Like all brilliant Grand Theft Auto moments, the one that sticks out while recently playing the upcoming Freemode events coming to Online wasn’t scripted, it was just a perfect coincidence.

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FASTEST SPEED CHALLENGE

CRIMINAL DAMAGE

PENNED IN

We were playing Hunt the Beast, a new mode in which players team up to track and kill ‘the beast’, a randomly-selected player who is blessed with super strength and speed for the duration of the round. (They also look a whole lot like Michael J. Fox in Teen Wolf, covered in fur and wearing a red varsity jacket.) The beast’s aim is to get to 10 checkpoints scattered around Los Santos within a specified time limit. However, because the beast is invisible to other players, on the mini-map at least, trying to track down a single person among thousands is no easy feat, and so the hunt begins.As a hunter, it’s possible to hear the growl of the beast if you’re close enough, but really your only chance of tracking it down is when it appears on the map for a few seconds after reaching a checkpoint. What follows is a mad dash to the beast’s last known location – during our playthrough, helicopters, super cars and jets all closed in on the port of Los Santos, desperate to snare the target. But our beast was smart – it knew that if it behaved erratically it’d be easy to spot, so instead climbed inside a garbage truck and casually drove off, making sure to stop at red lights so as not to draw attention. It worked, and while the pack of hunters raced in one direction, the beast made off the other way.The ruse didn’t last though. The moment the beast checked in at the second location one of my team-mates closed in, and over the headset announced the beast was in a green garbage truck. Seconds later, a lorry matching that description sped through a red light at the intersection ahead and the net closed in. The beast eventually took a wrong turn and backed into a car park, before half a dozen hunters piled in and filled it with bullets.It’s a thrilling game of cat and mouse, and one that’s spread across the entire map. Having played just a single game, I only had a glimpse of the potential on offer, but it’s immediately apparent there are many ways to play as the beast, from making the most of its super powers and going on foot through the city’s back alleys to avoid detection, to taking a more direct approach and punching through the waves of hunters.Hunt the Beast is just one of many Freemode events coming to Grand Theft Auto Online Freemode events take place every 12 minutes and you have the choice to either take part in them, ignore completely or, if you so choose, spectate. Some of the events – such as the high-speed challenge – are ‘ambient’, meaning you can take part no matter where you are on the map. Others require you to drive to a specific area on the map before the challenge kicks off.Naturally, cash and RP rewards are given to the best players, but interestingly you can join forces with other players to increase your chances of winning – although the spoils you reap are split between the players on your team.We got to play five Freemode events – I’ve already gone into detail about Hunt the Beast, so here’s the lowdown on the others.Pretty obvious, but you have three minutes to clock up the fastest speed possible, using a land vehicle. I opted for the Zentorno and picked the freeway heading north out of Los Santos, because it provided a long stretch of road and also because it’s party downhill, and every little helps, right? Other challengers headed for the LS airport and floored it down the runway, but wherever you choose to drive, the only thing that counts is speed.Whoever causes the most damage, wins. Simple. Or at least it is if you pick the right spot, such as a busy downtown intersection where cars stack up, or down at the airport where expensive jets are easy targets. But get stuck out in the middle of nowhere and pickings are slim. Call in your own super car or chopper and blow it up to give you a boost up the leaderboard, but remember you’ll end up fronting the insurance costs.Another favourite, this free-for-all has a dozen cars all battling to stay within an ever-decreasing dome as it moves slowly around the map. At first it’s a cinch with plenty of room for everyone, but soon space becomes tight and obstacles on the map begin to play a part. The dome’s movement is unpredictable, so while you think you’re on the right course when you duck down alley to get ahead of the rest of the pack, when it suddenly takes a sharp turn you can very quickly be left out of the hot zone – and if you don’t get back inside within the nine-second time limit you’re toast.

KILL LIST COMPETITIVE

Two teams of four each climb inside a Valkyrie helicopter – a pilot, one on the front gun and two on the side miniguns. The objective is to take down as many Merriweather mercs as possible, who attack in other choppers as well as from the ground, firing missiles that’ll keep even the most adept pilot on their toes. The twist is both teams are targeting the same mercs, so it quickly turns into a race to take down choppers and armoured vehicles first. And with two heavy gunships flying in the same airspace, a mid-air collision is a very distinct – and ultimately lethal – possibility.

HUNTING PACK

CROSS THE LINE

Two new adversary modes are also being added as part of the Freemode event update. Like regular Adversary Mode events, they’re triggered through a lobby and both are for two teams of four, with seven variants of each mode.Hunting Pack is a cross between Speed and Mad Max, with the team of defenders – three in high-performance cars and one in the VIP vehicle, which explodes if it reaches a standstill – tasked with getting their precious cargo to the target destination in one piece. Four attackers are hot on their tail, aiming to stop the VIP vehicle any way possible. We played it twice – the first time the VIP vehicle was a fire engine, the second a flatbed truck, and bringing these heavyweight beasts to a stop in no easy feat. They’re capable of shunting attacking cars into walls and oncoming traffic, so the only way to take them down is to team up and run them off the road.Two teams face each other, starting behind their line, and must cross the battlefield and get all four team-mates behind the enemy’s line to win. But this being GTA, everyone’s geared up with an assault rifle, shotgun and a single grenade, so it turns nasty quickly. Communication is key, to either stem an enemy’s assault if they try to sneak around the side, or to plan your own attack.

Heists have been a firm favourite at IGN for a long time, but one criticism that’s consistently raised are the wait times between playing. Freemode events finally address the issue, giving players plenty of ways to spend time in the game –and importantly earn cash and RP at the same time – without ever having to go into a lobby. At long last, there’s more to do in the open world than gun down whoever’s nearest, and it’s a much welcome addition.Grand Theft Auto Online’s Freemode events are coming to PS4, Xbox One and PC on 15 September. You can find out more about the future of GTA Online with our exclusive interview with the game’s Director of Design.

Alex is IGN's UK Editor-in-Chief who spends most of his spare time in Los Santos. Follow him on IGN and Twitter