One of the most captivating moments of Grand Theft Auto V was the opening scene: a late night drive through the frigid town of North Yankton, in the small town of Ludendorff, the GTA version of the mid-west. The mission served as a basic tutorial, and a means to show how Michael and Trevor wound up where they did in Los Santos. But from this short portion of the game, you can see why Rockstar was waiting until the end of the lifespan of the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 to release the game. Everything about it was spectacular; the headlights catching the snowflakes, the tension, even the mechanics of driving on a snowy road felt different. Players were able to re-visit the town later on in the game, but there was something of a pressing matter that kept most of us from wandering around. Now, in GTA Online, players are free ro re-visit the town one more time and take a look at all it has to offer, all thanks to a glitch.
Unlike in the game's campaign mode, you won't need to board a plane at the airport to get there...kind of. The only catch is that you'll need two people to get there. Directions are below, and there's also a video showing the process in action.
1. Start up the campaign mode, restart and replay the first campaign / prologue mission. Make it up to the point where the crew blows the vault, and exit the building.
2. During the shootout with the cops just outside, you'll need to have your buddy send you an invite to join their online session. Accept it.
3. Now that you're online, grab anything with wings, and fly to the south east region of the map (the exact point is shown in the video below).
4. You should be able to see a mountain range appear from the middle of the ocean. The catch is that if you're going with your buddy, they won't see squat.
5. Land, and roam around as much as you like. It can appear a bit glitchy from time to time though.
If you want a friend to join you, have them do follow the same set of instructions, then send them an invite when they get to an appropriate point. It's a pretty lifeless area, but it's fun to roam around. See if you can find that alien you never bothered to look for in the campaign missions.
Older GTA fans will likely be reminded of a similar glitch from GTA III, in which players could re-visit the fabled "Ghost Town," the site of the bank robbery from the game's opening scene, named for the fact that most of its textures aren't solid, and players can drive right through them. Obviously, the big difference here is that players can actually land in North Yankton and explore it to their hearts content, and getting there in one of GTA Online's many aircrafts is a lot easier than piloting that damned dodo. Still, several areas here aren't solid either, so watch your step.