*ALL THE CREDIT OF GATHERING INFO AND CREATING THREAD GOES TO ME 
GAME HIGHLIGHTS
Developers/Publishers: Rockstar Games
Distributors: Take-Two
Producer: Leslie Benzies
Artist: Aaron Garbut
Writer: Dan Houser
Platform(s): Playstation 3 and Xbox 360
Release Date: 17th Sep, 2013
OFFICIAL Website: Grand Theft Auto V
GAMEPLAY
Grand Theft Auto V is an action-adventure game played in third person. The player uses melee attacks, weapons and explosives to fight enemies, and can run, jump, swim, or use vehicles to navigate the game's world. In combat, auto aim and a cover can be used as assistance against enemies. A perpetual objective for the player is to complete missions to progress through the story, but much like other open world games, these missions can be completed at the player's leisure. If the player commits illegal acts while playing, a response by the authoritative forces may be provoked. The response from these forces is represented by a "Wanted" meter; should the player continue to commit crimes or respond with aggression, the meter accumulates stars, and the efforts by the authoritative forces to incapacitate the player become more proactive. The meter recedes should the player escape the search area in which they are wanted, which is displayed on the mini-map.
The single-player mode of Grand Theft Auto V is played through three player-controlled protagonists; Michael, Trevor and Franklin, criminals whose stories interconnect as they complete missions. While interacting with the game world, the player may switch between them at will, by means of a directional compass on the (HUD); Franklin corresponds to the north point, Michael to the west, Trevor to the east and the player's multiplayer avatar to the south. During missions, the game may switch the player's character automatically as necessary in order to complete certain objectives. A character's avatar will flash red if they are in danger and need assistance either manually or through covering fire from another, and flash white if that character has a strategical advantage or position which may aid the player's success in the mission. Each player-controlled character has a set of eight skills, which are numerical representations of their ability in certain areas, such as shooting and driving. For each character, the eighth "special" skill determines their effectiveness in performing an ability that is unique to the respective character; Michael will enter bullet-time in combat, Franklin will slow down time while driving, and Trevor will deal twice as much damage to enemies while taking half as much in combat. There is a meter on each character's HUD which depletes when an ability is being used and gradually regenerates over time when the ability is not being used[SUP]. [/SUP]Though the player can complete missions as any of the three protagonists, some of the game's more difficult missions may require aid from AI-controlled accomplices who have unique skill sets such as computer hacking or driving, and they will take a cut from the mission's cash reward upon completion. Employing different strategies toward the completion of a mission is also encouraged by the game; for example, in a holdup mission the player may subdue civilians with an agent if stealth is favored, or storm the venue with guns drawn.
In Grand Theft Auto V, the player may take cover behind objects in firefights to avoid taking damage from enemies.
The game is presented as an open world; it is a large, open map which can be freely roamed when the player is not partaking in missions. Composed of an open countryside area and the fictional city of Los Santos, the world is considerably larger than earlier entries in the series. The player can utilise a variety of vehicles to explore the game world, and to accommodate for the size of the map, the game introduces vehicle types that were absent in its predecessor GTA IV, such as fixed-wing aircraft. While free roaming the game world, the player can partake in activities which are context-specific; for example, the player is given a scuba set to explore the underwater sections of the world, or a parachute to partake in BASE Jumping. Each character is equipped with a smartphone which can be used to contact friends, engage in activities and access an in-game internet. The Internet can be used to purchase properties such as homes and businesses, and access a stock market which allows the player to be a stakeholder in businesses; each character can earn income by purchasing businesses and selling shares. The player can purchase upgrades for the weapons and vehicles in each character's arsenal, and customize their appearance by purchasing outfits, haircuts, tattoos and jewelry.
The game includes a multiplayer mode, Grand Theft Auto Online, which allows up to sixteen players to free roam a recreation of the single-player setting. Players can engage with each-other in various activities, such as races and bank heists. For many of these activities, the parameters can be determined by players, such as creating tracks for races, and specifying spawn points for weapons in deathmatches. Competitive multiplayer pits teams of players, known as crews, against each-other in deathmatch modes. Crews from the multiplayer of MAX PAYNE 3 can carry over to Grand Theft Auto Online, as the Rockstar Social connects the multiplayer experiences together. A player can be a member of up to five crews or create their own, and success in multiplayer matches earns the player experience points for their crew, allowing them to progress in online leader-boards. The Grand Theft Auto Online service becomes available for players on 1 October 2013, and the team will continue to develop content for the service after it launches.
