GTA 5 Gameplay

Gameplay is what videogames are all about. Grand Theft Auto 5 will offer plenty to do from the obvious to new or reintroduced features from past GTAs. This page will be updated as we hear more information or get more glimpses of the game.

Changing Protagonists

Say what? That's right! In Grand Theft Auto V you can pick from three different people to follow in the crazy the world. Even crazier is that you can change between them all throughout the game! A special menu allows you to select a character which then takes you up above the city in a Google Earth type fashion before throwing you back down to the person of your choice. The farther apart the characters are, the longer the transition takes (a more beautiful loading screen). The menu is similar to a weapon wheel in the lower right of the screen accessed with the "down" button. The right analog stick is used to pick from the wheel with Michael to the left, Franklin up, and Trevor to the right. The down slot is for your multiplayer avatar - likely the online access point.


In between missions or during certain ones you can switch to another person to stay at the front of the action. Sometimes the game will force a switch. Each character has their own skills and personality - and even lives! You never know where you'll find one of them or what they might be doing...

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Stealing Vehicles

Does this need explaining? As usual we can expect to jack many of the vehicles in GTA 5. Remember that not all citizens will let you take their car without issue. The cops will notice you breaking in or tugging people out as well as car alarms giving them the heads-up that the car isn't yours so take a quick look around before trying anything. iGTA5, Game Informer stole this because they can't think of things themselves.

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Missions

Another obvious feature is missions. Rockstar loves telling stories and making their games truly playable movies. Progress the story by playing through missions. They'll involve plenty of driving with chances of shootouts and running from the law. A simple mission may go awry without notice.

It seems very possible that Rockstar will give us a little more control over the story so you might want to consider the outcomes when faced with killing someone - they might help you later or end up stabbing you in the back. Choose wisely.

Heists

A major focus of GTA 5 will be heists. Some are small and quick but others require some serious planning on a corkboard. You'll need to pick the right people, weapons, vehicles, and even locations to dump evidence in order to avoid the long arm of the law. Just like weapons, bigger money will get you better teammates. If you are a good shot you can spend money on a good driver - or vice versa. Outside expertise can bring in skills to help disarm or avoid security systems among other obstacles. The more you use a certain helper the better they will get. If they don't survive the mission you can keep their cut but they will be dead for good. Be sure to keep the best ones alive.

Planning involves more than pencils and papers, though. If you want a getaway vehicle in a certain spot you need to place it there. If you want masks you'll need to buy them. Like many GTA games of the past, mini-missions involve acquiring the right tools before you get to the main event.

Kotaku stated in their May 2nd preview that after a heist mission is done you will be given a report essentially scoring how well you did and how much money you raked in.

Mission Scoring/Replay

The Ballad of Gay Tony introduced scoring mission completion and the ability to replay them in order to get 100% on each mission. Red Dead Redemption followed with medals in place of a percentage. L.A. Noire and Max Payne 3 also featured mission replays in order to obtain all collectibles found throughout. Grand Theft Auto V will feature replays of missions so we can enjoy our favorite missions as many times as we wish. The feature is found in the phone's menu. Scoring of your completion is represented by medals like RDR. iGTA5

With multiple protagonists involved in certain missions, it is possible to start a single mission with a different character.

Strangers/Freaks/Random Encounters

In GTA IV there were a number of "Random" Pedestrians for us to find and complete simple missions for. Red Dead Redemption featured these types of side missions as Strangers. RDR also introduced random world events where the player could intervene in various occurrences from stagecoach robberies to damsels in distress - although sometimes it was a trap.


Grand Theft Auto V will feature both of these types of side missions as Strangers and Freaks. Random encounters appear in the form of hitchhikers, police chases, ATM robberies, etc. One variation features Securicars which can be robbed after leaving a customer. You'll get a good amount of cash but attract plenty of attention too.

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Combat

GTA 5 brings the excellent combat features of Red Dead Redemption and Max Payne 3 plus some other features. Crosshairs borrowed from Max are sleeker, red means you're pointing at an enemy, and an X means you killed them. The enemy's health circle while you aim at them is gone. You can now run with larger weapons except while aiming. Movements in and out of cover are improved and you can do a "combat roll" at the press of a button. Previews mentioned tossing weapons to teammates during gun fights but that is only mission-specific.

If you seem to be a bullet magnet, your health can regenerate to 50% while in cover. Helpful but you'll still want to find health pickups as soon as possible.

Stealth

Among the skills you can build up for a protagonist is stealth. Stealth helps you stay quiet in order to hide from enemies. A circle showing your noise will feature in your radar emitting from your player's position. Of course shooting is very noisy but a silencer can help reduce it.

Enemies have an improved line-of-site feature too. Use Chop as a distraction or take out light bulbs to hide bodies and not alert other enemies to your presence.

Environment Useage

On top of shooting out lights, propane tanks and gasoline trails from wrecked cars can also be useful for taking out multiple enemies at once. Certain missions will also allow you to shove an enemy into machinery to stop them dead.

