It goes without saying that the Grand Theft Auto series is one of the most influential and culturally relevant video game franchises of all time… but it can also be easy to forget that fact amidst the current era of knock-offs and spin-offs that have resulted from its success.
With the recent début trailer for Grand Theft Auto V, many people have immediately expressed their expectations to see the newest numbered entry borrow elements and concepts from previously acclaimed open-world games (including Rockstar’s own Red Dead Redemption), while forgetting the fact that every one of those games took their influence from GTA first.
In preparation for Rockstar’s upcoming opus, and the hundreds of hours gamers worldwide will be sacrificing in tribute to it, this article will briefly touch upon each of the console entries released thus far.
While technically not the first GTA game ever made, many people refer to this refined, ultimately superior sequel as the progenitor of the franchise, much the same way fighting game fans consider Street Fighter II as the first “real” game in Capcom’s long-running franchise. The original top-down GTA games did enjoy a cult following consisting of high-schoolers skipping P.E. and shooting up police on the library’s computer, but it was the PS2 début of Grand Theft Auto III that put the series in a new perspective, both literally and figuratively.
At a time when early adopters were waiting for the PlayStation 2 to make good on its promises for better visuals and revolutionary gameplay, GTAIII at precisely the best and worst time; while the 3D visuals weren’t exactly jaw-dropping or realistic, the sheer size and scope of the fictional Liberty City had simply never existed in any console game prior. Players were dropped in the middle of a massive, sprawling area that was completely laid out seamlessly with no load times, and featured hundreds of NPC residents driving and walking about in every direction. As a virtual setting, gamers would have been impressed just being able to walk and drive to any street or building they wanted… but having an endless amount of explosive artillery and a penchant for violence didn’t hurt, either.
Or so it would seem; released shortly after the tragic events of September 11th, 2001, GTAIII was under much controversy, particularly for its New York-inspired setting and the ability to murder virtually anyone you so desired. Elderly women could be beaten with baseball bats, police could be set on fire, and hookers could be shot and robbed of their money after performing their “service” to the player. On paper, GTAIII deserves much of its controversy, even though much of the violence is played up in such an over-the-top manner that the line between reality and fiction isn’t quite as blurred as most concerned parents may believe.
If anything, the game didn’t simply allow gamers to commit all of these violent acts without consequence; the game featured a “Wanted” meter that would steadily increase the longer you prolonged your acts of violence, and with each added star to the list, the police would arrive in larger and deadlier numbers (including helicopters, SWAT teams, and even tanks). While it was possible (and admittedly satisfying) to fend off the local law enforcement, at least a lesson was being learned about not being able to do whatever you wanted without repercussion - unless you enabled the cheat codes.
Regardless of its morals (or lack of), it was the sheer atmosphere and numerous gameplay mechanics that truly won over audiences worldwide. For those of us living outside city life (or short of a few million dollars), it also introduced an exaggerated yet eerily similar look into the bright lights, big cities, fast cars, faster music, and the overall lifestyle of a big-time mobster living the big life.
While GTAIII introduced us to a cast of celebrity-voiced characters, one major problem was its lack of an empathetic main character; while the voiceless, nameless protagonist was created in order to allow players to envision themselves as the star, this concept usually cannot work properly within a narrative as dense as the one in GTAIII. It also didn’t help that the character (named “Fido” by fans) would just blindly follow orders with every mission contact he comes across, including the occasional order to murder his previous employer for no good reason.
In Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, the hero is given both a name and a voice (Tommy Vercitti, played by Ray Liotta), and is ultimately made into a more likeable and identifiable character… despite sharing the same dirty dealings and violent temperament of his predecessor. The time shift from modern-day New York to 1980’s Miami also brings a tonal shift for the series into a lighter and livelier contrast to the urban inner city from GTAIII. While the violence, prostitution, and down-town massacres remained, the hot pink colour schemes, disco music and hipster outfits helped mask the series most controversial elements into a setting less removed from reality, but arguably more fun as a result.
Even the main story, which begins like an homage (as well as a parody) to the movie Scarface, eventually drops Tommy into all sorts of wacky situations, from playing bodyguard to a drug-fuelled rock band, to using an ice cream shop for racketeering, to gathering the necessary stars and props for the ultimate porno epic. The game also places an extra emphasis on the “organized” part of organized crime by allowing players to purchase multiple properties throughout the city, usually acting as extra safe houses as well as open up additional side-quests depending on the acquired business (strip club, taxi service, boating, etc).
As far as added controversy goes, Vice City did not raise the ire of parents and politicians nearly as much, though a story-based objective titled “Kill the Haitians” did spark a bit of outrage when revealed out of context, and was thus changed in subsequent reprints.
With Vice City selling even more copies than its predecessor, there wasn’t a single person alive surprised upon the news that Rockstar would be releasing another console entry in their multimillion franchise. This time, the setting was a Los Angeles-inspired recreation of the 1990s, moving it closer to GTAIII’s setting. With this tonal shift, the series took a slightly darker turn with its depiction of urban street life, gang warfare, corrupt police and a main character powerless to leave his old life of crime.
The star of San Andreas is Carl “CJ” Johnson, a member of the Los Santos gang who returns from Liberty City to attend his mother’s funeral. Traumatized by the murder of his younger brother, CJ’s plans for a normal life fall to ruin when he’s pulled over by corrupt officers Tenpenny and Pulaski and framed for the murder of a police officer who was planning to testify against the two. While forced to do the cops’ dirty work, CJ also finds himself in the middle of a gang war for territory in Los Santos, and eventually makes his way to San Fierro (San Francisco) and Las Venturas (Los Vegas) in order to rise up the criminal ladder.
