Grand Theft Auto is one of the most incredible games franchises that we have seen to date and their latest version of the game will be launched in Spring 2013. Rockstar Games the company behind GTA have just released a new trailer, the second, for GTA V.

There is no actual gameplay shown in the trailer just a series of scenes that give you a flavour of what you can expect in spring of next year when the game is released. In the new game there are three playable characters and all three take up quite a bit of airplay on the trailer.

The game itself is set in the city of Los Santos in the state of San Andreas and from the trailer it looks like it will be a very interesting world to explore. Although not in the video it is strongly rumoured that players will be able to explore underwater for the first time in a GTA game. I can still remember the excitement I felt when I saw a dolphin while playing Vice City so I wonder what we will find in the waters around Los Santos?

What has made GTA games so enduring is the attention to detail within the games. The characterisation is good. I can remember the first time I had a choice on which villain to go and do a job for in Vice City and basing my choice on which character I “liked” best. I can still remembering thinking to myself “What do you mean, you like one character more than the other? They are both just a stream of bits, they’re not real” but then that’s the way Grand Theft Auto tends to take you over. The storylines are always compelling and although there is a lot of negative publicity attatched to GTA regarding the violence there is in fact always a strong moral message.

I have no doubt that there will be the usual mixture of main missions and side games to keep players occupied. My only hope is that they don’t put too much emphasis on online play, though I realise that this is exactly what the console manufacturers want, it’s just that I’m not that keen on continually getting shot by some 12 year old in Texas!

I’ve not played a video game in about three years but I have a feeling that come spring 2013 I will be buying myself a new console and a copy of GTA V.