History GrandTheftAutoV / GeneralTropes

* SceneryPorn: From the numerous skyscrapers of Los Santos to the vast countryside, this game is a feast for the eyes. Head up to the Vinewood sign (especially at night, when everything's all lit up) or to the top of Mt. Chiliad, and just sit back and enjoy the amazing draw distance (which is even farther in the UsefulNotes/XboxOne[=/=]UsefulNotes/PS4 version).

* BlindIdiotTranslation: For the first time ''averted'' regarding the Spanish translation of the game: Unlike previous games, when only English or European Spanish subtitles are provided, the Latin American version of the game uses this time the Latin American dialect, rather than the European one. This also creates ''another'' problem: The "Latin American" dialect turns out to be ''Mexican street slang'' (and not the one from Guadalajara, Monterrey, Puebla, Chihuahua, Michoacán or Sinaloa[[labelnote:*]]the latter three are often used in Mexican media to depict criminals[[/labelnote]], but the one used in Mexico City), so non-Mexican Latino players had lot of problems trying to figure out all the slang. Interestingly enough, the Latin American Spanish subs are used in the UsefulNotes/{{Steam}} version, when traditionally European Spanish subs or dubs are used instead.[[note]]Barring [[VideoGame/NarutoShippudenUltimateNinjaStorm4 three]] [[Manga/SaintSeiya glaring]] [[VideoGame/DeusExMankindDivided exceptions]] on this rule.[[/note]]

** The high-end military hardware (the Rhino tank, Buzzard helicopter and LAZER jet) are all incredibly expensive pieces of kit that are hard to acquire and have no practical use beyond causing mayhem. In fact, it's actually quite hard to use the latter two, as the guided missiles take too long to fire and often miss; lining up shots with the cannons is extremely difficult. This is somewhat mitigated in Online, however: once purchased, the Rhino and Buzzard are available for use in Missions, which in some [[ThatOneLevel particularly frustrating cases]] makes them a lot easier.

*** More like they took the [[IncrediblyLamePun Hypocritical Oath]].

** [[Creator/FoxNewsChannel Weazel News]] is back, and as blunt as ever.

** The Carbine Rifle. Nothing fancy about it, but it has a resonable RPM and accurac, can hold up to 60 rounds with extended magazines and has a very good zoom with the scope mod. In the single-player, you'll be using it for the majority of the game, as you unlock it upon completion of the first heist and its successor, the Advanced Rifle, isn't unlocked [[EleventhHourSuperpower until after the final heist]].

** Another example of an absurdly rare vehicle is the Fixter, a sporty pedal bike. This bike has a small chance of spawning during Trevor's Rampage against the [[{{Hipster}} Hipsters]]... and absolutely nowhere else.

** Enemy [[NonPlayerCharacter [=NPC=]s]] are able to [[ImprobableAimingSkills blindfire from cover and still be able to hit you at sniper rifle range.]] This can be especially annoying in ''Online'', where it's not uncommon to be immediately gunned down the moment you step away from cover by [=NPC=]s who are a long distance away. This is especially prevalent when the police start sending helicopters after you. If you kill the pilot or destroy the tail rotor without killing the gunmen in the chopper, they will continue to shoot you as the helicopter crashes.
** Furthermore, the various updates to ''Online'' buffed enemy [=NPC=]s even more. They have [[MadeOfIron the durability of a tank]], [[ComputersAreFast faster reflexes]], and their bullets do more damage to you even when you're wielding the same gun as them. Try to 1v1 an enemy on hard difficulty, and he'll gun you down before you can even raise your weapon.

** The same is true when you're being chased by gangs. Their usually clunky [=SUV=]s and lowriders have no problem keeping up and ramming your supercar. Try going into Los Santos while Michael and Trevor are exiled.

** Vehicles tend to be more durable if [[NonPlayerCharacter [=NPC=]s]] are driving them. The most egregious example is Police Mavericks which if flown by police [[MadeOfIron can easily soak up hundreds of assault rifle rounds without showing signs of damage]], yet if you are flying one all it takes is a [[MadeOfPlasticine dozen or so rounds from pistols for it to start smoking]]. Vehicles driven by [=NPC=]s can start up and operate with few problems no matter how damaged the engine is ignoring the usual aversion of CriticalExistenceFailure.

** For the first time, it's also possible to pilot large aircraft such as [[http://gta.wikia.com/Cargo_Plane cargo]] [[http://gta.wikia.com/Titan planes]] and [[http://gta.wikia.com/Jet passenger airliners]].

