Outside of missions, players can swap between the characters at any time. Hitting the D-pad brings up the selection menu and also a range of stats: each member of the trio has ratings for elements such as stealth, shooting, stamina, driving and, yep, lung capacity, and all of these gradually improve as the character employs them.
They all also have one special ability, which can be instigated for limited periods of time. When Franklin’s in a vehicle, he can slow down time to get sharper handling, perhaps to avoid a police stinger or navigate through a road block. Trevor can double his weapon damage for brief bursts of hyper-violence, halving the damage he takes in the process. And Michael, who already resembles a slightly older, more puffy Max Payne, gets a variant on bullet time. Once again, the more these skills are used successfully, the more they evolve.
Some tasks will require the recruitment of other characters outside the three leads. Players will be able to select their own teams, choosing drivers, marksmen, etc, as well as customising weapons and vehicles. You’ll have the option of going for cheaper, less reliable cohorts, or super-capable professionals who’ll expect a much bigger cut of the earnings – and if you stick with the same team for more than one mission, their stats will start to improve.
The wanted system works like previous games – there’s a search radius, and once you get out of it, your heat diminishes. However, it’s also possible to hide from pursuers and as long as you’re out of their direct search beacons, the wanted status drops. Michael drives the truck to an underpass where a getaway car awaits – but this isn’t an automatic prop: the player will have had to scope out a decent switchover location themselves, planting a car there in preparation, as well as scoring those masks and boiler suits. It’s all part of the build up. In the major heists this is more elaborate and will also involve building a plan of attack.
When you switch to a different protagonist, you’ll join the new guy in one of many interesting, unusual or downright disturbing activities. Trevor will usually be out in the desert, Michael in town or slumped at home in front of some Vinewood action flick, sinking bourbon. You’re never quite sure what you’ll get. To show this off, our Rockstar representative switches from Franklin to Trevor, and we join him on a beach dressed only in Y-fronts and surrounded by dead bodies. It turns out he has had a run-in with the West Coast chapter of The Lost, the motorbike gang that turned up in GTA IV and its subsequent DLC. There’s a running feud going on throughout this game over drugs or territory or both.