Get ready for six stars, two playable characters, and an incredible journey. Rockstar Games/Take Two Possibly the most anticipated video game of all time is almost here. Netflix got an exclusive 26-minute extended view of GTA VI for six hours, before the excellent trailer hit YouTube and other platforms ahead of the game’s release on November 19. Now that we’ve had the deepest look yet at Vice City and the surrounding swamps and forests of Leonida, what new information can we glean from a potential open-world opus that’s set to break all sales records? It turns out… a lot. Given that Grand Theft Auto VI could take you over 80 hours to finish, it’s no surprise that Rockstar North has come up with a ton of new gameplay mechanics. Key improvements to gunplay, deeper carjackings, an all-new respect style system, and a host of revamped minigames are just the tip of the homicidal iceberg. Let’s get into all the details of the GTA VI extended skin that you may have missed. Can you swap characters in GTA VI? Rockstar Games/Take Two Sure you can. Like much of GTA V, you can easily switch between Rockstar’s version of Bonnie and Clyde in the sequel. There’s a good example of this at 18:41 in the extended view, when the action switches from Jason to Lucia, as both leads try to handle the chaos of a high-octane chase sequence from their red convertible. It also appears that certain missions will only allow you to play as one character, making you choose between the two criminals or forcing you to make a decision in a cutscene. There’s a brief moment at 10:50 in the extended trailer when Lucia and Jason are offered a job by their criminal friend Brian Heder, over drinks at a glitzy rooftop bar called Effluvia in downtown Vice City. The pair briefly discuss who will accept the mission before Lucia gets up, leaving Jason to work and his Pißwasser (that’s GTA’s signature beer, in case you forgot). Expanding on Previous GTA Systems Rockstar Games/Take Two A real blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment occurs 14 minutes into the extended view. As Jason does his best to hold off police cars and a whirlwind with an automatic rifle while in the back of a getaway vehicle, you briefly see the return of six wanted stars. This is significant, as GTA V capped its Wanted system at five stars. That makes the Los Santos masterpiece a standout in the GTA pantheon, and every two 3D iterations add an additional sixth star (signaling the SWAT-like NOOSE forces, in the case of GTA IV). A new criminal profile system is added to this reinforced search level. Detailed in IGN’s preview, it apparently acts a bit like Red Dead Redemption 2’s Honor system, though it promises to be more nuanced. The site claims that GTA VI does not consider all crimes equal; Responding to an angry NPC acting as an aggressor will not be judged as harshly as going on a deranged killing spree. The game will also give you the opportunity to walk away from potentially violent encounters by de-escalating situations through on-screen dialogue options that allow you to taunt or speak politely (another throwback to RDR2). Rockstar North co-studio head Rob Nelson told IGN that “consistent actions can have an impact in terms of how the world reacts to you and how the narrative unfolds,” while discussing GTA VI’s big new mechanics. Apparently, throwing trash in a trash can or feeding one of Leonida’s many creatures can help raise Lucia or Jason’s criminal profile. Changes to Combat Rockstar Games/Take Two Rockstar has not revealed the changes it has made to GTA’s gunplay and melee systems. Still, eagle-eyed fans may have spotted some clues about how GTA VI is evolving the franchise’s trigger-happy skirmishes. The first major adjustment is that you can finally switch between two firearms on the fly, without having to resort to a weapon wheel. You can see this as Lucia makes her way around an outdoor shooting range at 18:31 of the extended preview, with the bank robber seamlessly switching between a high-powered rifle and her pistol. There are other subtle evolutions to GTA V’s combat model if you squint hard. Weapons seem easier and quicker to pick up, as seen when Jason smoothly equips an enemy’s Duke 556 assault rifle during a hectic office shootout toward the end of the trailer. Aiming also seems to be smoother overall. At several points during the latest trailer, both Mr. Duval and Ms. Caminos take down goons with extra slick style, though it’s hard to say how much of this is due to the studio using auto-aim during recorded footage of the game. Oh, and it looks like you can now wield certain weapons one-handed. Witness Lucia waste the suckers at the 09:21 mark as she wields a shotgun in one hand while the other carries a large bag of cash, guns, and narcotics. Side Activities Abundant Rockstar Games/Take Two Grand Theft Auto has always set the bar when it comes to open-world mini-games and side activities. Darts! Golf! Pool! Tennis! Triathlons! Wasting all your criminal profits on the seedy Los Santos stock market! While it’s unclear whether GTA V’s “BAWSAQ” trade will return in Rockstar’s Miami-inspired sequel, GTA VI isn’t messing around with new side activities that you’ll likely waste every hour on. Throughout the trailer you can see Lucia and Jason enjoying all kinds of relaxing (or occasionally stimulating) hobbies. Basketball, dirt bike racing, scuba diving, timed target practice challenges, stock car racing, kayaking and backyard wrestling with signature WWE finishing moves can be seen at various points. If we go by the standard that GTA V set with its minigames, each of these activities will be supported by solid mechanics that will make them a pleasure to play again. There’s also a new minigame that makes car thefts a little more interesting. While Franklin simply had to press Triangle/Y to enter any vehicle scattered throughout Blaine County, there is a moment at 06:07 where you can witness Jason starting a “Slim Jim” minigame that asks him to use a flat metal tool to enter the car via a timed meter with the right stick. Nelson also told IGN that fancier vehicles with electronic locks require key cloners before they can be stolen (it seems clear that you won’t be able to connect all cars in GTA 6). And if you spend about 8 minutes, these stolen vehicles will be easier to drive around the city, thanks to a new in-game map HUD where buildings now appear in 3D. Nods to Other Rockstar Games Rockstar Games/Take Two There are a real ton of sly nods to previous Rockstar titles in the GTA VI extended look trailer. Let’s go over them quickly. A scene where our deadly duo and Brian Heder are in the water suggests that a version of RDR2’s fishing minigame has returned. Speaking of the drink, there’s an earlier moment where Jason’s reckless driving causes a guy to hang off a bridge, perhaps hinting at a return of GTA IV’s Random Stranger Encounters. Going back even further in the timeline, a moment where Lucia struggles on the bench press is a clear nod to GTA: San Andreas’ muscle-building minigames. The callbacks keep coming: RDR2-style face coverings that can be accessed via an item wheel for heists, and a new animation that sees the main couple hide their firearms behind their backs before entering a store. Continuing with Arthur Morgan’s Old West quest, the addition of on-screen icons that appear to highlight the duo’s health, costume, and vehicle condition will be familiar to Red Dead fans. GTA VI also has binoculars in the game, although looking through a window at a guy who is clearly wearing his VR headset in a very sleazy way is a far cry from Morgan seeing moose on the horizon. Hardcore GTA V fans will also appreciate some returning features. There’s a nod to that game’s Lifeinvader social media when an optional livestream appears with a click of R3 as Lucia speeds away from the police with an unwitting hostage dangling from the trunk of her stolen vehicle. There’s also an in-game TV spot showing wild boars and deer frolicking around Leonida’s countryside, suggesting that Trevor-style hunting missions are set to return. More significantly, in the final moments of the trailer, you can see Jason inheriting Michael De Santa’s slow-motion shooting and Max Payne 3’s Killcam shooting. Even more intriguing, GTA VI appears to introduce a vital new targeting system: red dots indicate fatal hits, while yellow markers around the joints seemingly give you the chance to non-lethally disarm enemies, GTA IV style.
