Grand Theft Auto

[Astrozombie]

Whenever I play this game, I can never play it seriously. I find myself blowing shit up, picking up BiTcHeZ aNd HoEz, and getting chased by cops, doing my best to out run them.

[Brandon]

I just love wreaking havoc around town. Picking up hookers, getting mines, cutting ppl's throats, etc. And when the cops get called on that ass, if all else fails, swim into the ocean.

[Burke]

Nothing beats jumping on a motorbike then going round gunning down random pedestrians to the sounds of “Rusty Cage” or “California Love”.

[Tarry]

No other news other than the logo and the trailer release date, but I'm excited!

[jayzero42690]

Nice.

Rumor was this one takes place in San Andreas again, but only LA without Vegas and Frisco. I'm conflicted if that's true, cause I love my City and would love to see a larger more accurate version like they did with Liberty City in IV. But Rockstar just gave us L.A. Noire, so for them to do another LA game would just be kinda, whatever.

I heard London was also a rumor. That would be awesome.

But if they insist on staying in the States, Chicago would be a great setting that they haven't done yet.

However looking at the logo, the V looks like it's designed after American currency. And if you think about what's on American currency (presidents and monuments), all signs point to Washington DC, which is without question my favorite choice for a city. It has a shit load of monuments and historical buildings, and it's one of the most crime filled cities in the world despite being our capital. It has a super nice area, and a super shit ghetto lol. It's perfect.

So my hopeful cities from best to worst are:
1. Washington D.C.
2. London
3. Los Angeles
4. Chicago
5. Miami
6. New York
7. Las Vegas
8. San Francisco

[Tarry]

Personally, I want it to be set in an extended version of Vice City. San Andreas would be nice too, but I'm totally against Liberty City. I've always hated the Liberty City setting and the GTA IV version just looked so dull.

Now that you've mentioned that the V has an American currency style, I too think it'll be set in Washington. And I'm totally all for that. But what name would they give it?

I would love it to be London because I'd actually recognise all the landmarks.

[jayzero42690]

Oct 25, 2011 11:16:41 GMT -5 Tarry said:

But what name would they give it?

Freedomville? lol

Nah, they could do like Capital City or National City or something. Though they'll probably just stick with Washington. In all the radio shows they have always referred to it as Washington DC. Even if they do London, it was London in the old games. I don't see the need to change their names.

I would love either of those two cities.

[Burke]

I cannot wait for this.

I hope this one is more along the lines of San Andreas/Vice City. Despite having better graphics and being more realistic, I found GTA4 to be kinda boring and nowhere near as much fun.

[Burke]

Grand Theft Auto games have traditionally included one playable character, but a new rumor suggests that Grand Theft Auto V could break the mold. Multiple sources have told Kotaku that the game will feature multiple playable characters throughout its story. They've also heard reports that the game will feature a fictional version of Los Angeles, though it hasn't been confirmed if that means San Andreas.

This fits with rumors we heard earlier this year that the game would take place on the west coast. This is only a rumor for now, and we'll hopefully see more details when Rockstar reveals the game's trailer on November 2nd.

Source: IGN

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My guess is still that the setting is going to end up being a much bigger and more detailed Las Venturas (Vegas) from San Andreas. It would make sense with the money and “V” themes. And there are a lot of crime opportunities in a city like that to build the story around. I enjoyed messing around in the casinos and stuff there in SA. I also loved Los Santos and San Fierro.

Los Angeles would be great too. As would a foreign city like London or Tokyo if they had the right story for it.

[jayzero42690]

YAAY!! ;D Jet Ski's and Planes!

I know I said I didn't really want San Andreas, but I'm so damn happy it's San Andreas lol. Looks like it's just LA and the surrounding area too so far which makes me happy.

And if you're disappointed about not having Frisco and Vegas, don't be, cause LA is huge. I'm sure the map will be larger than Liberty City in GTA IV. Honestly Frisco sucks, and Vegas can have it's own game.

Hell you never know, maybe that was just the LA trailer and there are still two more city reveal trailers coming. But if it's just a updated replica of LA made correctly like the did for New York, then it'll be great.

[Tarry]

It's rumoured that the narrator of the video is Tommy Vercetti. I haven't been this excited for a GTA game in years.

[Burke]

Grand Theft Auto V Set in San Andreas

Rockstar has confirmed that Grand Theft Auto V will be set in its fictional world of San Andreas.

San Andreas is a fictional U.S Southwestern state which includes three cites based on real U.S cities - Los Santos, (Los Angeles), San Fierro (San Francisco) and Las Venturas (Las Vegas). Rockstar has a habit of tweaking its cities, and GTA V is set in modern day, so it's possible that area names and the city's layout will change.

