Despite releasing almost a decade ago, Grand Theft Auto 5 is still one of the most played games today, with its online component still raking in profits every year. Now, with the GTA Expanded & Enhanced ports arriving for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S, the game has survived three different console generations, which is a pretty unique feat.

When the next-gen versions of GTA were announced, fans weren't all too impressed, but now that the ports have released, a good portion of the player-base is pleasantly surprised with the changes and improvements Rockstar has made. Visual tweaks, framerate improvements, faster loading times, and some much-needed quality of life improvements all combine to make GTA Expanded & Enhanced the best version of the game, and for PlayStation 5 users, there's even more in store.

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How GTA Uses the DualSense

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The PlayStation 5's DualSense controller is one of the console's main selling points. On the lead up to release, much of the PS5's marketing was centered around the DualSense, and how it was a truly next-generation controller, with its innovative haptic feedback and adaptive triggers.

Flash forward just over a year, and the DualSense has been a bit of a mixed bag for some PlayStation fans. In some cases, the DualSense is capable of truly elevating the experience, such as in games like Astro's Playroom or Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, but for other PS5 games, the DualSense functionality has been pretty underwhelming, offering only basic resistance on the adaptive triggers.

Rather surprisingly, GTA Expanded & Enhanced has actually gone out of its way to provide some of the best DualSense functionality in a PS5 game so far. With the next-gen port of GTA also arriving on Xbox Series X/S and PC, it seems surprising that Rockstar has devoted the time into making the experience all the more immersive for PlayStation users, but it's certainly a welcome surprise.

The DualSense's "next-generation" technology can be felt with every action in GTA Expanded & Enhanced. When players are firing a weapon, they'll have to push the adaptive trigger in firmly, imitating the trigger of the gun. While this is pretty standard in most PS5 shooters, GTA goes one step further, changing the tension of the trigger based on how heavy that weapon would be. For example, pulling the trigger on a pistol takes much less physical effort than pulling the trigger on a minigun or rocket launcher. It's a small detail, but it helps to ground GTA's gunplay, which can otherwise be a little clunky at times.

Perhaps the best use of the DualSense in GTA Expanded & Enhanced is how the adaptive triggers affect driving. On a base level, the right trigger offers a little resistance to simulate pushing down the pedal of a car, and accelerating, and the left trigger gives some resistance to simulate braking. However, the real innovation is that the faster the car is moving, the more resistance is applied to the left trigger, meaning that it takes more effort to brake.

The haptic feedback of the DualSense can also be felt throughout GTA Expanded & Enhanced. The low rumblings of a plane engine, the whirring of helicopter rotors, the feel of a gunshot, and everything in between can all be felt in the controller. One of the most impressive haptic feedback details can be experienced when driving through Blaine County's more rocky roads, where each individual rock can be felt underneath the wheel. Similarly, when the player's car inevitably gets damaged, they'll be able to feel the rubber of their wheels shaking erratically. These are all tiny details, and ones that will likely be missed by the vast majority of players, but it just goes to show the amount of effort that Rockstar has actually put into this port.

Grand Theft Auto Expanded & Enhanced is available now on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.

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