Good old Rockstar, you can rely on it to offer special edition goodies slightly more interesting than the usual cruft and rubbish that wants to fill your shelves. The developer today announced a Special Edition and Collector's Edition for Grand Theft Auto 5, offering in-game goodies like bonus outfits and vehicles as well as feelies from blueprint maps to a Los Santos cap. Also, everyone who pre-orders any old edition gets a blimp. A blimp!

Read more: A blimp, seriously! »

Wouldn't it be awesome to be a citizen of Grand Theft Auto 5? You could be happily walking down the streets of Los Santos, only to get mugged and run over by a wreckless player. If this sounds thrilling to you, then you'll want to participate in Rockstar's new "casting call."

Read more: Get the robes ready »

The game is still several months away, but Rockstar Games continues to open the Grand Theft Auto 5 goody box wider and wider. Today, released 32--yes, thirty-two--new screenshots for the game, showing vehicles, Los Santos scenery, and the game's stars is various stages of planning destruction.

These new images come only a week after Rockstar released three new trailers, and revealed details about spending money, and the various abilities of Michael, Franklin and Trevor.

See: More of scenic Los Santos »

Rather ironically, the Grand Theft Auto series has never really figured out how to let players best spend the mountains of cash they earn in the game. There was never really any need to get cash in previous GTA games, as players were rarely hard-pressed to spend it on anything.

GTA5 changes the money dynamic quite significantly, encouraging players to do whatever they can do secure some dollar bills, by introducing "insanely expensive" new items to buy.

Read more: Deep sea diving and planning the perfect heist »

They may not have the same crazy superpowers of the Saints Row gang, but GTA5's trio of heroes do have their own unique abilities. Repo man Franklin, for example, is the best driver of the bunch, and can also slow down time while driving. Michael, on the other hand, can channel his inner Max Payne, and dodge bullets--in slow-mo, of course. Finally, Trevor has a "crazy rage mode" that allows him to brawl to his heart's content.

Read more: Going back to San Andreas »

Editor's Note: In part 1 of Grand Theft Auto DNA, we explored how vehicles and driving physics evolved over the GTA series. Today, we discuss the role of sandbox environments like Liberty City and San Andreas.

Playing a Grand Theft Auto game is a lot like observing an ant farm. The AI-controlled citizens of Rockstar North's worlds drive around, obey traffic laws or blow red lights, loiter on the sidewalk to panhandle and gab with friends, and throw fisticuffs after getting into a fender bender at the intersection of Columbus and Jade. I've spent hours in each GTA sandbox just driving around, marveling at how alive each world feels.

Read more: Setting the bar for open-world games »

Editor's Note: In part 1 of our Grand Theft Auto DNA, we dissect the driving system in GTA 3, Vice City, San Andreas, and GTA 4 to understand how driving evolved over the course of those series, and how it should work in the upcoming GTA 5.

In August 2001, Sony's PlayStation 2 celebrated its first birthday with little fanfare. More a glorified DVD player than a hot-ticket game machine, the PS2 lacked a system seller, industry jargon for a game so popular that gamers plunked down hundreds of dollars on a console just to experience that one game. Two months later in October, Rockstar North filled the void with Grand Theft Auto 3, an open-world romp where players could hijack cars, splatter pedestrians, treat traffic jams like impromptu destruction derbies, and wage crime sprees.

Read more: What made the early games great »

Grand Theft Auto 5 doesn't really need a lot of hype to get fans excited about the game, but Rockstar has decided to release not one, but three new trailers today. Main protagonists Trevor, Michael and Franklin each get their own videos showing them conducting business in their own way in Los Santos.

Watch: The boys in action »

The Grand Theft Auto series has certainly built a recognizable brand. Its tiled cover art style immediately marks a recognizable brand worth millions. That means Rockstar doesn't have much reason to shake up a proven formula, and the Grand Theft Auto 5 cover reveal shows the company is sticking with what works.

Read more: Helicopters and rottweilers »

Rockstar continues to slowly parcel out new images for Grand Theft Auto 5, letting eager fans dissect them from every angle. Today, it has released 10 news screens showing off some of the scenery in Los Santos, the three main characters of the game, as well as some diving and skydiving.

See: Postcard images of Los Santos »

As we fast approach the official kick-off of next-generation announcements, developers and publishers are starting to talk more candidly about it. Take-Two recently had its third quarter results call, in which CEO Strauss Zelnick dropped some hints about its upcoming plans.

Read more: 'We're not the ones who can talk about it first' »

Mark your calendars, open world crime fans. Grand Theft Auto 5 has been given an official release date of September 17 for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The announcement gave no mention of the rumored PC version.

Read more: Delay to allow additional development time »

Grand Theft Auto 5 has only been confirmed for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, a fact that has caused some degree of consternation among PC fans. Though Rockstar still hasn't made anything official, European retailers may have tipped their hand.

Read more: Other versions 'up for consideration' »

Rockstar Games was in a giving mood for the holidays, putting five new screenshots of Grand Theft Auto 5 under the virtual Christmas tree for gamers wanting just a bit more eye candy for one of the most anticipated titles of 2013.

View: Fun things to do in Los Santos »

There's a lot to be excited for in 2013, and the Shacknews staff each have five games on their radar. The editorial team at Shacknews outlines their most anticipated games of 2013 individually, starting with staff writer and indie expert Jeff Mattas.

Read more: Jeff's picks for 2013 »