There is a great game in there somewhere. The open world, story and driving are all terrific, but it's dragged down by shallow shooting mechanics and terrible mission structure where you can fail the mission if you try approaching them differently. It's kind of ironic how a game about you being an outlaw requires you to follow the game's laws so strictly. The online is also absolutely lousy. It's at least fun with friends.
As long as the storyline is carrying me along, this game is a blast. The driving is by far the most exciting in any GTA, and the city of Los Santos feels like a rich, living city, as long as I have a purpose moving me through it. It's just that something about the narrative and game structure make every moment of discontinuity feel like a great time to put the game down forever.
Only played singleplayer and GTA 5 is a tremendous step forward from GTA 4 in almost every regard. Gorgeous, well optimized, fantastic city full of life and details and an interesting (although somewhat underused on the heists missions) 3 character interactions. The story is nothing to write home about but the writing itself is very solid.
The first and only GTA I've played all the way through. I remember messing around with San Andreas over at a friend's house when that came out. I remember having a ton of fun then. This time around it more felt like I needed to finish it because GTA is such a huge franchise. I don't remember much about it, and what I do remember are things where I didn't enjoy it. I guess my "gamer card" can say that I've beaten a GTA so I can get more "cred", but I don't know if I'll play another one.