GTA 5: trailer clues exposed

If you’re anything like us, you’ve been pouring over the GTA 5 trailer that was released this afternoon. Here are our observations so far…

0.03 “Why did I move here? I guess it was the weather. Or the… Ah, I don’t know. That thing. That magic.” Some people have suggested that our protagonist is Tommy Vercetti (due to the references to “retiring” – see below), but I’ll wager a tenner that it isn’t. That’s not Ray Liotta’s voice, for a start. And why would Vercetti move to San Andreas for “the weather”? He lives in sun-drenched Vice City.

0.06 Notice the dog on the beach. Not a big deal, but a first for the series nonetheless. Will we have to deal with guard dogs at some point?

0.18 He may not be Vercetti, but Our Guy sounds like he’s an ex gangster – someone who wanted to retire from “what I was doing… that kind of work”.

0.19 If I’m not mistaken, the branding on that jet-ski reads “Speedophile 2000”.

0.30 If that’s the “big house” our hero bought, he’s got to already be a fairly wealthy guy. I’m convinced that money – greed and the economic downfall – will be a major theme of the game, so it’ll be interesting to see how this affects the usual GTA “rags to riches” structure.

0.31 The road sign lists Little Seoul as a location, so expect Korean gangsters to make an appearance. Also, note that we’ve got a freeway to use. Between this and the mountain that appears earlier in the clip, you can be sure that we’re going to get a wide variety of places to visit, San Andreas style.

0.36 Note the shredded poster for the store’s “70 per cent off closing down” sale.

0.38 The skyscraper is being built by STD Contractors.

0.40 This is almost certainly the first glimpse of Our Guy. He’s the same person leading the robbery five seconds later, and he can be spotted driving the car at 0.50.

0.41 Our Guy is talking about being a father, and says that his original dream involved “playing ball” with his kids, and “sitting in the sun”. He also implies that this isn’t the case now. It’s a stretch, but this could mean that the Internet-obsessed teenager mentioned in the casting call is Our Guy’s son.

0.42 That crop-duster more or less confirms that we’ll get to fly planes this time around.

0.45 Another nice slogan, this time for Bugstars Pest Control: “We put the FU in fumigate.” The van’s license plate is registered to San Andreas, as if the setting were in dispute at this point.

0.51 – 0.55 A lot of people on the streets, followed by a house undergoing foreclosure. Make no mistake, this GTA 5 will be about the growing gap between the Haves and the Have-Nots. To emphasise the point, we have people living in tents at 0.59, followed by skyscrapers at 1.01.

0.58 The hobo’s sign has been tactically smudged, but it appears to read: “Need money for beer, drugs [or possibly dex, as in dexedrine] and hooch. At least I’m not bulls***ting you!”

1.01 The sign above the club appears to be advertising something called E.N.E.M.A. Lord knows what that is.

1.03 That blimp, seen here in the far left corner of the sky, makes several appearances in the trailer – including at the very end. Are we going to get in that thing?

Check out some stills from the GTA 5 trailer in our GTA 5 trailer image gallery.