Grand Theft Auto V
Since Grand Theft Auto III was released for PlayStation, I became a fan. I love the sandbox gameplay and customizations (introduced later in the series with Vice City and San Andreas). Another thing that fascinated me was the life of the city, so much so that I would sometimes just drive around in the game and look for random events (a guy running away from police or attacking another person) and listen to some of the NPC's conversations (funny stuff!). Today, Rockstar released a teaser (which is what I refer it as) for their upcoming Grand Theft Auto V. Check out the video below. My buddy posted his thoughts on the video and I responded in the comment section (copy and pasted below). Although at first glance, the video doesn't reveal much except that the protagonist is a former criminal trying to turn his life around but will get caught up in some shit. There are rumors about multiple protagonists (maybe simutaneous play with different protagonists, not necessarily co-op) but that remains to be seen. Either way, there are some interesting things about the teaser that you'll notice upon closer inspection.
My comment on OBG:
Yes, the teaser (which is what I'm referring to it as) is underwhelming. Aside from graphics, the whole thing seems rehashed from previous titles. One thing I find interesting is that Rockstar stated that their numbered sequels changes something about the game drastically. Consider GTA III and GTA IV. Although Vice City and San Andreas introduced new elements (bikes, property, changing clothes, aerial vehicles, weapons, etc...), they were built upon GTA III. I wouldn't necessarily consider GTA IV a game changer but it was the first GTA game on the next gen consoles and they did change the game mechanics as well as make Liberty City more like New York City (as they did with Vice City and San Andreas, Miami and Los Angels/ San Francisco/ Las Vegas, respectively). There are certain things to note about this teaser. At 1:06, there is a character being chased by police that does not resemble the protagonist at :41. Maybe there are multiple protagonists. Look again at :25 and we see the same guy that was running from the cops drive the red convertible. Jet skis are back at :19. At :07, there is a couple on the beach with a dog. There were never any animals in previous GTA games. At :34, there is a gym on the beach, which probably means you can change the physique of your character, a la "CJ" from San Andreas. And lastly, there is a jet at 1:01 and a private jet at 1:10. Again, the teaser was underwhelming but Rockstar isn't the type to put all of their eggs in one basket.
For good measure, here is a trailer for Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.
Another thing to note is that you only saw Los Santos in the first trailer for Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. If there are planes, it is very likely that San Fierro and Las Venturas are also included in GTA V to make getting around easier. Also, they expanded the size of Liberty City by including four out of five boroughs (Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx, & Manhattan) and parts of New Jersey (Alderney). So why wouldn't they make San Andreas bigger? What do you think?