STORY/SETTING
The open world of Grand Theft Auto V is the fictional state of San Andreas, which is modelled on Southeren California. San Andreas was also used as the setting for an earlier entry in the series, San Andreas (2004), which included three cities separated by open countryside. The world of Grand Theft Auto V, however, includes only one city, Los Santos. By focusing their efforts on one city instead of three, the team at Rockstar North were able to produce Los Santos in higher quality and of greater scale. For both games, Los Angeles was used as the model for Los Santos, but the team felt that the ambition of having three cities in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas was too great and that the game didn't emulate the cities as well as they had hoped. Vice president and writer Dan Houser elaborated that "to do a proper version of L.A., [...] the game has to give you a sense of that sprawl — if not completely replicate it", and dividing the budget and manpower between multiple cities would have detracted from capturing "what L.A. is". Art director Aaron Garbut felt that in the PS2 era the team didn't have the technical capabilities to capture Los Angeles properly, resulting in the Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas rendition of Los Santos feeling like a "backdrop or a game level with pedestrians randomly milling about". Therefore, the team disregarded Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas as a jumping-off point for Grand Theft Auto V as they had moved on to a new generation of consoles since the former and wanted to build the city from scratch. Instead, they used present day Los Angeles as the model for Los Santos. As Garbut explained, with the move to the PS3 and Xbox 360 hardware, "our processes and the fidelity of the world [had] evolved so much from San Andreas" that using it as a model would have been redundant. Los Angeles was extensively researched for the game. The team organised field research trips with tour guides and architectural historians and captured around 250,000 photos and hours of video footage during these visits. They also studied virtual globe models of the city, census data and documentaries to recreate the geographical and demographic spread of Los Angeles.
Not only did the team attempt to realise a modern Los Angeles, they also created an open recreation of Southern California which includes a vast countryside surrounding Los Santos. A goal for the team was to balance making a world of great scale without creating an open, empty space. Therefore, they focused on condensing the open countryside of Southern California into a playing space that is as diverse as it is detailed. This resulted in the development of a world that was of greater scale than their previous games; Garbut suggested that the world is large enough to fit the game maps of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, GTA IV (2008) and RED DEAD REDEMPTION (2010) inside of it. In order to accommodate for the size of the world, the team overhauled the RAGE engine, which allows the game to render greater draw distances than in earlier entries of the series. Garbut opined that while the aging hardware of the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 was tiring to work with, the team were able to render the world with greater detail than in Grand Theft Auto IV because they had become familiar with the hardware over time. "I think one of the most amazing features is the way we handle lighting in the game to maintain a consistent look despite the constraints on realistic lighting and shadows on current hardware", he explained. Houser agreed with this sentiment, explaining that working on Grand Theft Auto IV with relatively new hardware was difficult, but "now we know what the hardware's capable of, so it's become a lot easier to move things along and a lot more fun, too". The large, open space also necessitated the reintroduction of fixed-wing aircraft, as they had been absent in Grand Theft Auto IV due to the relatively small scale of the world limiting the effectiveness of flying. "We wanted somewhere big [to allow the player to] fly properly", Houser explained. In addition, populating the open world with wildlife was another demand the large space made for. As lead producer Leslie explained, "because of the scale of the map [in GTA V] and the different kinds of areas involved, a countryside without animals would feel quite hollow".
