GameInformer Issue Cover and Discussion

[DuPz0r 5361]

I'm pretty shocked there's been such a backlash to be honest. Why would there be gangbanging a-la early 90's LA in the modern day LA. The criminal culture has changed, and R* have reflected that.

But saying that, I'm not sure whether or not I'm too happy about the multiple protagonists. I feel like it may ruin the character development and player involvement with the world, perhaps making it feel a little detatched, like other openworld games. Also, it seems to have come at some cost - i.e. limited character customisation, no property purchasing, etc... But who knows, R* have yet to let me down, and I'm sure they won't start now. We'll soon find out either way.

Also, is anyone else a bit confused by their mention of the detailed ocean floor? I don't really see how that's interesting or important in anyway? I think that'd we'd all prefer to have property purchasing, as opposed to a detailed coral reef to look at. But meh :/

I think the character customisation i.e. gaining weight and muscle or losing it becoming very skinny was more of a technical issue rather than an issue with having three characters. Obviously three players is a bit much to look after, fitness wise. But i think they meant that the characters meshed were so much more detailed and a lot higher poly than that of SA so being able to make the characters change weight without messing up mo-cap animation would have been a nightmare.

[Samurai_tbag 27]

^ The weight gain is less important. I was thinking more hair cuts, tattoo's, etc..

But to be honest, so long as there's more than GTA IV, I don't mind.

[BlackSox9 448]

I'm pretty shocked there's been such a backlash to be honest. Why would there be gangbanging a-la early 90's LA in the modern day LA. The criminal culture has changed, and R* have reflected that.

But saying that, I'm not sure whether or not I'm too happy about the multiple protagonists. I feel like it may ruin the character development and player involvement with the world, perhaps making it feel a little detatched, like other openworld games. Also, it seems to have come at some cost - i.e. limited character customisation, no property purchasing, etc... But who knows, R* have yet to let me down, and I'm sure they won't start now. We'll soon find out either way.

Also, is anyone else a bit confused by their mention of the detailed ocean floor? I don't really see how that's interesting or important in anyway? I think that'd we'd all prefer to have property purchasing, as opposed to a detailed coral reef to look at. But meh :/

There are more gangs then ever in LA, especially when it comes to Mexican/Hispanic Gangs in South Central/East LA ( probably 5 to 10 times the number compared to the 90's ). So LA's Unique gang culture is going stronger then ever.

[DuPz0r 5361]

I think they''ll save the real customization for multiplayer really... Your character will be your avatar so to speak. Surely that's more important than customizing the looks of main characters? That's how I see it anyway.

[Samurai_tbag 27]

I'm pretty shocked there's been such a backlash to be honest. Why would there be gangbanging a-la early 90's LA in the modern day LA. The criminal culture has changed, and R* have reflected that.

But saying that, I'm not sure whether or not I'm too happy about the multiple protagonists. I feel like it may ruin the character development and player involvement with the world, perhaps making it feel a little detatched, like other openworld games. Also, it seems to have come at some cost - i.e. limited character customisation, no property purchasing, etc... But who knows, R* have yet to let me down, and I'm sure they won't start now. We'll soon find out either way.

Also, is anyone else a bit confused by their mention of the detailed ocean floor? I don't really see how that's interesting or important in anyway? I think that'd we'd all prefer to have property purchasing, as opposed to a detailed coral reef to look at. But meh :/

There are more gangs then ever in LA, especially when it comes to Mexican/Hispanic Gangs in South Central/East LA ( probably 5 to 10 times the number compared to the 90's ).

You miss the point, there may be more gangs, but the gang culture has changed. 90s LA was characterised, in part, by gangbangers in lowriders. I'm not from LA, but from an outsiders perspective, through media exposure and visting, the gang culture there now is pretty different. There may be more gangsters, but how they operate has changed. A little like how the mob culture in the North East is different now, to the 1930's (though obviously not as drastic as that example).

[BlackSox9 448]

I'm pretty shocked there's been such a backlash to be honest. Why would there be gangbanging a-la early 90's LA in the modern day LA. The criminal culture has changed, and R* have reflected that.

But saying that, I'm not sure whether or not I'm too happy about the multiple protagonists. I feel like it may ruin the character development and player involvement with the world, perhaps making it feel a little detatched, like other openworld games. Also, it seems to have come at some cost - i.e. limited character customisation, no property purchasing, etc... But who knows, R* have yet to let me down, and I'm sure they won't start now. We'll soon find out either way.

