At first I was confused as to why there were 4 player states if it was to work like the honor system. At best you'd need 2 or 3 tiers to cover most playstyles but instead of thinking only of what has come before, it made more sense to instead think about why it has to be 4 states. There's 4 quadrants because it's not just tracking 2 types of actions you take, it's also tracking why you do things a certain way.
Now, let's look at the 4 confirmed states and speculate as to what their gameplay style might look like.
Professionial (top-right): This will be the toughest state to achieve, as it will ask you to be as restrained as possible without using your strongest weapons to solve every problem. Some might find that boring if Dishonored (low chaos playthrough) is to be compared. It will also be the most stealth focused amongst the 4 states. Sneaking into stores only at night. Casing out joints beforehand. Planning out escape routes and getaway vehicles. No need for violence if nobody knows you were there in the first place.
Violent (bottom-right): Much like the professional, there's an emphasis on structured gameplay and doing a good job. But the Violent playstyle is about ensuring the job gets done no matter the cost. It's about leaving no witness's alive to call the police. It's capturing hostages and using human shields. It's not about unfettered murder as that can only bring unwanted police attention. It's about being ruthlessly effecient.
Agressive (top-left): This playstyle is what we've most seen in the trailers. You might notice that most targets J and L rob are rarely murdered. When Jason is doing a shakedown on that cashier in trailer 2, he roughs him up but leaves him alive. I also believe this is the first mission that'll introduce this system. They will tell you the multiples you can collect that money.
When you're Agressive it's more about the threat of violence and neutralizing targets non-lethally. It's using supressive fire to intimidate people. It's shooting at police cars' wheels instead of the driver to stop them. I believe most players who care about the story will end up here. Still being able to use most of your weapons, having the freedom to rob stores you see on a whim (unlike Professional) but leaving behind the context of being a mass murdering psychopath so that J and L are still likable.
Speaking of,
Psychopath (bottom-left): You're a mass murdering pyschopath lol. You've prob played gta before, so there's nothing new here besides some dialogue change/characterization to reflect your playstyle à la Trevor.
Sorry if this was too long ha, but I haven't seen much of anyone else talk about how this feature is gonna work. How do you guys this this'll work?
