It's a bit late, but I tried Grand Theft Auto V. At first, I had absolutely no interest in this series. Walking around a free-roaming open world, a story centered on crime. That's fine, but I just didn't like the atmosphere and hadn't touched it, but I was completely prejudiced against it. Once I tried it, I loved everything about it.

The setting for 5 is California. Personally, it was also where I studied abroad, so I was constantly excited by its realistic world. 'LA was like this,' 'The beach was like that!' What's amazing is truly the stunning visual beauty. I played it on PS3, and even on PS3, the visuals were so beautiful that they made me think it was gorgeous from the bottom of my heart. There were also PS4 and PC versions, which are naturally said to have even more beautiful visuals. I think I'll buy them again later.

To be honest, I hadn't really cared that much about beautiful visuals. Even if the graphics aren't particularly outstanding, something interesting is interesting. However, when it's an open world, and the visual beauty is thoroughly expressed, it's almost no different from being able to freely walk around the real world and do whatever you want.

In fact, if VR technologies like Oculus and Morpheus become widespread, and games are offered with graphics of this quality or even higher, won't an era come where even travel is okay with VR? It made me think that much. Rather, if you can get 'visual' and 'auditory' experiences without spending as much money as actual travel, some people will surely be satisfied with that.

Moreover, when actual cities and spaces on Earth are reproduced, it made me think a lot, to the point where it might even eat into the tourism industry. Grand Theft Auto V was a game where I could immerse myself in the world that much. This is undoubtedly the power of graphics and visuals, and this is not the time to shy away from technology, Japanese game industry.

Also, it's great that there are so many different cars!

Actually, I had almost no interest in cars, but this time, trying various ones in the game, I thought, 'Cars are cool, they're deep.' Also, driving along the California coastline while listening to the radio felt great. If it feels this good even in a game, I thought, 'If I actually drove a nice car, listening to my favorite stylish music, I could die happy.'

While saying all this, I don't have a license, though. I should get one.

I wish the VR era would come soon. If you played something like this in VR, I think it would feel incredibly good. Plus, there aren't just cars; there are boats, planes, and all sorts of vehicles. All of them are well-crafted.

By the way, while I've been focusing on graphics and visuals, the characters and story are also quite interesting. The protagonist, originally a criminal involved in robberies and such, now has a family and struggles with communication. He wanders, unable to find purpose in his daily life. By reuniting with old friends, he gets increasingly caught up in a tumultuous story. Eventually, he finds what he should do and what he wants to do. Each of these aspects resonated deeply with me.

His former friends went their separate ways, living completely different lives. The gaps that emerged from that, the faded friendships… I don't think there have been many foreign games that delve so deeply into human drama. Perhaps not even many Japanese games.

It also depicts people climbing up from the bottom, pulling up those struggling at the bottom, and drawing them into a success story. This feeling of "I'm going to make it big!" and "I'm going to grab the American Dream!" really recharges your motivation. Seriously. Thanks to it, I was able to recharge my motivation quite a bit.

Another thing not to forget is the strong characters and the lively dialogue. This sense might be rooted in culture and upbringing, something Japanese people might not be able to produce.

Anyway, each line of dialogue, interspersed with jokes and sarcasm, gave me a fresh feeling. When spoken in Japanese, it somehow doesn't quite work; it's precisely because it's spoken in English, and because it's subtitled, that it's so cool.

In any case, it was a game that offered such a special experience that I could talk about it endlessly with just this one title. Simply driving a car around the open world, climbing mountains, descending them, or swimming in the sea. Even just enjoying the world in that way makes it a very fun game. For those who want to gain motivation to "do something," or who want to go somewhere but haven't been able to, or who want to experience California even just in spirit. Please give it a try.

However, it's full of all sorts of evil: violence, drug-like elements, crime, and eroticism. Lol. For those who are resistant to such a worldview, it might be shocking in a way. It's more of a game for guys who like an underground worldview. But I wonder if girls can enjoy it too. I don't know.

I'm planning to buy a PS4 soon, and I'll continue to keep an eye on the Grand Theft Auto series. By the time the next game comes out, I'd like to have my license and be able to drive a nice car myself. Before that, I should re-buy the PS4 version (other than the PS3 version). It gave me that much satisfaction. By the way, the development team is Rockstar Games. I'll continue to look forward to their future work!

It's definitely something you should buy.