14 DAY TRIAL // 
GTA Online is a weird beast, a game mode attached to Grand Theft Auto V that’s been promoted by the development team at Rockstar as an extension of the recently launched open world game that can deliver a set of entirely new experiences.
The idea is that players will be able to create an avatar and then inhabit an online world that includes another 15 players, where they are able to execute missions, gain reputation and money, build big gunfights or simply explore and enjoy the sights.
The character creation process is one of the most interesting I have ever seen and a real testament to the ambition that Rockstar has for GTA Online.
The potential for variety is great, but at the same time, the player does not actually have full control over his looks because parents, grandparents and their genetic combinations are involved.
At the same time, a mix of preferred activities will be used in order to give a new character a set of skills that he can use once inside the actual game.
The only problem with character creation is that there’s a little noticeable lag when a change is made and the controller is clearly not the best way to handle such a complex process.
Once GTA Online is launched, it forces players into a tutorial that’s pretty close in terms of tone and challenge to the first few missions of the single player.
Players can meet other gamers and can then choose to cooperate to achieve objectives so that they earn reputation and money or they can choose to engage in a fight in order to test their capabilities and skill.
There are also jobs to perform, the best way to get money (other than to spend real-world dollars) and increase in rank, which in turn opens up more options for properties, cars, weapons and customization.
The range of events goes from car races, vehicle deathmatches and heists to parachute jumps, water races and more.
Rockstar has even added a mode that allows players to simply roam the city and look at the beauty of Los Santos.
The city is open and inviting and it’s very easy to become focused on the equipment and experience chase and loose hours playing GTA Online, looking for a new job to do, a race to join or a deathmatch to test one’s skill in.
The problem is that the experience also feels totally unfocused at the moment and it’s really easy to get discouraged by players ready to do anything to win and by the fact that a big real-world money or time investment is required to stay entirely competitive.
At the moment, GTA Online is also affected by plenty of technical problems, probably mainly linked to the fact that most if not all those who have bought Grand Theft Auto V are trying to get into their multiplayer virtual worlds.
It’s a pity that the team and publisher Take Two have failed to predict the infrastructure requirements and to deliver a smooth experience from day one, but the situation will likely improve as developers fix bugs and overall demand drops a little.
Rockstar has already promised that it will deliver an editor to give players a chance to create their own complex jobs and scenarios, which should broaden the scope of the game.
GTA Online is an ambitious idea, but it will probably be just a short term diversion for most GTA V fans, because it gives them more freedom but it falls to offer any solid reason to use that freedom for more Los Santos based action.