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Climbing Obstacles

Escaping the law or sneaking around an enemy building requires more actions than just jumping 5 feet forward. Over the past few years Rockstar has improved our ability to scale fences, get across ledges, and go where paths can't take us.

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Swimming/Diving

Swimming, SCUBA diving, and even submarines allow you to explore the ocean depths and find all kinds of treasure hidden beneath the waves. iGTA5

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Character Customization

See the character page here.

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Phone

In GTA IV your phone served many uses. Mission bosses would give you work and friends would contact you. The phone also provided a small menu to access multiplayer among other things. A phone features again in Grand Theft Auto V. Multiplayer and other menus have been removed but the phone has other modern features of today's smart phones. Pictures taken with the phone can be shared through the Social Club website - and likely any other place you wish to show off your virtual photography. iGTA5

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Media

Share the joys of entertainment with your character in Grand Theft Auto V.

Radio

We all have that favorite tune we rampage to. Check out the radio stations you can listen to on the GTA 5 Radio page here.

Internet

Many websites return to the in-game internet of GTA 5 with plenty of new ones too. Email will once again play an important role for certain contacts or access to extra features plus side missions. There are no more Tw@ cafes, though. You can access the internet through your phone.

TV

One of the lesser used features in GTA IV was the television. There was a decent variety of shows to provide entertainment while taking a break between rampages which is expanded upon for Grand Theft Auto 5. Weasel News and Republican Space Rangers plus other favorites return with all-new episodes.

Movies

Head to a local theater and take in a show.

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Public Transportation

If you want to take a break from jacking old ladies and take in the sights, hailing taxis will return from GTA IV. Light rail trains can be used to quickly traverse parts of the urban area or you can become a hobo and jump aboard a freight train that goes around the whole map. Previews said buses were to run along actual routes but that isn't quite true. They appear at stops but don't actually follow a route.

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Car Customization

Check out the bottom of the vehicle page here.

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Friends/Relationships

The infamous friend system from Grand Theft Auto IV will return to GTA V - without the bowling & boob obsessed cousin. The dating system will not return.

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Investing

Feel like gambling your money away? Invest in the volatile stock market. There are also various businesses and real estate in GTA 5. Perks such as garages, helipads, and free taxi rides are available if you have the right amount of cash to take over Los Santos. Stock trading and real estate websites will assist with investments.

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Challenges

"Under the Bridge" and "Knife Flight" challenges will test your flying skills as you squeeze under bridges or fly between obstructions.

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Minigames

When doing all of the above gets boring there's always other minigames to accomplish. Minigames in GTA V are not simple time wasters. Details such as wind speed and direction play a role in your shots and swings. iGTA5

BASE Jumping

San Andreas and The Ballad of Gay Tony gave us the ability to use parachutes as an escape option for aircraft or to leap from tall structures and scream "Weeeeeeeeee!". Parachutes return for Grand Theft Auto 5 with special locations to leap from in order to be scored personally and against other GTA 5 players through the Rockstar Games Social Club leaderboards.

Racing

Sometimes in Grand Theft Auto you'll meet people who are certain their car will go faster than yours. Races can be a part of story missions and are side missions too. Races do not need to be for cars only. Dirt bikes, bicycles, and ATVs among other options are available for racing through city streets and the countryside in GTA 5 - not to mention watercraft out on the water and aircraft across the skies! Triathlons and competitive swimming join the races too.

Sports

Golf and tennis feature in the game as playable minigames.iGTA5

Stunt Plane Trials

Featured with Special and Collector's Editions of GTA V and will likely become DLC in the future.

Single player Stunt Plane Trials let you take on additional aerial challenges spread throughout Los Santos and Blaine County.

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Extras

Grand Theft Auto 5 will bring back many side objectives from previous games such as Collectibles, Stunt Jumps, and once again Rampages.

PC/PlayStation 4/Xbox One Content

Players that return to the new-gen version of GTA V from the PS3/Xbox 360 will have access to additional side objectives that unlock special vehicles and other rewards.

Duke O’Death

As you might expect, when you first stumble upon this near-indestructible mayhem machine, trouble will follow. Deal with it judiciously and this beauty’s all yours.

Dodo

It may take a little firepower to get your hands on this highly versatile GTA classic.

Murder Mystery

Michael has a gruesome murder to investigate. Put the clues together and you'll unlock two Noir Style Filters, which will give your Story Mode gameplay and Snapmatic photos the feel of a gritty old school crime classic.

Wildlife Photography Challenge

As Franklin, catalog the new and unique animal species scattered across the map to unlock the special Kraken Sub.

Stock Car Races

Win a series of new Stock Car Races to earn unique custom Muscle Cars adorned with logos from some of the companies that made this country great.

Monkey Mosaics

A mysterious street artist is tagging walls all across town with his simian-inspired silhouettes. Track down and photograph them all to earn new monkey outfits (available to all players) and a special Go Go Monkey Blista.