Maybe you were distracted by getting a brand new game, or you were stuck picking up all the crinkled wrapping paper left behind by fiendish siblings tearing into presents like a wolverine into a...what the hell do wolverines eat anyway? Whatever the reason, you missed a very interesting event in Grand Theft Auto Online that won't happen again for a long time. Rockstar celebrated the Christmas holiday by transforming the normally sun-drenched streets of Los Santos into a wintery wonderland.
One of the most captivating moments of Grand Theft Auto V was the snowy opener - a late night drive through the frigid town of North Yankton. 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, and a glitch lets you access the town in GTA Online, but it was over too quick.
While the Christmas change-up wasn't nearly on point with GTA V's opener, it was still fun. There's no cheat for the game in existence (as of yet, anyway) that will let you re-create the snowy setting it, and it was a one time only deal, so in case you missed it, check out the video below.
While the flurries are over for the time being, the deals are still on. At the same time Rockstar promised gamers a white Christmas, they also offered a slew of snowy deals that will stand to the New Year.
The developer invited gamers to pick their choice on some unique holiday styled items, as well as a number of discounts. You can check out the complete list of items below:
- Grenades, Tear Gas, Sticky bombs all at half-price.
- 30% off the Enus Super Diamond and Vapid Fugitive four door sedans, and the Benefactor Schwartzer, and Ubermacht Zion two-door coupes.
- 25% off Tinsel Towers apartments 45 and 29.
- 50% on musical horns for vehicles, green and gold weapon tints
- 50% off on Winter hats, berets, Hinterland Boots, and Yeti Boots.
Through January 5, clothing shops will be selling holiday-themed items like Santa hats, Snowman masks, Reindeer antlers, Elf jackets and shoes, and more.
Lastly, there's a nice treat for you shutterbugs out there. To go along with the rest of the holiday shenanigans, there's a bunch of new Snapmatic features: new filters, borders, facial expressions, a depth of field effect, and even a meme creator feature. As the Rockstar's newswire post explained, "You can access the Filters, Borders, Facial Animations, and Depth of Field Effect while you're taking a photo (Facial Animations and Depth of Field are only available in Self Portrait Mode). To use the Meme Creator, just pause the game and select the picture you'd like to meme-ify from the Gallery, then hit Square / X to add meme text." The additions are here to stay after the holidays.
If you take a shot you think is pretty impressive, tag it with #XmasInLosSantos and it could wind up being featured at Rockstar's Newswire.