If you've ever questioned the value of hobby drones, the above video perfectly demonstrates why they need to exist. As spotted by Kotaku, a bunch of clever folk have recreated GTA 2 using a drone, several cars and lots of red jumpers. If you've ever controlled a drone for five minutes without it plunging to the ground or colliding with something, you'll understand the skill at play above.

While the sleepy suburban setting doesn't really channel GTA, the creators have added some neat touches: collectibles and bullet fire have been added after the fact, there's a mild instance of pedestrian carnage, and gangs are out in full force, enjoying impromptu scraps with the local constabulary. All it needs is a good tank. Maybe next time guys.

A drama "based on Grand Theft Auto" is being made for British TV by the BBC. It's part of the BBC's "Make It Digital" campaign, which hopes to "get the nation truly excited about digital creativity".

It's being co-developed by games and technology journalist Guy Cocker, who confirms on Twitter that it will be a drama "about the making of GTA", rather than a violent gangland adaptation of GTA's subject matter.

The BBC media centre describes it as a "special 90-minute drama" about "a bunch of British gaming geniuses who had known each other since their school days". The show will also dramatise the moral panic that erupted when the game was released, "from parents worried about children immersing themselves in such a violent world; from politicians, alarmed at the values it encourages; and above all from moral-campaigners, who have fought passionately to stop it."

No air date yet, or news about whether it'll find its way to international audiences, but we've reached a stage where a respected TV institution is hailing game developers as "geniuses", quite different from the mainstream media treatment games typically receive. Can't be a bad thing, can it?

The iCEnhancer has been beautifying GTA 4 for players for more than a year now. The mod uses custom shaders and post-processing effects to massively improve GTA 4's visuals. Images like the one above from Ducan Harris' Dead End Thrills demonstrate iCEnhancer's power. Eurogamer note that version 2.1 has now been released, which is great timing. You can grab a pack of every GTA game for just £4.99 / $12.49 as part of the Steam Summer Sale.

The mod is available to download now from the Icelaglace site. The Steam/EFLC/1070 version, installer and configuration tool will all be "available quickly" according to the site. You'll find the latest trailer below.

If you're looking for more GTA 4 mods, check out this one that lets you play as Superman, there are more that add first-person mode and a gravity gun. For maximum silliness there's always the one that renders all cars frictionless.

In a post on their official site, Rockstar say that GTA 5 will be the "largest and most ambitious" title they've developed yet. They also confirm the setting, saying "Grand Theft Auto V focuses on the pursuit of the almighty dollar in a re-imagined, present day Southern California."

GTA 5 will take place in "the city of Los Santos and surrounding hills, countryside and beaches." Just the one city, then. No mention of San Fierro (San Francisco) and Las Venturas (Las Vegas), which featured alongside Los Santos in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.

Rockstar say that GTA 5 represents "a bold new direction in open-world freedom," and confirms that there will be online multiplayer.

Those are all the solid facts so far. It's been less than a day since the debut trailer landed, and the rumour mill has already gone into overdrive. Are you looking forward to returning to Los Santos?

 
The dust has finally settled on the GTA trailer! You've probably watched it twice by now. So what's next? Rumour and speculation of course. Absolutely loads of it.

Tom's multiple protagonist's theory is still holding up. Eurogamer take the idea one step further, implying that the three character's featured could be Tommy Vercetti, Niko Bellic and Carl Johnson. It's a neat idea, but one that doesn't quite fit in with the previous game's timelines. The trailer's main character could still be an older an older Tommy Vercetti though, even if Ray Liotta's agent has confirmed with IGN that he's not returning for voice over duties.

I've embedded the GTA Vice City trailer below for comparison purposes. Tommy or not, the chap in the GTA 5 trailer definitely has a rounded, better textured head, which is reassuring.



There's also a theory that the homeless guy featured in the trailer could be a subtle dig at Nico's voice actor in GTA IV. He expressed dissatisfaction at the wage he received for the voice over work when speaking to the New York Times a few weeks after the game's release. He didn't take a hit at Rockstar directly though, saying: "But it’s tough, when you see Grand Theft Auto IV out there as the biggest thing going right now, when they’re making hundreds of millions of dollars, and we don’t see any of it. I don’t blame Rockstar. I blame our union for not having the agreements in place to protect the creative people who drive the sales of these games." Fair enough.





Dog alert! One of the first scenes in the trailer features a silouette of a four legged beast, which we can almost definitely confirm is a dog. Will we be able so shoot it? Or possibly skin it using Red Dead Redemption's tech? One can only hope.



The music in the trailer is the title track from The Small Face's album, Odgen's Nut Gone Flake. It's probably just in there because it's an emotive tune but interestingly enough, their album cover is a parody of an old-fashioned tobacco tin. Just like almost every item in GTA.



L.A. Noire's facial tech will almost definitely feature, although we were struggling to see any evidence of it so far.

Real Estate, gyms, and flying things like jets and blimps are also visible in the trailer. Expect the return of buyable houses, customisable avatars and flyable planes. While we're on alternate forms of transport, check out the two wheeler propped up against the house. That ain't no car people...



There's also some speculation on GTA forums.com about a release date. It involves a lot of intimidating maths and more speculation than even I'm comfortable with. They seem to settle on May 24, 2012. HMMM.

So what have we missed? Let's talk in the comments.

After a lot of excited pointing at mountains and dogs, the PC Gamer office got chatting about the sneaky hints Rockstar have dotted throughout the new GTA 5 trailer.

You've probably noticed the narrator sounds a lot like Ray Liotta, who voiced GTA Vice City's player character Tommy Vercetti. But the greying middle-aged man we see in the footage isn't the only one in player-character situations. There's also a shaven-headed youth in a car chase with the police, and a tattooed black guy running from a cop chopper. And hey, isn't that all three of them together breaking into the jewellery store? Click below for a full size image of the evidence.



Chris Thursten points out that GTA IV used a deal gone wrong to link three characters that you ultimately ended up playing: Niko in the main game, Johnny Klebitz in the Lost and the Damned DLC, and Luis Lopez in the Ballad of Gay Tony. GTA V might give us a choice of three protagonists from the off, each with their own stories, and use this robbery as the flashpoint that links them.

It'd make for a more interesting story structure, and of course it would set them up beautifully for a co-op campaign that ties into the single player.

 
Grand Theft Auto 5, or GTA 5 (if you're an acronym kind of dude) trailer alert! Sit back and have a little watch.

We mentioned a few Grand Theft Auto 5 rumours earlier today but now, with the benefit of hindsight, you can either mock or bask in the awe of our incredible insight. For some spookily accurate insight, check out what PSM3's Dan Dawkins had to say a few weeks ago.

We'll have a more in-depth analysis of the first Grand Theft Auto trailer on the site as soon as possible. For now, just watch and comment.

The bloody-good-deal alert klaxon has just gone off at PC Gamer HQ, signalling the appearance of another bloody good deal. Right now you can steal away all but the most recent of the Grand Theft Auto Games, from the 2D original through to GTA: San Andreas, for just £5, which is a saving of 75%. The first two games aren't even available to buy on Steam any other way, and GTA 3, Vice City and San Andreas are all brilliant, and in many ways, very different games. The deal will last until Monday and you can grab it now on Steam.