GTA 5 Giveaway

We are giving away 1 free copy of Grand Theft Auto 5. To enter in our prize drawing simply fill out the short form below. The winner will be notified via email 1 week before the GTA 5 release date.

Anticipating the GTA 5 Soundtrack

Needless to say, we think about Grand Theft Auto 5 a lot these days, ever since the first trailer came out for the game.  With so much to anticipate, we usually focus on questions relating to the protagonist of the game, the setting, the plot, and the graphics and gameplay.  One thing which we don’t talk about as much but which is of course worth taking a look at is the soundtrack of GTA 5.  Right now we don’t know anything about it, but we do know that Grand Theft Auto historically has featured great soundtracks, so GTA 5 is bound to be no exception to the rule.

Music publishers are also looking forward to participating with Rockstar Games on the creation of the GTA 5 soundtrack.  As EMI’s VP of music resources stated, “Over the years, the Grand Theft Auto series has provided EMI Music Publishing with a unique opportunity to get sync placements for some hidden gems in our catalogue that otherwise may not have landed in the world of video games.  We look forward to working with Rockstar Games on future versions of this fantastic series and to continuing to deliver value to our songwriters in this regard.”

So far the only song which is associated with GTA 5 is “Ogdens’ Nut Gone Flake” by The Small Faces.  That is the song which we heard in the trailer that came out recently.  Fans argue about which Grand Theft Auto soundtrack has been the best so far—a lot of people vote for San Andreas, but many others contend that Vice City featured the best and most atmospheric soundtrack.

One unique idea which some fans have put forth for music in GTA 5 is a way to customize what the player listens to as he or she moves around in the game.  If for example the playable characters were able to carry around iPods or similar, then those characters could listen to music as they moved around the game, and the player could choose which music they listened to.  The player could include music featured elsewhere in the game, or even music featured in past GTA games.  There’d have to be a limited selection, of course, but it would still provide an interesting way of integrating music into the game.  A feature like this would be just one more way of customizing the gamer’s experience in GTA 5.

Take-Two Still Relatively Silent About GTA 5

Take-Two’s most recent fiscal year wasn’t as impressive as the year before; nothing which Take-Two released last year had nearly the impact as Red Dead Redemption released back in 2010.  Take-Two certainly will want to press forward in 2012 and redeem their bottom line; and one of the best games they can use to push forward is Grand Theft Auto 5.

In spite of this, Take-Two still has fairly little to say about GTA 5, except that they are hard at work on the title and that it is coming along well.  If GTA 5 is released in 2012, this could be one of the best fiscal years for the company; at least, we can certainly glean this not only from the obvious significance of the franchise, but also from the fact that Take-Two has brought up GTA 5’s development during investor meetings.  Take-Two knows their investors care about Grand Theft Auto 5, since their investors realize its financial importance.

Alas, we wish that Take-Two would also spend some time telling the general public about the new game, instead of leaving us to skim through investor’s meeting reports in order to look for news on its development.  Perhaps this is one way Take-Two is trying to build up anticipation for the game—by releasing the trailer to pique our curiosity, and then telling us as little as possible about the game.  Is it working?  We suppose it is—it’s not like we aren’t dying to hear more about the game.  If Take-Two would tell us more about GTA 5, though, it’s not there’d be less news about GTA 5—there’d be more news.  So we hope that one of these days soon we’ll get another glimpse at the game, perhaps through a second trailer.  Some info on the release date would be great, too!

Should GTA 5 Release On Next Gen Consoles?

So far we don’t know a whole lot about Grand Theft Auto 5.  We’ve seen the trailer, but we have yet to hear Rockstar announce an official release date—or even an approximation.  We do have some hints from various sources which we can use to form a hypothesis, but no more than that.  We are pretty sure though that Rockstar plans to release GTA 5 on the current generation of consoles—PS3 and Xbox 360.  While we’re glad that Rockstar might release the game sooner rather than later, we could see the value in waiting.

