According to Rockstar, Grand Theft Auto V is going to be the biggest and most complex outing of the series so far, and along with this increase in both size and content comes a slew of tweaks and new additions, with some features bringing back elements of older GTA, especially fan favorite, San Andeas.
Following the gameplay reveal trailer yesterday comes a few details of the vehicle customisation and weapons usage. Talking to Game Informer, GTA V's lead mission designer, Imran Sarwar, and combat designer Phil Hooker revealed some details.
When it comes to car customisation, GTA V isn't simply going to offer up optional aesthetics, and the whole idea of tuning and customising your ride will be integrated into the game, with some missions embracing it.
“...rather than it simply being an additional option for players to experiment with, we wanted to expand it and integrate it more deeply into the game so that it would seamlessly slot in with everything else that the player can do in the world. Some missions ask you to customize vehicles in certain ways, and we have taken vehicle customization in general a lot further than we did in San Andreas.” Sarwar said.
And, weapons will be customisable too, with options that'll allow different mission tactics, as Sarwar explained,“The player has access to a wide range of modifications, such as extended clips that allow you to fire more ammo between reloads, grips to improve your accuracy, weapon tints to color your guns, flashlights, scopes, and suppressors. Attachments such as suppressors allow the player to adapt their approach to some missions and take a stealth option. It¹s all part of broadening the range of tactical options for the player.”.
Talking about actual combat, which has been influenced by GTA IV, Max Payne 3 and Read Dead Redemption, Hooker states that the combat system and controls have been reworked to make the whole experience far more fluid and enjoyable.
“A massive amount of work went into overhauling animation systems, targeting, and camerawork to really open up new opportunities for the player in the kind of freeform, open-world action shootouts that are the heart of Grand Theft Auto. We wanted shooting to feel more precise and satisfying while supporting multiple styles of play. The controls have been expanded, so now in addition to traditional left trigger "down the sights" aiming, you can also both run and shoot comfortably while only using the right trigger.”
Animation and aiming has been greatly altered to include the characters balance and momentum, and there are a selection of aiming modes, including free aim, assisted targeting and the classic GTA staple of lock-on switching.
Talking about the games use of cover, and it's benefits when controlling three separate characters, Hooker elaborated on other new features, including car cover, “In addition to smoothly running out of a car whilst firing a gun, players are able to use their car as cover, getting out and staying low without exposing themselves. They can make a stand there behind the car for a while and then at any time quickly re-enter the car from cover or from shooting and speed away with little exposure to enemy fire. It can really make the difference at crucial moments.”
The greatly improved gunplay, an area where GTA has always been lacking, and improved customisation options, represents just a small fraction of the many, hopefully great things to come from the next GTA release, and plenty more information will be coming ahead of the game's release, so stay tuned.
Grand Theft Auto V will be released on September 17 for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
Game Informer: Customisation Combat
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