Grand Theft Auto 5 is a long-enduring game that is as important to video game culture as games like The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim, partly due to the series' dedicated fanbase and partly because each entry redefined what open-world games can look like. Specifically, Grand Theft Auto 5 was and still remains a ground-breaking game, allowing players to explore an almost fifty-square mile map packed with interesting features, events, places, and people to meet.
While Grand Theft Auto 6 is a ways off, Rockstar Games' most recent entry to the Grand Theft Auto franchise is almost a decade old, with some fans logging thousands of hours even after the game's main story campaign is done. With a game as expansive, open-ended, and oriented towards fun chaos as GTA 5, players have created and discovered "unwritten rules" that define their playthrough. These rules are taught through both typical gameplay and hard lessons learned that the game doesn't make obvious.
Following The Rules of the Road in GTA 5 Won't Take Players Anywhere Fast
While it appears to be ultra-realistic, the open-world landscapes in the Grand Theft Auto franchise are always hardwired for chaos, randomness, and fun. The same goes for Grand Theft Auto 5. Players can cruise through the best areas of GTA 5's Los Santos while obeying the law, but it can be a slog to each destination, especially if pedestrians and other drivers aren't obeying traffic rules - and many of them won't. There are many funny GTA 5 moments featuring players getting sideswiped or hit from the back by another car. When it's easy to steal other cars and recover from accidents, it never hurts to go for speed.
There's A Ridiculous Amount of Extra Content in GTA 5 If Players Explore Blaine County
While it can be easy to cruise through the main campaign, it goes without saying that Grand Theft Auto 5 is packed with stuff to do if gamers know where to look. In fact, there are quite a few GTA 5 side quests that everyone missed. One stand-out side mission involves a creepy cult on the lookout for sacrificial offerings. While playing as Trevor, the player can bring random NPCs to the commune until the cannibalistic "Altruist" cult tries to get Trevor next.
Another incredible side mission involves Michael, who finds a quirky activist named Barry in downtown Los Santos and agrees to take a hit of his joint. Needless to say, the joint is spiked with a hallucinogenic drug that sends Michael into a wild imaginary shootout with a series of space aliens. While it's definitely the most imaginative side quest, it's not the only UFO-themed optional content in GTA 5.
Players Can Make Money Outside of Grand Theft Auto 5's Main Missions
While the foundational premise of the Grand Theft Auto franchise has always been to make the most money doing whatever seems fun, the most recent game takes this to the extreme. From investing in the stock market to robbing armored cars, there is an incredible wealth of opportunities to make a substantial amount of money while in between story missions. For example, with the purchase of the "Sonar Collections Dock", GTA players can use a submarine to hunt for toxic waste in the ocean. Collecting all the waste can net a profit of over $250,000 dollars.
Players can also join the Epsilon Program mega cult. By taking a survey on the cult's website, Michael will be invited to complete a series of missions to prove his commitment. While progressing requires the player to donate a substantial sum of money to the cult, it's definitely worth the cash in the end. During the last mission, Michael is trusted enough to deliver a car containing 2 million dollars to another cult member. The player is freely able to simply drive away with the briefcase of cash, becoming a multi-millionaire over the course of eight simple side missions.
Scoping Out Places To Hide Can Be Invaluable When Escaping A Five-Star Wanted Level
As with the entire Grand Theft Auto franchise, every crime committed in the game results in an increased wanted rating. While it can be reasonably simple to escape the police with a low star rating, it can be challenging to escape a five-star rating. Luckily enough, certain areas are better hiding spots. Some players rely on subway tunnels or moving trains to escape the cops, but it's also possible to run into a barber shop, a large construction area, or a camping area, and then escape. Another helpful place can be inside an ammunition store in GTA 5, which provides unlimited supplies, but some employees are known to help players hold off the police.
Paying Attention to Spawn Points Is The Easiest Way to Get Anything In GTA 5 For Free
There is an incredible number of spawn points for the various equipment, objects, vehicles, and more that players can collect and keep for themselves in story mode. While it can be difficult to figure out where specific things spawn due to the size of the map, making a note of a spawned helicopter in West Los Santos or a Stirling GT in Paleto Bay allows gamers to find them later. Spawn points also exist for guns, armor, scuba diving equipment, dirt bikes, private airplanes, speed boats, and all manner of items in Grand Theft Auto 5 that players would rather not buy. Essentially, all GTA 5 cheats help, even those that simply require intuition and no actual codes.
Grand Theft Auto 5 is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