* HollerButton: If you enter a car without a weapon equipped, pressing the drive-by button will cause your character to [[FlippingTheBird flip the bird]] at anyone passing by. In single player, pressing right on the D-Pad will also make your character speak to [=NPC=]s near them, with unique dialogue depending on the NPC you're speaking to.

** While it's amusing to see someone die from tear gas, it takes way too long for the gas to deploy to cause death. It is also very obvious, so it gives plenty of heads-up for would-be victims to get away. If you want to flush someone out of cover, you're better off using something less obvious, like a grenade, or faster, like a sticky bomb, or molotov cocktails (provided you can find them). The only useful aspect of tear gas that it bypasses body armor, though it did get a buff in an update which makes killing slow/dumb [=NPC=]s more likely to happen.(Part of the joke is also the fact that it isn't meant to be lethal.)
** The [[http://gta.wikia.com/Tractor Stanley Tractor.]] It's very old, rusted, and it's the slowest vehicle in the game. You can get a unique one with a license plate from the Epsilon program, however.

** According to the [[http://gta.wikia.com/Vasquez GTA wiki]], the lady cop appears in ''Online'' as the target of an assassination mission. Perhaps as a ShoutOut, her surname is "[[Film/{{Aliens}} Vasquez]]".

** [=NPC=]s that are not hostile {{Mooks}} or the police can't seem to handle head-on collisions when driving, even from certain hits that wouldn't damage the protagonists.

* PhotoMode: A bit of unconventional one added with Freemode Events Update in 2015. First, you have to record a clip for at least a couple of seconds with the Director Mode, which lets you modify the enviroment and character poses. Then in the Rockstar Editor menu you can move the camera within a clip and edit image seetings.

* PoliceBrutality: The cops in this game are much more relentless than in previous ones, especially to [=NPC=]s, killing them outright all the time instead of arresting them. They will even attack and hunt down unarmed civilians if they do something as minor as scratching their police car or accidentally hitting them while panicking from other acts of violence.

* ReimaginingTheArtifact: With smart phones becoming far, far more common during ''[=GTA V=]'' 's development than ''[=IV=]'' 's, the phone system was reworked to involve them. In order for this to work with the iFruit, it had to be retconned from the [[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/gtawiki/images/b/ba/800px-IFruit.png/revision/latest?cb=20100824022019 nonfunctional device]] in ''[=IV=]'' to something that resembles the actual iPhone.

** Los Santos Rock Radio features a lot of laid-back soft rock. Music/{{Chicago}}'s "If You Leave Me Now" especially sticks out, except for [[spoiler: its use when Trevor has to drive Patricia Madrazo back home to Martin]]. Amusingly, much earlier in the game, the Doobie Brothers' "What a Fool Believes" starts to play as Trevor is in a rage, but he yells that "This music's ''all fuckin' wrong!''" and dodges this trope by switching the radio to Channel X's more mood-appropriate punk rock.
** Try listening to Rebel Radio while trying to do a race. All's fine until Tammy Wynette's D-I-V-O-R-C-E, a massive ''tearjerker'' of a song, starts to play. You'd best change the channel.

** Some radio stations[[note]]namley the [[http://gta.wikia.com/West_Coast_Talk_Radio two talk]] [[http://gta.wikia.com/Blaine_County_Talk_Radio radio stations]][[/note]] have limited range and cannot be heard across the whole map.

General Tropes | [[GrandTheftAutoV/SinglePlayerTropes0ToD Single Player Tropes 0 to D]] | [[GrandTheftAutoV/SinglePlayerTropesEToM Single Player Tropes E to M]] | [[GrandTheftAutoV/SinglePlayerTropesNToZ Single Player Tropes N to Z]] | [[GrandTheftAutoV/GrandTheftAutoOnlineTropes Grand Theft Auto Online Tropes]]

* CrapsaccharineWorld: Los Santos itself isn't that awful a place when taken on face value, with a number of beautiful neighbourhoods, vibrant nightlife, and close proximity to natural areas, but make no mistake. The game is set in a pastiche of San Andreas plagued by extreme wealth disparity, demagogic politicians who offer no real solutions, and a vapid and brainless culture that obsesses over the rich and famous to the detriment of everything else. The kicker, though, comes in the online mode, where, upon dying for the first time, you are greeted by [[spoiler:Cris Formage, leader of the Epsilon Program, a thinly-veiled parody of the [[ChurchOfHappyology Church of Scientology]]. As it turns out, he really ''does'' have magical powers, which he shares with you (the [[GameplayAndStoryIntegration in-game explanation]] for "passive mode"), and has the last laugh over everybody who called him a charlatan and a cult leader.]] That's right. In the ''GTA'' universe, [[spoiler:Scientology]] is the one true faith. Furthermore, under the facade of such nice scenery is a conglomeration of all the worst traits in [[{{Eagleland}} American culture]]: fame and celebrity obsession, materialism, hypocrisy, xenophobia, narcissism, and more, with virtually every character -- including many minorities -- exhibiting at least one of these. Naturally, the negative portrayal of the minority characters landed the game into quite a bit of controversy, some of it from PoesLaw, some of it because negative portrayals of minorities are (to some) [[OnceAcceptableTarget unacceptable in ANY circumstance,]] setting and context be damned.

