One part of Grand Theft Auto VI they’ve been touting — and that I’m most curious to see in the final game — is allowing the two protagonists, Jason and Lucia, to team up together in the open world. The previous Grand Theft Auto had three protagonists who would often work together during scripted story missions but operated solo when you were out exploring. This time, you play as a couple who can hang out together at any time.
What does that mean in practice? Nelson picked up the controller to show me. Playing as Jason, he called up Lucia to ask if she was up for hanging out. He pressed a button to kiss her when she arrived, then went for a walk in the park, pressing another button to have them hold hands along the way. After some bantering, they went for a drive, then to the gym (Lucia ran on the treadmill while Jason did squats), then to a bank to see if it was worth robbing (no, he decided; too many guards), to an ATM to drop off some cash (“Your cash is vulnerable… We’ve tried to make money mean more than it ever has.” ) and to the back office of what I think was a gas station, where he disarmed an alarm and stole a bunch of money without alerting anyone. (“There’s so many of these little interiors — hundreds of them — that you can go and explore.” )
At one point, Nelson was planning on taking Jason and Lucia to the salon to get a haircut but he accidentally ran into some not-so-friendly pedestrians, triggering a brawl and leading someone to call the cops. Plans derailed, he took the criminal couple on a drive to flee the scene. The “Wanted” system — a mode when cops are chasing you — is a little more complicated than in previous games, Nelson told me. The police knew that the culprits were a couple, so they could steer clear by splitting up and fleeing separately.
“It’s a completely new way to play GTA, with a person if you want,” Nelson said.
