Official GTA 5 trailer sets scene for 17 September launch

Rockstar's dropped 'The Official Trailer' for Grand Theft Auto V, its upcoming crime opus. It's not the first trailer, of course -- there's been two other 'official trailers', three videos that focus on the game's three main scumbag characters, and two official gameplay videos, one of which is for GTA Online, the sort-of separate multiplayer mode.

It may well be the last, however, with the game's release set for 17 September -- that's two weeks on Tuesday, calendar fans.

This particular official trailer is a GTA greatest hits kind of a montage, with scenes and sequences we haven't seen before, including nutbar Trevor smacking his head against a wall, family man Michael losing control of his life, spectacular scenery and someone jumping out of a plane. And explosions. Lots of explosions.

Incidentally, if you like the music, it's called Sleepwalking by The Chain Gang of 1974.

It's all cut-scene footage, so don't expect to get any more insight into what the game's actually like to play, although previous videos have done a decent job of that. There's more non-story stuff to waste your time on, including playing golf, hunting and deep-sea diving.

The multiplayer mode won't arrive for a couple of weeks, going live on 1 October. When it does, you'll be able to plan heists with your buddies and spend your ill-gotten gains on all manner of customisation stuff for your custom-built hoodlum, including apartments, garages full of cars and some epic bling. It'll let you do all the random fun stuff from the single player too, including making your own race routes for all the different kinds of vehicles.

The game's soundtrack was leaked over the weekend -- check out what you'll be listening to on the game's famous radio stations over here.

GTA V is coming to PS3 and Xbox 360, as one last hurrah for the old girls before they're sent off to the nursing home and we all get new consoles this Christmas. It's not currently expected on PC or the next-gen machines, but that may change.

Have you got your pre-order in? Booked days off to get through the single player before multiplayer arrives? Share your criminal capers in the comments below, or over on our disreputable Facebook page.