Post 04 November 2011

By DJSADERS

Page 1 of 2

Rockstar Games is a company that isn't known for doing anything by accident. Every screenshot it releases is meticulously posed for maximum coolness, every trickle of information is tightly controlled, and every background detail in its games is significant. So when the first trailer for Grand Theft Auto V launched this morning, it wasn't just an opportunity to see a cool upcoming game; it was a chance to pore over every shot and guess at what hidden meanings Rockstar might be hinting at by selecting that specific footage. And as Rockstar trailers go, this one's a treasure trove of visual information.

First, if you haven't watched it yet, you can see the trailer here.

Now, here's our take:

The action's in San Andreas again

Above: Check out the smog... and the helicopter just visible to the right of that skyscraper

Well, duh, you already knew that, right? What's interesting about this isn't just that GTA V is giving us Los Santos, though – it's that it's giving us so much more. At the very least, it looks like there's going to be a ton of open space around the endless sprawl of Los Santos, including what we're going to guess is Mt. Chiliad at the trailer's 00:20 mark.

Above: Here's to hoping we can mountain-bike recklessly down those slopes again

There are also the big, beautiful windmills glimpsed at 00:28, which in real life can be found a considerable distance away from Los Angeles.

Above: Also, take a close look at the truck near the bottom of the frame – the volumetric dust cloud it's kicking up is pretty impressive

Finally, there's the presence of jets to consider, which show up at a couple of moments during the video, like when this one flies over the Vinewood sign at 01:09:

When we first saw GTA IV a few years ago, we were told that there wouldn't be any pilotable planes, simply because Liberty City was too small to contain them. Now, Los Angeles is a gigantic city that has actually grown over the decades to consume several other cities, creating a massive urban sprawl that, if done right as Los Santos, could easily dwarf the previous version of San Andreas. But there's also a chance that jets could mean we'll be seeing glimpses of a remodeled San Fierro and Las Venturas in the near future. We can hope, anyway.

Oh, on that note:

Fighter jets are back!

It's quick, but a Hydra-looking jet fighter flies over the city at 01:01. Being able to fly planes again is all well and good, but it'll be even better if those planes can fire missiles at rival gangs.

Also, you'll apparently be able to snag a crop duster (seen at 00:42) and treat migrant farm laborers almost as horribly as they're treated in real life:

In either case, we're hoping we can use the planes to visit, hijack, climb on top of or otherwise ruin the blimp that frequently shows up in the distant background of a lot of the trailer's shots.

This guy is probably the protagonist

Unless Rockstar's messing with us (and it wouldn't be the first time), odds are that the protagonist of GTA V – and the world-weary narrator of the video – is the rough-hewn fellow above, who first appears at the 00:39 mark. He may also be a father, although it's also possible that his ruminations on being a dad are a purely hypothetical part of his plan to settle down and escape "the life." (If you'll recall, Niko Bellic arrived in Liberty City with a similar dream, which immediately went to shit.)

There's been some speculation (fueled by the fact that the narrator's voice sounds a bit like actor Ray Liotta) that he's actually an older Tommy Vercetti from Vice City, although that seems pretty unlikely for two reasons. First, a representative for Liotta has gone on record saying that isn't Liotta's voice. Second, Rockstar told us years ago that GTA IV takes place in a separate universe from the PS2-era GTAs, meaning we can assume that the same is true of GTA V and its overhauled version of Los Santos. But again, we can always hold out hope.

The idea that the guy above is the protagonist is further hammered home by the fact that he appears to be the one leading the robbery at 00:45:

He can also be glimpsed a couple more times during the video, whether he's driving by shuttered businesses at 00:48...

... toward the camera at 00:49...

Or past the camera, in a blur, at 00:57.

Above: This one might be a stretch, but the profile is similar if you look at the face furthest to the left

Another possible candidate for the hero role is the faintly Vin Diesel-looking guy in the red convertible, who first shows up at 00:22...

... and again at 01:04, fleeing from the cops.

There's also the guy who flees from the cop chopper at 01:06, whose appearance immediately sparked speculation that Carl "CJ" Johnson was back in action.