Currently people seem most hyped about Grand Theft Auto 5, and rightly so, previous games in the series have received great reviews from critics and earned multiple ‘Game of the Year’ accolades, but if you think it’s going to be a one horse race think again.

A recent article over at EuroGamer is an interesting read, here we get a chance to see what games game developers are looking forward to, luckily they don’t mention their own upcoming titles – which means we get a true representation of what will be hot in 2012. This allows us to build upon our article back in October which was titled: ‘Best game of 2012, GTA 5 most anticipated?’.

Greg Kasavin at Supergiant Games is most looking forward to BioShock Infinite and Matthew Prior from EA Sports agrees, whilst Ivan Buchta from Bohemia Interactive can’t wait to get his hands on Dishonored as he thinks it will be very imaginative. Lee Perry from Epic Games is most looking forward to Mass Effect 3 and David Jaffe from Eat Sleep Play is most looking forward to Darksiders 2. Craig Duncan at Rare is most excited about Kinect Star Wars (which surprises us, but perhaps he is just looking forward to seeing Kinect being used for a more serious game genre), whilst Dino Patti from Playdead and Geremy Mustard from Chair Entertainment are keen to see how good a job Team Ico’s developers do with The Last Guardian. As you would imagine GTA 5 didn’t go without a mention – both Peter Molyneux from Microsoft Game Studios and Stewart Gilray from Just Add Water think this is the game which they want the most.

As you can see the opinions are pretty mixed, but one game came up more times than any other, this is Diablo 3. Ken Levine at Irrational Games, Richard Garriott (the creator of Ultima) and Brad Muir from Double Fine were looking forward to this game more than any other, the good news is that beta testing seems to be going well so Blizzard Entertainment should be able to stick to the Q1 2012 release plans.

Games which didn’t receive a mention include the next Call of Duty installment, Far Cry 3, Max Payne, Hitman: Absolution, Halo 4 and Final Fantasy XIII-2 – what games are you most shocked not to hear mentioned?

For years I have been looking forward to Ghost Recon: Future Soldier, but I must admit that I have spent so much time waiting I have lost my enthusiasm, also Ubisoft hasn’t done much of late to build the anticipation for the title, so I guess my most anticipated title of 2012 is a toss up between GTA 5 and BioShock Infinite – how about you?

Let’s start with Motionscan technology, this was used in L.A. Noire and made character’s faces in cut scenes much more realistic than other methods previously used. 32 high definition cameras are used to ensure that every slight movement which goes into an expression is replicated in a game – the video embedded at the bottom of this post shows just how great this technology is.

Adding Motionscan to GTA 5 will be a huge task for RockStar’s developers due simply to how many characters there will be in the game and the many different situations a gamer will get theirself into. If GTA 5 does utilize Motionscan technology not only will actors have to record audio, but their faces will have to be tracked as well, this will add an abundance of realism to the game and does seem like a natural progression for the franchise – but could it be a task which is too big for RockStar?

The fact that RockStar already has experience with Motionscan is a huge advantage, but the sheer workload this will add to the development period is almost unfathomable due to the free-roaming nature of the game, L.A. Noire was somewhat linear in comparison so it is a massive jump – with all that said if they pull it off we’re sure other developers will look at GTA 5 with envious eyes.

We think we have spoken about Motionscan enough now, so now lets touch upon whether GTA 5 should be as realistic as possible. It is almost certain that GTA 5 will be 18-rated, therefore many argue that we should see anything which is portrayed in an 18-rated movie – obviously we don’t want to see imagery which is too graphic, but a bit of gore is needed to add grit to the game’s storyline – do you agree? As for realistic graphics we really think that past GTA games have ensured that this next installment will be as visually impressive as possible, some say that graphics don’t matter too much, but that attitude surely negates any reason for a PS4 / Xbox 720 release in the future – therefore although graphics won’t make or break the success of the game it will simply give critics less to complain about and wow gamers playing the game on beautiful 1080p displays.

Ultimately we believe that the more realistic RockStar can make GTA 5, the better. We don’t think Motionscan technology is essential, but it would be great and we also believe that some blood and gore would only add to creating a more immersive gaming experience – perhaps we are wrong, so let us know your opinions on the matter in the comments section below!

Would you prefer GTA 5 to be as realistic as technology will allow?

According to an article over at CVG.com, Take-Two has just revealed their second quarter financial earnings report. It also had an update on future product launch dates that included a delay with XCOM. The product list also included the recently announced GTA V, which had many thinking could be available next summer and even before E3 next June.

