• Posted December 11th, 2012 at 17:00 EDT by Mike Harradence
• 8 Comments

Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto V is unequivocally one of the most eagerly-anticipated games of 2013, and rightly so. It’s the most ambitious open-world title that the developer has worked on to date, and promises to inject some much-needed tweaks to the GTA template by offering a dynamic campaign spanning three protagonists. Throw in some scrumptious visuals and what is sure to be an amazing online experience, and you have a GOTY contender right there.

PSU.com is already salivating at the lips for Rockstar’s gorgeous-looking crime epic, for multiple reasons that would simply take too long to divulge. However, we’ve managed to narrow down five things that we simply can’t wait to do in GTA V, which we’ve outlined below.

Do our picks match your anticipation? Let us know what you can’t wait to indulge in when you get your paws on GTA V in the comments section below.

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1. Take a digital holiday

As mentioned, GTA V is the most ambitious open-world title Rockstar has worked on to date. That means the game world will be utterly massive, and we’ve heard murmurs of it being larger than the worlds of GTA: San Andreas, GTA IV AND Red Dead Redemption combined. This affords what can only be described as an unprecedented amount of exploration for gamers to soak up, and we can’t wait to cruise from one end of the map to the other in one of our (presumably stolen) flash motors. Or even better, take a deep-sea dive and spend hours exploring the ocean floor – you know, just because we can.

2. Play online

GTA IV allowed the franchise to dip its toes in the world of online multiplayer, and did a pretty bang up job of it too. However, while little of GTA V’s online component has been divulged as of yet, we expect Rockstar to offer something nothing short of revolutionary. Aside from your usual dollop of varied online modes, we fully expect social apps to be fully integrated into the experience, with microtransactions also playing an instrumental part in the proceedings. The crew system sounds great and connecting to the likes of Max Payne 3 really adds a new dimension to online play. Ready for another round of cops and robbers? See you in Los Santos.

3. Play as the villain

GTA V features a trio of playable characters, interlocking stories as the game progresses to allow for a full-fledged, epic narrative. However, what’s interesting is that at some point we are likely to assume the role of the antagonist as well as protagonist, according to Rockstar. This shakes things up nicely and will keep gamers on their toes in regards to who is actually the villain of the peace, so to speak. Imagine helping out one character, only to orchestrate his downfall later on by switching to another one of the protagonists? Just when we think everyone is working together, one person could come along and stab the other in the back – and we can’t wait.

4. Flip someone off

Dating may be out, but who wants to go to the trouble of courting a lady when you can piss them off instead? Yep, GTA V will allow you to give the unfortunate citizens of Los Santos the Middle Finger, royally irritating them and provoking a myriad of reactions. Depending on the location, people will react differently allowing for what is sure to be some memorable encounters, some of which may actually prove beneficial depending on your predicament. And hey, even if it doesn’t, we just can’t wait to flip people off just for the hell of it.

5. Test out the refined shooting mechanics

Combat has never really been one of GTA’s strong points; in the earlier titles it was fairly perfunctory and a bit fiddly to be honest. Things have definitely gotten better, but it’s not perfect. However, GTA V is set to improve upon things with Rockstar confirming shooting has come a long way since the previous title, with the melee combat also receiving a kick up the backside. This pleases us immensely and we look forward to a more refined combat experience for this latest GTA. If that wasn’t enough, the driving mechanics will feel more like a racing game, which given its importance to the overall GTA experience, can only be a good thing. Bring it on.

GTA V is due out in spring 2013 for PS3 and Xbox 360.