So I finally got my xbox 360 back, and the first thing I did was go back to playing the DLC for it. As soon as I finished it, I felt compelled to go back to playing the original story as well. But now that I've been playing GTA for a bit again, I started thinking about what it is that I'd like to see in the next game. Or to be more specific, when I walked past a pizzeria and couldn't go in it let alone order a pizza, I started thinking that in the next Grand Theft Auto I would like to see less places that are there just for show. I want to be able to walk the character I'm controlling into that pizza place, and have him order a pizza. Same goes for all the other places you see in GTA IV but can't do anything with.

In the next GTA, I don't want a new city. Rockstar has proven that it is entirely possible to have more than one story set within Liberty City, so why not expand upon that? Instead of putting time, money and man power into creating an entirely new city, why not just use those recourses to make Liberty even more of a breathing, living city than it already is? Expand upon all the things GTA IV has to offer, with a new character, and a new story. The city already feels quite alive as it is, but I want it to be so even more. Why not make it so that when you steal a car, you immediately get the police after you? Or at the very least have an APB out for you. Not saying that it should be made impossible to be a crook in the next game because that's always been one of the big things about them, but let things have more consequence. I want to walk around in Liberty City and feel like all the NPC's are just as much of a person as I am (if that makes sense), and while there are certainly times that it feels that way, most of the times I still feel like all those people in the game are there for window dressing. It definetely has a lot of cool moments (like just now I saw a guy get run over and people sort of reacted like you'd expect them to), but it could be so much better, so much richer.

That is what I want out of the next GTA. A richer, deeper and more vibrant Liberty City. Even more so than it is now.

So I finally got my xbox 360 back, and the first thing I did was go back to playing the DLC for it. As soon as I finished it, I felt compelled to go back to playing the original story as well. But now that I've been playing GTA for a bit again, I started thinking about what it is that I'd like to see in the next game. Or to be more specific, when I walked past a pizzeria and couldn't go in it let alone order a pizza, I started thinking that in the next Grand Theft Auto I would like to see less places that are there just for show. I want to be able to walk the character I'm controlling into that pizza place, and have him order a pizza. Same goes for all the other places you see in GTA IV but can't do anything with.

In the next GTA, I don't want a new city. Rockstar has proven that it is entirely possible to have more than one story set within Liberty City, so why not expand upon that? Instead of putting time, money and man power into creating an entirely new city, why not just use those recourses to make Liberty even more of a breathing, living city than it already is? Expand upon all the things GTA IV has to offer, with a new character, and a new story. The city already feels quite alive as it is, but I want it to be so even more. Why not make it so that when you steal a car, you immediately get the police after you? Or at the very least have an APB out for you. Not saying that it should be made impossible to be a crook in the next game because that's always been one of the big things about them, but let things have more consequence. I want to walk around in Liberty City and feel like all the NPC's are just as much of a person as I am (if that makes sense), and while there are certainly times that it feels that way, most of the times I still feel like all those people in the game are there for window dressing. It definetely has a lot of cool moments (like just now I saw a guy get run over and people sort of reacted like you'd expect them to), but it could be so much better, so much richer.

That is what I want out of the next GTA. A richer, deeper and more vibrant Liberty City. Even more so than it is now.

The DLC serves this purpose already, Lost and Damned adds minor details you might not notice, like buildings you didn't notice before.

It doesn't really serve that purpose. Yes it adds some minor details, but most places are still inaccesible. There are still a whole bunch of restaurants and other buildings that are there just for show. What I want out of the next GTA is for the developers to really take it to the next level and let me interact with pretty much everything I see. No more places that are there just for show. I see a restaurant or other public venue, I want to be able to go in there and order something.

I personally wouldn't want it like this until the gameplay and technology caught up to the point where all of this would make sense and be enjoyable. I would never see the point of just going into a random shop or restaurant and ordering something in a game. Sure, it might make the experience that tiny bit more realistic but is that really what you would want developers dedicating time and resources to? I would rather they spend that time creating a new city and story because I'm honestly a little bit bored of Liberty City now.