According to Take-Two’s second quarter financial earnings report, many of Take-Two’s new games may come out during “fiscal year 2013.”  The report didn’t mention anything specific about GTA 5 though.  All the entry for GTA 5 said next to it was “TBA.”  Meanwhile, according to a National Alliance Capital Markets analyst, “Rockstar Games is modeling a four to six month marketing window for their upcoming GTA 5 release, suggesting a summer ’12 launch period.’”  The analyst did say that this was only conjecture and that they didn’t know for sure.

The last time Rockstar released a game at the end of a console cycle was Grand Theft Auto San Andreas.  Considering what a fantastic game that was, Rockstar certainly proved that they have what it takes to make the best of the end of a console cycle.  Historically speaking some games released by other developers have spanned two console generations.  Perhaps GTA 5 will be one of those games, and it will bridge the release of the consoles and be playable on either generation.

It would certainly be exciting if GTA 5 was released for the new generation of consoles with enhanced graphics and ambitious game mechanics.  With so much anticipation surrounding the release of PS4 and Xbox 720, Rockstar would do well to take advantage of the momentum.  On the other hand, Sony and Microsoft are swift to remind us time and again that PS3 and Xbox 360 still have a lot of life left in them, so realistically speaking, Rockstar is most likely to try and take advantage of that life instead of wait to release their game indefinitely.  And let’s be honest; we don’t want to wait indefinitely either, do we?  Whatever Rockstar decides to do, we’re looking forward to another outstanding GTA title with more to offer than ever.

Which GTA Characters Could Come Back in GTA 5?

Ever since the first Grand Theft Auto 5 trailer was released, there has been a lot of speculation regarding the characters.  Right now we don’t know a lot about them, but we’ve identified a probable protagonist, and the rumor is that we’ll have several playable characters, all of whom may be brothers in the story.  One question which a lot of fans have been asking though is whether it might be possible for favorite characters from earlier in the series to return in a cameo in the new game.

Technically, GTA 5 is supposedly set in a different universe than previous installments.  The latest rumor though is that characters from Liberty City might make an appearance in the newest game.  While this is pure speculation, it is based on their appearance in earlier installments, in particular Grand Theft Auto 4.  Since many of those Liberty City characters died, it doesn’t seem likely we could see them again, but some characters which fans think may make a comeback include Niko Bellic, Jonathan “Johnny” Klebitz, and Jerry Kapowitz.

How soon will we find out whether these rumors could be true?  Unfortunately with the recent announcement about the Max Payne 3 release date being in May, we now figure we have quite a while to wait before Grand Theft Auto 5 is released.  Max Payne is a major release for Rockstar Games, so it makes sense that they would want to give it some space before releasing another huge game like GTA 5.

We probably won’t see the game until 2013—then again, with the holiday season, who knows?  Releasing a game in spring oftentimes means missing the holiday rushing and putting out a game when everyone is still distracted with the games they bought the last winter.  So perhaps we’ll still see GTA 5 before the year’s end.  Either way, we have more than enough time to keep speculating and trying to figure out which characters we’ll see.  Hopefully Rockstar won’t leave us completely in the dark and will make another announcement about GTA 5 and its characters—new and old—soon!

At Long Last an Official GTA 5 Update is Forthcoming

We’ve been waiting ages for an official update from Rockstar Games on Grand Theft Auto 5—and checking out every rumor we can find in the meantime. We haven’t heard much from Rockstar since the release of the first GTA 5 trailer. Since then we’ve speculated on what we’ve seen and tried to draw some conclusions about the game’s protagonist, plot and features.

