The second mission in GTA 5 sees Franklin returning home with Lamar when the two get in a comical argument. The low blows and delivery of Lamar’s lines have led to the scene getting memed to death, especially with mods. Players have added characters like Arthur Morgan, Kermit, Spongebob, and many, many more to roast Franklin.

After seeing the recent trend, GTA 5 actors Shawn Fonteno (Franklin) and Slink Johnson (Lamar) re-enacted the scene in real life. It’s perfect, it’s beautiful, and we couldn’t ask for anything better.

GTA 5 will be getting a re-release for Xbox Series X and PS5 later this year. The new remaster will carry various enhancements and exclusive content.

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There’s something serendipitous about this 7 year anniversary. When GTA V released in 2013, it was just 2 months before the release of the Xbox One and PS4. Now, in 2020, we’re 2 months away from Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5. Funnily enough, Grand Theft Auto V is coming to those consoles as well. It’s a game that is so wildly popular it has survived three console generations without taking a moment to breathe.

But I want to analyze how Rockstar Games has maintained that longevity. So, let’s go back to that day in 2013. I vividly remember the night and day contrast of the game’s first hour. You start out in the cold, dreary fictional Midwest state of North Yankton. A bank heist goes south, resulting in you heading west to the blue-skied state of San Andreas.

You hit the sun-soaked streets of Los Santos in a flashy sports car, weaving through traffic and parking garages. The world had this unbelievable richness that captured me with such immediacy. The radio featured all these incredible songs and artists as well as a satirical yet enrapturing series of hosts and commercials. The skyscrapers felt large. The pedestrians felt unique. There was an unbelievable leap from GTA 4 to GTA 5.

Rockstar sucked us all in with a rich story that echoed cinematic crime classics like Heat. The set pieces were spectacular and layered. The characters were rich and allowed for these intertwining stories. Grand Theft Auto V brought a scope and scale never seen before by any other game.

Yes, we had numerous other open-world games. Yes, we were seeing the rise of cinematic stories. But Grand Theft Auto V operated at a level that every other game wished it could operate at. Even to this day, many games pale in comparison to the 2013 title. One might have expected developers to chase the ideas and concepts from GTA V but not many did.

There aren’t any other major games with three protagonists you can switch between on the fly. Unlike the trendchasers of Grand Theft Auto 3, it seems everyone recognized they weren’t going to match GTA V’s ambition and scale. The big playground filled with speed boats, planes, roaring cars, and chaos is unrivaled.

There are a lot of games that can create big booms and car chases but not all of them do it well. The sound, the graphics, the gunplay, the handling of the vehicles, it all melds together here to create something wonderful. Of course, all of this laid the foundation for what has allowed GTA V to dominate for 7 years: GTA Online.

Rockstar made players wait 2 weeks after launch to play the ambitious new multiplayer mode. This gave people plenty of time to focus on campaign and go all-in on the online when it dropped in October 2013. The idea was big and something fans had long dreamed of. A world where you climbed the ranks of the criminal underworld, amassing riches and assets.

You and over a dozen other people would be in a lobby where you could fight or join forces in the satirical city of angels. Your clothes, vehicles, and home were a sign of status. Of course, like real life, people wanted those status symbols badly. They found ways to exploit the game, giving them unfathomable levels of wealth.

This created this fascinating in-balance in the in-game economy which the game still suffers from. While the best car in the game in 2013 was about a million dollars, there are many cars now worth double that or more. Rockstar has done their best to counter these cheaters but when you have a game that has sold over 135 million copies, it becomes hard to control.

Many people wonder how the game is still selling copies. You’d think everyone has a copy by now but the beauty of Grand Theft Auto is that its the white whale of so many younger gamers. It’s the rebellious game, it’s the rock and roll of video games. It’s the one your parents tell you that you can’t play growing up, making you only want it more.

When they eventually become old enough to play it, they go out and buy it. A new audience of players comes in year after year because it’s this fabled gem. It’s this cycle that will likely never end until Grand Theft Auto VI releases.

Grand Theft Auto V also released when YouTube’s gaming scene was really starting to peak. Channels like Rooster Teeth boosted the game with fun and creative let’s plays, giving a portal into the game for people who didn’t have it. Other channels stoked the fires of in-game conspiracies such as a mystery surrounding the game’s tallest mountain. Some believed a jetpack lied within it. Maybe aliens were involved. Some people even found ghosts.

Rockstar created a game ripe for social media right as it was starting to really become a huge tool used for marketing games. Grand Theft Auto V essentially marketed itself thanks to YouTubers. As of 2019, the game had gained nearly 40 billion views across all the videos about the game. It was the third highest viewed video game of that year on YouTube.

