History GrandTheftAutoV / SinglePlayerTropesEToM

* ForgedMessage: Trevor has been keeping contact with Bradley via email while the latter is in prison for their botched heist. [[spoiler:It's later revealed that Bradley died in the shootout following the heist and the guy he's actually been emailing is FBI agent David]].

** Trevor's introduction (In which he is found rutting with a fellow Meth user, in a filth-encrusted trailer) has him realise that Michael is still alive. This revelation tips him over the edge, causing him to [[CurbStompBattle brutally curb stomp]]the Meth head's biker boyfriend for daring to confront him. Without another second's hesitation, Trevor decides the most pragmatic thing to do is to completely wipe out his fellow bikers ''immediately'' before they can retaliate and, just for good measure, wipe out a local latino gang as well, giving him control of all the drugs and guns in the area. [[EvilGenius Trevor: Insane, remorseless and violent, but also intelligent enough to do speed chess gambits and come up with audacious solutions to his own nutsoid problems.]]

** Michael gets his mask taken off by a zealous guard during the Ludendorff heist, and advises him to just walk away and forget what he saw. [[NobleDemon Michael is a criminal but a relatively pragmatic and merciful one, the kind of guy who (as he says later) may be no angel but, compared to his companions, may just as well look like one.]]

* GoryDiscretionShot: [[spoiler: When Trevor stomps Johnny Klebitz to death, we don't actually see his foot connect�but the sound effects and the shot of Johnny's busted head afterwards don't leave much to the imagination]].
* GrandmaWhatMassiveHotnessYouHave: Trevor has a stated preference for the older ladies, most particularly [[spoiler: the gangster's wife]].

* HotterAndSexier: During private dances, strippers are completely topless, unlike in previous games, where they'd wear pasties. It's also possible to seduce the strippers and take them home, in stark contrast to ''Grand Theft Auto IV'', where Niko would comment on how pathetic and frustrated he was for visiting strip clubs in the first place.

* LevelGrinding: Whilst each character is balanced for different skills, it's possible to grind challenges to decrease their shortcomings (such as using the shooting range to increase accuracy or the flight school for flight control).

* ImprobablyCoolCar: While Michael's luxury sedan and Trevor's repurposed military truck are justified for their characters, Franklin's modern muscle car based on the 2011 Dodge Charger is a bit less explicable, especially as he is otherwise portrayed as being poor early in the game.

** [[spoiler: In the "C" ending]], a car is pushed off a cliff, landing upside down, directly on its roof. After a few seconds, the car explodes. This is a reference to the PS2-era games, where cars would explode upon being upside down for several seconds.

** As expected, the game marked the return of several vehicles that have not been featured since the last of the "3D Era" games, but vehicles that have long been absent since the "2D Era", specifically from ''[[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoClassic Grand Theft Auto 1]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoII Grand Theft Auto 2]]'', were also revisited, including the Z-Type classic coupe (with a Bugatti Type 57-C-like design not unlike those of sports cars in ''2''), the Panto city car (a Smart Fortwo-like vehicle harking back to its original microcar design in ''2''), and the Mamba and Furore GT sports cars.

** The opening scene in "Mr. Philips" has Trevor stomping on [[spoiler:Johnny Klebitz's]] head in a way very similar to the stomp attack in VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIII and [[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoViceCity the rest of that]] [[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas GTA era]].

** Two of the radio stations (Radio Los Santos and WCTR) also appeared in GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas. In addition, one of the songs in the West Coast Classics station is sung by MC Eiht, the voice of Ryder, who also makes a cameo as himself on one of the radio bumpers.
** Speaking of GTA San Andreas, there was a five-year gap between GTA IV & GTA V, which is a nod to the first line that CJ says upon starting a new game.
** [[spoiler:Coincidentally, [[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoAdvance Mike]] is also a nickname for Michael de Santa, though [[NamesTheSame they are different person]].]]
** Two suits Michael can get have the same colour schemes as the Soiree and Mr. Vercetti outfits from VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoViceCity.

* MortonsFork: Whilst heists tend to give the option of either a stealthy approach or a direct approach, they almost always result in a loud, lengthy chase sequence at the end. [[spoiler:The FIB HQ mission is this in trumps, as both sneaking and using disguises result in you getting found out and chased for most of the mission]].

* LighterAndSofter: Compared to the DarkerAndEdgier path that followed the company in ''[[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoViceCityStories Vice City Stories]]'' and the ''[[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV IV]]'' saga, this sequel has been designed with a conscious push for less cynicism.[[note]]Except for a mission involving torture that is rather disturbing to be a participant of. YMMV[[/note]]

** Trevor is a dead ringer for Creator/JackNicholson, with a slight resemblance and several of his mannerisms, and is similar to [[Film/TheShining Jack Torrance]]. Taken further with a jacket exclusive to Trevor, which is the same jacket that Nicholson wore in ''Film/TheShining''. (Some of this may be unintentional, given that Trevor is an InkSuitActor of the man who performs his voice.) A resemblance to UsefulNotes/RichardNixon is also visible, and a stronger resemblance in both looks and personality to Waingro from {{Heat}} especially in the prologue mission.

** The Rampages parody the trope. The player must kill as many of a certain character group (gang members, soldiers, etc.) before the time runs out, but unlike with earlier games in the series where the Rampage just starts up, this time they're [[GameplayAndStoryIntegration reframed]] as Trevor having a psychotic episode, [[AxCrazy going on killing sprees]] [[HairTriggerTemper over very minor insults.]]

*** A middle-aged, chubby criminal visiting a shrink who lives in a lavish house with gold digger wife, fat lazy son and smart-yet-often-dull daughter who all hate him? Ever since the first trailer, Michael seemed awfully akin to [[TheSopranos Tony Soprano]]. Even his house layout is very similar.

** As expected, the game marked the return of several vehicles that have not been featured since the last of the "3D Era" games, but vehicles that have long been absent since the "2D Era", specifically from ''[[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoII Grand Theft Auto 2]]'', were also revisited, including the Z-Type classic coupe (with a Bugatti Type 57-C-like design not unlike those of sports cars in ''2''), the Panto city car (a Smart Fortwo-like vehicle harking back to its original microcar design in ''2'') and the Furore GT sports car.

* HappyEndingOverride: [[spoiler: While the conclusion of ''GrandTheftAutoIVTheLostAndDamned'' was [[DownerEnding far from happy]] overall, it at least ended with Johnny alive and leaving Ashley and all her drug problems behind. ''V'' shows that not only did he come crawling back eventually, he also got ''himself'' (as well as Terry and Clay) hooked on drugs. [[ShootTheShaggyDog Then Trevor kills all of them because Johnny pissed him off.]]]]

* HappyEndingOverride: [[spoiler: While the conclusion of ''GrandTheftAutoIVTheLostAndDamned'' was [[DownerEnding far from happy]] overall, it at least ended with Johnny alive and leaving Ashley and all her drug problems behind. ''V'' shows that not only did he come crawling back eventually, he and Terry and Clay all got hooked on meth themselves in the intervening years. [[ShootTheShaggyDog Then Trevor kills all of them because Johnny pissed him off.]]

** Trevor is a dead ringer for Creator/JackNicholson, with a slight resemblance and several of his mannerisms, and is similar to [[Film/TheShining Jack Torrance]]. Taken further with a jacket exclusive to Trevor, which is the same jacket that Nicholson wore in ''Film/TheShining''. (Some of this may be unintentional, given that Trevor is an InkSuitActor of the man who performs his voice.) A resemblance to RichardNixon is also visible, and a stronger resemblance in both looks and personality to Waingro from {{Heat}} especially in the prologue mission.