I know very little about video games other than Flight Simulator(s) and BeamNG Drive. But Grand Theft Auto fascinates me from a distance. I've heard that GTA 5 maps are huge (Los Santos is apparently 3 to 5 times the size of Roane County, TN); and now this peaks my curiosity. Can I buy the game to just pick a car and drive aimlessly around to my heart's content (like I do in BeamNG)? Or is it strictly "career mode", where you have to follow structured story lines, purchase cars with points you've earned in the game... and you otherwise don't just drive around anywhere for the sake of driving? Just curious before I think about buying it. Thank you for any input someone can provide.
Would I be able to play GTA V using my Logitech Extreme 3D Pro joystick. It's all I've know since getting into flight sim back in 2009. I don't own an XBOX controller, and they seem like they would be very odd to control the game with, if I've never used one before. And keyboard and mouse seems like a clunky way to do this as well. I hope a joystick can be used. Thanks.
I'll start by saying I've never tried that as an input source but I could see the Joystick possibly working well for free-roam use such as walking/driving/flying, maybe swimming as well (since it is essentially a larger version of a thumbstick). I don't know if using the Joystick would be easy for the main aspect of gameplay, including the first couple of intro missions which involve a certain degree of action, but using the mouse as the camera movement and depending how many functional buttons are available on your Joystick, it may not be too hard once your use to it. Ultimately, if you decide to go for the controller route then you'll find that the game is generally easy to manage. The button placement and uses for the controls are less confusing than they may seem and the game does a good job at prompting you about what buttons to use if an action becomes available. Keep in mind that the GTA games were generally built around using a controller (most, if not all of them started on console and were later released for PC at some point) so it's a safe bet that you'll be comfortable when playing with one
Okay, I'm beginning to see the wisdom in going with the game controller. I've seen some guides on how to make a joystick work with GTA, and the steps required are not so simple. Thank you for your reply.
I find personally that the Keyboard is actually sufficient, since I find running/shooting easier on a mouse (personally), and the car handling is arcade-y enough to get by with just a keyboard.
