PC gamers who are fans of the Grand Theft Auto series of games have something exciting to look forward to this year when Grand Theft Auto V (finally) releases for PC on March 24. The game, which was originally released for Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 in 2013, has been completely remastered, giving fans who have already played the original version of the game plenty of new content and an improved gaming experience.
The game became instantly popular upon its initial launch, which was only a couple months before the Playstation 4 and Xbox One were also released. This prompted many fans who had upgraded their systems to want a version of the game for their new consoles. Then last year Rockstar Games announced that the game would be coming to the new platforms as well as PC. The remastered game was re-released for PS4 and Xbox One on November 18 2014 with the PC version being set back for a 2015 release.
One aspect of the game that fans are particularly excited about is the cheat codes that can be used to significantly alter some elements of game play (and yes, what this website is essentially all about!). Cheat codes have always been popular with GTA fans and some of the most popular cheats for GTA V give players the ability to change the weather, or give the game world moon gravity. Of course, the ever-popular cheats that give you maximum health or allow you to spawn new vehicles are also there. It’s easy to see why cheat codes would make the game even more fun than it already is because it gives you a high level of control over many of the elements that make it so popular.
An interesting question though, is how fans will be able to enter cheat codes on the PC version of the game. With the Xbox One and PS4 console versions, you have two main ways you can enter codes: control button combinations and by entering phone numbers into the in-game phone of your character. Using cell phone numbers has added an element of fun by giving the phone a purpose that significantly affects gameplay, it is also how cheats codes have been traditionally entered in previous GTA games like Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. That said though, being able to use controller button combinations is actually easier most of the time. Note that the first two platform releases of GTA V, on the Xbox 360 and PS3, only allow cheats to be entered via controller button combinations.
Turning to the PC version though, while it's likely that phone number cheats will be made available (as they have been with the other remastered versions — on Xbox One and PS4), the question is whether there will be additional means of cheat entry, like via the keyboard. We note that GTA: SA had cheat entry via the keyboard too (with usually a couple of different codes being available to activate a specific cheat), and as we said earlier, using the cell phone to enter cheats can be time consuming and difficult in the middle of a car chase or gun fight.
Using the in-game phone for entering cheat codes is definitely a fun addition to the game, but reducing cheat code entry to just phone numbers will likely just frustrate players who may find they enjoy the console versions better for this reason. It’s easy to envision why phone numbers may be the only option because if you’re just using your PC keyboard, you’re not working with a controller and button combinations. However, you'd hope Rockstar also wants players to have the best gaming experience possible, and that would make it unlikely that the PC version would lack something the remastered console versions have — the ability to type in keyboard entries for cheat codes.
For a list of all GTA 5 PC cheat codes, click here. GTA 5 for PC releases March 24 this year. You can pre-order it at your favorite retailer here.
