Rockstar Games today unleashed yet another new trailer for Grand Theft Auto 5, the highly anticipated next installment in the massive franchise that is coming to Xbox 360 and PS3 in September. Unlike the previous trailers that gave us glimpses of Los Santos in the state of San Andreas via cinematic-directed clips, this new one finally takes a first look at the game’s actual gameplay, and gamers have responded to the big reveal by opening their wallets to gobble up pre-orders.
The nearly five-minute long trailer plays more like an introduction to “what’s new” in the game as a female narrator talks above the juicy new footage. She introduces the game’s three protagonists and talks about what sets them apart from one another. More importantly, she demonstrates how jumping between them in the heat of a mission is critical to achieving success.
In one example, the player busts through an office window high off the ground and takes a hostage. He quickly finds himself cornered so with a simple menu selection, the vantage point changes to another character on a rooftop across the way. The player then uses this sniper to give the other character a chance to escape out the window. It’s a brilliant new gameplay mechanic that hopefully is called upon many, many times during the campaign.
There’s a strong emphasis placed on revamped gameplay mechanics that are designed to make all aspects of the game “fun and responsive.” In addition to the obvious chores of shooting people and driving vehicles, there will be other opportunities to participate in leisure activities including playing tennis, biking in a race, and paragliding.
There will certainly be Xbox One and PS4 games that won’t come close to providing the experiences of Grand Theft Auto 5.
Money earned from heists and other illegal activities can be spent in a myriad of ways. Character customization ranges from tattoos and weapons, to what cars to buy. The money can also be spent on stocks, real estate, and other real-world ventures that rarely find their way into video games.
The big tease comes in the closings moments as the player approaches a skyrise window and sees a multitude of vehicles flying around outside, all of which are being controlled by other players. That’s right; Grand Theft Auto V will have an online mode that Rockstar Games promises to reveal details about soon.
The big question with Grand Theft Auto V is not what you can do in the game but what you can’t. Rockstar was already poised for huge sales before this trailer dropped. Now with this trailer, pre-orders have really taken off at Amazon.com with the game occupying four of the top five spots on Amazon’s Movers and Shakers in video games. The PS3 version is currently second, followed by the Xbox 360 special edition in third, the Xbox 360 regular edition in fourth, and the PS3 special edition in fifth.
Grand Theft Auto 5 is set for release (finally) on September 17, 2013. Pre-order your copy with free shipping at Amazon.
