Rockstar Games today made it official with the very first teaser trailer for Grand Theft Auto V. And here it is. The game introduces a brand new protagonist, set in “Vinewood,” which GTA fans will recognize as an version of an alternate Hollywood.

From what can be gleaned from the trailer, the new main character is some kind of career criminal, but he moves to L.A. — sorry, Vinewood — to settle down and be “a family man.” But this is Grand Theft Auto, so it ain’t about cuddle time with the wife or tucking the kiddies into bed. We don’t even get so much as a name for this new protagonist, but I’m sure those kinds of details will trickle out over the months to come.

The trailer shows off a new game engine capable of some impressive-looking graphics and effects, and what appears to be the kind of sprawling, open-world sandbox that GTA players have come to expect. (I’ll be surprised if this game world isn’t the biggest the series has ever done.) But the focus of the trailer is on showing off how well Rockstar has captured the L.A. lifestyle and culture. All the little details — the beautiful beach, the exercise-obsessed residents, the sunny, smog-filled metropolis — ooze L.A. atmosphere.

If you’re hoping for a release date, you can keep dreaming. This is an announcement trailer and nothing more, a first step of what’s no doubt planned as a carefully orchestrated publicity campaign.

Reactions?

But this coming March, this is going to be remedied with the release of Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars. Rockstar Games has pegged March 17 as the release of the DS version of its megapopular franchise. Europe will get to experience the game a few days after, on March 20.

Rockstar is trying to get a Mature rating for the game and the company has already acknowledged that the content cannot be changed to court a more family-friendly rating. And with activities like drug peddling, carjacking and violence, I wouldn’t expect them to find a succesful way of doing it.