Grand Theft Auto V is the team's first project to include three player-controlled protagonists. Houser opined that the primary motivations to include three protagonists were for Grand Theft Auto V to innovate open world storytelling, and to prevent the series from feeling stale by not evolving the core structure of the gameplay. "We didn't want to do the same thing over again", he explained. The vision for three interconnected protagonists was first conceptualised during the Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas era, but the team felt they did not have the technical capabilities at their disposal to realise it. After the release of Grand Theft Auto IV, the team developed two episodic content packages for the game, The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony (both 2009), each of which introduced a new protagonist. The positive reception received for having three intertwined stories solidified the team's confidence that building Grand Theft Auto V around this model was an innovative decision. Benzies opined, "This is something we touched upon with the intersecting stories of Nico [sic], Johnny and Luis in GTA IV but we have now made this integral to the structure of the gameplay as well as the narrative". Houser therefore felt that Grand Theft Auto V is their "strongest plotted game because the characters are so intertwined", and that the "meeting points [between the character's stories] are very exciting". The team also found that introducing three concurrent protagonists evolved the freedom afforded to players in missions. Lead mission designer Imran Sarwar elaborated that multiple protagonists allowed different strategical options to open up in missions. He explained that in a combat scenario the player can set up Michael at a high vantage point with a sniper rifle to provide covering fire for Trevor, who provides a frontal assault on the enemy position, which allows Franklin to manipulate flank points.Benzies felt that the character switching would eliminate a problem the team felt Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas had where the player would be exploring the open countryside and then have to drive a long distance back to a mission start point. In Grand Theft Auto V, the interplay of free roaming and mission gameplay is more organic because the player can switch between characters, eliminating the problem. "Having three characters allows players to explore the whole map without having to worry about the long drive back to their next objective", Benzies explained. Houser further elaborated that the use of multiple characters could remove dead spots in missions, such as when one character has to drive to a meeting point, as the player can switch to another character and be pulled into the action of the game quicker.
The central theme to the story of Grand Theft Auto V is the "pursuit of the almighty dollar". The mission content is structured around the lead characters' efforts to plan and execute complicated heists to accrue wealth for themselves. The team's decision to focus on money as a central theme in the game was in response to the 2007-08 financial crisis, as the effects of the crisis on the main characters are the catalyst for them to attempt these heist missions. "We wanted this post-crash feeling, because it works thematically in this game about bank robbers", Houser explained. The team developed the story around the heists based on the positive reaction they received for the "Three Leaf Clover" mission in Grand Theft Auto IV, in which an elaborate heist was coordinated and executed by the lead protagonist Niko Bellic and accomplices. Houser felt that while the mission was well-received, the team hadn't captured the thrill of the robbery sequence to the best of their capabilities and wanted to focus on achieving that in Grand Theft Auto V. "We wanted to have a couple of really strong bank robberies. [...] It felt like that was a good device that we'd never used in the past. Repeating ourselves is a fear when we're doing games where part of the evolution is just technological," Houser explained. There are six such heist missions in Grand Theft Auto V, and many of the missions in-between them revolve around the efforts to coordinate the job and assemble a team. Due to the complexity of the three interconnected stories, the team moved away from the morality choices which were a significant plot device in Grand Theft Auto IV. The game also includes dynamic mission content, a response by the team to the positive reaction for its inclusion in Red Dead Redemption. Dynamic missions present themselves to the player while exploring the game world and the player can choose to either engage in them, or ignore them. The team developed the concept of dynamic mission content further in Grand Theft Auto V by not just delivering it in the open sections of the world, but in Los Santos as well; for example, the player can happen upon an van in the city and attempt to intercept it to steal its contents.
In order to reflect the advancements made in open world, third-person shooters since the release of Grand Theft Auto IV, the team overhauled many of the shooting and driving mechanics for Grand Theft Auto V. The public reception of to the shooting mechanics of the team's previous games were taken into consideration during this process. Specifically, Grand Theft Auto IV, Red Dead Redemption and Max Payne 3 (2012) were exemplified to clearly establish the areas that needed work in Grand Theft Auto V to make it succeed their previous titles. To increase the pace of shootouts in the game, the team removed hard locking, which was a central mechanic in Grand Theft Auto IV that allowed players to instantly lock on to enemies within the vicinity of their crosshair. Combat designer Phil Hooker explained that the team "found [hard locking] too disorientating and often broke your immersion with the game, as you didn't have to think about enemy locations". Furthermore, the team introduced a timer that breaks the player's lock on a target after a period of time, in an effort to combat the problem they felt Grand Theft Auto IV had where the player could "just rely on holding and shooting until a target is dead", as Hooker explained. Reworking the cover system in combat gameplay was another natural progression for the team. Remodelled on the cover system of Red Dead Redemption, entering in and out of cover such as low walls and vehicles is considerably more fluid in Grand Theft Auto V than in earlier entries in the series. The team made an effort to rework the driving mechanics for cars and motorcycles as well.Houser opined that the cars would handle better than they did in Grand Theft Auto IV, as he felt that they were "big and boatlike in GTA IV" whereas in Grand Theft Auto V the cars handle similarly to those in racing games.
