Originally the plan was going to be to come home from the office a little earlier than usual, hop on GTA Online and then when I finally had enough, watch Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. while passing out for the night. Luckily, work got in the way and I wasn’t able to leave early as I saw Twitter exploding with #GTAOnline and #GTAProblems along with not very positive feedback. There was no way it could be that bad, right?

I hop on, choose four random grandparents that result in a character that actually look somewhat like me (and according to this equation, I am 1/4 black which is unexpected) and sign into the game server. Well, I attempted to sign on to the game server. It ended up taking three tries before I finally got in. Once finally in the game, I got the intro cut scene with tutorial messages as a familiar face drove me to the first mission. As I stepped into the first mission, the game got stuck on a “Searching for player” screen that I couldn’t exit. Start, Back, B. All of the go to buttons did nothing. So I hit the home button and went back out to the dashboard and restarted the whole game.

Normally, the Monday Freeview gives you a heads up on freebies that you will probably want to download. In this case though with iFruit, it is more likely an app you have the urge to download but probably shouldn’t waste a half gig of space on your iOS device for. As some of you may have already experienced only to give up, there were some pretty large problems with the transmedia experience tied from mobile devices to a person’s Rockstar Social Club account which of course ties together with their in game Grand Theft Auto V experience. Without even getting into the app itself, there were days where players couldn’t even download the app and then others where logging in was near impossible too.

Finally, when you do get in what you’ll find seems like a cool concept. Go in and customize the three vehicles owned by your three main characters. Play with chop, Franklin’s dog, and teach him tricks he can use in game. Browse LifeInvader, the in-game parody of Facebook. All interesting concepts that all ultimately end up falling flat of their potential.

When one thinks about the experience of Grand Theft Auto, the word “authentic” isn’t usually what comes to mind. Everyone remembers their first time running down hordes of hookers, recreating the climax of Scarface and even using a jet pack from Grand Theft Auto III, Vice City and San Andreas respectively. But as Saints Row has come out and erred on the side of parody, Grand Theft Auto has gone towards something more grounded and realistic. With Grand Theft Auto V being the second in the series heading back to a more authentic experience, Rockstar Games actually went and got real gang members to be a part of their voice cast. That’s right. Real gang bangers.

In an interview on Chicago radio station WGN, Rockstar producer Lazlow Jones spoke about the decision and process of using real gang members. “When we record all these ambient characters that are in the world, we go towards authenticity,” Jones said. “So in the game, part of the element of the story is that there’s rival gangs.

“There’s black gangs, there’s Latino gangs, and we recruited a guy who gets gang members, like actual gang members, real gang members. I mean, El Salvadorian gang dudes with amazing tattoos and one of which literally had gotten out of prison the day before. And we brought these guys in to record the gang characters because, you know, you don’t want a goofy LA actor who went to a fancy school trying to be a hard gang member. There’s nothing worse than that.”

If you’ve ever played a PlayStation 2, you probably spent a good chunk of that time going through Liberty City as Claude picking up hookers and killing them to get your money back, high speed chases and just general mayhem in Grand Theft Auto 3. The open world was something unlike any game had offered before. Since, GTA has spawned numerous sequels and add-on packs as well as delved into the online world for the first time in Grand Theft Auto IV. With Grand Theft Auto V a month away, Rockstar has added a very large extra incentive to get players hopping onto the GTA V train.

While Grand Theft Auto V will launch on September 17th, on October 1st there will be the release of Grand Theft Auto Online. This will be a multiplayer focused open world with just as much creative freedom as Grand Theft Auto V itself has. In addition to unlockable story pieces, players will accumulate credit to use on rides, housing and gear. This will give a level of customization not found in the single player campaign of Grand Theft Auto V.

Today marks the release of the first gameplay preview for Grand Theft Auto V from Rockstar Games. The nearly five-minute video shows off Los Santos — the biggest open world Rockstar has ever created.

Los Santos is, according to Rockstar, a “satirical re-imagining” of Southern California with L.A.’s most glamorous sections, the seedy parts of the city and the natural beauty surrounding the area. Grand Theft Auto V gives players a chance to jump into a range of different activities in all the settings including scuba diving, boating and flying a plane. And, of course, smokin’ some fools.

The preview also provides a better look at the game’s three protagonists: Michael, a former bank robber who isn’t enjoying the retired life; Franklin, a repo-man and street hustler looking to move up in the world; and Trevor, a career criminal who is completely unhinged. Un-hinged.

Gotta admit it, we’re kinda liking this one. Grand Theft Auto V comes out Sept. 17 for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

Check out the video after the break.