GTA 5 and GTA Online have been massive successes. With GTA 6 looming in the horizon, it's time to start speculating about what's to come.
The entire gaming world goes into a hyperventilating hysteria when Rockstar announces the next Grand Theft Auto. GTA 4 came out in 2008 and GTA 5 came out in 2013. It's likely that Rockstar is already well on the way towards announcing details for GTA 6. I'm gonna try to beat them to the punch and see if I can guess what we can look forward to in GTA 6. Here's 11 things that could make GTA 6 epic.
1) Looks to Kill
Rockstar has always pushed the technical boundries of what kind of performance the current generation of gaming machines can offer, so this first item on the list is a given with zero research needed. GTA 6 absolutely will be gorgeous, there is no doubt.
The image I’ve provided here is GTA 5 with some player made mods added. As you can see, even mods from the community can already push GTA into the realm of photorealism. The problem with these mods is that they take a heavy duty system to run. They’re poorly optimized. But with GTA 6, we can expect a well optimized game that still makes you think you’re looking through a window.
2) The Biggest Map Yet
This one is also a sure thing. Every new title in the GTA series features a map bigger than the last, with the exception perhaps of the gargantuan map of GTA: San Andres. Given Rockstar’s drive to push boundaries and the exponential growth of technology, we’re sure to see something truly massive in GTA 6.
There’s even been rumors of a multi-city map for GTA 6, which is something I’d love to see. Some of the best parts of GTA 5’s map are outside the limits of the city, and I’d love to see them explore those regions more in the next iteration of the series. Could you imagine a multi-city GTA 6 that links all the former GTA maps into one massive GTA nation? Hot damn, I’d never leave my room again!
3) Story Mode with a Buddy
This is where I take a step into speculation land, but I don’t think it’s that wild of a guess. GTA Online is an undeniable success. It works well, it’s fun as hell, and it’s an absolute wet dream for all the older gamers like myself who played GTA 3 and instantly thoughts that they’d love to team up with friends to throw moltov cocktails at pedestrians from the rooftops of skyscrapers.
Given the success of GTA Online, Rockstar is sure to include online options for GTA 6 as well. GTA 5 was essentially split into two modes: story mode and online mode. I’d love to see GTA 6 blend both of those together, or at least present the option of going through the story with a friend.
4) The Return of Over-The-Top Vehicles
GTA 4 seemed to be a turning point for the series away from the over the top and towards the realistic. There are a lot of cool things about this and I’d never ask them to go back to cartoony, but at the same time there are elements of the old style that got left behind. I’d love to see GTA 6 bring back some of the way over the top vehicles that Rockstar games used to have.
Former GTA games at least let you have access to tanks. Who didn’t spend hours bringing down havoc on the city from the comfort of their M1 Abrams? Even older Rockstar titles were always full of ridiculously over the top vehicles. Remember the bulldozer taxi from the original Midnight Club? I must have spent a literal week of my life in hours played simply plowing through traffic in that game. GTA 6 is sure to continue on the track towards realism, but hopefully they still throw in some vehicles that are simply there for the sake of fun.
5) NPCs with Their Own Lives
The NPC AI in GTA 5 is fantastic. They move right, they react right, and they’ve got hilarious banter. But Rockstar always takes thing to the next level, and the next level for their pedestrian AI is to give the pedestrians the appearance of having their own lives.
We already see hints towards this direction in GTA 5 with the way some pedestrians drive erratically. I’d like to see that extended to the pedestrian behavior I want to see business men running to work with their briefcase, couples arguing on the corner, and muggers mugging muggees. I’d love a GTA 6 where I can sit on a roof and people watch as crazy interatctions happen beyond simply walking to and fro.
6) A Story Worth of Scarface
Rockstar does stories right, so this point is again sure to happen with no research required. Most gaming companies couldn’t write a quality story if their quicksave depended on it. They bog it down with details you don’t care about and they think haughty language is the same as increased drama. But Rockstar? They give you a story with a script that’s tight and characters you care about.
I haven’t heard any details about the story in GTA 6, but I already can’t wait. It’s going to be great.
7) Become a Ganglord with an Actual Gang
GTA 5 introduced gang wars that randomly pop up throughout the city. Each game in the GTA series features a character who begins with nothing and ends with controlling the criminal underworld of a city. It’s only natural that GTA 6 expand on this by making it feel real. They should allow you the option to control an actual gang of NPCs to do your bidding as you go through the city.
8) Quests that Matter
The story mode of GTA games have you doing a lot of quests for a lot of people in a lot of places across the map. Most of these quests are violent and quite a few are down right explosive. All these actions should have a significant result on the landscape of the city, but so far in GTA games they haven’t. GTA 6, with an increase in the detail possible to add to a game, can hopefully make this become a reality. Choices you make in the story mode will finally feel like real choices that matter if you see the consequences of those choices every time you come to that corner of the city.
9) The Wrath of Mother Earth
The most fun parts of GTA are the unexpected things that happen in the world. So to expand on that, could you imagine a GTA set in New Orleans with massive tornadoes and random lightning strikes?
It’s already exciting when you’re cruising through the city at breakneck speed and weaving through traffic on a motorbike. Imagine how much more exciting that will be when you have to check the skies for funnel clouds ready to bring down the wrath of god.
10) Options of the Arcade Persuasion
I mentioned before that GTA has taken a turn towards realism in recent implementations of the series. This is great, but some of my best memories of GTA still come from the more arcadey versions of GTA 3 and it’s spin offs. Sure, it’s great to drive through a realistic city and often times it makes the gameplay much more intense. But I also miss the old days of GTA where you could put in a code to turn the city into a riot of military grade weapon wielding maniacs.
Hopefully GTA 6 will push the series more towards realism, yet still have the options for some crazy arcade style fun when you want it.
11) VR Capability
I mentioned at the very start that Rockstar is always pushing the boundaries of what modern technology can do. And there is no denying that the outer limit of modern technology is virtual reality gear that finally works.
As a lowly gaming writer, I can only dream of what it would be like to use one of those VR headsets like the Oculus Rift or the STEAM THINGY. But then again, when I first saw the Nintendo Power trailer for Mario 64, I could also only dream of what it would be like to play a truly 3d game. High end technolgy eventually becomes common place, and I expect VR technology to soon become common. GTA 6 can hopefully be one of the players to make that happens.
Robbing a bank is fun. Robbing a bank in VR is a hell of a lot more fun.
It's a sure bet that GTA 6 wll be epic and redefine its generation of games. The only question now is what great features will bring on the epicness. I've shared my 11 reasons why I think it'll be great. Leave a comment and let us know why you think it'll be epic.
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