AUDIO/SONGS/RADIO
Grand Theft Auto V is the first entry in the series to make use of an original score. To work on the score, Rockstar North brought Alchemist, Oh No and Tangerine Dream on board with Woody Jackson, who had collaborated with the team on three previous projects, Red Dead Redemption, L.A. Noire (2011) and Max Payne 3. In collaboration with each-other, the team of producers composed twenty hours of music which scores the game's missions. In addition, music will play dynamically throughout the game in the single-player and multiplayer modes. Much like previous entries in the series, the game also makes use of licensed music provided by an in-game radio. An estimated 240 songs were licensed for the game, shared between fifteen radio stations of different genres, and the radio also includes two talk-back stations voice-acted by real-life figures such as Stephen Pope and Nathan Williams of the band Wavves.
CHARACTERS (MAIN)
Michael,
Michael is one of the main protagnist and playable character of GTA V. Aged in his early 40s and the husband of Amanda and father of Jimmy and Tracey, Michael met Trevor at a young age, and the two became best friends, performing several major bank heists together. Michael retired from his life of crime after making a deal with the FIB (fictional version of the FBI). In the process of the deal, he and his family became rich, living in a large mansion. However, Michael's relationship with his family and friends is deteriorating; his wife barely tolerates him and spends all of his money, his children have very little time left to spend with him, and even Trevor had a severe falling out with him. Running out of money quickly and tired of being bored and miserable, Michael decides to return to the criminal life.
Each of the protagonists have special abilities that can be used during gameplay; Michael's ability is to slow down time while in a gunfight, similar to Dead Eye in RDR or Bullet Time in the Max Payne.
Franklin,
Franklin is one of the main protagonists and playable characters of GTA V. During his childhood, Franklin never had a family, money or education to rely on. At some point during his young life, he began the life of a gang banger
and dope dealer, but was arrested soon afterwards. After being released from prison, Franklin started working for Simeon Yetarian, who owns a luxury car dealership as a repo man. As a result, he is frequently seen driving around Los Santos in many stolen sports cars. During the events of GTA V, in his mid 20s,Franklin meets Michael whilst trying to get a hustle. Both men soon do a job together, and Michael sees potential in Franklin, calling him "the son he's always wanted," and later introduces him to Trevor, which is where the main events of GTA V begin.
The special ability that Franklin can use is the ability to slow down time while driving.
Trevor,
Trevor is one of the main protagonists and playable characters of GTA V as well as a filthy individual due to his appearance. At some point during the late 1980's to early 1990's, Trevor entered the military as a pilot, and retired in the early 2000's. Not too long afterwards, he met Michael. Both men realized that they wanted to earn money by performing heists, and both men became successful in doing so. Some point afterwards, both men had a falling out, causing a major rift in their friendship.
By the events of GTA V, Trevor is in his mid 40s living in a filthy trailer in a desert, with his best friend Ron living next to him. Trevor ended up spending all of his robbery-earned money, so he then needs to get back into performing heists and running errands to earn money, by which times he meets Michael again, who introduces him to Franklin.While Michael and Franklin have the special ability to slow down time, Trevor's special ability is to deal out extra damage, or take less damage, and he can also perform a unique melee attack when the special meter is activated.
SCREENSHOTS
BOXARTS
TRAILERS
First Trailer,
[video]http://www.ign.com/videos/2011/11/02/gta-v-first-trailer[/video]
Second Trailer,
[video]www.ign.com/videos/2012/11/14/gta-v-trailer-2[/video]
Michael Character Trailer,
[video]www.ign.com/videos/2013/04/30/gta-5-michael-character-trailer[/video]
Franklin Character Trailer,
[video]www.ign.com/videos/2013/04/30/gta-5-franklin-character-trailer[/video]
Trevor Character Trailer,
[video]http://www.ign.com/videos/2013/04/30/gta-5-trevor-character-trailer[/video]
Gameplay Trailer
[video]www.ign.com/videos/2013/07/09/grand-theft-auto-v-gameplay-trailer[/video]
GTA Online Trailer
[video]www.ign.com/videos/2013/08/15/grand-theft-auto-5-multiplayer-reveal-trailer[/video]
FOR FURTHUR DETAILS, SCREENSHOT AND VIDEOS!