Also, is anyone else a bit confused by their mention of the detailed ocean floor? I don't really see how that's interesting or important in anyway? I think that'd we'd all prefer to have property purchasing, as opposed to a detailed coral reef to look at. But meh :/

There are more gangs then ever in LA, especially when it comes to Mexican/Hispanic Gangs in South Central/East LA ( probably 5 to 10 times the number compared to the 90's ).

You miss the point, there may be more gangs, but the gang culture has changed. 90s LA was characterised, in part, by gangbangers in lowriders. I'm not from LA, but from an outsiders perspective, through media exposure and visting, the gang culture there now is pretty different. There may be more gangsters, but how they operate has changed. A little like how the mob culture in the North East is different now, to the 1930's (though obviously not as drastic as that example).

How exactly has it changed, drug dealers may no longer use beepers, and instead use mobile/cell phones. But there are still lowriders/ hotrods in the 'Hood' type areas, as well as colour gangs like bloods ( red ), crips ( blue ), and mexican gangs ( brown ), Gangs still have pretty much all of South Central and East LA Divided Up, places like Long Beach, Compton, Inglewood, Huntington Park, Willowbrook etc, etc. Selling everything like Crack, LSD, Yay, Hay, X etc, etc. They still do drive by's, they still use strongarm and intimidation tactics on local businesses.

In fact I would say they act pretty much the same way that they did in the 90's. Except now they are better equiped with a wider variety of Assault Rifles, Machine Gun's, Sub Machine Guns, RPG's, Hand Grenades, and other explosives like C4. Plus alot of them have Bullet Resistant Vests and other body armour, as well as armoured cars now with bullet proof windows. Alot of these gangs have made alot of money over the years selling drugs and as a result have become alot more numerous and tougher to deal with ( for law enforcment ). They are probably tougher now than they were in the 90's, especially gangs like MS13 and 18th St under the direction of the Mexican Mafia. So I would say in this respect they are different, they're tougher and more organised than they ever were in the past.

I've researched alot into the gang culture in Southern California ( it's an interesting subject ), and I think it would be a mistake for Rockstar not to give any attention to Gangabangers in the South Central and East LA regions. Especially since the GTA series is focused around crime in urban areas.

[Mercy 30]

I ain't overly impressed.

The shots look stunning, i agree with that. But the trailer for GTA 4 looked nearly as good and it came out looking a little more rough around the edges than first perceived.

Three protagonists i like. I like they all sort of link in some form. Michael is my favorite due to the witness protection thing, feels a bit new and fresh.

But i see nothing new here. Maybe i missed it. It is bigger, well duh! i assumed as much. Less RPG type things - huh not really caring too much but ok maybe that was just not needed.

It just feels like a re hash of GTA 4. Tbh i wanted it to be the best of PS2 era with the graphics and interesting story of GTA 4. I wont be disappointed with it but i just expected more *shrugs*

[Samurai_tbag 27]

How exactly has it changed, drug dealers may no longer use beepers, and instead use mobile/cell phones. But there are still lowriders/ hotrods in the 'Hood' type areas, as well as colour gangs like bloods ( red ), crips ( blue ), and mexican gangs ( brown ), Gangs still have pretty much all of South Central and East LA Divided Up, places like Long Beach, Compton, Inglewood, Huntington Park, Willowbrook etc, etc. Selling everything like Crack, LSD, Yay, Hay, X etc, etc. They still do drive by's, they still use strongarm and intimidation tactics on local businesses.

In fact I would say they act pretty much the same way that they did in the 90's. Except now they are better equiped with a wider variety of Assault Rifles, Machine Gun's, Sub Machine Guns, RPG's, Hand Grenades, and other explosives like C4. Plus alot of them have Bullet Resistant Vests and other body armour, as well as armoured cars now with bullet proof windows. Alot of these gangs have made alot of money over the years selling drugs and as a result have become alot more numerous and tougher to deal with ( for law enforcment ). They are probably tougher now than they were in the 90's, especially gangs like MS13 and 18th St.

I, a white Englishman, walked through various areas in South Central when I went, and it didn't look like Boyz-n-da-Hood. It looked less intimidating than London to be honest. So I beg to differ on the first point.

The fact that they have modernised pretty much concludes my arguement. They have changed, as has the culture.

[BlackSox9 448]

How exactly has it changed, drug dealers may no longer use beepers, and instead use mobile/cell phones. But there are still lowriders/ hotrods in the 'Hood' type areas, as well as colour gangs like bloods ( red ), crips ( blue ), and mexican gangs ( brown ), Gangs still have pretty much all of South Central and East LA Divided Up, places like Long Beach, Compton, Inglewood, Huntington Park, Willowbrook etc, etc. Selling everything like Crack, LSD, Yay, Hay, X etc, etc. They still do drive by's, they still use strongarm and intimidation tactics on local businesses.

