Grand Theft Auto (series)
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The current design of the Grand Theft Auto logo. The logo has been in use in the series since Grand Theft Auto III (2001); the upcoming Grand Theft Auto IV (2007) is also adopting the same logo design at present. |
Grand Theft Auto (
GTA) is a
computer and video game series created and primarily developed by
Scottish developer
Rockstar North (formerly
DMA Design), published by
Rockstar Games and debuted in
1998. It includes seven stand-alone games and two expansion packs for the original,
GTA: London 1969 and
GTA: London 1961.
Grand Theft Auto III and subsequent games in the series have been best-selling blockbusters which have also gained critical acclaim, including several game of the year awards from various sources. In addition, the series has emerged as being so popular and profitable that a long list of Hollywood stars have lent their voices to the games. Gangster film veterans such as
Michael Madsen,
Samuel L. Jackson,
James Woods,
Joe Pantoliano,
Frank Vincent,
Robert Loggia and
Ray Liotta have all voiced major characters. Other famous voices that have been incorporated in the games include
Axl Rose,
Burt Reynolds,
Chris Penn,
Danny Trejo,
David Cross,
Deborah Harry,
Dennis Hopper,
Faizon Love,
Gary Busey,
Ice-T,
Jenna Jameson,
Luis Guzman,
Miss Cleo,
Philip Michael Thomas,
Robert Davi,
Shaun Ryder,
Tom Sizemore,
William Fichtner,
Michael Rapaport,
Lawrence Taylor,
Danny Dyer and
The Game.
The games allow the player to take on the role of a
criminal in a big city, typically a lowly individual who rises in the ranks of
organized crime over the course of the game. Various missions are set for completion by the figureheads of the city underworld, generally criminal, which must be completed to progress through the storyline.
Bank robberies,
assassinations and other crimes feature regularly, but occasionally
taxi driving,
firefighting,
pimping,
street racing, or learning to fly an
airplane are also involved as alternate adventures, which can be done at any time during the game, with the exception of the periods performing main missions.
In later titles, notably those released after
Grand Theft Auto 2, the player is given a more in depth storyline, in which they are forced to overcome an event where they are either backstabbed and left for dead by someone they know, or experienced an unfortunate event. This served as a motivation for the character to advance in the criminal ladder, and eventually leads to the triumph of the character by the end of the storyline.
The
Grand Theft Auto series is notable for the large amount of freedom given to the player in deciding what to do. Unlike most action games, which are structured as a single track series of levels with
linear gameplay, in
GTA the player can pick and choose which missions they want to undertake, and their relationships with various powers are changed based on these choices. The vast cities of the games can also be roamed freely at any point in the game, offering many accessible buildings and minor missions. There are exceptions: Missions follow a linear, overarching plot, and some city areas must be unlocked over the course of the game.
Grand Theft Auto III and subsequent games have been notable for their storylines, high quality of voice acting, and "
radio stations," which simulate driving to music with satirizing
DJs, radio personalities,
commercials,
talk radio,
popular music, and American culture. All of this is seamlessly integrated in the realistic setting of a dysfunctional urban environment which parodies a real-life city. Players also often cite the music and humor of the series in explaining its appeal.
The game's influence on
teenagers and
adults alike has created a "
cult" scene of GTA fans that see past the merits of the game itself and appreciate the
retro feel and the
good-old-days vibe the game emanates. People remember or imagine the time the games are set in and can enjoy the music, the atmosphere, the fashion, the slang and the cities from their favourite decade, such as the 1980s or early 1990s.
The use of vehicles in an explorable urban environment provides a basic simulation of a working city, complete with pedestrians who obey traffic signals. Further details are used to flesh out an open-ended atmosphere that has been used in several other games, such as
The Simpsons Hit & Run and the
True Crime series, which have less emphasis on crime or violence. Some compare this to open-ended RPGs such as
The Elder Scrolls series, and foresee action games using a similar design.
The series has courted a great deal of controversy since the release of
Grand Theft Auto III. This criticism stems from the focus on illegal activities, in comparison with "hero" roles that most other games offer. The main character can commit a wide variety of crimes and violent acts while dealing with only temporary consequences. Opponents believe that players will try to emulate this behavior, while proponents believe it provides an emotional outlet, as such actions in real life would have serious consequences. For specific incidents, see the individual game articles.
