GTA V Gameplay Info Explosion - Everything You Need to Know

41
Lee Bradley

A whole boatload of Grand Theft Auto V news has appeared across the net, offering the first real juicy details on the open-world crime caper’s gameplay. The avalanche of info heralds the return of San Andreas’ skill system and Vice City’s property buying, as well as new details on side-missions, mini-games, map size, special character abilities and more.

Let’s start with those special abilities. Each of the main protagonists has a unique skill, which they are capable of using only when they have filled a special meter. So for example, Michael, the rich but dissatisfied ex-bank robber, is capable of slowing down time during gunfights, in a similar manner to John Marston in Red Dead Redemption. 

Meanwhile, Franklin, the gangsta’ repo man, can pull off a similar trick while driving, allowing players to swerve out of the way of oncoming traffic. And last up, Trevor, the follically-challenged hillbilly nut job, is a bit of a tank, capable of dishing out twice the damage and receiving half as much as the other characters while in a kind of berserker rage.

Players are able to jump between controlling these three characters at will, whenever they like. In some sequences the game will shift perspective for you, but for the most part you’re free to choose. A side-bonus of this approach allows players to effectively fast-travel across the game’s map.

This transition is handled via a quick zoom out to a Google Earth-style view of the area, then a zoom back down to the location of the newly selected character. When Franklin, Michael and Trevor are all in the same location, however, the shift is instantaneous.

So, just how big is that map? Well, according to Rockstar, including the underwater areas, it’s five times the size of Red Dead Redemption’s world and it’s all accessible from the outset. There’s none of that gating business employed by Grand Theft Auto IV.

GTA V also marks the return of a couple of game mechanics from previous Grand Theft Auto games. Amongst these is the return of San Andreas’ skill system. It hasn’t been fully detailed yet, but expect your character’s abilities to scale up according to how much you engage in a particular activity.

The skill sets are; Stamina, Shooting, Strength, Stealth, Flying, Driving, Mechanic and Lung Capacity. Stealth is of particular interest, as it suggests there will be alternative ways to complete missions, rather than just going in blasting.

Details are similarly light on the return of Vice City’s property acquisition. However, we do know that players will be allowed to buy everything from garages to businesses, night clubs, marinas and houses in an effort to raise more cash.

Characters can be personalised too, thanks to a set of customisation tools. You can give the three protagonists makeovers with haircuts, tattoos and clothing changes. The same can be said of the game’s weapons and cars too. The former can be augmented with equipment like scopes and silencers, while you can alter the latter at Pay ‘n Sprays with new grills, spoilers and the like.

Away from the main story, there’s plenty of activities to take part in too. You can pick up hitchhikers, base-jump, hunt, go off-road racing, play golf, hijack security vans, go bike racing, take part in ATM robberies, play tennis, go diving and a bunch else besides. 

Apparently, the game’s underwater areas are teeming with fish, sharks and treasure. It doesn’t look like we’re going to want to things to do in Los Santos and the surrounding areas.

The city itself features fives times the amount of NPCs as GTA IV and boasts an impressive level of detail. As ever there as many gags on popular culture, including piss-takes of Master Chief (Space Ranger) and Superman (Impotent Rage). You can also take a coach tour of celebrity neighborhoods.

Last up, Rockstar has gone to great efforts to improve the quality of the combat too, with a wider field of vision, the ability to run and gun and the introduction of a combat roll to dive in and out of cover. Phew.

So GTA V has a hell of a lot going on then, and we’re expecting a whole load more to be revealed before the game launches on September 17th. Make no mistake about it, this is the most-anticipated game of the year and quite possibly the most exciting of this generation. We’re hyped.

