GTA 5 details emerge, three main characters

RockStar Games has released a whole host of details for Grand Theft Auto 5.

The news comes from the December issue of GameInformer, which includes the details of three playable protagonists and the biggest world in the series history.

The characters are called Michael, Trevor and Franklin, with each having their own special abilities and story arc.

Michael is an ex-bank robber who decided to retire from crime after reaching a deal with the FIB. In his early 40s, he has two teenage children and hates his wife Amanda. Michael is the narrator of the first GTA 5 trailer.

Trevor is a career criminal and a drug user in his early 40s. A former military pilot, Trevor previously worked with Michael on a bank job and is always up for a heist.

Franklin is a repo man in his mid 20s who meets Michael while looking for a hustle.

Players will be able to switch between the three characters at almost any time, and when they do the camera will zoom out to a Google Earth-style perspective.

Characters will go about their business as normal when players aren't in control of them, meaning they could be involved in surprising situations when you switch back to them.

GTA 5 will also feature a bigger world than those of Red Dead Redemption, GTA: San Andreas and GTA 4 combined, even the ocean floor is fully detailed and can be explored.

Cars will have improved handling and physics which will make it feel more like a racing game, with more vehicles included than in any GTA to date, such as BMXs, mountain bikes, dirt bikes, road bikes, trucks, cars, helicopters, planes, ATVs and Jet Skis.

Finally the romance feature from GTA 4 and the weight-gaining feature from San Andreas won't be included as RockStar wanted to focus on new additions.

More GTA 5 details will be released in the coming months, including information on the multiplayer side of the game.