Have you ever wondered what it feels like to skydive out of a cargo plane while watching it gracefully crash behind you against the backdrop of a sunset? Well, you’ll probably never know that feeling, but the closest you can get to that experience is by playing Grand Theft Auto 5.

Possibly one of the greatest games of all time, GTA 5 delivers a wide array of missions, activities, secrets, vehicles, landscapes, weapons, and random encounters. Other games do not employ such a variety of activities, let alone deliver the same graphics. Sure, there are some visually stunning games out there, but any other game as a whole does not compare to Grand Theft Auto 5.

A perfect example of a great runner-up is The Last of Us. It is a very engaging game that develops a lot of its characters. The story follows a linear pattern that is easy to follow and also provides an improved type of combat. But it doesn’t have an open world from which one can venture off anywhere on a huge interior and exterior map. GTA 5 does.

GTA5 also implements little details in each building and street that make the sight worthwhile and makes every mission feels like a new scenario. Earlier Grand Theft Auto games employed a multitude of monotonous missions, each with the same objective.

Then there is the writing. Some might say the game is too explicit in its language, and while that might be true, it ultimately does not detract from the humor and outlandish behavior of the protagonists – another of the game’s great strengths. These three, while also killers and psychopaths, provide a sensational experience for the person playing the game.

Trevor Phillips, Michael De Santa, and Franklin Clinton are the three characters one can play as throughout the game. A player can switch between each of them at any point in the game, and once they do, a sort of Google Earth view appears that maps out where their new protagonist is and what he’s doing at that time. Each character also has his own special abilities, from slowing down time while driving in order to avoid moving vehicles (Franklin), to slowing down time when engaging in gunfights (Michael), to going into a violent rage during which he can experience less damage or inflict more damage to enemies (Trevor). Trevor is also the funniest, caught in the most awkward of situations.

Whether he’s passed out at the beach while drunk wearing his underwear, waking up on train tracks, or pursued by the cops, Trevor never disappoints.

Additionally, the music changes according to the situation. The map is huge, including both interior and outdoor spaces. The graphics are astounding as well, tremendously improved from Grand Theft Auto IV, which was released in 2008. The Los Santos (loosely Los Angeles) and Blaine County (Southern California desert counties) landscapes prove exquisite for the player’s eye. Each distinct area has a colorful cast of civilians who will curse at you or flick you off at any given moment. Life is beautiful.

Every videogame company should take note of Rockstar’s newest masterpiece. This is the direction that video games will be going in for a long time. Rockstar has set the standard.

Whether it’s walking down the in-game Hollywood Boulevard watching tourists pose with Spiderman, or investing in the stock market, or playing golf, scuba diving, car customization, taking your rage out on every car and inhabitant in the state, or somewhere in between; anyone and everyone interested in immersing themselves in a world of tranquility and wrath will happily know they will not be disappointed.