Some missions are completed with only one character and others feature two or three. The single-player mode lets players control three characters: Michael De Santa, Trevor Philips and Franklin Clinton-criminals whose stories interconnect as they complete missions. The meter enters a cool-down mode and eventually recedes when players are hidden from the officers' line of sight that displays on the mini-map. Stars displayed on the meter indicate the current wanted level (for example, at the maximum five-star level, police helicopters and SWAT teams swarm to lethally dispatch players).Law enforcement officers will search for players who leave the wanted vicinity. If players commit crimes, law enforcement agencies may respond as indicated by a 'wanted' meter in the head-up display (HUD). Players respawn at hospitals when their health depletes.
Should players take damage, their health meter will gradually regenerate to its halfway point. In combat, auto-aim and a cover system may be used as assistance against enemies. To accommodate the map's size, the game introduces vehicle types absent in its predecessor Grand Theft Auto IV, such as fixed-wing aircraft. Players use melee attacks, firearms and explosives to fight enemies, and may run, jump, swim or use vehicles to navigate the world.