What could be disappointing for many fans though is that GTA 5 is planned for release by the end of Take-Two’s 2013 financial year. This financial year runs to the end of March 2013, and Rockstar’s new installment of the franchise has a “TBA” release. There hasn’t been much official information regarding the game since the trailer first made an appearance, but CEO of Take-Two did have something to say recently.

Strauss Zelnick said that Take-Two currently has the best development in the pipeline than ever before. He added that the next installment of the GTA franchise was at the center of this, and has sold over 114 million units so far. It was pointed out that Rockstar Games set new benchmarks with every new release, and promised gamers “will be rewarded with a breathtaking entertainment experience that can only be provided by Grand Theft Auto”.

Do you hope GTA V comes out next year?

Someone who is claiming to work for a PlayStation magazine in the UK has posted on the GTA forums, and claims to have inside information regarding the game. Gameranx is reporting that the poster claims to have experienced thirty minutes of the game at the developers Scotland offices.

It has to be remembered that none of the following information can’t be confirmed as true, but if it is the game will surely not disappoint gamers. First of all the game is supposed to be massive in size and will push the PS3 and Xbox 360 to their limits. Los Santos from the game is claimed to be at least four times the size of Liberty City in GTA 4, and there is also the surrounding country side and beaches to consider.

It is claimed it took 15 minutes to get from the center of Los Santos into the country side. The views were incredible with lots going on. Shooting mechanics are said to be much better with animations for climbing, diving, rolling, and crawling all added. There are supposedly even planes to take control of, which can be crashed into buildings if you want to.

More interior locations have been added such as shopping malls, police station, college campus, and a huge hospital. One mission is said to be on a jet ski in a vast underground sewer network. Cars can be either upgraded or repaired, and you may even need to fill them up with fuel.

Besides the usual suspects regarding weapons you also get flamethrowers, remote mines, laxer trip mines, and claymores. Players can even pick up random objects to use as a weapon, and a museum where you can steal relic swords and axes to use. Mini games such as darts and bowling have gone in favor of basketball and cage fighting among other things.

Characters can only be customized now by means of clothing and body weight with all other features gone from before. You can now grab people to use as a shield or for hostage situations. The cops are set to be more realistic and use many different tactics to get you. It is also claimed the game has torrential rain along with the usual sunshine, and even earth tremors.

If some of the details are accurate GTA 5 certainly promises to be one of the best games of next year. Use the link above for all the details. Do you think these claims are true?

Rockstar have confirmed the game is already in full production at the Rockstar North studio, which is where the console versions have been designed since GTA III. The company has released a short press release and has confirmed the game will be set in Los Santos, which according to The Guardian is the fictional version of Los Angeles.

They also describe the game as a ‘bold new direction in open-world freedom, storytelling, mission-based game play and online multiplayer’. The last installment GTA IV had ambitious multiplayer features that included a social networking service, The Rockstar Social club.

The plot is the pursuit of the green folding variety but there will be many gamers hoping the franchise returns to the grittiness of Vice City with all its glitz and glamour. There have been many commenting on the graphics of the trailer, and the fact that it may be the same engine used in previous titles. But graphics are not everything with regards to a great game, just the icing on the cake.

Rockstar Games will probably provide a great title that will go down a storm in 2012, let’s just hope we don’t have to wait too long into 2012 for it. Are you looking forward to GTA V?

The release date was another feature left out by Rockstar Games with the trailer, and has left many picking various time frames for the game. Now an article on CVG.com is reporting that IndustryGamers analysts are predicting a release as early as June 2012. Some are saying it will come before next year’s E3 event.

Mike Hickey from National Alliance Capital Markets’ thinks Rockstar Games are looking at “a four to six month marketing window”, which would point to a summer release next year. Meanwhile Michael Pachter of Wedbush Securities’ is also predicting a launch before E3, and says they will do it “to steal everyone’s attention”.

These comments go against other release date predictions with Now Gamer reporting that EEDAR analyst Jesse Divnich thinks it will be available in November 2012. But they are also reporting that online retailer Zavvi has it up for preorder with a July 2012 release date. It is thought Max Payne 3 could release early next year, so if it does GTA 5 won’t be available to after that.

Hopefully it won’t be long before Rockstar at least reveal which part of the year the game will be coming. Do you think Rockstar will release GTA 5 before E3 2012?

While there are no firm details about the game at present if you go to the Rockstar Games website you are sent to the above image. It shows the title of the Grand Theft Auto 5 game with a date of November 2nd for the revealing of a new trailer. This will hopefully give us more details when to expect the title to be available.

According to an article on the Metro because it is suggesting a number sequel in the franchise, it should mean we see an all new graphics engine that won’t be using any of the technology found in older titles. The date of the video reveal falls on the same day as Uncharted 3 is released across Europe.

