The cover system is now more reliable and the auto aim less touchy. This is a major leap in narrative sophistication and every mechanical aspect of Grand Theft Auto IV has been improved. You have the freedom to explore a world that is amazingly well-constructed and it also tells a compelling, thrilling, and darkly comic story. GTA V is full of these moments, both small and large, which make San Andreas, the city of Los Santos, and the surrounding areas, feel like a living place where anything could happen. One of them shouted at me, “Typical!” as if he was about to be run over by an ATV on the top of a mountain every hike he takes. It was actually a path and I followed it for 15 minutes to the summit. Another time, while driving in an off-road buggy I was distracted by what looked like a path up the San Andreas mountain.
After that, I parachuted out to watch the plane crash into the ocean and escape death at the hands incoming military fighter planes.
The first is from a midgame mission where I flew a plane into a second plane, fought the crew and hijacked it. Two of my favorite moments from Grand Theft Auto V are a summary of its extraordinary scope.