According to an article at Gameranx, a fan who emailed Rockstar about the game received a reply that he should stay tuned for a bulletin in the Rockstar Newswire next month. We don’t know whether the fan is telling the truth or not, but if he is, we hope that Rockstar will shed some light on our speculations about the trailer. Maybe we’ll learn a little more about GTA 5, and most importantly, perhaps Rockstar will allude to a release date. Once we found out that Max Payne 3 was going to be released in May, we realized we might not see GTA 5 until next year. Then again, Rockstar may still want to get in on the holiday rush with GTA 5 instead of waiting to release the game off season next year. With any luck we’ll have some real answers within just a few short weeks.

GTA 5 Release Planned for 2013?

Rockstar Games hasn’t announced the official release date for Grand Theft Auto 5 yet, but what they have announced is that Max Payne 3 will be hitting the shelves for consoles on May 15 in North American and May 18 in the rest of the world. The game will be released for PC on May 29 in the North American market and June 1 everywhere else.

What does this have to do with the release date for Grand Theft Auto 5? According to Mike Hickey, analyst for National Alliance Capital Markets, “It seems unlikely that Rockstar Games would launch both Max Payne 3 and GTA 5 in the month on May. Therefore, we have shifted our original expectation for GTA 5 to launch in May 2012, into the Company’s 2013 fiscal second-half operating period (release window: Sept. ’12 – March ‘13). Therefore, we have shifted our original expectation for GTA V to launch in May 2012, into the Company’s 2013 fiscal second-half operating period (release window: Sept. ’12 – March ‘13).”

So should we expect GTA 5 in 2012 or 2013? There are two main possibilities which we see in light of this analysis. If indeed we can expect the game to come out somewhere between September of 2012 and March of 2013, then it seems like the most likely release would either be a holiday release this year or a release next spring. It’s probably best for us to be patient and just expect the game to come out in 2013, but the holiday season still gives us a reason to be hopeful. In the meantime we’ll just have to keep up with the news and the rumors and keep anticipating what is sure to be the most awesome Grand Theft Auto game ever. We can also look forward to enjoying Max Payne 3!

Should GTA 5 Utilize MotionScan Technology?

One of the recent rumors to circulate surrounding Grand Theft Auto 5 is that the game will incorporate the use of MotionScan technology. This is the technique which is used to create realistic character faces and expressions in the context of CG animation in films. You’d think that this would be good news for fans of the action adventure franchise, but while initial reception was positive, there are a number of critics who feel that MotionScan does not belong in the game.

Critics of MotionScan in GTA 5 suggest that the technology will chew up too much memory, and that will mean the memory won’t be available for other game functions. Since MotionScan is a very involved process, though, it’s safe to guess the developers may only intend to use it for a few key characters or moments, not for the thousands of NPCs in the game. Other critics think that players will become distracted by the quality of the animation and perform poorly—of course, let’s face it—this is kind of ridiculous. Gamers like good graphics. We’re not going to play poorly because the graphics are good. As graphics cards and processors evolve, we’re going to see more and more realism. That’s part of the joy of gaming. Some critics have also protested that using MotionScan in a game which features sex and violence is inappropriate and may cause people to behave badly away from their consoles. This assertion is also ridiculous. We play these types of video games for catharsis—not because we think violence is appropriate in real life.

Rockstar Games has yet to make an official announcement about MotionScan, so most of this is just speculation. We’re also still not entirely sure when the highly anticipated game will actually hit stores, but we’re pretty sure that 2013 will be the big year. Who knows, though? Maybe we’ll get lucky and see a 2012 release anyway.

GTA Could Benefit from Modders in the Gaming Community

Grand Theft Auto 5, the latest release in the high octane, action-packed series by Rockstar Games, still doesn’t have a release date yet. It’s hard to say how much time is still needed for development, but one thing which we’d love to see is some of the talented members of the GTA community contributing to the next GTA game.

Many of us have not only enjoyed GTA 4 and previous games, but also the amazing mods created by other programmers who have extracted the game’s code, modified it, and created fantastic new content. Oftentimes this fan-created content rivals the actual original game for excitement and creative genius. If you haven’t yet played any of these mods, we highly suggest you download some and trying them out. You can also watch videos of the mods online.

