GTA V Character Stories, Personalities Detailed

Curious exactly who you'll be playing and how? Earlier today it was revealed that players would be in control of three distinct characters in Grand Theft Auto V. Each character has their own storyline and personality and each character will intertwine in a completely different way than in previous games.

In Game Informer's full 18-page spread, it was revealed by Rockstar's vice president of creative, Dan Houser, that players would not only take full control of three distinct personalities but that Rockstar would attempt to deal with the open-world conundrum known as narrative dissonance.

According to Houser...

“We loved Niko and felt he was a very strong protagonist for a game, and we were starting to get into John Marsten.”...”We were still being told a western was going to be a disaster, but we thought we were going to make something interesting with a strong character that you started to fall in love with. We just felt that after those two games, just doing more of the same wouldn't be enough because we wouldn't be able to surpass them for a while. That was really where we came up with the concept of doing it like the episodes, with three characters.”

It's not only ambitious but it's extremely risky, as noted by Game Informer.

What's more is that each character is distinctly separate from one another and players will be able to control all three at any single one time. Nifty, eh?

The three characters include Michael, Franklin and Trevor.

As many speculated, Michael is a middle-aged, retired “businessman” who made a business out of being a successful bank robber. However, he's involved in a terrible marriage where he and his wife hate each other, he's out of touch with his two kids Tracy and Jimmy, and he's in witness protection after striking a deal with GTA's fictional law enforcement agency known as the FIB. After realizing that he's on the brink of running out of money Michael decides to get back into the bank robbing business. Houser described Michael as a clean-cut guy who fits well in high society and has a fresh story to tell, similar to Niko Bellic.

Franklin is a repo-man in his 20s who works at a shady dealership who sells cars to people who can't afford them and then goes out to repossess the car. This also plays into a mini-game of sorts where players can repossess cars, ala Saints Row 2 and the tow-truck mini-game. Franklin meets up with Michael in an attempt to pinch him.

Trevor is a loose cannon who lives out in the boondocks of Los Santos...a place where drifters and nefarious types hang out. He's in his early 40s and is considered to be a career criminal. He's a little bit like the Kane & Lynch type, with outbursts and drug abuse dictating his personality. It's obvious that this guy is the showstopper of the three, and his tie into the story revolves around being a former accomplice with Michael back during Michael's bank heisting days.

The really awesome part about this is that each character can be controlled at any time and each one has a fully fleshed out story. Rockstar has noted that players will use a quick-tab to easily and conveniently switch between each of three characters at any time using a Google Earth sort of zoom-out and zoom-in feature, no matter where the three characters are in the game world.

What's more is that each of the three characters will be operate autonomously even when player's aren't in control of them, so it's likely that you might find any of the three protagonists in a place likely befitting their personality.

Will Usher

Staff Writer at CinemaBlend.