Suddenly, a Rockstar developer sat next to us starts chatting into his headset and his on-screen character does the same, lip-synching broadly in time.
At any time during GTA Online, you can pick up your phone to 'ring' friends in single player and invite them into your world.
A Vapid Dominator pulls up (we can see it winding through the streets on a screen to our left), and he jumps in. "What's this?" one character asks, as Waylon Jennings plays on the radio. The passenger can change channels, acting as in-car DJ.
Whoever does the job gets the cash and can choose how much to share: a sure-fire source of arguments. "I'll give you a little more, it's OK", he says.
They head to a character's apartment, with a high-end ground floor garage with space for 10 customised cars. Like single player, car modding is extensive, but don't fear losing your cherished vehicles. You can take out insurance and ring for a replacement car if yours get destroyed. Your custom cars show as markers on the map and get impounded if you leave them too long. Simply pay to retrieve them.
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The four-person team head to the factory, scoping out sentries from afar. The scope for teamwork and co-ordination is impressive. "All clear. Let me know when you're in place", whispers one player. "I've got a guard here", says another, "I'm going in close and personal". He creeps us behind the guard, sinking a knife into his neck - presumably a new close-combat move. We also see some new clambering animations, plus a 'shin slide' down a ladder. GTA Online detects how noisy you are, so you could shout or open fire to distract a guard while a friend sneaks by.
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n truth, the visuals look a bit less polished than the trailers have led us to believe. Not hugely, but it's noticeable when viewing a guard from distance - they're not as hi-res. To be clear: GTA V and GTA Online look fantastic for PS3 / 360 titles but this is the reality of seeing a game in action, not its manicured trailers.
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Before the demo's final mission, one player leaves to drop money off at the Maze Bank ATM. If you get killed holding all your cash, a portion will spill onto the streets. It's important to keep cash for your daily activities, and deposit the rest in the bank. Or wager it on races. Or invest in the stock market... as we said, it's complex. You can even attack listed companies and damage their share price. At one extreme, you might need a bodyguard to make drops at the bank.
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Within minutes, all four players are in the chopper. "We're going to the airfield and gain some altitude", says the pilot, "Then you guys can jump out". As the chopper hovers over the airfield, the players pick out targets and set a waypoint - yes, you can set them from the air. "Get ready guys. 3... 2... 1... Jump!" shouts the pilot, as the other three parachute into the airport. It's thrilling stuff, with a real feel of team co-ordination.
Sounds awesome.
Leslie Benzies: With a lot of these things, we don't see the problems until we actually sit in a big session and play. We've got a thing called Passive mode. If you're spawning and being killed immediately, go to Passive mode - it means you can't shoot people, but they can't shoot you. So you can just kind of hang around and get to grips with the game
Seems like they are putting a lot into making sure your online experience doesnt get screwed by stupid players.
Dvader said:I am blown away, this is everything rocksteady has ever worked on all out together into the ultimate package. Jesus you can buy stock of a car maker Then go around blowing up their cars so that they have to manufacture more and the stock goes up, that's crazy. Everything is see less, going from roaming to missions to playing mini games. It's like GTA MMO.
i h as a feeling online will be sold separately eventually and move to the new consoles. The only bad thing is 16 players at a time in your world, that's too small.
I don't see any Batmen or riot shields. 
Oops.
Dvader said:
One dude almost got taken out by his falling bike...that looks fun as hell.
Is this a GTA game, or Rockstar's version of Wii Sports Resort?
Ravenprose said:Is this a GTA game, or Rockstar's version of Wii Sports Resort?
Well, it's online so it's already better than Wii Sports Resort.
travo said:Well, it's online so it's already better than Wii Sports Tesort.
Online? What's that?
Ravenprose said:Is this a GTA game, or Rockstar's version of Wii Sports Resort?
Its Excitbike U.
Ravenprose said:Is this a GTA game, or Rockstar's version of Wii Sports Resort?
Would be an improvement over the standard GTA
Dvader said:
And yet none of those 'mini-games' will actually be any fun. But that does not matter, what matter is that you can do anything. Who cares about solid mechanics and controls?! You do not need any fun, you do not need depth. You just need a check list with all the stuff you can do! The bigger the check list, the better the game.
They were fun in most all GTAs so yeah, you are talking out of your ass.
I didn't enjoy the fitness aspect in San Andreas.
gamingeek said:I didn't enjoy the fitness aspect in San Andreas.
It inspired Wii Fit.
edgecrusher said:It inspired Wii Fit.
Nah, Miyamoto was so fascinated by weighing himself before and after each morning bowel movement, that he charted it on paper! That's how Wii Fit came to be.
Ravenprose said:Is this a GTA game, or Rockstar's version of Wii Sports Resort?
It better have this:
I kinda don't get that big image collection equating it to many other games. Just because you can drive a 4x4 doesn't make it equivalent to a dedicated 4x4 racing game. Just because it has a sports car doesn't make it equal to a full NFS game. Same for bicycles and arm wrestling. Arm wrestling doesn't make it Shenmue. A bank robbery doesn't make it payday. They are just small elements of a larger game.
Online trailer!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olEGtoYs_8A