Hands down, my favorite part of GTA IV was how real and how interesting Rockstar's Liberty City was. I felt like I was visiting a real place, from the grimy urban neighborhoods of
New Jersey Alderney to the Broker boardwalk. Often I would go to those areas and just hang out.
The first thing that struck me about
GTA V, when those early screenshots started to roll out, was how I could grasp that same sense of place just from the screen shots. Granted fake Los Angeles maybe isn't as cool as fake New York - after all, New York is my all-time favorite setting for fictional entertainment - but damned if I didn't feel the urge to just go and live in the places those early screen shots showed me.
This new group of screen shots only reinforces what I already felt toward
GTA V's setting, but with the added bonus of things like lightning, scuba diving, and giant guns. September can't get here fast enough.
I don't quite feel the need to break out the old grey market stasis chamber just yet, however, I am going to take the cover off and see about getting it serviced.