Linked from Reddit
Reading it the biggest things is that we are going to Los Santos this time around. We went there in San Andreas except this time it's rendered to scale to note it's supposedly the size of the entire San Andreas (13.9 miles) + GTAIV Liberty City(7 miles) + Red Dead Redemption which is close to 27 square miles means GTA V has at least 47 square miles of area to explore. That's interesting size wise, but the main thing is the fact is that while it is one city it's the entire city plus all the environments around the city.

Add onto that fact the promised gameplay. What they are talking about sounds like the perfect setup for co-op. You get three main characters, Michael the married "getting to old for this shit" former bank robber, Trevor the psychopath pilot and Franklin the repo man/sniper at least that's how they are roughly described. Gone is GTA IV's friendship quests as instead the best friends of each is the others. As missions go on each main has a role to play and who you play as determines what your goals are. The example breakdown of the escape was great. A helicopter escape turns into a three way choice. You can out fly them as Trevor, try to shoot them down as Michael or have Franklin snipe the the pilots and who you pick determines what your objectives are.

That sounds like the perfect send up to perfect co-op there. Grabbing two friends to do missions, each of us tasked to do something different, not fighting with each other to fulfill objectives but each having our own role.

GTA games are always worth a play, as long as they improve the damn gun combat this looks great.

A bigger sandbox is good as long as it's not tedious to get around (I really hope there's some smugger's airstrip out in the boondocks so there's more to do in a plane than circle round and land again), but the stuff about the characters sounds like it's even further away from what I like in a sandbox game. Saints Row 2 got it right by letting me play as the character I wanted to play as (in my case a sociopathic tomboy in a wifebeater and jeans). I didn't like Nico Bellic in GTA4, but at least it stayed with one protagonist from start to finish. Here it sounds like there will be missions where you must stop playing your preferred protagonist and switch to one of the other two.

One of the three protagonists is a licensed pilot who lives next to an airstrip so it's fair to say you start with planes.

The thing that worries me the most is that they openly admit how they loved Niko Bellic. He was perhaps one of the most boring video game characters. Attempts to add depth were shallow and at some point he felt like he has been dragged into a slapstick comedy and can't get out.

If they want to build upon that mindset, then I don't have high hopes for GTAV.

It is funny how they dismiss their very best game, Vice City, as a "caricature", when it was the thing that made the game story so much fun to follow. Protagonist of San Andreas was a bit bland, but the other characters (like Tenpenny or Woozie, the blind triad leader) still made it fun.

They want to make their games boring by aspiring to some overworn concept of characters and story having to be "realistic". Bleh.

This is GTA! I want to throw buildings at airplanes while dual wielding tank cannons.

It's the thing that Saints Row devs understand very well.

If they had the balls to swing HARD in the direction of the Michael Mann stuff they aspire to, it could be quite something, but because they have a formula, but aspire to greater story-telling it doesn't quite work. "I just don't know what to do anymore, I'm sick of all the killing, I want out from all of this..." spoken by Niko as I ran over a bunch of people while cutting a corner.

Red Dead Redemption did a damn good job, but the setting gave them extraordinary leeway that a modern urban one doesn't.

If they wanted to go hard, the first change I'd make is to have consequence to your "random" actions. People report incidents, the police will come and investigate. Make police wanted levels permanent or at least have them fade MUCH slower (multiple protagonists makes this more viable). Sure, you can switch cars, but eventually the entire force is going to have your photo(s) and details in every officers face, you'll be on the news constantly as a massive manhunt gets underway. Make the police something to be legitimately terrified of when they are mobilised.

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What is Project Zohar?

Or they could throw out the pipe dream bullshit and just get some shooting that doesn't suck shit? Maybe move up to 1999 shooting features, even.

I wonder if as one of the three protagonists, I can go find and then kill of the other two for shits and giggles?

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ASVS('97)/SDN('03)

"Peppercorn Tomatoes slathered in broken guacamole sauce. Put it in the microwave and press puree. 5 seconds in the dumpster and it is ready to be cooked in the freezer at -350 degrees for twenty minutes. Apply pressure in various hamster spots and scream like a psychotic banshee." My reply when asked what was on my mind.

By the sacred crotch of Arkvoodle!

I think GTA4 did a pretty good job with the wanted levels: in order to even have the option of losing notoriety you had to be out of sight of the police - easier said than done when they've got police helicopters watching you. Rather than accruing a permanent wanted level, I'd rather see some different gameplay if you're doing a "pacifist" run, like you do in Not completely pacifist, of course - initially trying and failing to not run over civilians in Prototype was an exercise in frustration - but special missions and contacts that are only available if you're below a certain threshold.

Judging by the way Rockstar deals with stories lately, killing someone might be a heart churning experience when done for the first time. Maybe protagonists will have the PTSD meter as a char stat?

Oh, and in all honesty, I never played Red Dead Redemption because I don't own a console, so I can't judge it. Heard good things about it though.

I think they're up to at least 2004 shooting features to be fair. But the Red Dead Studio (who aren't the one's doing GTA V) at least seemed to have a clue about how to make shooting not suck.

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What is Project Zohar?

I hope they work in some SP coop. That would be rad. I could listen to Stark bitch about how much the game sucks while helping him murder prostitutes.

GTAV second trailer
Comments after a few viewings
It's pretty, the writing looks better. It's got the woe is me writing in one or two segments but the tone is much more Vice City than Liberty City. The three protagonist thing is looking really interesting now.
Also the fact that Michael (The retired one) refers to Franklin as the "son I always wanted" is hilarious when contrasted against meeting his actual son (Bounce? We are bouncing now).

Dogs. I wonder if they'll be part of the environment or mission npcs only.

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What is Project Zohar?

You thinking just wandering dogs, or out and out side activities? I could see several terrible directions they could go with that. They have been big about active AI ala Elder scrolls for the wandering pedestrians. But not enough to name them but to give them roles to fulfill like cars will pull into gas stations, drivers will be given destinations they are trying to get to not being driven by pac-man AI that says dart across two lanes of traffic in the middle of your high speed chase to hang a left.

Red Dead Redemption had awful shooting mechanics. It was the easiest game i've ever played even without autoaim.

You could reload a revolver faster than a Luger. :V

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Best care anywhere.

What is Project Zohar?