Many have been predicting the next Grand Theft Auto title won’t be arriving before 2012, and could be later in the year as Max Payne 3 isn’t scheduled for release until March. There have also been rumors the title could be set in Hollywood, but this could be on the small side for a Grand Theft Auto game.

The game could be one of the biggest titles to launch next year, and will hopefully not disappoint its fans. Are you looking forward to the next Grand Theft Auto game?

While we’re not sure if it will be GTA 5 or GTA 6 that launches with the PS4/Xbox 720 release, it’s good to see the kind of graphics you’ll get at the very least. Today we have a load more images for you to take a look at, which will really get your juices flowing.

These use the iCEnhancer 1.3 mod on a PC with GTA 4, obviously these graphics are not possible on current games consoles, but they will be on the next-gen. Let us know what you think in the comments.

You can see more images on pcgames.de. Some interesting ideas we’ve heard for GTA 5 include facial scanning, car customisation that really adds some extra depth to the game, voice recognition for easier interaction, international travel, open buildings rather than all the current closed buildings that lack that additional feel of reality, extremely real NPC’s for a more human like behavior, and destruction, which has to be the most wanted feature by us. You can read more ideas in this article.

We’d also like to hear your Grand Theft Auto 5 wishlist, what new features would you like to see in GTA 5?

It has proved to be a success for the likes of Treyarch’s Call of Duty games and even Rockstar’s own Red Dead Redemption game, but how would you feel if some sort of zombie mode was implemented into Grand Theft Auto?

There are two ways in which Rockstar could handle this without the core element of the game being unaffected. The first would be to include zombies as some sort of secret missions which have to be unlocked at the end of the game. For example, Rockstar could create a series of missions where the humans you would normally have to kill become zombies, making them harder to kill and with each mission becoming more difficult – just like the way zombies works in Call of Duty Black Ops.

The other route for zombies in GTA 5 that we think could be a possibility, would just to have zombies as an unlockable cheat code that you can get by completing the game on a hard difficulty setting, or another hard to achieve requirement in the standard game. Enabling the zombie code could turn all pedestrians against you, with Rockstar implementing GTA style ‘Rampage’ missions with difficulty increasing round after round. You’ll be able to take zombies out with a full plethora of weapons, and it would be even better if Rockstar could somehow enable play with a friend offline or online.

It may seem pretty farfetched, but if Rockstar are willing to do it with Red Dead Redemption, we can definitely see it happening with Grand Theft Auto 5. Let us know your thoughts on this – would you like to see a zombie mode in GTA 5 or not?

Grand Theft Auto is much more than a car game but better car physics is needed to help with improved drifting, and a better range of cars would also be a welcomed improvement. We’ve already heard about the potential of the PS4 and Xbox 720, which are expected within the next few years, and some claims have pointed to pedestrian having their own personality in games. While we don’t expect this level of detail in the PS3 or Xbox 360 version of GTA 5, it would be nice to have more pedestrian actions like getting drunk, using cell phones, etc.

Two of the most needed features for GTA 5, in our opinion, are destruction and cheats. First up is cheats, having played GTA 4 for hundreds of hours it’s obvious that cheats add another layer to GTA. Entering a code into the cell phone and gaining access to all the weapons, or a helicopter let’s the player take on another world of flying around and becoming a sniper on top of high buildings that took a helicopter to reach. The next version of Grand Theft Auto needs cheats again, but also with some more innovative items that could include diggers, JCBs, remote control planes with guns, parachutes, gunships etc. Feel free to share your ideas on better cheats for GTA 5 to add a totally new gaming experience.

Pair the above with a destructible environment in GTA 5 and you’ve really got something special. Imagine taking out buildings with diggers, piece-by-piece, and blowing parts of buildings away with rocket launches or a gunship/helicopter. Give us a lot more buildings to enter with small things to do in them like robbing, and maybe add some C4, then you could even blow a building up and bring the whole thing down. Bullet holes need to appear on buildings with a bigger range of guns to include fun things like Tasers. It’s the little things as well that count for making everything feel more realistic, like making better recycle bins with wheels and waste inside, or certain areas need to be more crowded with people like airports. I’m sure you can think of a few “little things” that would improve the game massively.

This may seem a bit much to some gamers, but GTA is all about freedom to do almost anything, and the power of the PS3/Xbox 360 is more than capable to bring all of this to the table via cheats and destruction.

Other than a new set of missions, adding destruction will make everything feel more realistic and add that cool factor. If this was added I would gladly pay a lot more for the game. Let us know in the comments below, the cheats you would love and if GTA needs destruction in your opinion.