In fact I would say they act pretty much the same way that they did in the 90's. Except now they are better equiped with a wider variety of Assault Rifles, Machine Gun's, Sub Machine Guns, RPG's, Hand Grenades, and other explosives like C4. Plus alot of them have Bullet Resistant Vests and other body armour, as well as armoured cars now with bullet proof windows. Alot of these gangs have made alot of money over the years selling drugs and as a result have become alot more numerous and tougher to deal with ( for law enforcment ). They are probably tougher now than they were in the 90's, especially gangs like MS13 and 18th St.

I, a white Englishman, walked through various areas in South Central when I went, and it didn't look like Boyz-n-da-Hood. It looked less intimidating than London to be honest. So I beg to differ on the first point.

The fact that they have modernised pretty much concludes my arguement. They have changed, as has the culture.

O.K. so you walked through what you thought was a gang neigbourhood when you were on holiday in the US.

Wow sir, you must be an expert on the gangs in LA then.

[CoSm1c gAm3r 2]

So article made me not excited about this game. They took almost all things that I hoped for. And this switching between characters just destroyed what I like in games which is immersion. Even if I cant customize character and I must play as some Nico or CJ I like to immerse into those characters. Ability to be like some Azazel like in movie with Denzel Washington just ruins this feel of immersion. I hoped that they will add character that will be 99% customizable that I can create and then customize him later at any time like it was made to CJ. So this game will be like hollywood action movie... just a movie... Anyway as PC gamer this game will be not be available for me and that is the most annoying thing. But f.... it Im no worry. If it will be available on ....... Ill download it and then just play it and see if I was right about my disappointment at all game or just that Azazel gameplay and no immersion.

[Mercy 30]

Stay on topic, QDs.

You arent off it yet, just so a mod dont do it instead.

Back seat moderating ftw. *waits to get warned... AGAIN*

[CoSm1c gAm3r 2]

I wonder if this weird Azazel like character switching will be available for example when character will be chased by police and almost killed by them then player switch to other character. What then will happen to that first guy... lol

[BlackSox9 448]

Stay on topic, QDs.

You arent off it yet, just so a mod dont do it instead.

Back seat moderating ftw. *waits to get warned... AGAIN*

I think I'll be saying what I want to say, dyke.

Plus are you even a Moderator?

[Mercy 30]

Stay on topic, QDs.

You arent off it yet, just so a mod dont do it instead.

Back seat moderating ftw. *waits to get warned... AGAIN*

I think I'll be saying what I want to say Dyke.

Plus are you even a Moderator?

Well do as you want then. I'm sure you will enjoy being warned. I could have reported you, decided not to. Next time i wont waver.

ON TOPIC: The abseiling down the building looks cool, hope we get to do that and isn't just a cut scene.

[Samurai_tbag 27]

O.K. so you walked through what you thought was a gang neigbourhood when you were on holiday in the US.

Wow sir, you must be an expert on the gangs in LA then.

Well much of the area is considered gang territory, I travelled across the whole US, not just LA. LA was the least scary, and least exciting place I've ever been, but that's IMO.

Back to the point, R* have rightfully moved away from that low-brow gangbanging cliche, which is excellent news, lets just hope they don't ruin the immersion with multiplace characters.

[Rayge 689]

^ The weight gain is less important. I was thinking more hair cuts, tattoo's, etc..

Exactly, to be honest I didn't really care about weight gain. All the customization I needed was tattoos, hair and clothes.

Now they mentioned only clothes will be customizable. By this I really, really, really hope they mean the level of clothes customization in San Andreas, and NOT the level of clothes customization in IV (practically none).

[CFO Charles 827]

All this news is really good. I think you can throw all my doubts and angst towards IV out the window this looks intense

[Godfather 132]

How exactly has it changed, drug dealers may no longer use beepers, and instead use mobile/cell phones. But there are still lowriders/ hotrods in the 'Hood' type areas, as well as colour gangs like bloods ( red ), crips ( blue ), and mexican gangs ( brown ), Gangs still have pretty much all of South Central and East LA Divided Up, places like Long Beach, Compton, Inglewood, Huntington Park, Willowbrook etc, etc. Selling everything like Crack, LSD, Yay, Hay, X etc, etc. They still do drive by's, they still use strongarm and intimidation tactics on local businesses.

