Hmm.
All I have to say about GTA-V is that I bought it for the PS3 -- and I think it was the last PS3 game I bought before getting a PS4.
I can't recall ever playing the PS3 any more, after that happened.
And after reaching the end of the game (well, plot-wise), I thought it was generally quite good. Yet, not good enough for me to get the PS4 or PC versions. Even $30 (on sale) is asking a bit much just for improved graphics. (Well, I did do that for The Witcher 3. But that's different, because I say it is.)
The radio stations were all on a spectrum from being "meh somewhat tolerable" stations on one side, and "FUCK. NO." stations being on the other side -- and most were in the latter category.
The game did lose some surreal aspects present in the older GTA games, including goofy physics and over-the-top character personalities.
I think what it comes down to is that GTA-V seemed more like a criminal movie production than a fun old crime spree game.
And it was a movie that was quite okay to watch --- once.
Red Dead Redemption was great. I was quite surprised at how good it was. Some of the game's missions seemed a bit repetitive, but there was plenty of other very worthy stuff that made up for it. I'm hoping they don't fuck up Red Dead Redemption 2.
Skyrim was a good game to get lost in. Between all of the fixed events (e.g., quests) and random events (e.g., being attacked by animals or assassins), you never quite new what kind of situation you'd find yourself in. Or you might just sit and read the books you find in the game for an hour or more. The combat and movement in general, however, were very clunky and felt outdated.
Other than Read Dead Redemption, the only other truly great games I've played during the past 5-6 years or so are Bloodborne and the Dark Souls series (1, 2, and 3). Their reputation for being difficult and/or punishing is somewhat arbitrary. Yeah, they're tough until you develop timing and strategies. Then they're not so difficult. More than any of that, I appreciate the amount of thought and depth of detail put into each of the games. Architectural detail, map layouts, the power balancing and mechanics of various character builds, the lore, the epic boss battles (and the accompanying soundtracks)... these all bore marks of genuine creativity and acuity.
The Witcher 3 was good, too -- although the first area of the game (White Orchard) was more of an hours-long tutorial than being anything very memorable.
Turn-based strategy games are generally okay, though they can be very different from one another in terms of objectives and the means to complete those objectives. I don't have much appreciation for shooter games (first-person or third-person), nor do I care much for sports games at all. (Some of the old NES/SNES sports games were fun, though.) Kinda done with fighters, too.
