GTA 5 Gameplay

Gameplay is what videogames are all about. Grand Theft Auto 5 will likely 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). Previews have stated 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 was mentioned by CVG to be for your multiplayer avatar - possibly 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.

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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.

If you seem to be a bullet magnet, your health can regenerate to 50% according to Game Informer's May 2nd preview. 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. An icon showing your noise will feature in your radar. Of course shooting is very noisy but a silencer can help.

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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/completion percentage is yet to be confirmed. iGTA5

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Strangers/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 these types of side missions in the form of hitchhikers, police chases, ATM robberies, etc. One variation features Securicars which can be robbed enroute to a destination or at the destination. You'll get a good amount of cash but attract plenty of attention too.

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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. A feature that didn't make it into GTA IV was the ability to climb telephone poles. L.A. Noire featured climbing up pipes on buildings so such a feature could make its way into GTA V.

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Swimming/Diving

While confirming GTA V would release in Spring 2013, Rockstar mentioned that the game would stretch "from the tops of the mountains to the depths of the ocean." It seemed extremely likely that swimming and possibly diving would make a comeback in Grand Theft Auto 5. The statement also made us wonder what kind of vehicles would help us reach the depths of the ocean...

At the very start of December 24th, 2012, Rockstar released more screenshots featuring a person with diving equipment (swimming near a large shark) and a small submarine. Previews on May 2nd confirmed that some boats contain SCUBA gear which can be used as we please. iGTA5

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Character Customization

See the bottom of 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. There are 9 apps, of which 6 of them are:

• Camera
• Internet
• Contacts
• Social Media
• Calendar
• Mission Replay

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 what radio stations we could be listening to on the GTA 5 Radio page here.

Internet

Expect to see many websites returning to the in-game internet of GTA 5 and plenty more to be added. 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 but that could be expanded upon for Grand Theft Auto 5. Weasel News and other favorites will likely return with all-new episodes.

Movies

Head to a local theater and take in a show. Or watch a good action flick on your TV.

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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 probably return from GTA IV. Train tracks and catenary wires were spotted in the first trailer so we will likely have that to quickly traverse the map. Rockstar may even include buses running along actual routes to take us cross-country too.

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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. We can expect building friend relationships to unlock friend abilities such as Packie's car bombs and Jacob's mobile weapon shop in GTA IV. The dating system will not return.

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Investing

It was originally stated that properties/houses would not play a role in our financial interactions but previews released on May 2nd reveal that we will be able to invest in 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.

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Minigames

When doing all of the above gets boring there's always other minigames to accomplish. 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 will be returning for Grand Theft Auto 5 and surely there will be 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 usually side missions too. Races do not need to be for cars only. Dirt bikes, bicycles, and ATVs among other options will be available for racing through city streets and the countryside in GTA 5 - not to mention watercraft out on the bay and aircraft across the skies!

Sports

In the debut GTA 5 trailer we see a group playing golf. In the Leisure set of screenshots from August a tennis court with players is shown. Game Informer confirmed that there will be a golf course to play through which was later stated to contain only 9 holes. Triathalons and tennis will also feature in the game as we speculated. iGTA5

Hunting

Previews on May 2nd mentioned hunting among the side activities but it is unknown how extensive hunting will be. Red Dead Redemption featured skinning (looting) animals for skins and meat in order to trade them for cash but that may be beyond the scope of GTA V and you'll simply shoot a certain amount of a certain animal to complete a minigame.

Billiards, Card Games, etc

San Andreas and GTA IV featured Billiards tables to play against local citizens or friends. Red Dead Redemption featured a couple variations of cards (poker & blackjack) and other similar minigames. The games were also made available online via DLC. GTA V may feature these types of games to earn extra money in local bars or even back alley high-stakes gambling.

Game Informer confirmed that yoga will be in GTA V. There are plenty of other things they haven't told us yet!

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What other gameplay features do you think will be in GTA V or what would you like to see? Post them in the comments below or in the following GTA 5 forum topics:

• What are you looking for in GTA5?
• What type of Character Customization do you want in V?
• Minigame/Activity Discussion
• Money (and things to buy with it)
• Life bar, 100 HP or RDR Style of Health?
• What will we be collecting?