A massive amount of new information regarding GTA V

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Remember the modest car customization found in San Andreas? Well, apparently that feature is coming back with a vengeance in GTAV. Rockstar promises that Pay-n-Spray shops will not simply be used for a quick change of paint in order to evade the cops. Of course, you can still do that if you want--and even swap out license plates if you're so inclined. But these shops will also be used for customizing your car to high heaven, including performance upgrades as well as cosmetic options such as new spoilers, grilles, and window tints that will let you live out your inner Vin Diesel (or Paul Walker, if you're the boring type).

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Outside of having unique backstories, the three playable characters have extremely different skill sets. For the first time since Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, characters will have skills that they can increase through use. For example, sprinting a lot might increase your agility with a specific character. Franklin, who steals cars for a living as a repo man, has a natural predilection for driving, so his skills behind the wheel will start out higher and increase faster than the other two protagonists, while Michael is more adept at firing guns, and will get better at that much faster. But if you're dedicated enough to one character, you can focus your efforts and make Trevor the best driver in the bunch. It'll just take a lot longer and doesn't take into account the new active skills system.

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Players will be able to add tattoos and change the hairstyles of their characters. Weapons can be customized with different attachments. Vehicles can be improved for better handling and overall performance.

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If pedestrians see you commit a crime, they'll whip out a cell phone and call the cops or take pictures with their camera phone.

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In addition to yoga, skydiving and scuba diving, players will also be able participate in the following activities, according to reps: golf, tennis triathlons, bike races, picking up hitchhikers, base jumping and ATM robberies.

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There's a nine-hole golf course in this game. You can play it. You can choose your clubs. There is also a yoga mini-game in this game. And ATM robberies you can interfere with. And cars you can customize. And shipwrecks. And sharks.

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Each of the three characters even has his own bank account, allowing you to manage each one's purchases differently. These guys can buy property. The example I was given was a taxi company. It will generate regular income. They can buy houses, too.

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Like Skyrim, each of the protagonists’ skills in certain disciplines – shooting, driving, flying and so on – improves the more they are used. So while Franklin will start the game as the most accomplished driver and Trevor’s time in the military means he’s the best pilot, you’ll be able to redress the balance simply by playing the game. Stamina, lung capacity, strength and stealth are also tracked, and Rockstar says new tools and boosts will be unlocked as you improve. Each of the three characters also has a unique special move, use of which is limited by a meter under the minimap. Michael can slow down time in combat in a refined version of Max Payne 3's bullet time; Franklin can do likewise from behind the wheel of a vehicle, comfortably taking tight turns at high speed. Trevor, fittingly, has a Rage mode of sorts, doling out double damage and taking less himself until the meter is spent.

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The transition between characters is slick: you ascend into the skies, Google Earth-style, the screen fills with static (although you can still see the outline of your location) and then you zoom across the city, zeroing in on the character of your choosing. The closer, geographically, Franklin, Trevor and Michael are to one another, the quicker the transition; when you're using all three in a mission, for example, the change will be instantaneous. When they're miles apart, at separate ends of the map, the swap takes longer. It's a clever way to mask loading times. Before we make the leap, though, there are a couple of other things worth pointing out.

The first is that each character is rated in a series of skill categories, viewable from the pause screen: Special, Stamina, Shooting, Strength, Stealth, Flying, Driving, Mechanic, Lung Capacity. Each characters' Special will be different, and unique to them.

Franklin, an adrenalin junkie, has the ability to slow down time while driving. (Rockstar didn't expand on this, but it's a fair bet it'll come in handy when you're being pursued by cops and, say, need to take a last-minute, super-sharp corner to lose them.) Trevor, the game's crazy-eyed nutjob, has a frenzy mode, where he's able to do double damage, while taking only half in return. As a bonus, he also has a unique melee attack, yet to be revealed. And, finally, Michael - the career criminal - turns all Max Payne with his own version of bullet time. Special meters drain after use, and recharge slowly in the aftermath - but while activated, they're often the difference between success and failure.

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Rockstar has included more tools in your arsenal and cars, trucks, motorcycles, watercraft, and all manner of aerial vehicles than ever before. Better yet, they’re all fully customizable and upgradeable. In the biggest title Rockstar has ever created geographically, it seems rather fitting that everything around the actual terrain is growing in scope, too.

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