Perhaps Rockstar Games already employs some of these people; but if not, we think they’d be able to provide amazing contributions to the official franchise and would fit in well with the development team. If it’s too late for modders to join the team for GTA 5, then maybe Rockstar will consider hiring some of them for the next installment of GTA. Regardless, we’re going to look forward to whatever mods are built by these creative GTA fans for Grand Theft Auto 5 whenever the game does finally come out. They’re sure to be able to create even more amazing mods than ever!

When will GTA 5 be released? A lot of industry analysts have speculated that the game will come out this summer, but that might be a little sooner than the reality. As of yet no official release date has been announced for GTA 5. If Rockstar Games does drop any hints as to the release date, we’ll be the first to let you know!

Why Grand Theft Auto 5 is Going to be Huge

We all know Grand Theft Auto 5 is going to be a big release—it’s the next installment in one of the most popular and enduring video game franchise of all time. That much is obvious. But we think that GTA 5 isn’t just going to be big—it’s going to be massive, and massively successful. Why? Because even with just one trailer and a press release out, we already know that this game has all the ingredients of a classic.

We can start out by looking at the setting. Of course GTA 5 is set in San Andreas—specifically in Los Santos and its environs. But it’s also set in a realistic virtual world which mirrors the economic collapse of real-world Los Angeles. GTA 5 is a game which makes a real commentary on its times, and on the kinds of struggles which can drive people to do desperate things, including a man trying to redeem himself (unsuccessfully) of a lifetime of crime for the sake of his family. Family is yet another key aspect of GTA 5; we’re pretty sure that the main character of the game will be three brothers.

Even though GTA 5 will be confined to Los Santos and the surrounding countryside instead of spanning the whole of San Andreas, Dan Houser, co-founder of Rockstar Games, promises that the map will be big and detailed. There will be a lot to explore, and this atmospheric city will be more detailed than ever. As an open world action adventure game, GTA 5 will leave plenty of avenues of exploration and action open to the player. Outside Los Santos, we’ve already seen screen shots of fields, mountains, beaches and more, suggesting that there is a lot explore even outside the city’s boundaries.

The development of technology since the last GTA game also suggests that the game will be more realistic than ever, potentially utilizing Motionscan technology for more realistic NPCs. We’ll also probably be seeing more realistic combat and gunplay, and hopefully more interesting missions (GTA 4 really stood out on this front). Also moving with the times, GTA 5 will incorporate a multiplayer mode. We don’t know much about this yet, but it’s sure to take GTA fun and excitement to new levels.

What else is going to guarantee GTA 5’s success? Humor has always been a big part of GTA, and GTA 5 will be no exception. Despite the harsh look at the economic climate of California, GTA 5 won’t forget to poke fun at the society it is satirizing. We’ve already seen silly brand names in the trailer like STD Contractors, Mile High Club and SpeedoPhile. GTA 5 will be everything you expect from the classic series, but will also make a relevant statement about the times we live in. In other words, Grand Theft Auto 5 will bring the best features and familiar locations of the older GTA titles to the table but will also deliver a gaming experience which is more expansive, detailed, realistic, and exciting than ever before.

GTA 5’s Map “Very Big”

For those who are worried that Grand Theft Auto 5 won’t provide a lot of room for exploration, Rockstar Games has some reassuring news. Even though the game will only be set in Los Santos and the surrounding area (not the whole of San Andreas), the map itself will be large and plenty detailed. Dan Houser, co-founder of Rockstar, says, “I’ve got to be real careful here, or they will drag me through the office and whip me with barbwire. I will stick to exactly what’s in the press release. It’s Los Santos and the surrounding countryside – and a very big map.”

The previous press release from Rockstar indicated that the game would take place mostly in Los Santos, but before now we didn’t know for sure if the map would be big or not. Now we know we can look forward to an extensive interactive environment with more detail than ever.