Grand Theft Auto V - PlayStation 3 - IGN
GAME HIGHLIGHTS
Developers/Publishers: Rockstar Games
Distributors: Take-Two
Producer: Leslie Benzies
Artist: Aaron Garbut
Writer: Dan Houser
Platform(s): Playstation 3 and Xbox 360
Release Date: 17th Sep, 2013
OFFICIAL Website: Grand Theft Auto V
GAMEPLAY
Grand Theft Auto V is an action-adventure game played in third person. The player uses melee attacks, weapons and explosives to fight enemies, and can run, jump, swim, or use vehicles to navigate the game's world. In combat, auto aim and a cover can be used as assistance against enemies. A perpetual objective for the player is to complete missions to progress through the story, but much like other open world games, these missions can be completed at the player's leisure. If the player commits illegal acts while playing, a response by the authoritative forces may be provoked. The response from these forces is represented by a "Wanted" meter; should the player continue to commit crimes or respond with aggression, the meter accumulates stars, and the efforts by the authoritative forces to incapacitate the player become more proactive. The meter recedes should the player escape the search area in which they are wanted, which is displayed on the mini-map.
The single-player mode of Grand Theft Auto V is played through three player-controlled protagonists; Michael, Trevor and Franklin, criminals whose stories interconnect as they complete missions. While interacting with the game world, the player may switch between them at will, by means of a directional compass on the (HUD); Franklin corresponds to the north point, Michael to the west, Trevor to the east and the player's multiplayer avatar to the south. During missions, the game may switch the player's character automatically as necessary in order to complete certain objectives. A character's avatar will flash red if they are in danger and need assistance either manually or through covering fire from another, and flash white if that character has a strategical advantage or position which may aid the player's success in the mission. Each player-controlled character has a set of eight skills, which are numerical representations of their ability in certain areas, such as shooting and driving. For each character, the eighth "special" skill determines their effectiveness in performing an ability that is unique to the respective character; Michael will enter bullet-time in combat, Franklin will slow down time while driving, and Trevor will deal twice as much damage to enemies while taking half as much in combat. There is a meter on each character's HUD which depletes when an ability is being used and gradually regenerates over time when the ability is not being used[SUP]. [/SUP]Though the player can complete missions as any of the three protagonists, some of the game's more difficult missions may require aid from AI-controlled accomplices who have unique skill sets such as computer hacking or driving, and they will take a cut from the mission's cash reward upon completion. Employing different strategies toward the completion of a mission is also encouraged by the game; for example, in a holdup mission the player may subdue civilians with an agent if stealth is favored, or storm the venue with guns drawn.
In Grand Theft Auto V, the player may take cover behind objects in firefights to avoid taking damage from enemies.
The game is presented as an open world; it is a large, open map which can be freely roamed when the player is not partaking in missions. Composed of an open countryside area and the fictional city of Los Santos, the world is considerably larger than earlier entries in the series. The player can utilise a variety of vehicles to explore the game world, and to accommodate for the size of the map, the game introduces vehicle types that were absent in its predecessor GTA IV, such as fixed-wing aircraft. While free roaming the game world, the player can partake in activities which are context-specific; for example, the player is given a scuba set to explore the underwater sections of the world, or a parachute to partake in BASE Jumping. Each character is equipped with a smartphone which can be used to contact friends, engage in activities and access an in-game internet. The Internet can be used to purchase properties such as homes and businesses, and access a stock market which allows the player to be a stakeholder in businesses; each character can earn income by purchasing businesses and selling shares. The player can purchase upgrades for the weapons and vehicles in each character's arsenal, and customize their appearance by purchasing outfits, haircuts, tattoos and jewelry.
The game includes a multiplayer mode, Grand Theft Auto Online, which allows up to sixteen players to free roam a recreation of the single-player setting. Players can engage with each-other in various activities, such as races and bank heists. For many of these activities, the parameters can be determined by players, such as creating tracks for races, and specifying spawn points for weapons in deathmatches. Competitive multiplayer pits teams of players, known as crews, against each-other in deathmatch modes. Crews from the multiplayer of MAX PAYNE 3 can carry over to Grand Theft Auto Online, as the Rockstar Social connects the multiplayer experiences together. A player can be a member of up to five crews or create their own, and success in multiplayer matches earns the player experience points for their crew, allowing them to progress in online leader-boards. The Grand Theft Auto Online service becomes available for players on 1 October 2013, and the team will continue to develop content for the service after it launches.
