GTA 5 Release

When is the GTA 5 release date?

Don't worry! The GTA 5 release date has been announced for the 17th September 2013. Phew, that's a load off our minds. Now we can relax. But there's still much to talk about concerning Rockstar Games' upcoming GTA 5 release.

GTA 5 Trailer...

As so often happens before major games are released Rockstar Games, the company behind GTA, has decided to whet our appetite with a pre-release GTA 5 gameplay trailer. So lets discuss the trailer in minute detail, because waiting for game releases is a gruelling test of one's endurance. We need to stick together and talk about our problem (as if GTA is a problem!) if we're going to get through this.

What is in the GTA 5 gameplay trailer?

What's the first thing we see? A helicopter. Things are looking great, we love flying (virtual reality makes crashing less of a concern), but is that a Zeppelin in the background? Here's hoping we can fly one of those in the game! 

What is the GTA 5 game world like?

Rockstar Games describe the GTA 5 game world as "Beautiful, Massive and Diverse" in their recent gameplay trailer. Large scenic environments have become pretty common in recent game releases, so we're hoping that GTA 5 will be 'massive' compared to previous GTA games and on a far larger scale. One thing which we're really excited about is GTA 5 deep-sea diving. Yeah, you read that right, deep-sea diving! The addition of interactive underwater scenery is likely to open up a whole other world of gameplay and virtual siteseeing.

What is GTA 5 gameplay like?

On the whole, it looks like Rockstar Games has really amped up the gameplay for GTA 5. Game mechanics have been upgraded, all the better to shoot bad-guys/good-guys/ambiguous strangers with. Oh, and did I forget to mention... shooting deer too! GTA 5 offers the option to hunt wild animals in-game, which will either be very fun or challenging to our morality (expect to find this blogger kneeling over the corpse of a virtual Bambi looking for the 'Forgive Me' button on his controller). You can also play sports such as golf and tennis in-game. These are always fun to try a couple of times, but generally little more than a distraction from the core gameplay. 

What are the missions in GTA 5 like?

I would say think Ocean's Eleven but dirtier, bloodier and with a lot more stubble! Bank robbery, kidnapping, bounty hunting and car-theft will be some of your main sources of income in GTA 5. Two new ways to earn money on the side which we were interested (but not overwhelmed) to see are investing in the stock and real estate markets. Like we said, it looks interesting but isn't really the GTA we're expecting.

Problems with GTA 5...

A relatively minor point to start with, car customisation. Car customisation is one of my favourite aspects of the GTA games. But from what I can see in the GTA 5 trailer, it doesn't look like this aspect of the gameplay has evolved much. I'm hoping to be proved wrong, but it looks much the same to me. One part of the GTA 5 gameplay trailer which stuck with me was when the soft-voiced female narrator said the words "the use of three lead characters allows for a touch of voyeurism". This very unsettling comment is made on top of a satellite to street-view montage straight out of our paranoid federal government nightmares. Whether this is due to a worrying turn taken by Rockstar Games in their struggle for world domination or just bad editing, we're hoping that the GTA 5 gameplay will be lighter on the voyeurism and a bit heavier on the things we've come to love about the GTA games.

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Joe Malpas