The race is on

Unless you've been living under a rock, without an Internet connection for the past decade, odds are you've heard all about the Grand Theft Auto series. While this game has often deemed to be violent and controversial, there's no denying the fact that it is also one of the fastest selling and popular games around. So when developer Rockstar claims that GTA V, the latest in this open world franchise, is their most ambitious project till date, excitement is bound to reach a feverish pitch.

New Characters
Although Rockstar is well known for fiercely guarding information about their new releases, this time they're ready to showcase a small part of their game. First off, it seems the rumours about GTA V featuring not one, but three protagonists, is true. You have Michael, a retired but very successful bank robber who gets back into the game after his retirement funds run out. Then there is Trevor, an ex-military, mentally unstable pilot and Franklin, a 20- year- old repo man who's hungry for success and money - the two cornerstones of any Grand Theft Auto game.

For the first time in a GTA game, players will be able to switch between three characters as long as they are on the same mission. This will allow players to always stay in the midst of the action and play off all three characters' strengths. You can also shift perspectives when you're not on a mission. You also will be able to customise each character, but we don't know to what extent yet.

Vehicular support
You'll be glad to know that GTA V is Rockstar's biggest game yet and Los Santos is apparently bigger than GTA San Andreas, Red Dead Redemption and GTA IV put together. Some of the areas you'll come across in the game include Mount Chiliad, a military base (Area 69?), the Salton Sea region, wine country, the surrounding wilderness as well as the ocean floor along the coastline. To help players fully explore the vast world, Rockstar has included an insane amount of vehicles in GTA V such as cycles, mountain bikes, road bikes, dirt bikes, cars, trucks, jets, helicopters, ATVs, jet skis and lots more. The combat system has been drastically improved (hand-to-hand as well as shooting).

And there's more...
Romance is out but you can still indulge in activities like yoga, jet skiing, base-jumping, tennis and golfing on a full golf course. Rockstar have retained and refined the random interactions from Red Dead Redemption, so you never know whom you may bump into in Los Santos.

But this is just scratching the surface. With a tentative spring 2013 release date, expect a ton of information to come out in the next few months, including a full reveal on the game's revolutionary multiplayer.

(The writer is an editor at IndianVideoGamer.com)