Previously, it has only appeared in one game - Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, which came out in 2004. That game was based in the early 1990s against a a backdrop of drug crimes and gang warfare. It drew heavily upon cultural references such as the movie Boyz n the Hood and musical influences such as Tupac.

San Andreas differs from GTA 4's Liberty City not only in that it comprises three cities - and rural territory between them - but also in its heavy California culture.

GTA: San Andreas remains the best-selling PlayStation 2 game of all time.

A Welcome Return to San Andreas

We've already had a tantalising glimpse of Los Santos and its surrounding countryside, but what else will we see in GTA V?

While there's been much speculation over where Grand Theft Auto V would be set since the reveal of the game's logo, the obvious setting was always going to be a return to San Andreas, the richest and most diverse landscape yet to appear in a GTA game. GTA IV's Liberty City was a landmark in many ways, a beautifully constructed nod to New York City, but also a proof that the star of the show doesn't always have to be the lead character.

With Los Santos revealed to be at least one of the locations for Grand Theft Auto V, the original San Andreas proved Rockstar was a master at creating worlds, although arguably it was too ambitious for the last generation of consoles. From the ghettos of Los Santos to the pomp and circumstance of Las Venturas, it was a wonderfully realised world that on occasion fell apart, a victim of its own ambition. Not that it really mattered, because above all the experience of having not just the freedom to explore a city but an entire state – complete with mountain ranges and vast stretches of untouched countryside surrounding the confined chaos of its three cities – was quite unlike any other.


Does this mean you'll be able to buy real estate in GTA V?

A return to San Andreas is exciting then, for many reasons. Firstly, Los Santos is a city that's as interesting and diverse as Liberty City, from the crack alleys of Ganton to the Botox-injected glitz of Vinewood and everything in between. It's a city that encompasses the best and worst of society, with Hollywood's elite standing shoulder to shoulder with the gangs that fight turf wars in the city's east side. If the trailer is anything to go by it's going to be a city of extremes: poverty versus wealth, grit versus glamour, but quite how the story will take you from one to the other remains to be seen.

The trailer revealed many sides to Los Santos: the Pleasure Pier and Santa Maria beach, the high-rise spectacle of downtown (base-jumping, anyone?), the slums of East Los Santos and more. But what was particularly interesting were the multiple hat-tips to life outside the city scramble, with a tantaslising glimpse of Mount Chiliad and crop spraying over what looks like Flint County promising a much more fleshed out rural experience compared to the original San Andreas. If Rockstar layers the same level of depth on San Andreas's countryside and strips away the relentless to-ing and fro-ing then it's going to be something special indeed.

While the focus of the trailer was obviously Los Santos, which in the original was the explosive opener to Las Venturas's rousing finale, then San Fierro was the lull in the middle of the original game – although this is primarily for the forgettable missions as opposed to the setting itself. Indeed, the city itself provides a compact yet versatile playground, with the narrow, steep streets of Calton Heights a stark contrast to open greenery of the Palisades. If anything, San Fierro's diverse culture should mean that it's the most interesting of the three cities: Hashbury is home to stoners, and some of GTA: San Andreas's more memorable moments involved far-fetched missions alongside drug-addled liability The Truth.

On the subject of far-out missions it'll be interesting to see how Rockstar plays Grand Theft Auto V. Many of the series' more outrageous moments happened in San Andreas, but this was pared back in favour of (at least a passable sense of) realism in GTA IV – aside, of course, from the handful of the brilliantly bonkers missions in ballad of Gay Tony. The game suffered as a result: pulling off ridiculous stunts was always a GTA hallmark and Grand Theft Auto IV was short of these memorable moments. Ballad of Gay Tony was definitely a return to form following the occasionally pedestrian moments in the GTA IV.

Grand Theft Auto V needs to strike a balance between GTA IV and San Andreas. The technological leaps made by the former are a definite step in the right direction, but dabbling in the realms of ridiculous is what San Andreas did so well, which leads us onto Las Venturas – which we desperately hope will make it into the game.

Based on Las Vegas, it's the city that never sleeps, its streets lined with neon-lit casinos that never close. Image is everything, with high rollers cruising the boulevards in supercars – which, it being GTA, also means you have access to some of the sweetest vehicles in the game if you're, shall we say, very persuasive.


Santa Maria is Santa Monica in all but name.

