Rockstar have just announced details on a Special Edition and Collector's Edition of GTAV, which are both available for preorder later today. As a bonus, if you preorder any copy of GTAV (even standard edition) you will have access to fly the Atomic Blimp that we've all seen in the trailers and screenshots.

Special Edition:

• Full retail copy of GTAV
  
• Collectible Steelbook with exclusive artwork
  
• Blueprint view of Los Santos and Blaine County.
  
• Special ability boost: abilities generate 25% faster
  
• Stunt Plane challenges
  
• Bonus outfits, tattoos, weapons, and more

We get our first glimpse of the map in the full size version of the announcement poster.

Collector's Edition:

• Everything in the Special Edition
  
• GTAV locking deposit bag with key
  
• Los Santos New Era snapback baseball cap
  
• Custom multiplayer characters
  
• Unique vehicles and garage property

Niko is pictured as a custom multiplayer character, and the Hotknife is making a return from San Andreas, looking as badass as ever. Two other vehicles confirmed are the Carbon RS sports bike and the high-end Khamelion electric car.

Preorder now to avoid disappointment.

As expected, a swath of GTAV previews were published today, revealing some tantilizing tidbits of information which we've summarized in list form as the most interesting. If you've read our Good, Bad, & Ugly series last year, you'll notice quite a few things we pleaded for actually made their way into the game.

• Mini games include a complete 9-hole golf course (pick your own clubs) and yoga.
  
• Pay N Spray will now be full custom shops where you can change vehicle appearance and performance, even customize your own license plate.
  
• Shipwrecks are among the numerous things to find underwater, and they may contain discoverable items.
  
• Customize your weapons similar to Max Payne 3 by switching out scopes, silencers, extended mags, and flashlights.
  
• The entire map is open from the start.
  
• Depending on the character, location, and time of day, you can experience dynamic events like hitchhikers, broken-down cars, and ATM robberies.
  
• Health regenerates up to 50%, but you'll need medical packs to make up the difference. There are also various levels of body armor.
  
• There are five or six major heist missions, and lots of smaller missions beforehand to set them up. One example is placing a getaway car in an acceptable area so it can be used for a later mission. Missions actually matter!
  
• Los Santos' landmass is 3.5x larger than that of Red Dead Redemption; 5x larger if you count the ocean.
  
• You can find scuba gear in boats.
  
• Use gang territory to your advantage when being chased by the cops: gang members will open fire on police and will leave you alone until you antagonize them yourself
  
• You can take photos with your smartphone and upload them to the Rockstar Social Club.
  
• Each character has his own bank account, can buy houses, garages, marinas, helipads, or businesses which will generate income.
  
• Ability to hire support characters for extra help on larger missions. If they survive, you can use them again.
  
• Bullet-time-esque ability for each character: Michael can slow down time as he shoots, Franklin as he drives, Trevor as he melees.
  
• Cops use line-of-sight and won't magically know exactly where you are like in GTAIV. You can hide inside the search radius as long as they can't see you.

Also included were over 20 high-res screenshots. We see a Benefactor sports car in front of the Von Crastenburg Hotel, Michael on his smartphone, a Dodo-esque plane approaching a beach, Bahama Mama's West, and a bunch of different shootout scenes with the three characters wearing masks that remind us of the Max Payne 3 multiplayer masks.

Rockstar has just released a set of three trailers, one for each of the main playable characters in Grand Theft Auto V. Full analysis below the video player.

Michael:

We see more into Michael's family life here as he balances the conflicts with his wife and children while also working to maintain the luxurious lifestyle to which they are accustomed. He clearly has a temper and is seeing a therapist, further embellishing the "Sopranos" feeling of his story. We also get to see a variety of heists taking place.

Things we noticed:

• Vanity license plates make a return: we see a red Sentinel convertible with "KRYST4L". According to previews, Michael's wife's name is Amanda and his daughter's name is Tracy, and it looks like Michael is driving the car. He had a red Sentinel convertible earlier in the video, but with standard plates. Not sure if this is an oversight.
  
• The Securicar looks largely unchanged from GTAIV, and we see it flipping over (by a tow truck that's labeled "Casey's Highway Clearance") and smashing through a wall. It looks like this is part of a mission cutscene but we are still hoping for some sort of structural damage capabilities in the environment
  
• During a melee scene you can see a Vapid car dealership in the background
  
• We see a robbery of the Vangelico jewelry store, followed by a helicopter chase, and ending with Michael crashing through a skyscraper window and taking a hostage - likely the mission that was previewed by Game Informer.
  
• There is a new style of Police Car, using the Bravado Buffalo. One has the number 56 on the roof, while another has 43. Perhaps the unique fleet numbers we had hoped for will be an actuality.

Franklin:

In contrast to Michael's lavish "mob" gangster lifestyle, Franklin is truly a "street" gangster. This video is shot almost entirely in the low-income urban areas of Los Santos, full of police chases, strip clubs, liquor stores, and gang shootouts. He seems comparable to Luis from Ballad of Gay Tony in that he is trying to go straight but his surroundings keep pulling him back into the mix of chaos.

Things we noticed:

• A facelifted Bravado Buffalo and a GTAIV-style Buffalo are seen within seconds of each other. Also seen is a GTAIV-style Karin Intruder. We saw what we assumed to be an updated Intruder back in November, so this all but confirms that there are multi-generational vehicles in GTAV.
  
• Dramatically updated light sequences on police cars and a third, still-unknown model of cruiser, looks to have a Vapid logo
  
• There is a station wagon, possibly the Regina, with luggage tied to the roof driving by
  
• Graffiti for Grove Street and the "Killer Hills"
  
• A large Declasse SUV with chrome bullbars could hint at car customization - something we have yet to hear any official word on.

Trevor:

Trevor is a psychotic trailer park pig of a man, and that's why he's probably our favorite. Let the video speak for itself.

Things we noticed:

• Sandy Shores' official motto is "We Have Liquor" - also everybody drives a pickup truck.
  
• Trevor hits a lot of people in the face.
  
• A Benefactor coupe, similar to the Feltzer in GTAIV, is seen with a body kit. More clues for possible car customization?
  
• There is a logo for The Lost MC Los Santos on the side of a trailer home. Looks like the biker gang may play a role in the story
  
• Fire animations are unbelievably realistic

The contrast between the three characters is phenomenal, and many improvements we have hoped for and discussed in recent months seem to be making their way into the game. Take into account all of the different locations seen in these videos and you start to get a sense of how mind-blowingly huge and diverse the city of Los Santos is.