What can be said about this game, this series, that hasn't already been said? It's a cultural phenomenon the likes of which is rarely seen. It's a moneymaking powerhouse of astonishing scale, rocketing to a billion dollars of sales in just three days - the fast entertainment release in history to reach that. The number of hours sunk into these games is stupendous. From the original top down to the blisteringly gorgeous, entirely remade San Andreas in 5 the series has rarely faltered, and this is one of the most astonishing offerings yet.
First, it's vast. We're used to open-world environments being large. Skyrim is large. But San Andreas is titanic. And every inch of it is packed with Rockstar's trademark attention to detail, care, and irreverence. As if to emphasize the scale you now control not one but three protagonists, long-suffering Michael De Santa, effective but misguided Franklin Clinton, and psychopathic lunatic Trevor Philips - you can switch between them mostly at will, often during missions, offering you the chance to explore the world from different perspectives and making use of their different skills.
There was a lot of criticism of GTA IV due to its perceived pessimism being at odds with the inherent fun of open-world crime games, and V goes a long way to address that. It's no Saint's Row, but the missions are much closer to the beloved, maniacal realm of GTA San Andreas than IV was. And no matter what you want to do GTA V can probably accommodate, whether it's killing sprees, bank heists (and oh how glorious those centerpieces are), tennis, golf, realty, playing the stock market, assassinations, stealing military jets, going submarining, the list goes on. I've heard GTA V referred to as "dress-up for men" and between the different outfits, homes, hairstyles, and gun and car customization options it's a very sound title. There's very, very little reason not to get this game right now.