But the greatest thing about Las Venturas and its surrounding areas is, in a game that's forever pushing the boundaries what's believable, it's a city that goes that little but further. There are Hydra jets to pilot and pimp-mobiles to drive, but it's the jet pack hidden within Area 69 that's the crowning glory. I for one don't want to return to Las Venturas if at some point I cannot fly over the Pirates in Men's Pants casino with a rocket booster strapped to my back.

In honor of San Andreas, here's ten facts about the famous fictional locale:

1. San Andreas is the largest GTA location with three cities, and eight counties. It features lots of fast-food joints and ammo shops.

2. In GTA: San Andreas, the city of San Fierro shows signs of a recent earthquake. Various radio news reports confirm that a quake had recently taken place.

3. The city of Los Santos features famous Los Angeles landmarks including the Hollywood 'Vinewood' Sign, the Watts Towers and the Capitol Tower.

4. San Andreas' gambling mecca is called Las Venturas, translated from Spanish means 'The Fortune'

5. Rural areas of San Andreas include deserts and redwoods and feature various stereotypical crazed rednecks.

6. The tallest mountain in San Andreas is Mount Chiliad, about 800 metres high, roughly the same as Mt. Tamalpais in Marin County, just north of San Francisco.

7. The main bridges in San Andreas are the Gant Bridge, clearly modelled after The Golden Gate, and the Garver Bridge, modelled after the Forth Road Bridge in Edinburgh, Scotland. The GTA games are made in Scotland.

8. San Andreas includes a theme park called 'Glory Hole'. However, although mentioned, it is not physically evident.

9. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas includes many experimental gameplay oddities, including the threat of obesity (you had to work out to stay trim). It offered over 200 vehicles. The game featured mild RPG elements that were not repeated in later games.

10. In Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, you could go sky-diving.

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Oh shit! I’m looking forward to this so much.

San Andreas is still my joint favourite game of all time. I would be perfectly happy with simply an updated version of that.

[Burke]

Screenshots from the trailer:

[Burke]

RockStar Confirms GTA V Locations Details

Yesterday we saw the GTA V trailer - today we're getting some extra information. Take-Two has issued a statement on Grand Theft Auto V's location and status.

Announcing that the game is "in full development," the game's publisher confirmed that GTA V would take place in "the city of Los Santos and surrounding hills, countryside and beaches." The firm said the game is "the largest and most ambitious game Rockstar has yet created".

Los Santos is one of three cities located in GTA's fictional West Coast state of San Andreas, featured in 2004's Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.

Sam Houser, founder of Rockstar said, "Grand Theft Auto V is another radical reinvention of the Grand Theft Auto universe. We are incredibly excited to share our new vision with our fans."

The release continues, "A bold new direction in open-world freedom, storytelling, mission-based gameplay and online multiplayer, Grand Theft Auto V focuses on the pursuit of the almighty dollar in a re-imagined, present-day Southern California. Rockstar Games pioneered the open world genre with the Grand Theft Auto series, one of the most successful entertainment properties of all time. With more than 114 million copies sold-in worldwide, Grand Theft Auto games have helped propel video games into the cultural mainstream. Grand Theft Auto V is the follow up to 2008's record-breaking, critically-acclaimed Grand Theft Auto IV. Rockstar Games continued its tradition of award-winning open world games with the 2010 blockbuster Western, Red Dead Redemption, and the groundbreaking detective thriller L.A. Noire in 2011."

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Grand Theft Auto games are really the only ones left that can still bring out my inner videogame fanboy.

I'm expecting an October/November 2012 release date. It would be awesome if they surprise us with like April again though like GTA 4.

And speaking of the possible release date:

GTA V release date confirmed by easter egg?



Depending on how much weight you put in easter eggs, you could say that the GTA V release date has been confirmed by a little tease in the new Grand Theft Auto V trailer. We cannot be certain of this, but the date could be May 24, 2012, as you can see on our screenshot the sign saying “For Sale 2405.”

Those in the US might not have spotted this as a date becasue they do them the opposite way round to what the British do, as Rockstar is a UK company. If this does turn out to be true, then it’s very clever on the developer’s part. There’s no reason to doubt this report from Metro, as April or May is usually when Rockstar like to launch their titles.

There are many people who will disagree and believe that the date is not an easter egg, it’s just a coincidence. However, do you believe in coincidences with such a big game like GTA 5? Why would they make a big deal out of those numbers, as it also appears on the pavement as well?

As always Rockstar has remained quiet about the release of their new game, which has certainly sparked off countless rumors as to the setting, whether there will be multiple playable characters and much more – at least the first question has been answered for us.

[Burke]

Okay, I doubt the first two, but I’ll be damned if that homeless dude isn’t Niko Bellic!