** The high-end military hardware (the Rhino tank, Buzzard helicopter and LAZER jet) are all incredibly expensive pieces of kit that are hard to acquire and have no practical use beyond causing mayhem. In fact, it's actually quite hard to use the latter two, as the guided missiles often miss and lining up shots with the cannons is extremely difficult. This is somewhat mitigated in Online, however: once purchased, the Rhino and Buzzard are available for use in Missions, which in some [[ThatOneLevel particularly frustrating cases]] makes them a lot easier.

** The minigun isn't quite what it used to be. While it can blow up vehicles, it doesn't do so nearly as fast as the grenade launcher or RPG. It can't be fired from cover either, so you have to stand out in the open to use it, which is often a death sentence. Furthermore, it chews up ammo really fast, and while it's certainly lethal against people, it's really more overkill than anything. Other guns can kill just as well without nearly as many drawbacks.

** The Carbine Rifle. Nothing fancy about it, but it has good firing rate and accuracy, can hold up to 60 rounds with extended magazines and has a very good zoom with the scope mod. In the single-player, you'll be using it for the majority of the game, as you unlock it upon completion of the first heist and its successor, the Advanced Rifle, isn't unlocked [[EleventhHourSuperpower until after the final heist]].

** The Armored Kuruma has a lot of uses in Online. It's biggest deal is it covers up the windows with metal plates leaving only a small area to hit anybody in the car with and can stand up to normal gunfire indefinitely, which is the only offensive that [=NPCs=] have 99%. A lot of strategies for events/missions that let you use your car in some say boil down to "load everybody into the armored Kuruma, clear out the area with the pistols/[=SMGs=] you can use while in the car" or "drive away with impunity while the enemy can barely hit you".

* BrokenBridge. The first numbered GTA game to avert this, and second overall after ''[[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoChinatownWars Chinatown Wars]]''. GTA V lets you explore the entire map (certain mission-specific interiors excepted) from the moment you gain control of a character.

* CarCushion: Averted to an extent. Fall from a high enough height onto a car and the impact will make the car explode.

** The same is true when you're being chased by gangs. Their clunky [=SUV=]s and lowriders have no problem keeping up and ramming your supercar. Try going into Los Santos while Michael and Trevor are exiled.

** The tanks in Fort Zancudo seem to have sharpshooters controlling them, being able to hit sports cars and muscle cars going over 100 mph.
** Flying the blimp (available as a DLC in some early promotions) has a major risk. Not only is it MadeOfExplodium, but if you fly over restricted airspace (specifically the military base), you will be warned to change course, as per usual, but a jet fighter will instantly spawn behind you and blow you out of the sky before you have a chance to react.

** The Musket introduced in the Independence Day Special does high damage and has good accuracy and range, but it's ''slow'' to reload (roughly 5 seconds) after only one shot. Not an ideal weapon to use against cops.

** The MG. Overall, it's a good weapon. It has good damage, good range, and with extended mags, a large 100-round magazine. However, in singleplayer it falls into this trope. Why? Because its superior, the Combat MG, is unlocked before it.[[note]]To elaborate, the MG is unlocked after The Paleto Score, while the Combat MG is unlocked after Blitz Play. In fact, Michael is given one for free ''during'' said mission (and with a scope and a grip to boot!)[[/note]] This, combined with the MG's lackluster stats compared to the Combat MG, means that the only time the average player might actually use the MG is in Online.

* HandCannon: The Marksman Pistol from the Ill Gotten Gains Part 2 Update. It can take down even armored NOOSE agents in one shot, but the weapon has a slow reload.

* HeWhoMustNotBeSeen: Averted, finally. After being only featured as a radio voice (and real-life behind-the-scenes script writer) since GTA III, [[spoiler: Lazlow finally appears on screen as part of several missions. The player even gets to do nasty things to him, though he can't be killed]].

