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.

In the history of video games, the Grand Theft Auto franchise is one of the most successful. We could spend a lot of time debating why it’s been so successful, but really, who wants to waste time on talking?

Instead, let’s spend our time turning our attention to the next installment of the franchise: Grand Theft Auto V. And attention it shall have, especially on days like today when a new trailer for the game drops.

We’ve been following developments on this one for some time and it’s nice to see the game has progressed and will actually get a release date. This new trailer highlights the three protagonist of the game: a Tony Soprano-esque ex-con, a Wire-style gangbanger, and a drug enthusiast hillbilly psychotic.

We won’t keep you in suspense, this looks pretty damn fun. Also, a tiny bit troubling. Still, check out the trailer after the break. Look for Grand Theft Auto V to arrive in stores on September 17th.

With the delay of Grand Theft Auto V until September, it only seems reasonable that Rockstar Games would give us some sort of peek as to the progress of their flagship title. After all, if we are going to wait for it so they can polish it, we want to make sure it is worth our while as gamers, especially before the new consoles launch this fall, right? Rockstar has revealed what may be the most beautiful screens of Los Angeles… I mean Los Santos in a game yet. They even captured the distinct hues of the LA skyline at dusk so well.

The team at Rockstar has shown that there are a lot of new things coming to Grand Theft Auto V in the latest screens. While favorites like a minigun make their way back to GTA for the first time in years, players will be able to discover underwater environments for the first time in Grand Theft Auto V.

As you’ll see in one of the screens below, GTA V will have scuba gear for players to use. While this will undoubtedly be tied to a mission at some point to unlock it, it will be interesting to see how detailed the team gets with the underwater environments throughout the world and if you can carry it with you wherever you go and start exploring some of the larger swimming pools in the Los Santos area.

Rockstar Games has announced that Grand Theft Auto V will be delayed from a Q1 2013 release to September 17th. This doesn’t come as a surprise though and that isn’t said in a cynical way either. Rockstar is known for putting out top quality games and have never hesitated to delay a title if they thought it was for the betterment of the game overall. From an editorial standpoint, we would all opt for a game to be delayed and come out at top quality than be rushed out and doomed from the starting gate.

In their statement Rockstar said, “We know this is about four months later than originally planned and we know that this short delay will come as a disappointment to many of you, but, trust us, it will be worth the extra time. GTAV is a massively ambitious and complex game and it simply needs a little more polish to be of the standard we and, more importantly, you require.

It’s beginning to smell a lot like GTA. Yes, that’s right kids, preorders for the next Rockstar Games extravaganza, dubbed Grand Theft Auto V, are now taking place.

To get you pumped for the release, the gang at Rockstar have dropped a new trailer for the game this week. And as if that wasn’t enough, the company has said that GTA V’s world is bigger than Grand Theft Auto IV, Red Dead Redemption and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas combined, is set in Los Santos, the fictional recreation of Los Angeles, and will allow gamers taking to the sky and sea in fighter jets and scuba gear. Wonder if you’ll have to jack those from other people to use them? Our guess is you probably will.

Look for the game to arrive next Spring. Until then, check out the new trailer after the break.

This past twelve months has been marked by the return of long awaited franchises. Whether critical and commercial flops like Duke Nukem Forever or sensations like Diablo III, nostalgia has played a big role in gaming recently. Also returning after a eight and a half year hiatus is Max Payne 3. Despite a terrible movie, the franchise has returned to PC and consoles with one of the most surprisingly violent games so far in 2012.

Gameplay

Max Payne 3 can best be described as an evolution of the series. Instead of just spouting off a sequel with refined graphics and new locales, there is an evolution to the gameplay of this third person shooter. In the early Payne games, Max’s actions revolved around ducking out from behind corners and going into his signature bullet time dives. While bullet time still exists, it isn’t the main focus as it once was. Most firefights play out in a coverbased shooter format now. Bullet time becomes a more varied and tactical resource than the main repetitive component it was in Max Payne and Max Payne 2.

The game also has specific set pieces revolving around bullet time like when Max dives off a roof or grabs on to a chain and gets pulled into the air, allowing him to clear out a room full of enemies in the extended BT sequence.

Melee has been improved in Max Payne 3. When up close, Max can grab and enemy and pull off a violent kill shot instead of a generic pistol whip animation that is seen in most other third person shooters. Also improved are the bullet cams. In the second Max Payne, the only time the bullet cam engaged was with a sniper rifle. Now, these go into effect as Max kills off the final enemy in an area. Players can slow down the shot by holding a button and even unload further ammunition into them, which is a great feeling after clearing out a room that has taken multiple attempts to complete.