Few games can ever have been as hotly anticipated as Grand Theft Auto V. The first teaser trailer was released back in October – but further details have been thin on the ground with creators Rockstar Games remaining tight-lipped.
All that is known for certain is that the game will be set in the Los Angeles-alike city of Los Santos and surrounding countryside. Also the game is set in the ‘present day’- after the financial crash, and not set in an earlier era as with 2002′s Vice City.
The latest rumours were part of a now deleted post on a forum and claim to be sourced from a former Rockstar staff member. As of the time of writing the post can still be accessed through the Google cache.
According to the supposed ‘leak’ GTA V will boast a map that is roughly five times as large as the Liberty City map used in the previous instalment. Of this roughly a third of it will be taken up by the city of Los Santos. With the new larger map it is claimed that player flyable aeroplanes will be making a return to the franchise.
In Grand Theft Auto conflict with the police is frequent and violent. The leak alleges that this is being given a thorough overhaul in the new game. Police will try to stop you for blatant speeding for example. Crashing at speed will also damage health.
When the higher ‘wanted’ levels are reached and evaded police will continue to hunt for persons matching the description of the player character for either 24, 48 or 72 in-game hours.
As far as the player character is concerned, the source revealed a few details. Firstly they announced that – contrary to earlier speculation – there would be only one playable character, and also that the character would not die at the end of the game.
The name of the supposed playable character is Albert De Silva. The character is glimpsed in the trailer – the “rich guy”. He is a half Hispanic former member of a Vice City crime family. He has a lazy video game-obsessed son named Kevin.
In game radio and TV stations are expected to make a return, and indeed to be much expanded. The will be more TV channels according to the leak, and the radio stations will carry accurate traffic reports, enabling the player to find routes around congestion and other problems.
Finally a release date of May 2013 is predicted. This is much later than some had thought – and will be an agonisingly long wait for the fans of the series. It is claimed that a playable demo will be on show at the E3 expo in June. It is likely that we will have to wait until then to discover whether the rumoured details are genuine, or just informed speculation.
Are you a GTA fan? How do you feel about these latest rumours, and what features are you hoping for? Hit the comments below to tell use what you think.
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March 26, 2012
Games