In fact I would say they act pretty much the same way that they did in the 90's. Except now they are better equiped with a wider variety of Assault Rifles, Machine Gun's, Sub Machine Guns, RPG's, Hand Grenades, and other explosives like C4. Plus alot of them have Bullet Resistant Vests and other body armour, as well as armoured cars now with bullet proof windows. Alot of these gangs have made alot of money over the years selling drugs and as a result have become alot more numerous and tougher to deal with ( for law enforcment ). They are probably tougher now than they were in the 90's, especially gangs like MS13 and 18th St.

I, a white Englishman, walked through various areas in South Central when I went, and it didn't look like Boyz-n-da-Hood. It looked less intimidating than London to be honest. So I beg to differ on the first point.

The fact that they have modernised pretty much concludes my arguement. They have changed, as has the culture.

O.K. so you walked through what you thought was a gang neigbourhood when you were on holiday in the US.

Wow sir, you must be an expert on the gangs in LA then.

Did you just say that the gang members in LA had RPG's? And C4? And bullet resistant cars? PAHAHAHA!!! Dude not even the Gambino's, Genovese, and other Northeast Mafia families have that shit and they are some of the richest, most powerful gangs... wait, wait... let me not disgrace the mafia like that... i mean they are some of the richest, most powerful criminal organizations in America, even tho their influence has droped the last 40 years. I hate to tell you but your statement is sorta ludicrous. Please prove me wrong, because i really find it hard to believe that Bloods, Crips, and Other various street gangs in LA have all this stuff you just mentioned... please prove me wrong.

[TenpennyKilla 34]

A friend of mine is a paramedic in Los Angeles, has been since '89, according to her, the gang shootings she's heard about/seen/attended have involved a wide variety of weapons, the heaviest being an AK47. She's never heard anything about the gangs using an RPG, they have occasionaly used car bombs.

As for bigger/larger/worse/better the gang activity has become less frequently violent, but what there is tends to be consistently violent.

And to add my opinion, we did the gang banger thing in SA, am glad V is going in a different direction, otherwise it we'd be hearing more whinging and bitching that CJ isn't in it

[llliiiiiiiiilllll 46]

How exactly has it changed, drug dealers may no longer use beepers, and instead use mobile/cell phones. But there are still lowriders/ hotrods in the 'Hood' type areas, as well as colour gangs like bloods ( red ), crips ( blue ), and mexican gangs ( brown ), Gangs still have pretty much all of South Central and East LA Divided Up, places like Long Beach, Compton, Inglewood, Huntington Park, Willowbrook etc, etc. Selling everything like Crack, LSD, Yay, Hay, X etc, etc. They still do drive by's, they still use strongarm and intimidation tactics on local businesses.

In fact I would say they act pretty much the same way that they did in the 90's. Except now they are better equiped with a wider variety of Assault Rifles, Machine Gun's, Sub Machine Guns, RPG's, Hand Grenades, and other explosives like C4. Plus alot of them have Bullet Resistant Vests and other body armour, as well as armoured cars now with bullet proof windows. Alot of these gangs have made alot of money over the years selling drugs and as a result have become alot more numerous and tougher to deal with ( for law enforcment ). They are probably tougher now than they were in the 90's, especially gangs like MS13 and 18th St.

I, a white Englishman, walked through various areas in South Central when I went, and it didn't look like Boyz-n-da-Hood. It looked less intimidating than London to be honest. So I beg to differ on the first point.

The fact that they have modernised pretty much concludes my arguement. They have changed, as has the culture.

O.K. so you walked through what you thought was a gang neigbourhood when you were on holiday in the US.

Wow sir, you must be an expert on the gangs in LA then.

And how exactly are you an expert on LA gang culture when you're living in sydney austrailia? TV? Unless that's just a fake location.

I've been to LA. Sure there are gangs. Nearly every city in the US that has a section of low socioeconomic standing has gangs. But very rarely do you walk into a neighborhood and see multiple large groups of people strapped and reppin colors. Shit's way more low key these days unless there is a dispute, in which case things can get pretty crazy. Hence why GTA 5 isn't focusing on gang culture (plus it's been done before and is played out). There probably will be gangs within the game that you can interact with in some way, like the gang members that would shoot at you in 4 when you started shooting near them, but they won't be the focus of the game. And I for one am happy about that.

And btw, it became obvious that you were talking out your ass when you said hood gangs are pushing LSD. Are you kidding me? I don't know a single ghetto drug dealer that pushes psychadelics (besides ecstasy, but that's usually cut with mad stimulants). LSD is family territory. They have a chemist who has it perfected, it's distrubuted throughout the family (grateful dead family, rainbow family, ect.), and it moves down the chain. Plus even if they got their hands on it, pushing LSD would be a waste of time. There isn't a huge reward for the risk, and it isn't the kind of drug that people use daily so it won't have a steady flow of customers.

