GTA Online: New Car, Free Cash, Halloween, Oh Boy

Rockstar Games is celebrating two occasions in the coming days and has gone the extra mile when it comes to bonuses both in-game and out to commemorate these events. GTA Online is the main recipient of the attention, but there are discounts in the physical Rockstar Warehouse as well.

The two occasions in question are Halloween and the fourth anniversary of GTA Online, which launched in October 2013. While we aren't getting any concrete themed Halloween DLC as a pack this year, Rockstar is adding new spooky content to Online while also bringing back the old goodies.

Let's start with what may be the best part of all this news — to celebrate the fourth anniversary of the game, Rockstar is rewarding players with the one thing everyone needs and that is hard to come by — money. Anyone logging into the game between today and the 6th of November will get GTA$ 400,000. That's right, 400k in free money.

Of course, this is the internet, meaning nothing anyone ever does will ever please anybody, and fans have already begun complaining that a 4 year milestone would warrant 4 million in in-game currency, since GTA$ 400k "doesn't buy much". This mentality is not only utter nonsense, but the fastest way to ensure that Rockstar never does currency giveaways in the future.

There have been a few occasions in the past when Rockstar gave away in-game cash.

The earliest example was in the first year of the game's life when GTA$ was used to repay players after a particularly bumpy period of time in terms of server stability. Another example was leading up to the Further Adventures in Finance and Felony, when money was handed out to let players prepare for the DLC.

Now, keeping mind — and this is something that goes down each time there is a money giveaway — the participation deadline (until Nov 6.) isn't the time period in which the money is actually delivered. The GTA$ 400,000 will arrive in player's Maze Bank Accounts after the 6th through until the 13th.

Having honored the game's ripe age of 4, the rest of the ridiculous amounts of promotions are dedicated to Halloween. In a unique move, instead of being released on a Tuesday as usual, we actually got a new vehicle immediately.

The Vigilante, a rocket-powered weaponized vehicle, is probably as close to the Batmobile as Rockstar could get it without infringing any copyrights. The vehicle is based off the 1989 Batmobile in its design, but it a whole lot angular and also evokes the design of stealth aircraft.

Today's society is broken. We all know who's behind it, but we're afraid to speak out. Hard-working cops, human rights lawyers, investigative journalists, social media managers — a cartel of vested interests who would think nothing of trampling the freedoms of a semi-legitimate businessperson such as yourself. It's time someone took the law into their own hands, and if you're in the market for some fully weaponized, rocket-propelled civic order, the Vigilante is the only game in town.

It retains the two frontal prongs and the central turbine, however this turbine is now more of a standard grille but circular.

The iconic wings near the rear have been removed and replaced with armor plating that slightly evoke folded wings. The interior of the car is similarly impressive, with elements Frankensteined together from other cars, as well as additional screens from the Hydra recolored in red.

The vehicle is rocket-powered much like the Rocket Voltic, allowing you to get a massive speed boost and soar through the air when combined with a ramp. Additionally, the vehicle comes with front-facing machine guns by default and can be upgraded with missiles as well, essentially making this a hybrid Special vehicle and Weaponized vehicle.

Of course, if you want to own the freaking Batmobile, you're going to have pay a kind of price only Bruce Wayne wouldn't balk at. The ride costs GTA$ 3,750,000, plus upgrades (because who doesn't upgrade?).

You can try out the Vigilante without buying the car on the new transform race added for Halloween, which has you switch between the Ultralight, this car and strangely enough, the Beast. The race, titled Inferno, is tooled to be evocative of a hellish landscape. Incidentally, the double RP and GTA$ promo on all transform races is still on!

Continuing the Halloween theme, the newest Adversary Mode coming to GTA Online brings a whole new twist to hot potatoes.

Condemned sees one player marked for death, with a timer slowly ticking away. If it runs out, they die, however if they transfer the curse to another player by way of bullet-mail, their soul may be redeemed. The last person alive gains victory, as well as freedom from the curse. Put your life on the line for some extra cash, as Condemned pays out double through the 6th of November.

That isn't where the double reward bonuses end, however. Through the 6th, all Smuggler sell missions will pay twice as much cash, temporarily elevating them to be the game's most lucrative money making method, and all associates will earn double salaries.

Swinging back to the anniversary celebrations, Rockstar upped their usual 25% discount to 30%, and that is the rate which applies to all currently discounted items — except the returning Halloween content. The masks, facepaints, Franken Stange, Lurcher and Sanctus are all 25% off.

Additionally, for the mere act of logging in during the course of the event, players will be awarded with three exclusive Halloween themed t-shirts — the Cheerleader Massacre 3 shirt, Vinewood Zombie shirt and Knife After Dark shirt. Some of you may recognize these as returning pieces from Halloween events of the past.

Falling under the anniversary sale (30% off) is a huge number of items including properties and vehicles. All hangars,bunkers, clubhouses and vehicle warehouses enjoy the discount (not the executive offices though, which are a prerequisite), and the list of vehicles is even longer: Weaponized Tampa, Half-Track, Ramp Buggy, Phantom Wedge, Ruiner 2000, Vapid Retinue, Hijak Ruston, Pegassi Infernus Classic, Pegassi Vortex, Nagasaki Shotaro, Declasse Tornado Rat Rod, Ocelot Penetrator, Banshee 900R upgrade, V-65 Molotok. Any vehicle that has two prices (one full, another discount) has the 30% discount on both those prices.

All that said, Rockstar's anniversary offerings reach over into the real world as well. Through the 30st of October, the digital download of Grand Theft Auto 5 (does anyone still not own this game?) is 30% off, with the PC version coming bundled with a gratis Shark Card. If you want to top up your in-game bank account individually, the Megalodon card is 15% off and the Whale is 10% off.

On the other hand if you're more hyped up about next year's Red Dead Redemption 2, the Game of the Year edition of the previous game is also 30% off on the Warehouse, allowing you to relive the game in its most complete form- even on the Xbox One, as the game supports backwards compatibility.

Additionally, a bunch of GTA 5 branded merch is also 30% off while the sale lasts, including the Bugstars Tee, Black Merryweather Security Tee, White Los Santos Lifeguard Tee, Yellow Los Santos Lifeguard Tee, Kifflom Tee, STD Contractors Tee, Grotti Polo, Merryweather Polo and Merryweather Cap. Red Dead's Undead Nightmare tee and I Heart Zombies tee are also discounted.

Rockstar really went all out with their joint anniversary and Halloween celebrations this year. While we didn't get a concrete Halloween DLC, between the Adversary Mode and New Vehicle we got the meat of what such an update would have contained anyway, and the returning masks should make up for the rest. The sales are a fantastic opportunity both for new players to catch up with the crowd and for people who have been around longer to fill in gaps in their vehicle collections.

GTA 5 and GTA Online still being such a huge defining element of the contemporary gaming scene on its fourth Anniversary is a huge testament to its success. When you log in and take the Vigilante for a spin, it will likely be hard to believe you're playing a 4 year old game.