By Jamie Kennett
To quote the Dude, “new s*** has come to light!” With the three trailers Rockstar released last week, covered by yours truly here, and the number of articles that have begun springing up all over our rivals’ sites since then, I’ve managed to obtain a pretty good idea* of what GTA V itself is all about. This is no longer what we expect to be in the game; this is what we know is in the game. Let’s start with the map itself.
*I use those words lightly; I’m a walking encyclopaedia of GTA.
To quote the Dude, “new s*** has come to light!” With the three trailers Rockstar released last week, covered by yours truly here, and the number of articles that have begun springing up all over our rivals’ sites since then, I’ve managed to obtain a pretty good idea* of what GTA V itself is all about. This is no longer what we expect to be in the game; this is what we know is in the game. Let’s start with the map itself.
*I use those words lightly; I’m a walking encyclopaedia of GTA.
I’ll say this first: it is not a new rendition of the old Los Santos of 1992, nor is it a refurbished San Andreas; this is Rockstar’s new take on Los Angeles itself, circa 2013. All I’m saying is don’t naively assume Grove Street, or the other two cities (San Fierro and Las Venturas) for that matter, are making a comeback just because it’s the same city, it doesn’t quite work like that. Because GTA V is in a different era to GTA III, Vice City, and San Andreas (which all belong to the Third Era) for example, any characters, plots, or settings from those games eras don’t carry over, i.e. they don’t exist. If you so much as suggest that CJ or Tommy Vercetti is going to appear in GTA V, I will slay you. Cities are the one exception when it comes to crossovers; for instance Vice City was mentioned in GTA IV, as it likely will be in GTA V, but any references are to the new version of the city that simply hasn’t been made yet. Anyway, back to Los Santos…
The city of Los Santos borders the Pacific Ocean on one side, and the sprawling countryside of Blaine County on the other. Los Santos is as diverse as Liberty City, but bigger. Rockstar Games have been credited, for some time now, with saying that the surface area of GTA V’s map is going to be larger than San Andreas, GTA IV and Red Dead Redemption combined. Fellow Rockstar aficionados will know that is a lot of space.
The city of Los Santos borders the Pacific Ocean on one side, and the sprawling countryside of Blaine County on the other. Los Santos is as diverse as Liberty City, but bigger. Rockstar Games have been credited, for some time now, with saying that the surface area of GTA V’s map is going to be larger than San Andreas, GTA IV and Red Dead Redemption combined. Fellow Rockstar aficionados will know that is a lot of space.
The city, much like real-life Los Angeles is a sprawling urban jungle of skyscrapers, villas, mansions, housing projects, nightclubs, beach houses, dockyards, and motorways. Almost all the famous and significant landmarks from L.A. are there to be discovered and explored in Los Santos, all recreated with that unmistakable GTA touch. We’re already familiar with such sights as the Vinewood Sign, and the Santa Monica-inspired Del Perro Pier that stretches out from the beach of the same name.
The level of detail is immense even compared to Liberty City, which genuinely felt like a real city at times. Civilians in GTA have evolved by leaps and bounds since the third-era games, and even since the fourth. No longer do they merely perform the office of moving targets that spew tongue-in-cheek one-liners; now they have their own lives. As you travel around the city you’ll see NPC civilians seamlessly going about their business, much like you will be but without quite so much of the violence, gunfire, explosions and car chases. More Red Dead than GTA IV, the civilians (which, whether we like it or not, are just as important as everything else in the game) are there to pull you into their world, and make you feel like you’re just another ingredient in the recipe. To put it in a nutshell, Los Santos is self-sufficient; it can survive on its own and it doesn’t need your help to fill it with atmosphere and life. Though, of course, the game wouldn’t be much fun without someone to play it.
The level of detail is immense even compared to Liberty City, which genuinely felt like a real city at times. Civilians in GTA have evolved by leaps and bounds since the third-era games, and even since the fourth. No longer do they merely perform the office of moving targets that spew tongue-in-cheek one-liners; now they have their own lives. As you travel around the city you’ll see NPC civilians seamlessly going about their business, much like you will be but without quite so much of the violence, gunfire, explosions and car chases. More Red Dead than GTA IV, the civilians (which, whether we like it or not, are just as important as everything else in the game) are there to pull you into their world, and make you feel like you’re just another ingredient in the recipe. To put it in a nutshell, Los Santos is self-sufficient; it can survive on its own and it doesn’t need your help to fill it with atmosphere and life. Though, of course, the game wouldn’t be much fun without someone to play it.