And feel free for deleteing this post for being off topic. I appologize. The gang talk just needs to end. Gangs have already been done. Gta 5 sounds genious at this point so I don't know why people are getting upset.

[MrMister81 473]

What's this thread about, again? Oh yeah, the article! I would imagine we've all read it a couple of times by now, but FWIW here is a text-only version. Might be easier for people like me trying to read it on a phone.

[Massacre 7646]

If someone says to get back on topic, you're off topic, and a mod is just going to come in and tell you to get back on topic anyway. So, if someone tells you to get back on topic, mod or not, do it.

Stay on topic.

[Godfather 132]

How exactly has it changed, drug dealers may no longer use beepers, and instead use mobile/cell phones. But there are still lowriders/ hotrods in the 'Hood' type areas, as well as colour gangs like bloods ( red ), crips ( blue ), and mexican gangs ( brown ), Gangs still have pretty much all of South Central and East LA Divided Up, places like Long Beach, Compton, Inglewood, Huntington Park, Willowbrook etc, etc. Selling everything like Crack, LSD, Yay, Hay, X etc, etc. They still do drive by's, they still use strongarm and intimidation tactics on local businesses.

In fact I would say they act pretty much the same way that they did in the 90's. Except now they are better equiped with a wider variety of Assault Rifles, Machine Gun's, Sub Machine Guns, RPG's, Hand Grenades, and other explosives like C4. Plus alot of them have Bullet Resistant Vests and other body armour, as well as armoured cars now with bullet proof windows. Alot of these gangs have made alot of money over the years selling drugs and as a result have become alot more numerous and tougher to deal with ( for law enforcment ). They are probably tougher now than they were in the 90's, especially gangs like MS13 and 18th St.

I, a white Englishman, walked through various areas in South Central when I went, and it didn't look like Boyz-n-da-Hood. It looked less intimidating than London to be honest. So I beg to differ on the first point.

The fact that they have modernised pretty much concludes my arguement. They have changed, as has the culture.

O.K. so you walked through what you thought was a gang neigbourhood when you were on holiday in the US.

Wow sir, you must be an expert on the gangs in LA then.

And how exactly are you an expert on LA gang culture when you're living in sydney austrailia? TV? Unless that's just a fake location.

I've been to LA. Sure there are gangs. Nearly every city in the US that has a section of low socioeconomic standing has gangs. But very rarely do you walk into a neighborhood and see multiple large groups of people strapped and reppin colors. Shit's way more low key these days unless there is a dispute, in which case things can get pretty crazy. Hence why GTA 5 isn't focusing on gang culture (plus it's been done before and is played out). There probably will be gangs within the game that you can interact with in some way, like the gang members that would shoot at you in 4 when you started shooting near them, but they won't be the focus of the game. And I for one am happy about that.

And btw, it became obvious that you were talking out your ass when you said hood gangs are pushing LSD. Are you kidding me? I don't know a single ghetto drug dealer that pushes psychadelics (besides ecstasy, but that's usually cut with mad stimulants). LSD is family territory. They have a chemist who has it perfected, it's distrubuted throughout the family (grateful dead family, rainbow family, ect.), and it moves down the chain. Plus even if they got their hands on it, pushing LSD would be a waste of time. There isn't a huge reward for the risk, and it isn't the kind of drug that people use daily so it won't have a steady flow of customers.

And feel free for deleteing this post for being off topic. I appologize. The gang talk just needs to end. Gangs have already been done. Gta 5 sounds genious at this point so I don't know why people are getting upset.

People got upset because they heard San Andreas, and they were all so excited because they thought they where going to be a cj rencarnation... as soon as they figued out that their is only one black guy to play as, and hes not in a gang they freaked out. People wanted San Andreas 2, and they arnt getting that. so they cry.. kinda pathetic. On topic tho, from what i think we have all seen in the article, things look to be on the up and up. Really feel like this gta is refreshed with new ideas and could push gta games to come to another level. 3 protagonist in one game gives us so many possiablities and almost like a non-ending story in a way. Really excited to read this and see the infamous BMX bike is back.. ready to tear LS down!

[TenpennyKilla 34]

What's this thread about, again? Oh yeah, the article! I would imagine we've all read it a couple of times by now, but FWIW here is a text-only version. Might be easier for people like me trying to read it on a phone.

Cheers fella, was trying to show my workmate the article on my phone, this works much better

[CFO Charles 827]

It's the San Andreas we all know and love, who care about what character we play as. Besides, San An took place in the 90's, CJ would be like 45 if he was in GTA V.