Whereas the map in GTA V encourages speed and wide-open spaces, the encourages slowing down. It rewards players who take the time to look up at the Art Deco architecture or wander through the graffiti-covered tenements.
In GTA: San Andreas and GTA V , the wilderness provides a break from the urban chaos. In GTA 4 , you are trapped in the city. While some players missed the open roads, this lack of an escape route was a narrative choice. The map reinforces the story’s themes of entrapment and the inability to escape one's past. The borders of the map are water, hemming the player in, forcing them to confront the density of the metropolis. map gta 4