My bet has to be on Liberty State, based on the previous pecking order. And after I first played the mission in SA where you fly to Liberty City, I was convinced that GTA 4 would go there. Also, "Claude" (formerly known as "the man with no tongue" from GTA3) made a cameo in SA, and there were a number of references and comments about Liberty in SA as well. This tends to be how the Housers have tipped their hats in the past. But I wouldn't be surprised in the least if you could travel between all three of their main cities, like you could in the first GTA games. It would really be the best way to increase size after San Andreas, and it would definitely speak for why they're keeping it so top-secret. But we'd get to see all of the space in-between Liberty City, Vice City, and San Andreas... that would be awesome. I'm not sure about London, it would be fun, but I think if they're going to the UK it'll end up being the whole island, and maybe Ireland, too... I really do feel like this game is going to be a lot bigger in size than any of us might be imagining right now. I can already see the title: "
Grand Theft Auto Nation". How cool would that be?
As for eras, the only places I can see them going, really, would be the 70's (I'm definitely with you on this one Chris), or maybe they'd come to the present as they did in GTA3. The 1970's has a monsterous catalog of music, cars, and pop-culture references, so it's more than likely the best bet (in fact, some were surprised that SA didn't take place in the 1970's). But I wouldn't be surprised by a return to the present, especially if they do end up opening up the entire continent. In a pinch, I could see them doing something drastically unexpected... maybe prohibition-era gangsters, or perhaps a visit to the future. But I'm pretty confident it will end up being either the 1970's or the present.
Sam Houser has previously hinted strongly towards multiplayer and the Grand Theft Auto franchise. In a number of interviews, almost every time he's been asked about the subject, Houser has repeatedly said that he would love to see a multiplayer GTA. I think the 2-player missions and capabilities in SA were trial-runs of what could be an epic multiplayer experience in the next Grand Theft Auto. I could definitely see dozens of match-types -- typical deathmatch, sure, but also there might be races, triathalons, gang wars (imagine the colored map thing from San Andreas, but in MP, where you could choose between the various gangs and battle to control the map)... I think multiplayer options are virtually limitless in a Grand Theft Auto game. Maybe it would even end up becoming an MMO of sorts, although I doubt they'd sacrifice single-player action for that. But multiplayer wouldn't be fun in a massively-scaled GTA without giving connections to dozens... maybe even hundrends, or thousands... of players. Imagine San Andreas with online multiplayer, and how difficult it would be, on a map that size, to find other players if there were only 32 people. I'm very interested to see if this next GTA will have multiplayer, and see how they're going to do it if it does.
Oh, and don't be surprised if you're playing as a female. I don't know why I'm guessing at that, but for some reason I can imagine them going that route. What would be awesome, in my opinion, would be if you could actually choose who you played as. Say they had 3 different characters, each with a different story but somehow they intertwined and connected into one major story. It would add a replay-cherry to a series of games that already has an extraordinary level of replay-value. I for one would be forced to play the game three times, once as each character. As it stands, I've already played each and every GTA game at least four times, each in a different way, so it would be awesome to play it multiple times as multiple people. I can already see people arguing over which character is the best
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Regardless of what routes they take and options they make, I'm pretty sure I'll end up loving this GTA as I have the others. There's always a ton of buzz surrounding GTA games, possibly more than any other games, so I can see why they'd post a trailer countdown... but then the Housers have been known to pull pranks in the past (Remember the big "GTA: Sin City" announcement?). Keep in mind that we're looming dangerously close to April Fool's Day, and the Housers have a dirty habit of pranking their fanbase with false claims and whatnot. I wouldn't be surprised if this trailer was for "Grand Theft Auto: Mars." I'm willing to bet large sums of money that this is nothing more than an April Fool's joke on the rise
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"In an interstellar burst, I'm back to save the universe"