What GTA V could learn from the movie Heat

For those who don't know,  Heat was a film released in 1995 starring Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, and Val Kilmer. Though not receiving much attention at the time, the film is now considered one of the great gangster heist flicks. At first glance you may wonder why these two entities are being compared. Rockstar has come out and said that they are making GTA V a heist driven game. Heat epitomizes what has to be done right, to make that formula successful in GTA V. Here is my breakdown of what that has to include.

Make Us Conflicted With Strong Character Drama

In the film Heat, Pacino plays a strong willed cop who will put his relationship with his wife and step-daughter on hold, to try to stop the bad guys. On the flip side is De Niro, the orchestrator of his heist team and all around hard ass. De Niro is technically the bad guy in this situation, but the whole movie you find yourself rooting for him and his pals to succeed. You understand why they are doing what they are doing, even if you know it is wrong. Being invested in morally conflicted characters helps keep you invested in the story. GTA V must do this with Michael, Trevor, and Franklin. In the past, Rockstar has come up with some fantastic lead characters,  Niko Belic and John Marston, are just a few examples of this. However, they are not always so high caliber. I was not a fan of Cole Phelps in L.A. Noire, for instance. Now, in GTA V there are three central characters to worry about. I am pretty confident Rockstar will deliver in this department overall, but I am slightly worried that one of the characters will inherently not be as strong as the other two. I am sure eveyone will have a favorite character regardless, once the game comes out. Still, I hope they try to keep the three of them balanced. There is absolutely huge storytelling potential with three main characters, so let's keep our fingers crossed that its awesome.

A Strong Supporting Cast is Good Too

As I mentioned De Niro heads his group of cronies as they perform high stakes heists. As the story movies along though, you come to know the wives and girlfriends, and friends of these characters. You come to realize that these hard boiled criminals still have people they care for. This is not to say they are blameless however. In Heat, Val Kilmer's wife lies to the police to allow her on-the-run husband to escape custody. If Rockstar really wants to hit a home run with GTA V and its lead characters, we need to get a look into their normal lives, and see what makes them tick. GTA games have had dating options in the past, but it was mostly a throw away. In V, make the player care about who they keep around them, and reward the player for doing so. I don't know about you, but dates got pretty boring in GTA IV after I got the achievement for beating my date in billiards. I am not saying I want better mini-games, but I would like to flesh out the idea of having a significant other in the game. It would also be interesting to see the differences between the three lead men and how they act around women, I feel like Trevor might not do so well...

Make the Heists Epic

I do not toss the term epic around lightly. I never use it in reference to some "fail," or any other form of hyperbole. Therefore, when I say epic I mean EPIC. By far my favorite part of GTA IV was the museum robbery mission with Packy. That mission was so fun, and yet there was a sense of gravity to it all. I had a sinking feeling in my stomach that something could go horribly wrong at any minute. This is where the film Heat comes into play. The best part of this film is when De Niro and friends go to rob a bank. Everything is going fine until Pacino and the cops get a tip about what is going down. If you have never seen this scene, watch it. It does not get much better than this...

I mean holy....Can you imagine if missions in GTA V felt like that?! It would be so awesome I would find it hard to conceal my arousal. In all seriousness though, if GTA V could nail the look and feel of that scene in the game, Rockstar would be able to pat themselves on the back for a job well done. Not every robbery is clean and simple. The uneasiness the player would feel going into every big heist mission would really help to elevate, and suck you into the story. The echo of the gunshots in the streets of L.A is something I will never forget about Heat. Now imagine that same feeling in Los Santos. These two forms of media are like a match made in heaven.

The Potential is There

I for one cannot wait to get more news about GTA V. I know it is one of the most anticipated games of my lifetime. Needless to say, there is a crazy amount of hype right now, which could lead to disappointment. However, if Rockstar looks to Heat, and films like it, they will be fine. With the recent delay, rumors have been swirling that GTA V might release on next-gen systems in addition to the PS3 and 360. If thats true, the power behind these new systems could really make this game into something very special. So next time you see a GTA V story, think of that shootout scene from Heat, and try not to smile at the possibilities.