Comments
41
  • Stop the damn teasing! :( Damn.. This is going to be amazing!
  • This sounds amazing cant wait for this game.
  • This is all great news about the game but who else feels like they are on the verge of announcing a tacked on multiplayer?
  • I think I just wet myself of excitement.
  • @3 Back when Game Informer had the initial blowout of the game, they mentioned there would be multiplayer.
  • I came.
  • Can't wait! But did they really have to do special abilities? Sounds like a completely random add to the game.
  • @3 What exactly do you mean by that? Multiplayer was fucking great in GTAIV and Red Dead Redemption. I still go back and play them from time to time.
  • Lets hope there's that much to do in the single player campaign that there's no room for multiplayer trophies.
  • This is my most anticipated game since 2008-2009. After GTA 4 & both the DLC episodes came out. This game is gonna be simply amazing
  • Franklin and Trevor abilities are ok, cause Franklin is a great driver and Trevor a complete insane, but Michael's...
  • Game of the year by far.
  • #8 He means that since it wasn't announced above, will they just tack on a multiplayer that isn't like past RockStar Mp's. But i say no, because Rockstar isn't that kind of developer.
  • Interested to hear about the game's radio stations.
  • The main thing i'm wondering about GTA V is if it will be coming to next-gen ?
  • "There’s none of that gating business employed by Grand Theft Auto IV." Excuse me but GTA 3, Vice City, and San Andreas did it too so :p ANYWAY, I'm getting this regardless. I'm interested to see the bands listed for their Rock/Metal stations as well since that's what I listen to.
  • @15 It's been said numerous times that it's for Xbox 360 and PS3 only.
  • @6 STFUy
  • Too big? The world sounds huge, there better be a lot of fast travel stations and no missions that require you to travel from one end of the map to the other. This sounds great but it will be one of those games that require 5 minutes of loading just to get into the game then a lot of pop up details and it can't possibly work well. Especially when GTA4 was full of problems and this will be 5x bigger?!
  • As long as they don't have the whole "dating" mechanic. They're good for various perks but I never really had to use them.
  • Hope they dont take too many liberties with my time .) Either way, sure it will be a wild and memorable ride xD!!!!
  • @20: An article on Kotaku today confirmed that the dating aspect of GTA IV has been removed.
  • It all sounds amazing!! Ahhh can't handle the wait! Although I'm not too sure about the special abilities but if that's my only problem then I'll be fine.
  • What is gating??? Anyway i'm gonna preorder this I hope GAME do an offer! :)
  • I remember feeling this excited for San Andreas, lol
  • I haven't bought a game since Skyrim in the summer and I only play games about once a week on average but I am so excited about this! This and possibly the walking dead, Fifa 14 or 15, mass effect 3 (if i end up finishing 2) and fallout 4 (whenever that arrives) are the only games I'm going to buy in the next 5 or so years i think
  • @14 i think there is meant to be a flying lotus radio station if you know who he is (he is amazing so for me i hope there is!)
  • THIS Is how you end a gaming generation
  • This game will be overwhelming.
  • I just need to know will there be 80's radio station and what songs will it have. But aside from that I can't wait for this game.
  • @30 i hope if gta 5 is out on the ps4 you can play your own music in the cars, then you can play anything you want.
  • I have never been more excited for a game. Can't wait!
  • I've been missing the RPG elements since San Andreas. THanks for bringing them back!
  • this generation is gonna go out with a bang !! can not wait for !!
  • Cant wait
  • seriously hope theres no multiplayer. sick of games trying to incorporate multiplayer into games like this. if we wanted to play multiplayer we'd move back into our parents basement lose all forms of maturity and preorder every call of duty for the next ten years.
  • Its nice and all that everybody tells us what we can and cant do in the game but i wanna see some gameplay footage and no cutscene trailers. Also, every game nowadays has an unwanted multiplayer with even more unwanted multiplayer trophies.
  • @36 For me THIS is the game that must have multiplayer... I don't really like player vs player multiplayers (COD Battlefield etc) and I prefer co-op or sandbox ones. The latter is my all-time favourite. I still go back to GTA IV multiplayer every once a while but I wish it had better free mode. I have high hopes on GTA V multiplayer and I think it will be awesome!
  • @36 ha gaaaaaaay!!! :P
  • Sounds great. Restore my faith after gta4 R* if anyone can it's you
  • I know I'm late but...I just wanted to say this will be the best game this gen. Can't wait!
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