11. Grand Theft Auto V

Bad boys for life

Grand Theft Auto V is an open-world third-person action game that follows the stories of Franklin, Michael, and Trevor, as they wreak havoc on beautiful Los Santos, a fictional Los Angeles, doing bank jobs, jewelry store heists, and in general, running amok.

Franklin, the repo man trying to come up

You start out the game as Franklin Clinton. And when you first meet Franklin, you’ll notice that he’s stuck in quite a rut. He shares a small home with his aunt, whom he doesn’t get along with very well in the gang-controlled, poverty-stricken side of town. And to make matters worse, he works at a dead end job as a repo man for a slime ball car salesman which has caused a strain in his relationship with his girlfriend. One of Franklin’s very first missions is when he is given the job to repo a car from the wrong guy: Michael De Santa.

Michael, the “retired” professional heist man

This is when you are first introduced to Michael, an upper-class middle-aged loud mouth with a penchant for violence. Michael may have a swanky home, but his family dynamics are a mess. Regardless, Franklin is in awe of Michael’s lifestyle: the fancy cars, the pool out back, and a giant home. It’s all a stark difference in comparison to what Franklin is used to. Michael, who is a retired heist-man decides to come out of retirement to teach the young guy a thing or two about making money. Michael becomes somewhat of a mentor for Franklin, teaching him the ropes and making out like bandits.

Trevor, the mad man

Then there’s Trevor Philips. From the “cut here” tattoo around his neck, to his curb-stomping boots, Trevor is, to put it nicely, completely insane. He lives in the boonies outside of Los Santos – a place called Sandy Shores, where he keeps his dirty, disgusting trailer. Trevor spends his time manufacturing and pushing drugs for his very own business: Trevor Philips Industries. Eventually Trevor and Michael, long-lost best friends are reunited, and Trevor pushes Michael to officially come out of retirement to pull the one heist they’d talked about for years: The Big One, in which they intend to live off the money from for the rest of their lives.

Of course, with every Grand Theft Auto games, there is a rich cast of characters that players will meet and work with leading up to The Big One. With tons of side missions and plot twists, players can switch between Franklin, Michael, and Trevor to get a look into their lives and cause all kinds of mayhem and destruction.

Franklin and Michael prep for The Big One

With Franklin, you can race fast, high-end cars with customization up the wazoo – from the paint job to engine upgrades. Trevor stirs things up with the local military and drug cartels, using high-powered semi-automatic machine guns and missile launchers. And Michael, well, he just tries to hold his life together, while things seem to spiral out of control.

Grand Theft Auto V has multiple different endings and the player can choose the fate of Franklin, Michael, and Trevor. Will their misdeeds be their undoing, or will they find fortune? Well, that’s for you to decide.

Grand Theft Auto V also has an online multiplayer option that allows players to create their very own heist man or woman. Your character is brand new to Los Santos, and you must start off from humble beginnings, playing missions that may not be well paid, but will grant you access to even more, better paying missions. You can face off against other players in these missions in a variety of different ways: there are team death match mini-games, races, one-on-one shootouts, even arm-wrestling. Or, if you prefer, you can complete missions on your own. With each mission won, you will earn money which can go toward customizing your character’s appearance, buy new vehicles and weapons, and safe houses too!

Grand Theft Auto V is one of, if not the, best game in the franchise. Following the stories of three different playable characters, you will see how their stories intermesh with one another and find out deeply hidden mysteries.