Characters:

1 - Almost no former characters will be included in the new version, with the exception of the infamous Mafia Don Leone (from GTA III), seen in an updated version, after the end of the ’Truck Hustle’ mission.

2 - Niko Bellic (possibly of Serbian decent) - is the new hero. Hoping to escape his old surroundings by emigrating to Liberty, as things would happen, despite his military background, with experience killing, smuggling and selling people - it doesn’t quite work out as he would have hoped.

3 - Niko’s cousin, Roman, runs a taxi depot in Broker, the opening base of operations in the game.

4 - Little Jacob is a Jamaican associate of Roman, who deals weapons. Niko meets him early in the game; he sells ballistic and ammunition merchandise from the boot of his car. He’ll gladly take you to Niko, with a trunk full of guns, provided you strike up a good friendship with him.

5 - Brucie is a white hyper-active hip-hop type Arian refugee, who runs a garage in Broker, located close to Roman’s taxi depot. Wearing a necklace that says ’No One,’ he winds up hiring Niko to ice Lyle Rivas (a police informant).

6 - Elizabeta is a drug abuser and dealer, who has a 10 year history of selling in Bohan. Paranoid due to recent crackdowns on drug dealers, Niko does a job for her, and she repays him by introducing him to Playboy X.

7 - Playboy X is a street hustling gangster who likes the high life, in a luxury apartment in Algonquin. He enlists Niko to help end a Mafia enforced union strike that’s disrupting the development plans of one of his cronies.

8 - Dwayne Ford is Playboy X’s old partner, recently released from prison, and he seems very agitated by Playboy’s lifestyle and apparent disinterest in a partnership with him.

9 - Ray and Bell are Italian Soprano-type mobsters, paranoid about observation by the feds, who talk in entertaining mob-speak. Niko hijacks a drug load of trucks from the Triads for Bell.

10 - B-boy Manny, after abandoning a life of gang banging, wants to make up some damage by cleaning up the neighborhood streets and wayward kids.

11 - Frank McReary is a corrupt cop who hires Niko to kill lawyer Tom Goldberg (otherwise known as a good start), because of incriminating evidence he has. McReary also has some ’dirt’ on Niko, which is the only thing motivating him to help the guy.

12 - Vlad is a Russian (surprise!) criminal, operating petty protection rackets around the Hove Beach area, who appears to suffer from ’delusions of big time gangster’ grandeur.

Entities and Groups:

1 - The FBI is known as the FIB.

2 - The Liberty City Police Department is now larger and more intelligent, due to the greatly improved AI.

3 - The Triads are featured in the game, but it is unclear if Niko actually works for them or not.

4 - The Mafia appears in supporting roles.