STORY/SETTING
The open world of Grand Theft Auto V is the fictional state of San Andreas, which is modelled on Southeren California. San Andreas was also used as the setting for an earlier entry in the series, San Andreas (2004), which included three cities separated by open countryside. The world of Grand Theft Auto V, however, includes only one city, Los Santos. By focusing their efforts on one city instead of three, the team at Rockstar North were able to produce Los Santos in higher quality and of greater scale. For both games, Los Angeles was used as the model for Los Santos, but the team felt that the ambition of having three cities in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas was too great and that the game didn't emulate the cities as well as they had hoped. Vice president and writer Dan Houser elaborated that "to do a proper version of L.A., [...] the game has to give you a sense of that sprawl — if not completely replicate it", and dividing the budget and manpower between multiple cities would have detracted from capturing "what L.A. is". Art director Aaron Garbut felt that in the PS2 era the team didn't have the technical capabilities to capture Los Angeles properly, resulting in the Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas rendition of Los Santos feeling like a "backdrop or a game level with pedestrians randomly milling about". Therefore, the team disregarded Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas as a jumping-off point for Grand Theft Auto V as they had moved on to a new generation of consoles since the former and wanted to build the city from scratch. Instead, they used present day Los Angeles as the model for Los Santos. As Garbut explained, with the move to the PS3 and Xbox 360 hardware, "our processes and the fidelity of the world [had] evolved so much from San Andreas" that using it as a model would have been redundant. Los Angeles was extensively researched for the game. The team organised field research trips with tour guides and architectural historians and captured around 250,000 photos and hours of video footage during these visits. They also studied virtual globe models of the city, census data and documentaries to recreate the geographical and demographic spread of Los Angeles.
Not only did the team attempt to realise a modern Los Angeles, they also created an open recreation of Southern California which includes a vast countryside surrounding Los Santos. A goal for the team was to balance making a world of great scale without creating an open, empty space. Therefore, they focused on condensing the open countryside of Southern California into a playing space that is as diverse as it is detailed. This resulted in the development of a world that was of greater scale than their previous games; Garbut suggested that the world is large enough to fit the game maps of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, GTA IV (2008) and RED DEAD REDEMPTION (2010) inside of it. In order to accommodate for the size of the world, the team overhauled the RAGE engine, which allows the game to render greater draw distances than in earlier entries of the series. Garbut opined that while the aging hardware of the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 was tiring to work with, the team were able to render the world with greater detail than in Grand Theft Auto IV because they had become familiar with the hardware over time. "I think one of the most amazing features is the way we handle lighting in the game to maintain a consistent look despite the constraints on realistic lighting and shadows on current hardware", he explained. Houser agreed with this sentiment, explaining that working on Grand Theft Auto IV with relatively new hardware was difficult, but "now we know what the hardware's capable of, so it's become a lot easier to move things along and a lot more fun, too". The large, open space also necessitated the reintroduction of fixed-wing aircraft, as they had been absent in Grand Theft Auto IV due to the relatively small scale of the world limiting the effectiveness of flying. "We wanted somewhere big [to allow the player to] fly properly", Houser explained. In addition, populating the open world with wildlife was another demand the large space made for. As lead producer Leslie explained, "because of the scale of the map [in GTA V] and the different kinds of areas involved, a countryside without animals would feel quite hollow".