On the outset, the most controversial aspect of San Andreas would appear to be the decision to go with a mostly African-American character roster (including CJ himself) and classifying them with several 90’s stereotypes (including gang warfare and drug use), not to mention the full use of strong language as a first for the series (including the “N Word”).
And yet, many of those hot-button issues were pretty much ignored in favour of one particular feature that wasn’t even a part of the retail release; dubbed the “Hot Coffee” minigame, this scrapped feature would allow players to engage in a sex minigame with their chosen girlfriend. While this minigame was never meant to be accessible, it didn’t take long for modders to come up with an online method that allowed players to “patch” their memory cards in order to enable the sex simulator. The resulting outrage from parents and politicians resulted in a few courtroom shenanigans that eventually fizzled out, to the point that Rockstar eventually parodied the ordeal in their next game with the self-referential “Warm Coffee” achievement.
While the sex minigame was initially left out (and soon wiped out entirely from the game’s code in future re-releases), the features that were left in were still unique to the GTA series; further blurring the line between virtual and reality, San Andreas allowed players to customize several physical aspects of CJ; in addition to allowing a fully customizable wardrobe, players could also change their hairstyle, add body tattoos, and even shape their physique through exercise…or ruin it with fast food. These features were not just cosmetic either….dressing appropriately would gain respect from fellow homies, and having a strong body allowed for faster sprinting and deadlier punching when the situation called for it (which, in the GTA world, was often).
San Andreas proved that there was still room for the massive open-world series to evolve, but it could also be criticized for being too big….the sheer size of the world map still remains the largest in GTA history, and while that meant more areas to explore and mess around with, it also made getting around a bigger chore (fast travel was not a concept available at the time). The game also required completing many of the additional side-quests in order to unlock further missions in the main storyline, and after dozens of hours flying remote-controlled planes or helping a struggling rapper eliminate his competition, players might begin to forget what was going on in the main plot in the first place.
After several console and hand-held spin-offs, Rockstar finally released a GTA game they felt was worthy of being numbered; featuring a new engine for a new console generation, Grand Theft Auto IV made good on its official tagline on how “things will be different”.
The main character of GTAIV is Niko Bellic, a former Eastern European soldier who was persuaded by his cousin Roman to move to Liberty City in pursuit of “The American Dream”. It turns out, however, that Niko’s cousin has a penchant for tall tales but little business sense, as Niko must soon deal with Roman’s debt collectors which soon escalate to a life on the run from Liberty City’s most dangerous gangsters.
Bringing the series back to modern day Liberty City wasn’t just an aesthetic decision, as it also marked the most mature shift for GTA yet. This wasn’t in regards to increased violent or sexual content (although there is plenty of that, as always), but in regards to the character of Niko; instead of having aspirations of becoming a rich and powerful criminal, Niko instead wishes for a simple life free of violence, save for his desire to seek revenge on a fellow soldier who betrayed his unit and has reportedly fled to Liberty City.
And while Niko’s inner circle of delinquent friends often serve as comic foils for the otherwise stone-faced protagonist (such as the over-supplemented muscle-man Brucie, or the heavily Rastafarian arms dealer Little Jacob), many of them also reinforce the darker narrative of the sequel, even causing players to carefully weigh in their choices as they are presented with situations that will determine the fate of several characters.
Of course, there are still plenty of trademark GTA in-jokes, from the self-referential radio hosts to the absurdly named stores and venues (such as the internet café “Tw@T”), but with the shift to a more realistic backdrop and narrative, these wacky bits clash somewhat as a result. So too does the mission requirements in order to move the story forward… while Niko expresses his frustration in having to constantly help out his associates (many who are in fact his enemies), he goes along with their demands regardless.
Gone are the body-moulding mechanics from San Andreas as well as a more compact world… in GTAIV’s case, less is more. Not much was added in its place, however, save for a relationship mechanic that requires players to play nice with more than just their girlfriend. Occasionally, Niko’s cell phone will ring and he will receive an invitation from one of his friends to hang out.
This results in one of several additional minigames, such as playing pool, throwing darts, hitting up a comedy club, or just getting smashed and slurred at the local pub (which, strangely enough, ended up being GTAIV’s most controversial feature, not the increased violence factor due to the more realistic graphics). While each of these extra activities were fun to do, the dependence of Niko’s associates would borderline on frustrating, especially their tendency to call during an important mission.
Sufficient time has passed now between Grand Theft Auto IV and its next iteration, but now the expectations are higher than ever thanks to some worthy contenders to the sandbox throne; Red Dead Redemption introduced a tight narrative with even tighter shooting mechanics, L.A. Noire delivered a fully cinematic package with realistic facial expressions, and Saints Row the Third proved that being juvenile can still lead to a rocking good time.
What elements will GTAV borrow from these titles, and can it introduce anything new to spark a whole new generation of imitators? Can the series that defined an entire genre of game continue to draw in audiences worldwide? One thing can be said with absolute certainty… Jack Thompson is going to be pissed.
I never really got much of a chance to play IV. I’m really looking forward to V though.
2nd December 2011, 1:58 AM - reply - report
I bought it during a Steam sale a year or two ago. I haven’t played it either.
2nd December 2011, 8:58 AM - reply - report