That same support has also allowed the game to get frequent updates. We’ve gotten heists, houses, a working casino, and more. The scope and scale of the game has only gotten more and more insane. When it began, it was a simple rags to riches online game. It could get whacky if you wanted but it was still grounded within reason.

Now, in 2020, there’s laser guns, UFOs, flying cars and bikes, and much more. Remember how the first Fast and Furious was about stealing DVD players? Now the 9th movie is going to space, apparently. That’s what Grand Theft Auto V is like, except all in one game.

As we approach 2021, Grand Theft Auto V will continue to expand. A new location for GTA Online is planned for 2020 and a next-gen version will release in 2021 with exclusive updates. There will probably never be anything quite as big and well-supported as GTA V besides GTA VI.

While we have no idea when Grand Theft Auto VI is coming, one thing is probably certain. When it releases, Rockstar will probably have enough money to start manufacturing real flying cars.

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GTA Online is the evergreen that will probably never die. At least it survived two console generations already, with the third on the horizon. The biggest reason why GTA has been charting way up for almost a decade now is Rockstar’s steady support of the online mode.

With Los Santos Summer Special, a great new reason for players to keep logged in has arrived. A large selection of 15 new vehicles has entered the fray alongside numerous new customization options in the form of tire designs.

Trek out to sea and stage a cooperative assault on an idling aircraft carrier before duking it out for the goods, or fight and hack your way through one of several factories to reach the nucleus and earn a hefty pay-day. Bring your squad to maximize your return on investment.

Players who are more into meaty content can enjoy a barrage of 6 new Co-Op missions, 9 high-speed Open Wheel Race Tracks together with a tack editor to go ham with your creative juices.

If you’re up for a challenge, Business Battles call you into action in random locations all across the map. Nicely completing the package is the Diamond Adversary Series where players will be tested in competitive shooting action.

There’s even more packed in the summer update of GTA Online which you can read in detail in Rockstar’s post.

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A new Linkedin post (via GTA Forums) from developer Video Games Deluxe (who worked on VR Case Files for Rockstar) is gearing up for another Rockstar project.

“Having finished the critically well received LA Noire: The V.R. Case Files we are now gearing up for a new project, a AAA open world title in VR for Rockstar. 2020 marks our 7th year of working exclusively for Rockstar in Sydney and we are excited to taking on this ground breaking project.”

No one knows what this game could be but many have speculated it’s a VR version of Grand Theft Auto V following the recently announced next-gen versions of the crime epic. It could also be a brand new game, possibly taking advantage of one of Rockstar’s other dormant IPs. That said, Rockstar probably won’t say what it is until much closer to its actual release.

Video Games Deluxe was established by former LA Noire developers including Team Bondi head Brendan McNamara. Team Bondi only ever released one game which was the aformentioned 1940s detective game, published by Rockstar Games. Another game titled Whore of the Orient was canceled following the studio’s closure.

Right now, the developer has about 10 employees and is looking to hire more. We’ll continue to keep you posted as we learn more about Rockstar’s mystery VR title.

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What can be said about GTAV that hasn’t already been stated? Rockstar’s latest entry into the ultimate open-world crime simulator turned out to be a juggernaut among juggernauts. With more than 100 Millions copies sold across two console generations and five systems in total, there is no question that Rockstar is still king when it comes to the genre they co-created. Probably the biggest aspect why GTAV never really waned in popularity is the insanely feature-packed multiplayer mode GTA Online. For six years, the developer has expanded and improved the online portion which turned the game into a service game. While the most recent previous update was surrounded in controversy due to its gambling aspects, today’s news is much more straightforward.

Lay your claim to the throne in King of the Hill, a brand-new mode where up to 16 aspiring monarchs across 2-4 teams wrestle for royal ascension. Grab your weapon of choice, head for the high ground and assert your dominance in seven different maps spanning the fine state of San Andreas.

With King of the Hill, GTA Online players get a great game mode to duke it out for supremacy. Players can start a match of King of the Hill via following ways:

• Via the Featured Series button in the loading screen
• By heading to the Featured Series Icon on your map
• Via the Online menu under Jobs > Rockstar Created
• By pulling up your iFruit and browsing the “Quick Job” list

There’s also a new sport car with the Ocelot Jugular and other usual suspects like Double GTA$ & RP on all Client Jobs until October 16. Special Cargo Sell Missions also net double GTA$.

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Ever since GTA 5’s online mode launched shortly after the game’s original release way back in 2013, GTA Online has become a phenomenon in the multiplayer scene. With years upon years of updates, the online mode has grown in scope and quality. But one aspect has been sorely missing for all these years, to the dismay of millions of players. A casino.