Grand Theft Auto V is the team's first project to include three player-controlled protagonists. Houser opined that the primary motivations to include three protagonists were for Grand Theft Auto V to innovate open world storytelling, and to prevent the series from feeling stale by not evolving the core structure of the gameplay. "We didn't want to do the same thing over again", he explained. The vision for three interconnected protagonists was first conceptualised during the Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas era, but the team felt they did not have the technical capabilities at their disposal to realise it. After the release of Grand Theft Auto IV, the team developed two episodic content packages for the game, The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony (both 2009), each of which introduced a new protagonist. The positive reception received for having three intertwined stories solidified the team's confidence that building Grand Theft Auto V around this model was an innovative decision. Benzies opined, "This is something we touched upon with the intersecting stories of Nico [sic], Johnny and Luis in GTA IV but we have now made this integral to the structure of the gameplay as well as the narrative". Houser therefore felt that Grand Theft Auto V is their "strongest plotted game because the characters are so intertwined", and that the "meeting points [between the character's stories] are very exciting". The team also found that introducing three concurrent protagonists evolved the freedom afforded to players in missions. Lead mission designer Imran Sarwar elaborated that multiple protagonists allowed different strategical options to open up in missions. He explained that in a combat scenario the player can set up Michael at a high vantage point with a sniper rifle to provide covering fire for Trevor, who provides a frontal assault on the enemy position, which allows Franklin to manipulate flank points.Benzies felt that the character switching would eliminate a problem the team felt Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas had where the player would be exploring the open countryside and then have to drive a long distance back to a mission start point. In Grand Theft Auto V, the interplay of free roaming and mission gameplay is more organic because the player can switch between characters, eliminating the problem. "Having three characters allows players to explore the whole map without having to worry about the long drive back to their next objective", Benzies explained. Houser further elaborated that the use of multiple characters could remove dead spots in missions, such as when one character has to drive to a meeting point, as the player can switch to another character and be pulled into the action of the game quicker.
The central theme to the story of Grand Theft Auto V is the "pursuit of the almighty dollar". The mission content is structured around the lead characters' efforts to plan and execute complicated heists to accrue wealth for themselves. The team's decision to focus on money as a central theme in the game was in response to the 2007-08 financial crisis, as the effects of the crisis on the main characters are the catalyst for them to attempt these heist missions. "We wanted this post-crash feeling, because it works thematically in this game about bank robbers", Houser explained. The team developed the story around the heists based on the positive reaction they received for the "Three Leaf Clover" mission in Grand Theft Auto IV, in which an elaborate heist was coordinated and executed by the lead protagonist Niko Bellic and accomplices. Houser felt that while the mission was well-received, the team hadn't captured the thrill of the robbery sequence to the best of their capabilities and wanted to focus on achieving that in Grand Theft Auto V. "We wanted to have a couple of really strong bank robberies. [...] It felt like that was a good device that we'd never used in the past. Repeating ourselves is a fear when we're doing games where part of the evolution is just technological," Houser explained. There are six such heist missions in Grand Theft Auto V, and many of the missions in-between them revolve around the efforts to coordinate the job and assemble a team. Due to the complexity of the three interconnected stories, the team moved away from the morality choices which were a significant plot device in Grand Theft Auto IV. The game also includes dynamic mission content, a response by the team to the positive reaction for its inclusion in Red Dead Redemption. Dynamic missions present themselves to the player while exploring the game world and the player can choose to either engage in them, or ignore them. The team developed the concept of dynamic mission content further in Grand Theft Auto V by not just delivering it in the open sections of the world, but in Los Santos as well; for example, the player can happen upon an van in the city and attempt to intercept it to steal its contents.
In order to reflect the advancements made in open world, third-person shooters since the release of Grand Theft Auto IV, the team overhauled many of the shooting and driving mechanics for Grand Theft Auto V. The public reception of to the shooting mechanics of the team's previous games were taken into consideration during this process. Specifically, Grand Theft Auto IV, Red Dead Redemption and Max Payne 3 (2012) were exemplified to clearly establish the areas that needed work in Grand Theft Auto V to make it succeed their previous titles. To increase the pace of shootouts in the game, the team removed hard locking, which was a central mechanic in Grand Theft Auto IV that allowed players to instantly lock on to enemies within the vicinity of their crosshair. Combat designer Phil Hooker explained that the team "found [hard locking] too disorientating and often broke your immersion with the game, as you didn't have to think about enemy locations". Furthermore, the team introduced a timer that breaks the player's lock on a target after a period of time, in an effort to combat the problem they felt Grand Theft Auto IV had where the player could "just rely on holding and shooting until a target is dead", as Hooker explained. Reworking the cover system in combat gameplay was another natural progression for the team. Remodelled on the cover system of Red Dead Redemption, entering in and out of cover such as low walls and vehicles is considerably more fluid in Grand Theft Auto V than in earlier entries in the series. The team made an effort to rework the driving mechanics for cars and motorcycles as well.Houser opined that the cars would handle better than they did in Grand Theft Auto IV, as he felt that they were "big and boatlike in GTA IV" whereas in Grand Theft Auto V the cars handle similarly to those in racing games.
