Theft Auto Online players will need to pause their existing single player game and head to the Online tab in the pause menu. From there it is possible to create a character using the character creator and join the world of GTAO, which involves the usual introductions and city flyovers you should expect from any game in the series. After a brief sequence of events, you’ll be dropped into a server and left (mostly) to your own devices.
After each job ends, players involved can decide to go straight into the next activity, enter free mode together or replay the last activity all by voting. Should you quit, you’ll simply be returned to a free mode session and the fun begins all over again.
A Very Different Experience
Unlike GTA IV, this online experience has a bit more scope. For one, you earn GTA$ for your troubles, which you can then use to buy clothing, weaponry, cars and property. If you thought the clothes on offer in Sub Urban and Binco were a little lacklustre and limited in the single player game, you need to take a look at the options on offer in the multiplayer element. Even Ammu-Nation sells a fine selection of apparel.
While you’re wandering around in free mode, either trying to get along with your multiplayer cohorts or making life hell for them, you can die and respawn just like in any other online shooter. When you die, you lose some money, so it’s within your interests to not stay alive (surprise!). If you’re sick of having the same guy shoot you in the head while you’re setting up a waypoint in the pause menu, you can access a mode called Passive Mode for GTA$100. In this mode you can’t be hurt by another player, but you can’t harm any other players either.
This mode is accessed from the “interaction menu” which is activated in-game by pressing and holding the “back” button. This is where you access your inventory including cash, armor and cigarettes (yes, really), set your player mood, challenge a nearby player to an impromptu race or set a quick GPS route to the nearest Los Santos Customs.
And while we’re on the topic of buying things, you can forget the economy you’re used to in Los Santos from GTA V’s single player – everything is different in multiplayer, with an experience-based leveling system providing access to in-game items, but the items themselves costing considerably more than they do in the single player game.
Coming Soon To A Los Santos Near You
The future looks very bright indeed. Despite some teething problems with the initial rush, my experience in GTA’s massive open world with 16 other miscreants has been overwhelmingly positive, with a huge range of genuinely fun activities to take part in. And that’s before all the free updates. If you are experiencing issues with connecting, keep trying, as it is worth the effort.
Finally two new game modes will be added: capture the flag, which takes the standard CTF game mode and drops it into GTA’s massive open world and fully co-operative heist missions that require planning, teamwork and skill in order to pull off with big rewards.
Have you played Grand Theft Auto Online yet? Did you enjoy finishing GTA V? Let us know what you think in the comments, below.
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