The hype cycle for the next GTA game continues with a trio of trailers (or one big combo trailer, if you prefer) focusing on the game’s storyline. It’ll be an interesting landmark for the series in Australia in any case.
Obvious warning: GTA V is a mature game that’ll almost certainly bear an R18+ rating here in Australia, and these trailers aren’t for the younger set.
Each trailer is character driven; here’s Michael*
(*no, not the cat)
And Franklin
And then there’s Trevor.
Or if you prefer, the combo trailer
It’ll be interesting to see if GTA V sticks to the rather more serious (and in some ways less engaging) tone of GTA IV and its movie style, or goes more back in a Saints-Row style over-the-top direction. I loved the technology advances in IV, but got stuck on the tone, whereas earlier iterations were a can’t miss prospect for me. It’s always hard to tell from trailers — and especially such story-driven trailers as these — as to how the gameplay will actually play out.
In any case, it’ll also be interesting to see exactly how well it does in Australia. With the introduction of an R18+ rating earlier in the year, it’ll be the first GTA game to have an 18+ classification, which (presumably) means the first uncut GTA since the early release of GTA III. Not that you necessarily need “adult” content to make a game good, but this is (and always has been) a game that’s not particularly suitable for the younger set. Equally, previous iterations have carried the lighter MA15+ badge, so quite how well it does in sales at the restricted R18+ setting will be interesting to see as well. I’m willing to bet that before the year is out, I spot at least one eight year old pestering their parents for a copy in a games store.