Autarch Comes To GTA Online, Snow Returning On New Year's

The snow has all dried up and everyone's opened their presents, but that doesn't mean that the gifts need to stop coming. Just like they did throughout the year, Rockstar will continue to add free DLC to the game each week, and this week is no different.

As usual, a new car is joined by a new Adversary Mode. The new ride adds to the already long list of futuristic hypercars, even if its description would have you think otherwise. It's quick, it's overdesigned, it's expensive, it's low-set and it's based on the kind of car that basically no GTA player could possibly own in real life.

The Överflöd Autarch looks, on first glance, more or less like every other hypercar to the uninitiated, however it has a number of unique design sensibilities.

While its silhouette would hardly help in its identification, its front section with the unorthodox grille positioning isn't something you'd often see, and the bodywork combines curves with angular elements in a strange but good looking blend.

The more you look at it, the more of an odd duck it resembles.

This is not a hypercar. It's not a sports prototype or a concept GT. It's something else. Something much, much better. And this isn't even an advert for whatever it is. The Autarch doesn't need an advert. It doesn't need anything it doesn't have already, least of all the approval of an irrelevance like you. No, you need it: more than you need money, dignity or life itself. Go on, we dare you not to buy it.

In terms of performance, it is a strong racing competitor, speeding easily into the top three best racing cars in the game. The Autarch won't dethrone the Vagner as the car with the highest top speed, however it has ludicrously good handling making it almost impossible to spin out no matter how deep you're pushing the gas pedal.

Of course, since we're talking about one of the best racers out there, there is a hefty price tag attached. Buying an Autarch will set you back GTA$ 1,955,000. While that doesn't make it the most expensive car in the game, it definitely puts the Autarch into the upper echelons of the game's vehicle price library.

The new Adversary Mode isn't exactly "new", but it's more of a sequel to an existing one, and this is reflected in the title — Slashers. This new riff on the Halloween Adversary Mode of yore adds more machete-wielding horror villains — like the title suggests — as well as a new mechanic.

Slashers pits two teams against each other. One team, the slashers, are equipped with creepy masks, machetes and shotguns, and the other, the hunted, have flashlights and thermal vision (the latter reducing the functionality of the former to blunt weapon). There is a twist, however — every 60 seconds, the roles are reversed. The hunted become the slashers and vice versa — this switcheroo continues until one team is completely destroyed.

This adds an extra layer of thrill, as a role switch in the right moment can completely turn the tide, since if played well, a single slasher can wipe out an entire team of hunted. If the last hunted survives through their 60 seconds, they have a chance to still win the round.

Through the 8th of January, 2018, the mode will dish out double rewards.

As last year, while the two days of Christmas snow may be gone, the slippery white stuff will once again blanket Los Santos during New Year's eve. Additionally, Rockstar has teased further gifts being given to GTA Online players for the end of the year. What these may be is anyone's guess, however we're guessing some fireworks ammo will be involved.