I don’t get attached to Grand Theft Auto protagonists. I’ll admit to a passing fondness for CJ from San Andreas, because he was pretty cool, but I don’t remember the antiheroes from Grand Theft Auto III, Vice City, or Chinatown Wars, even though I played all three. In fact, I remember skipping Grand Theft Auto IV because Niko rubbed me the wrong way.
That won’t be happening with Grand Theft Auto V. I am buying GTA V and the first thing I’m going to do is play as Trevor.
There’s just something about that crazy, hillbilly drug dealer. He’s magnetic. If I saw the dude in real life, it would be a different story. I’d not only cross to the other side of the street to avoid him, I’d probably duck inside of a house. (Not a car, of course. With my luck, Trevor would carjack me). Yet the idea of playing as someone like him in Grand Theft Auto V is an irresistible idea.
I blame it on the Grand Theft Auto V character vignette trailers. Trevor’s trailer showcases how much of a lowlife he is. He has no moral compass, no concept of right or wrong. It seems like he does whatever he wants.
When the Grand Theft Auto V trailer shows him electrocuting someone with jumper cables, he says he’s “new in town and making friends.” At one point, we see him climbing onto someone’s balcony in his stained undies. He plays chicken with a train and loses. Trevor is just hilariously offensive. Also, he’s a bona fide force of chaos.
Being a bona fide force of chaos is exactly how I play any Grand Theft Auto game.
Oh sure, I’ll dabble with the story for a while, but In the end I always return to the random acts of chaos. I’ll steal helicopters just because I can. I’ll send my avatar on an eternal swim just to see how far he’ll get. I once spent almost two hours in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas sending CJ on a shopping spree, after using an Action Replay to give him infinite cash, of course. GTA is all about performing wanton behavior that I would never consider engaging in in real life.
It’s a cathartic experience, and I know I’m not the only one who does it. We’re playing Grand Theft Auto because it gives us the opportunity to live with a completely different, insane mindset and no consequences. Even though the other two leads, Michael and Franklin, are deviants and criminals, they’re still pretty normal guys. People don’t visually face palm if they see either of them coming to their house. They aren’t hijacking old planes so they can do a barrel roll. Their clothes are actually clean. Trevor is off the crazy spectrum, and I have never seen a game that would let me live the life of someone like him. He could do or say anything, and seems to enjoy every trip off the deep end.
It’s like Rockstar Games is sending a shout-out to those of us who never get more than halfway through a Grand Theft Auto story because we’re too busy making our cars dance. This Trevor dude’s for us. I’m just disappointed that Michael’s the “main character,” because I’d love a game where it’s 24-7 Trevor.
 | By Jenni Lada Lead Contributor Date: May 2, 2013 |