Do you feel like V was wasted potential?

[リシテア]

I have been playing GTA since GTA 2 on the PS1.
Playing GTA III on the PS2 for the first time was the most amazing experience I have had, the only thing that has ever come close was using my Rift Dk1 for the first time.
GTA 3 was definitely Rockstar's magnum opus.
Unfortunately it was also the last true Grand Theft Auto game, if you have been playing since the 2D era you know what I mean.
San Andreas really set the bar with the series in terms of gameplay, but it was also when the series started to abandon the original feel.
Grand Theft Auto IV, the worst entry in the series imo was officially when the series started hitting the ♥♥♥♥♥.

IV and V aren't bad games in any sense, but they marked the beginning of the decline of the series in a major way.
For the past few days I have been googling around trying to see if others feel the same way.

Grand Theft Auto V feels so stripped down and I wonder why, why would r* go in that direction?
Was it an artistic choice or could they not afford something as beefy as San Andreas on the scale of IV and V?
Here we are with a lush detailed world but it feels completely lifeless.
After San Andreas I thought from there on the series would evolve with more and more detail and things to do with each entry but then came along IV and they stripped it down to the point where it was with 3, only a few added details that don't keep you engaged for very long.
San Andreas let you buy property scattered all over the map, V you get something more akin to gta 3 safehouses.

Grand Theft Auto V is an amazingly detailed game on the surface but it (and iv) feel so hollow.
I'm not just talking about the cardboard looking buildings with sound loops playing as you walk closer trying to give off the feeling something is going on, but there is such a lack of endgame content conpared to SA.
And if I remember correctly they even took out the ability to walk into an ambulance/fire truck/police car to initiate side missions.

The series feels like a de-evolution in terms of gameplay.
Even the atmosphere is gone, with V feeling like a third person action adventure someone decided to label a GTA game.

I'm not hating, just disappointed.

I can see how if you're new to the series these complaints might not make sense to you ... however after you have played every game in the series you get bored as ♥♥♥♥ with the basic formula and desire more ...
That's the word I was looking for, GTA is starting to feel incredibly formulaic.

You know, if you could do half of what was available in SA then I could understand the praise but this game feels so lacking.

If only rockstar would release some content packs for single player.

I feel like IV and V are such wasted potential.
Maybe they can redeem themselves with VI by allowing you to travel between HD universe Liberty City and Los Santos (as well as other staple locations) but instead of being stripped down they could go balls to wall with content like they did with SA.
The maps are there, the content is all that's missing.

[Alejandro]

No.

[🅶ila]

The series' decline is something that only you have fabricated. There's a reason why its ratings are stellar, and very frequently tops the Steam charts.

You don't play online, and that's fine; but that's the general direction that the game is focused in for after-release updates. Just because it doesn't suit your playstyle, doesn't mean that you get to call the game "watered down", "wasted potential", or whatever else kind of BS you think.

These are your irrelevant opinions, which happen to be hopelessly outnumbered by the rest of the world.

[..:: eeZee ::..]

It's very clear GTAV isn't a full single player game. All the content is in GTAV online, and it's a huge success.

GTAVI (if it ever comes) will be no different. I even doubt single player will ever be a big part of the game ever again in the GTA series. Sharkcards and online DLC (with missions, races and what not) will be the main, and perhaps the only, focus.

[WS| Knifey]

I agree the police/fire/ambulance/taxi side missions being gone is a major disapointment.