It's Tuesday. Every GTA Online player out there had money saved up for either the Infernus Classic or Turismo Classic. We all waited with baited breath to see which of the good old, truly legendary cars will show up in the game. And then Rockstar went and released the ugly duckling that interested a comparatively tiny chunk of the community. Oh well, the longer the wait, the sweeter the reward, right?
In any case, the game is now one car richer, though "richer" might not be the word to associate with this particular addition. The Hijak Ruston, as revealed through data-mined leaks last week, is now available from Legendary Motorsport for GTA$ 430,000. Though if the tests are anything to go by this isn't a car you should be running head over heels after to make it your own.
The odd vehicle, which lacks not only a roof but a windshield as well, is based on a unique class of vehicle called a track day racer. Stereotypically these are entirely useless vehicles outside of their primary intended function but are really expensive and are thus used almost exclusively by rich people who don't know better and have money to waste.
You may look, sound and smell like a corporate insurance analyst, but you live for the track. Your flabby, pimply ass is only at home nestled into a low-slung, carbon fiber racing seat. You fall asleep to fantasies of unconventional aerodynamics. You whisper 'monocoque' to yourself while you're jacking off in the shower. And there's only one name you scream out as you dump your load: Ruston, Ruston, Ruston.
That said, real-life track day racers are intended to be speedy, lightweight rides with great traction and handling. Players have noted that the Ruston is unfortunately none of these things. It has a passable top speed and a poor downforce multiplier means that it loses any benefit from spoilers while also not getting the advantage offered by high downforce multipliers. It loses a lot of momentum in turns and is overall a really, really crap car when it comes to racing, being overall 30th in its class (sports).
Of course, if you don't care about racing performance and are just looking for something to cruise around with in Freemode, and you like the track day racer style, this might be a great deal for you. Particularly as it's so cheap. The Ruston is for sure a unique ride that can be made to look really slick, and it can be a true head-turner with a tasteful color scheme, so if this kind of thing is up your alley then power to you.
The Ruston isn't the only new addition to GTA Online today, as Rockstar caught up with themselves and made the new props from Special Vehicle Circuit available in the Stunt Race Creator. The props were supposed to be there with the release of the main DLC. Then again, better late than never, and now players can finally craft their own tracks designed around the Rocket Voltic, Aqua Blazer and Ruiner 2000.
We're eager to see what kinds of new tracks the community comes up with and are hoping that Rockstar will organize yet another contest built around the Creator like they did last year. Stunt Races have ascended to become one of the most entertaining pastimes in GTA Online, and the more the merrier.
We're not sure which of the upcoming cars will be next in line, but we've only got a week to wait until it's released. That said, recent discoveries unveiled more about that hint Rockstar dropped concerning the Duke O'Death coming to GTA Online. Leakers have discovered the price of the vehicle. Again, let's all remember that any non-official info has a chance of being wrong.
The Duke O'Death will cost GTA$ 660,000 (666k would have been more appropriate, but alas) unless you're a returning player, in which case you'll get the car absolutely free. This will also be the model for returning player bonuses going forward. Since 'returning players' are those who transferred characters over from the previous-generation, and that transfer feature is no longer available, Rockstar will be enacting a new system.
This isn't live yet, and might become active along with the release of the Duke if it's even true at all. Basically, all returning player content will be made available to all players regardless of whether they transferred or not, however those who are actual returning players will have access to this content for free.
While those players who only came into the fold with the Enhanced Edition take this news as good, some of the returning players are bit ruffled. None of the special content is particularly crucial to succeed at the game and are novelty items more or less, so they feel Rockstar could have kept them locked to returning players only as "badges of honor" proving that they were already around back in the time when transfers were a thing.
Of course, both sides can be understood. New players don't even have any way of becoming returning players even if they were willing to buy the game twice for it, so this method seems fair. On the flipside, this makes the actual returning players' loyalty seem less rewarding. In any case, we'll soon learn if there is truth to this.
It's likely that we'll get the Turismo Classic and Infernus Classic before the Duke, though, and we're not sure which will arrive next week. Our money is on the Infernus, since the Turismo seems to be the most requested, and Rockstar just loves stringing the fans along with these things.
Some players have voiced dissent regarding this model of releasing a car a week in between major updates, however it seems like the logical thing to do. If Rockstar would have included these cars with the Special Vehicle Circuit, we wouldn't be getting any new content in between major releases, which if you ask us is worse. Getting bigger content dumps with dry spells in between kills the feeling of anticipation that comes with knowing that each week holds something new in store.
Those new Adversary Modes are also still incoming and the two cars will likely be paired with one each. The modes will include a unique callback to the very first GTA title with a unique top-down perspective, while the other will offer a deadlier version of dodgeball with some kind of resurrection feature. All of these updates will be leading up to the next major release, which will be the as-of-yet unnamed gunrunning DLC.
In the meantime, we can all take the Ruston for a test-drive, marvel at how good it looks (maybe) and how bad it drives.