AUDIO/SONGS/RADIO
Grand Theft Auto V is the first entry in the series to make use of an original score. To work on the score, Rockstar North brought Alchemist, Oh No and Tangerine Dream on board with Woody Jackson, who had collaborated with the team on three previous projects, Red Dead Redemption, L.A. Noire (2011) and Max Payne 3. In collaboration with each-other, the team of producers composed twenty hours of music which scores the game's missions. In addition, music will play dynamically throughout the game in the single-player and multiplayer modes. Much like previous entries in the series, the game also makes use of licensed music provided by an in-game radio. An estimated 240 songs were licensed for the game, shared between fifteen radio stations of different genres, and the radio also includes two talk-back stations voice-acted by real-life figures such as Stephen Pope and Nathan Williams of the band Wavves.
CHARACTERS (MAIN)
Michael,
Michael is one of the main protagnist and playable character of GTA V. Aged in his early 40s and the husband of Amanda and father of Jimmy and Tracey, Michael met Trevor at a young age, and the two became best friends, performing several major bank heists together. Michael retired from his life of crime after making a deal with the FIB (fictional version of the FBI). In the process of the deal, he and his family became rich, living in a large mansion. However, Michael's relationship with his family and friends is deteriorating; his wife barely tolerates him and spends all of his money, his children have very little time left to spend with him, and even Trevor had a severe falling out with him. Running out of money quickly and tired of being bored and miserable, Michael decides to return to the criminal life.
Each of the protagonists have special abilities that can be used during gameplay; Michael's ability is to slow down time while in a gunfight, similar to Dead Eye in RDR or Bullet Time in the Max Payne.
Franklin,
Franklin is one of the main protagonists and playable characters of GTA V. During his childhood, Franklin never had a family, money or education to rely on. At some point during his young life, he began the life of a gang banger
and dope dealer, but was arrested soon afterwards. After being released from prison, Franklin started working for Simeon Yetarian, who owns a luxury car dealership as a repo man. As a result, he is frequently seen driving around Los Santos in many stolen sports cars. During the events of GTA V, in his mid 20s,Franklin meets Michael whilst trying to get a hustle. Both men soon do a job together, and Michael sees potential in Franklin, calling him "the son he's always wanted," and later introduces him to Trevor, which is where the main events of GTA V begin.
The special ability that Franklin can use is the ability to slow down time while driving.
Trevor,
Trevor is one of the main protagonists and playable characters of GTA V as well as a filthy individual due to his appearance. At some point during the late 1980's to early 1990's, Trevor entered the military as a pilot, and retired in the early 2000's. Not too long afterwards, he met Michael. Both men realized that they wanted to earn money by performing heists, and both men became successful in doing so. Some point afterwards, both men had a falling out, causing a major rift in their friendship.
By the events of GTA V, Trevor is in his mid 40s living in a filthy trailer in a desert, with his best friend Ron living next to him. Trevor ended up spending all of his robbery-earned money, so he then needs to get back into performing heists and running errands to earn money, by which times he meets Michael again, who introduces him to Franklin.While Michael and Franklin have the special ability to slow down time, Trevor's special ability is to deal out extra damage, or take less damage, and he can also perform a unique melee attack when the special meter is activated.
SCREENSHOTS
BOXARTS
TRAILERS
First Trailer,
[video]http://www.ign.com/videos/2011/11/02/gta-v-first-trailer[/video]
Second Trailer,
[video]www.ign.com/videos/2012/11/14/gta-v-trailer-2[/video]
Michael Character Trailer,
[video]www.ign.com/videos/2013/04/30/gta-5-michael-character-trailer[/video]
Franklin Character Trailer,
[video]www.ign.com/videos/2013/04/30/gta-5-franklin-character-trailer[/video]
Trevor Character Trailer,
[video]http://www.ign.com/videos/2013/04/30/gta-5-trevor-character-trailer[/video]
Gameplay Trailer
[video]www.ign.com/videos/2013/07/09/grand-theft-auto-v-gameplay-trailer[/video]
GTA Online Trailer
[video]www.ign.com/videos/2013/08/15/grand-theft-auto-5-multiplayer-reveal-trailer[/video]
FOR FURTHUR DETAILS, SCREENSHOT AND VIDEOS!
Grand Theft Auto V - PlayStation 3 - IGN
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