Jumping over to Import/Export, the tonal shift is immediate and obvious. Gone are the homey trappings of the festive season we all know and love. The snow and Santa costumes are replaced by crisp suits, expensive cars and... a gorilla, for whatever reason. These following shots depict the Import/Export update as told by the players.
"Kongdon" by R1CHIEC is far out. Nothing quite screams "the illegal selling of expensive automobiles"... than a gorilla mask, a smoking jacket and an attack helicopter, apparently? Honestly, we're not quite seeing how this snap is all about Import/Export, as those cars in the background are barely noticeable, but we'll be damned if it isn't a neat, over-the-top rendition of what all of GTA Online seems to feel like these days. I guess we'll let it slide.
This next image immediately falls in line with the Import/Export theme much better than the previous, by giving us a much more stylish version of the image Rockstar itself used to promote the update during the official announcement back in 2016. The wedge-shaped special vehicle has become something of a mascot for Import/Export, and here it is seen in action, casually tossing a semi into the air (not shown: the wedge blowing up about half a mile later, because it can only ram 30 or so cars before totaling...).
One of the most loved of the special vehicles, in spite of its handicapped missile inventory, is the extremely versatile Ruiner 2000. Based on KITT, the high-tech AI spy car of Knight Rider fame, the vehicle has a ton of handy gadgets hidden under its stylish chassis. Here, we see a depiction of the life-saving parachutes in action with an awe-inspiring sunset as the backdrop.
"New Gear" by Nexus_Cat once again thrusts the BF Ramp Buggy into the spotlight in a stylish shot from the special vehicle warehouse, where these new rides are stored. The silhouette, the ominous light filtering in from the windows and the musty feeling lent to the shot by the dim, stuffy setting oozes atmosphere. Looking at it, you can almost smell what it would be like standing right there, nose filled with motor oil, tasting iron on your tongue due to the particles in the air. Damn neat.
Last up we have a... well, we have no bloody idea what this is, but hey, dinosaurs. In the desert. Somehow that's Import/Export? If nothing else, the shot is damn trippy and more colorful than the past five years of Call of Duty combined. I guess this is what happens when you become right off exporting stolen cars and blow all your wealth on drugs. Just make sure you don't drive while you're high, since swerving to avoid that rainbow dragon crapping unicorns onto the road might rack up a high repair bill for your imported car.
There were also a set of special sweepstakes on the Social Club, allowing players to grab some physical merch. You didn't need to actually do anything to enter the draws here, beyond have an active Social Club account. The winners of the GTA 5 prizes are DeadeyeCrow, todd_blackburn, jsu3275, HarleysJoker696 and GTAMAN56193.
Did you enter either of the Snapmatic competitions or the special GTA 5 sweepstakes? Do we have any of the winners among our readers?
