Grand Theft Auto 5 screens offer new insights

As a fan of the "Grand Theft Auto" series for as long as it’s been in existence, I’ve come notice a pattern when it comes to the teaser images and videos developer Rockstar releases for its upcoming games. Though the screenshots and preview videos most always appear unassuming, there are always little gems of information hidden away for eagle-eyed gamers to discover, like a Red Ryder BB Gun tucked away on Christmas morning.

And the round of photos released yesterday are no different. I first caught sight of the new Grand Theft Auto 5 screenshots on Joystiq.com and while they seem pretty pedestrian at first, a little scanning reveals a few very interesting things of note. I’ll only be presenting a few screens here on my blog but hit the link to the original Joystiq post later to see all the new screen shots.

The first screen to pore over is a fairly simple one - a small aircraft lazily glides down a scenic coastline. What makes this pic special? To GTA fans, it should be pretty obvious – hopefully this means that airplanes will be making a return to the series after being snubbed in GTA 4. Helicopters are cool, but there’s something special about being able to soar through the skies in a passenger jet, a fighter plane or even smaller aircraft, like the picture above.

This screen shot also shows off elements of impressive lighting as well as a highly detailed, rural landscape complete with tall mountains, wooded areas and even off-the-beaten-path structures like the tiny farmhouse and silo in the bottom right hand corner. Flying is one of the best ways to get from point A to point B in a GTA game and also helps with learning the lay the land. Plus, I can’t wait to discover all the secrets and little touches Rockstar has hidden in these hills. Bigfoot, perhaps? Only time will tell.

This next shot seems pretty plain. A bit boring, even. But a look across the background of the image (what little we can see) provides a few interesting details.

For one, the landscape in the background seems much more arid and dry than that of the hilly, forested landscape in the screenshot above. Vegetation looks more sparse and off-road vehicles would definitely suit the hard-packed dirt roads and ground more than the sporty coupe protagonist Michael is driving. But there’s an even more interesting detail back there.

Anyone who played GTA: San Andreas will no doubt remember The Truth, the unwashed hippie who seemed to be on a perpetual acid trip that CJ meets in the desert. Eventually, Truth has you breaking into a military base to steal some weird alien goo. But fans will probably remember what else CJ stole a bit more vividly – a freaking jetpack! And what do you know – if you look in the background of the picture, above the hood of the car, you’ll see what appears to be an installation of some sort with numerous, massive satellite dishes. Granted it appears to be right out in the open so it being a secret military base might be kind of a stretch but I can still hope against hope that I’ll be able to zip around the skies in my very own, personal jetpack in GTA 5.

From what I can tell, GTA 5 seems to be about the three central protagonist characters forming a criminal enterprise to both organize and pull off daring, Hollywood-esque heists. Which is what makes the above screenshot so surprising.

If you played San Andreas, you’ll remember the Turf War mechanic of the game that popped up once you started dealing more with your neighborhood gang, the Grove Street Families. Grove Street colors were green and the mortal enemies of Grove Street were the Ballas, who wore purple. And in the screen above, we seen the drive of a drop-top luxury car, clad in green apparel, opening fire on pedestrians wearing purple. Could we possibly see a return of the Turf Wars from San Andreas, or even appearances by CJ and other members of Grove Street Families? It will be interesting to see if these elements from San Andreas have any bearing on the story of GTA 5.

From reports that I’ve read, GTA 5 will sport as much real estate underwater as it does dry land, which could only mean that we will definitely be seeing plenty of action under the sea this fall. Luckily, it seems that scuba gear is now and option to wear (and from what I’ve heard, available from any ship you commandeer) so that your underwater exploration is never hindered. This is a big relief to anyone who remembers how annoying it was to level up CJ’s lung capacity before you could take on certain missions in San Andreas.

The final image is from what appears to be one of the game’s many heist situations. From what I’ve heard, heists will be a very big part of GTA 5. And not just the act of holding up a bank (as in GTA: Vice City) but rather you will be able to plan out a heist from beginning to end,  even in terms of what masks and disguises you’ll need. Not a whole lot is known about the specifics of heist planning in GTA 5 but it sounds like it will be integral to the plot.

And there you have it, a whole set of fairly unassuming screen shots with a sorts of wonderful teases and Easter eggs hidden in the details. Not much else is known about the plot of GTA 5 or the multiplayer but I do know this – the wait until September 17 is going to be unbearable. To see the rest of the new GTA 5 screen shots from the original Joystiq post, click here.