GTA 5’s Los Santos is one of the biggest and most detailed maps in gaming. In the annals of video game maps, Los Santos is one of the best.
Despite this, I’ve never loved it. In fact, GTA 5’s Los Santos is my least favourite map in the mainline series since its transition to 3D.
I’ve talked about one of the reasons why the map disappoints me in my analysis of the map’s actual vs perceived size. Another issue, one that has bothered me since 2013, is that the map feels ’empty’.
One of the reasons why many Battlefield fans still consider Bad Company 2 their favourite multiplayer game in the series is its atmosphere.
By atmosphere, I mean the game’s general mood—the emotions it usually conveys through sound, visuals, gameplay, and story.
Bad Company 2’s multiplayer doesn’t have any explicit story and I have written about its gameplay elsewhere, so this post will mainly cover sound and visuals.
San Andreas’ map was revolutionary. It was detailed, full of character, and, of course, it was huge. Expectations were high for what would come next. If Rockstar could create a map like San Andreas on the PS2, what could they do in the future with better hardware, more manpower, and more money?
What they did do was somewhat unexpected. GTA 4 and 5’s maps were much more detailed than their PS2 predecessors. They both had strong and distinctive tones. But in terms of scale, GTA 4 was smaller, and GTA 5—though technically larger—felt smaller to many GTA fans.
One week ago, Embracer shut down Free Radical and cancelled TimeSplitters 4. It was devastating news—the game we had anticipated for so long was lost to us once again … or so we thought.
Yesterday, footage of the game, titled TimeSplitters Next, leaked online. What the footage shows is both depressing and eminently predictable.
(Check the bottom of the page for more updates. Major leaks have been happening since this article was published!)
Bethesda fans are starting to notice the flaws in Bethesda’s game design. These flaws have arguably existed since Oblivion and have worsened with each successive game. Now, with the release of Starfield, criticism of Bethesda has become mainstream.