The massive construction project on the corner of Vinewood Park Drive and Mirror Park Boulevard is nearing completion, radically changing the skyline of Los Santos forever. When the brand-new Diamond Casino & Resort opens its doors, one and all are welcome inside to play, or just to stay in the most luxurious residence in the entire state. More than just a place to let go of your inhibitions and your sense of the passage of time, The Diamond is the one-stop destination for quality entertainment, high-end living and a range of experiences you won’t find anywhere else.

Last month, Rockstar finally announced that exactly this was inbound. Titled The Diamond Casino & Resort, a whole new experience is soon to come on July 23rd. As the name already implies, the update will feature more than just a Casino for players to lose win big time in Three Card Poker, Blackjack, Roulette and Slot Machines.

A big part of the new update is the Penthouse which allows players to have a new property where they can lounge in a pool, have parties, and enjoy access to a wide variety of services. It won’t just offer a luxurious place to hang out but also offer brand-new co-op missions. As a penthouse owner, players become a member of the Diamond Family who needs their business protected.

You can read more about the details of the new features in Rockstar’s blog post here.

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Arena War is going live today across all platforms and introduces gladiatorial combat with weaponized cars, bikes and more for the popular online component of GTA5. The hardcore competition takes place in the Maze Bank Arena and also features a whole career to progress in.

Choose your vehicle of destruction and take on competitors to climb rank ladders up and rake in Arena Points to use them for unlocking new toys of metallic mayhem and cause even more carnage in Arena War. With a selection of seven new modes, players can explore various new ways to duke it out on the battlefield of car combat. All legal here, as part of a competition for entertainment.

And if you want to take a break from the combat competition, just take out your newly unlocked driveables of doom for a spin outside the arena where the only limit to your destructive desires are the men of law. But now, you have more to meet them with.

The automatic update for Arena War is live now on PC, PS4 and Xbox One. Just sign in to GTA Online and start your own career of modern gladiators in the Maze Bank Arena.

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Players of the popular online mode will be able to get new contact missions from the all-new Madrazo Dispatch Services. As part of these missions you will be launching an assault on Merryweather HQ or break into LSPD holding cells to take out targets on Madrazo’s list.

Two new vehicles are added to the game. The Lampadati Michelli GT, a sports car and the RUNE Cheburek, an eastern European influenced sedan. You will be able to find both cars at Southern San Andreas Super Autos.

Through June 4th players also will be able to rake in double GTA$ & RP bonuses in all Smuggle’s and Gunrunning Sell Missions, Motor Wars & Trap Door Adversary Modes, and already mentioned Madrazo Dispatch Services.

Rockstar is also teasing its next online update for next week, June 5th, where they will add seven new Transform Races. So, look out for that.

Last but not least, here are various discounts that the online update comes with.

Vehicle Discounts

• Pegassi Oppressor – 25% off
• Pegassi Tezeract – 25% off
• Vapid Ellie- 25% off
• Progen Tyrus – 25% off
• Mobile Operations Center Cabs – 30% off
• Buckingham Volatus – 40 % off
• Nagasaki Havok – 40% off
• Western Rogue – 40% off
• V-65 Molotok – 40% off

Facility Discounts

• Bunkers – 40% off
• Bunker Renovations 40% off
• Hangars – 50% off
• Hangar Workshop – 50% off

The post New GTA 5 Online Update adds missions, cars, discounts and bonuses appeared first on GameZone.

The new vehicle is the Vapid Hustler (below). You can find the vehicle at Legendary Motorsport.

As for this week’s mode, in the spirit of Valentine’s Day, the mode is Till Death Do Us Part, Slasher, Resurrection, Deadline, and Lost Vs. Damned. The adversary modes will be delivering Double GTA$ & RP bonuses from today until February 19th. Additionally, Double GTA$ Bodyguard & Associates Salaries will be available to Organization members.

The modes, as described by Rockstar Games:

• Till Death Do Us Part: Up to four pairs of star-crossed lovers take part in the ultimate GTA Online quadruple date: each couple has one life between them, so remember to look out for your partner – if they die, so do you.
• Slasher: The shotgun-wielding Slasher stalks up to seven Hunted, equipped only with flashlights. After three minutes, the Hunted get shotguns of their own to turn the tables on the Slasher.
• Resurrection: Nothing says ‘team building exercise’ like bringing your buddy back into the game by shooting some chump on the other team in the back of the head. But remember that it goes both ways – until you’ve wiped them out completely, they can always come back.
• Deadline: Suit up and outmaneuver the enemy while mounted upon a blazingly fast Nagasaki Shotaro. Emitting a devastating beam of light in your wake as you ride through the arena, competitors unfortunate enough to come into contact with your trail meet an immediate and fiery end.
• Lost vs. Damned: It’s Angels against Devils in the ultimate battle of the soul. Each match flips between day and night for 60 seconds at a clip, with advantages including regenerated Armor and Health and improved weapon options depending on the time – day for the Angels and night for the Devils.