** The online mode also added a hipster-themed item pack, which includes hipster fashions and hairstyles, "ironic" tattoos, retro cars, and even an antique cavalry dagger and a old-fashioned pistol as new weapons. Its name, of course, is the "I'm Not a Hipster" pack (named after something Trevor says when he rants about Michael calling him a hipster during a storyline cutscene).

* ImprobableAimingSkills: Annoyingly, enemies seems to possess this. Many a player has been iced from dozens of feet away by a {{Mook}} with a basic pistol. Making matters worse, and unlike previous GTA games, the player can be shot while sitting inside a vehicle (previously damage would only be done to the vehicle).

** The Altruist cult have a distate for technology, yet they have a website and are sometimes seen using cars.

** While it's amusing to see someone die from tear gas, it takes way too long for the gas to deploy to cause death. It is also very obvious, so it gives plenty of heads-up for would-be victims to get away. If you want to flush someone out of cover, you're better off using something less obvious, like a grenade, or faster, like a sticky bomb, or molotov cocktails (provided you can find them). The only useful aspect of tear gas that it bypasses body armor, though it did get a buff in an update which makes killing slow/dumb [=NPC=]s more likely to happen.(Part of the joke is also the fact that tear gas is by definition not supposed to be lethal.)

** The Heists Update's gear as well. Wanted to drive an armored sports car for free? Too bad. Want to use a jump jet? No dice. Want a bike with KERS on it? Nope.

* NighInvulnerable: Outside of the mission "Derailed", you cannot stop a moving train. No matter how many tanks or dump trucks are used to block the tunnel it goes through, the train will plow right through them. It can even take several sticky bombs and [=RPGs=]! This can be averted, though, with some well placed stickies in Online mode.

* PoliceBrutality: The cops in this game are much more relentless than in previous ones, especially to [=NPC=]s, killling them outright all the time instead of arresting them. They will even attack and hunt down unarmed civilians if they do something as minor as scratching their police car or accidentally hitting them while panicking from other acts of violence.
** In "The Paleto Score", when the sheriff's department is responding to the bank robbery, one of the deputies tells his partner that he plans to kill the robbers even if they surrender.

** A major example of this trope in contrast to previous GTA games: no longer will police magically forget about you if you enter a safehouse. They will not only follow you inside, but the ability to save is disabled if they still see you.[[note]]Saving when the police don't see you and having at most two stars still removes the wanted level.[[/note]] In previous GTA games, saving your game while in a safehouse automatically removed any wanted level regardless of whether you were seen or had a full wanted level bar.

** Bail out of a moving vehicle and you take heavy damage, often enough to be fatal if you don't have health and armor maxed out (this even applies during a side mission where bailing out is a requirement for gold). In the pre-HD GTA games, player characters could bail out taking little to no damage.

** There is also a side-mission that gives Michael the option of letting a woman go or killing her, with no penalty either way (though the killing option allows him to obtain her rare vehicle).

* BottomlessMagazines: Played with-while there is a limit on how much ammunition you can carry, said limit is still higher than what one should realistically be able to carry on their person. Michael and Trevor carry close to ''9500'' of every ammunition type, while Franklin carries roughly 925. Maxing out all three's shooting stats allows them to carry a whopping ''9999'' bullets for all weapon categories.
** Also, the Sawed-off Shotgun has a capacity of eight shells, even though its cut-down tube magazine should only able to hold two.

** For weapons that use bullets or shotgun shells, the ammunition cap is 9,999 rounds once the "shooting skill" stat is maxed out. For the rocket launcher and grenade launcher, the cap is 20 rounds and for most thrown weapons, the cap is 25. For DLC weapons, the homing rocket launcher is capped at 10 rounds and the proximity mine is capped to 5 units.

* AdultFear: A couple of the random events you can come across revolve around people luring you into traps; two of them are women that seem to be asking for help, only for you to be led into a robbery attempt. However, if you go in armed, they'll quickly drop their pretense and make a break for it. Most new players will only be taken in once tops, those playing with a guide will know better and completely avoid the trap.
** Coming home to find heavily armed men invading your home [[spoiler:and your daughter being held at gunpoint in her own bedroom]]

* ShoutOut: [[ShoutOut/GrandTheftAuto In this page.]]

* SkyPirates: If you acquire an airplane or helicopter and use it to pull of a heist, you more or less become one of these by default.

* SkyPirates: If you acquire an airplane or helicopter, you more or less become one of these by default.

* NotQuiteDead: Enemies who are down but not dead, indicated by them moaning in pain, will do a mag dump with a pistol before dying, assuming you don't get a shot in first to finish them off.