The city itself will be populated by all manner of distractions to keep you from actually playing the story; bars, clubs (the famous Whiskey-A-Go-Go is reincarnated as “Tequi-La-La”), restaurants, clothes stores, tattoo parlours, hairdressers, car garages, golf courses, expansive beaches, the ocean, the Los Santos freeway system, and a massive fully-functioning airport, just to name a few things. It’s good to see Rockstar have learned from the biggest mistake of GTA IV and are giving us the chance to actually spend our accumulating fortunes this time around…
With two of the three player characters hailing from opposite ends of the city, the affluent areas of Vinewood & Richman and the ghettos of [what I can only assume is] Ganton & Idlewood, we’ll get to experience the many sides of the meticulously produced LA parody that is Los Santos; the rich and poor, the clean and dirty, the sunny and smoggy; the safe and downright dangerous.
Outside the city limits, however, it’s a completely different world. But before you begin to yawn at the idea of trawling around the generic countryside of San Andreas listening to a contemporary K-Rose on the radio, let me say, with confidence, that Blaine County is going to be as interesting and exciting a place to explore as the City of Saints itself.
With two of the three player characters hailing from opposite ends of the city, the affluent areas of Vinewood & Richman and the ghettos of [what I can only assume is] Ganton & Idlewood, we’ll get to experience the many sides of the meticulously produced LA parody that is Los Santos; the rich and poor, the clean and dirty, the sunny and smoggy; the safe and downright dangerous.
Outside the city limits, however, it’s a completely different world. But before you begin to yawn at the idea of trawling around the generic countryside of San Andreas listening to a contemporary K-Rose on the radio, let me say, with confidence, that Blaine County is going to be as interesting and exciting a place to explore as the City of Saints itself.
Taking all the best bits from the rural areas of southern California, the regions beyond the hills of Vinewood are an expanse of grasslands, deserts, mountains, lakes, and redwood forests. Possibly bigger than the city itself, there’s just as much out in Blaine County to keep you occupied for days on end. Personally I think I’m going to love the countryside more, out of the two. How I longed for somewhere wooded or sandy to flee to whenever I came down with a bout of Six Stars in GTA IV. What could be a better place to have a showdown with the LSPD than in the middle of the desert, or Public Enemies-style in the heart of a forest? Besides the countryside’s evasive potentials, it’s just nice to know you’ve got somewhere to drive, sail, ride, or fly to when/if you get tired of life in the centre of Los Santos. For instance, Mount Chiliad makes a comeback, and I know for a fact everyone is going to try to get to the top of it as fast as possible at some point in the week following the 17th of September. Many will climb, many will fall, and many will explode in a fireball when they hit the ground.
Besides the actually geography of rural San Andreas, the countryside also boasts a thriving ecosystem. Drawing from the success of wild life in Red Dead, animals are finally coming to GTA! Expect mountain lions and squirrels a plenty as you inevitably run out of gas in the arse-end of nowhere. Oh, and don’t be tempted to go for a dip if it’s a nice hot day and you’ve just piloted your speedboat out off the coast of Del Perro; there’s sharks, big sharks. Animals’ mechanics are just as detailed as civilians, and their inclusion is said to be “more than just a backdrop”.
Besides the actually geography of rural San Andreas, the countryside also boasts a thriving ecosystem. Drawing from the success of wild life in Red Dead, animals are finally coming to GTA! Expect mountain lions and squirrels a plenty as you inevitably run out of gas in the arse-end of nowhere. Oh, and don’t be tempted to go for a dip if it’s a nice hot day and you’ve just piloted your speedboat out off the coast of Del Perro; there’s sharks, big sharks. Animals’ mechanics are just as detailed as civilians, and their inclusion is said to be “more than just a backdrop”.
Actually, going back to “breaking down in cougar country”, there’s one thing I hope they do finally include in the game; fuel. Where’s the fun in zooming around the map for half an hour in a Lambo, with half of the SAPD on your tail, if there’s not even the slightest possibility you’re going to run out of petrol and trundle to a halt in the middle of the highway?
GTA V is going to provide us with the biggest playground we’ve seen in any of the games to date. With the most vibrant, detailed, and varied of any GTA map in its history, I for one am probably going to spend the first few days simply exploring it. Needless to say there won’t be many breaks either.
GTA V is going to provide us with the biggest playground we’ve seen in any of the games to date. With the most vibrant, detailed, and varied of any GTA map in its history, I for one am probably going to spend the first few days simply exploring it. Needless to say there won’t be many breaks either.
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