Executive Assistant Services are 25% off and you can grab 25% off a custom Upgrade at Benny’s Original Motor Works.

Discounts:

Vehicle Discounts

• Albany Roosevelt (Sports Classic) – 25% off
• Albany Roosevelt Valor (Sports Classic) – 25% off
• HVY Barrage (Military) – 35% off (Buy It Now & Trade Price)
• Nagasaki Shotaro (Motorcycle) – 25% off (available for purchase after completing a round of Deadline)
• RCV (Emergency) – 35% off (Buy It Now & Trade Price)
• Ocelot Stromberg (Sports Classic/Weaponized) – 25% off (Buy It Now & Trade Price)
• Nagasaki Buzzard (Attack Helicopter) – 25% off

Dynasty8 Discounts

• All 10-car Properties (including High-End Apartments, Garages and Stilt Houses) – 25% off
• Executive Offices – 25% off

Clothing and Accessories Discounts

• All Valentine’s clothing – 25% off
• Doomsday Heist Tattoos – 25% off

This week’s Premium Race and Time Trial have been revealed to be Turbine (locked to off-road) and LSIA, respectively. Turbine is an off-road slalom featuring bracing curves and jumps through the deadly airspace of an industrial wind farm. LSIA has you racing across the city from Los Santos International Airport to the foothills of Mount Chiliad

Premium Races are your chance to test your skills and race for big cash. Ante up and compete in a Rockstar-created Stunt Race where the top three finishers earn GTA$ and all participants get Triple RP regardless of where they place. Beat par time in the Time Trial and you’ll be rewarded with GTA$ & RP.

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On top of all that, players will receive a free Black Ammu-Nation in-game tee for logging – as long as you log in before February 12th.

For starters, Motor Wars, Slashers, Occupy, and Hardest Target will be handing out double GTA$ and RP this week.

• Motor Wars: Parachute into a warzone with a pistol and a prayer in Motor Wars and face off on the ground with heavy arms and Weaponized Vehicles. The longer you and your team survive, the smaller the field of combat, until players are forced into full-on confrontation. Just remember to pull your chute or you’re done before you start.
• Hardest Target: There’s a bullseye on your back that everyone can see, but the hot seat changes every minute. Neutralize the opposing team’s Target while protecting your own to put points on the board and bring home the win.
• Slashers: Maybe you’ve watched enough movies to outsmart a maniac, but how about a whole team of them? Slashers pits a mob of Shotgun-wielding lunatics against the Hunted – with teams swapping roles every 60 seconds until one side has been wiped out entirely.
• Occupy: Two teams fight for control of three Capture Zones amid flying rocket bikes and a host of deadly Weaponized Vehicles. Each precious second your team holds a Zone counts towards victory, but keep an eye out for unwanted visitors looking to steal away your hard-earned land.

The new vehicle for the week is the Canis Kamacho.

Discounts

Discounts will be available through February 12th and cover a bunch of deadly items. You can find the discounts below. In addition to the following discounts, there’s also a discount for 30% off all Aircraft Weapons fitted in your Hangar Workshop and 25% off the Security Room upgrade in your Facility, which can get you access to your very own set of deployable goons.

Warstock Cache & Carry Discounts

• Mammoth Avenger – 25% off
• HVY Chernobog (Weaponized Vehicle) – 25% off (Buy It Now & Trade Price)
• Bravado Half-Track (Weaponized) – 40% off (Buy It Now & Trade Price)
• Vom Feuer Anti-Aircraft Trailer (Weaponized Vehicle) – 35% off (Buy it Now & Trade Price)
• Weaponized Declasse Tampa (Weaponized Vehicle) – 40% off (Buy It Now & Trade Price)

Mk II Discounts

• Mk II Upgrades – 30% off (cost to upgrade to Mk II weapon)
• Mk II Ammo (all types) – 50% off
• Mk II Magazines – 25% off
• Mk II Scopes – 25% off
• Mk II Muzzles – 25% off
• Mk II Weapon Liveries – 25% off

Ammu-Nation Discounts

• Ammo – 50% off
• Assault Rifles – 30% off
• Sniper Rifles – 30% off
• Melee Weapons – 30% off
• Body Armor – 30% off
• RPG – 30% off

Premium Race and Time Trial:

• Premium Race: Bumblee (locked to Rocket Voltic)
• Time Trial: Route 68

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