There's a fundamental change in the core design of Grand Theft Auto V - and it's something to get excited about.

Players can now switch between three members of a crew on the fly - each character is very distinct, representing different types of crime in the city of Los Santos.

Franklin - The youngest protagonist in V, Franklin's a hustler who works as a repo-man for a shady Armenian luxury car dealership who sells cars to people who can't afford them, and take them back when they can't make their payments. He's fit, ambitious and described as the most capable member of the crew. Expect Franklin to get down and dirty when appropriate.

Trevor - A former military pilot and recreational drug user who is the embodiment of chaos. He represents the "do what you want" approach many players love in past GTA. In one scene that the GI guys saw, he douses a few trucks with gasoline, and blows them up with a zippo lighter. Pure mayhem is his end-game.

Michael - A retired bank-robber, living a lavish lifestyle in an area known as Rockford Hills thanks to a deal he made with the FIB that placed him in witness protection. He lives with his wife, Amanda, who he doesn't like, and his teenage children, Tracy and Jimmy, who he doesn't understand. You'll be living the high-life with Michael, but don't expect it to be too welcoming.

How it Works:

Players can assume the role of any protagonist on the fly, in both free-roam and in missions, providing that all characters are present on the mission you are attempting. As a player, you are prompted as to when to change characters in a mission, but it is still entirely up to you.

In the mission GameInformer previewed, each character worked together: Trevor flew the chopper, Michael rappelled down the side of a building before crashing through a window and storming the place, while Franklin stood at a sniper post and terminated threats as they arose. Being able to switch between each character lets the player dynamically control how the mission takes place.

Each protagonist has different styles and abilities, though Rockstar haven't touched on this just yet.

GameInformer didn't cover too much about the locale that we didn't already know, but it's said to be larger than the combination of the maps of Red Dead Redemption, GTA IV and San Andreas. In other words, it's pretty large.

The City of Los Santos and it's Surroundings:

Rockstar have decided to return to San Andreas, but instead of having multiple cities this time, they've drawn the line and have managed to create a rendition of Los Angeles that truly does the city justice. Rather than making smaller "sketchlike cities," Los Santos now offers the full-package in a way it never did previously.

Rockstar took over a 250,000 photos when researching the location, as well as utilizing census data to get the most accurate depiction of Los Angeles possible.

Mt. Chiliad is back and it's surrounded by thick wilderness that stretches from a desolate desert to wine country. Los Santos is still the epicenter of the game, both geographically and culturally speaking. There's also a military base hidden somewhere out there, so expect to break into that at some point.

There's a lot of new interiors as well, with particular emphasis on the description of a convenience store named 24/7 - albeit only for the sake o explanation. In the scheme of things, the 24-7 is a small part of the world, yet it is fully detailed, all the way down to the cigarettes and magazines on the shelf.

Oh, and bring your diving gear, because there's a fully-explorable ocean.

There's no exhaustive list of specific vehicles yet. What we do know is how many vehicle types there are: in addition to all the cars, trucks, motorbikes and helicopters we all love, look out for BMX's, Mountain Bikes, Road Bikes, Planes, ATV's and Jet Ski's to name only a few.

Many vehicles are open from the start of the game - for example, due to Trevor's ex-profession, we don't have to worry about going through flight school, and all the planes will be open from the very beginning. Sounds fun, right?

GTA V apparently has more vehicles than any other GTA game to date, which is an awful lot.

There's a lot of new stuff on offer in the GI article that doesn't necessarily relate to any of the above categories, I'll sum it up quickly for you:

   

• There are a lot of 'Three Leaf Clover' type heists in the game.
   
• Unfortunately, the in-depth character customization seen in San Andreas has been left out again.
     
• Tennis, yoga, triathlons, base-jumping and a fully-formed game of golf are just some examples of mini-games you'll be playing.
     
• A selection of characters from IV and it's Episodes are said to return but Niko won't be one of them.
     
• Property isn't back, but there's apparently plenty more to buy than there was in previous games, though what these are remains unknown.
     
• You can have casual encounters with NPC's of the world, this includes simple things like flipping the bird or having a chat.
     
• NPC's are much more lively, and a lot of them are fully mo-capped for added realism.
     
• Red Dead Redemption-esque dynamic missions return: this could include anything from muggings to hitch-hiker's, and there's even one which involves two abandoned cars and a load of dead people (No Country For Old Men style).
     
• Your phone can access the internet now.
     
• Like IV, there isn't any celebrity voice-talent among the main characters.

GameInformer is available now digitally if you wish to know much, much more.