The
Grand Theft Auto series may be divided into eras, based on the inclusion of a numbering after the recognizable title name (e.g.
Grand Theft Auto III) after the original
Grand Theft Auto's release, and to a certain extent, the type of
graphics engine used. For further information on each title, see their respective articles.
Grand Theft Auto era
The first title in the series,
Grand Theft Auto, appeared on the
PC and
PlayStation in 1998 as well as a reduced
Game Boy Color port, and subsequently two expansion packs were offered:
*
Grand Theft Auto: London, 1969 (1999), an expansion pack of the original game, set in 1969
London. Available in PS and PC boxed versions.
*
Grand Theft Auto: London, 1961 (1999), another expansion pack of
Grand Theft Auto: London, 1969, with missions taking place in 1961 London.
London, 1961 is a free PC download.
Grand Theft Auto 2 era
Grand Theft Auto 2 for the PC, PlayStation and
Dreamcast, was released in 1999. Set in the unspecified future, it featured updated graphics and somewhat different gameplay based upon the player's appeal to various criminal organizations. A reduced
Game Boy Color port was also produced.
Grand Theft Auto III era
(see also,
The Grand Theft Auto Timeline)
*
Grand Theft Auto III (2001), set in fictional Liberty City (based on
New York City) brought a
third-person view to the series, rather than the traditional top-down view of earlier titles (although the view is still made available as an optional camera angle). Multiplayer was discarded but
GTA III improved in many other areas such as voice-acting and storyline (where before there was no speech at all, communication simply being in the form of subtitles running on the bottom of the screen). The game sold very well and became the first blockbuster game in the series, setting the precedent for subsequent
GTA titles to be very successful.
GTA III also attracted heavy criticism for its violent content, making future games in the
GTA series synonymous with violence. Following the success of
GTA III, the following titles released are stand-alone
Grand Theft Auto sequels (though all are technically prequels to
GTA III).
*
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (2002), set in 1986 in Vice City (based on
Miami) inspiration comes from the movies
Scarface,
Carlito's Way and TV series
Miami Vice.
*
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (2004), set in 1992 in the fictional state of San Andreas (based on
California and
Nevada), includes many new
RPG elements.
San Andreas attracted controversy when a sex
minigame that was cut from the game, but remaining in the game code, was discovered in both the console and
PC versions of the game (
See Hot Coffee mod). As a result,
GTA: San Andreas was pulled from a number of retail outlets and was re-rated from "M" (Mature) to "AO" (Adults Only) by the
Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB); the first game in the series to be given an AO rating. Rockstar has since released an edited version of the game for the PC, Xbox, and PlayStation 2, and has reclaimed the "M" rating.
*
Grand Theft Auto Advance (2004), originally intended to be a topdown conversion of
GTA III, it ended up becoming its own completely original adventure set roughly a year before
GTA III.
*
Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (2005), a
PlayStation Portable prequel set in 1998 Liberty City. A
PlayStation 2 port was released by Rockstar on June 6, 2006.
*
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories (2006), announced on May 10, the new
Grand Theft Auto game is scheduled to be released on October 17, 2006 exclusively for the PlayStation Portable.
Rockstar North has also developed the controversial
Manhunt video game (2003), which is set in Carcer City, a city within
GTA III canon.
Grand Theft Auto IV era
The next installment of the series,
Grand Theft Auto IV (
GTA IV), is slated to be released on October 16, 2007 for the
PlayStation 3 and the
Xbox 360. The only information released by Rockstar has been regarding
GTA IV's
game engine, which will in fact be the
RAGE engine used in
Rockstar Games Presents Table Tennis.
* 1961 -
Grand Theft Auto: London, 1961* 1969 -
Grand Theft Auto: London, 1969* 1984 -
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories* 1986 -
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City* 1992 -
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas* 1997/1998 -
Grand Theft Auto* 1998 -
Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories* 2000 -
Grand Theft Auto Advance (Also covers a part of
2001, up to the time when
8-Ball was arrested on October of that year.)
* 2001 -
Grand Theft Auto III* Near future/2013 -
Grand Theft Auto 2 (The game's manual uses the phrase "three weeks into the future", and phrases such as "X weeks into the future" or "X minutes into the future" are common phrases meaning "near future"; fictional journal entries on the game's official website, however, suggest 2013 [
1].)
* Unknown -
Grand Theft Auto IV (the games timeline is yet to be confirmed by Rockstar in 2007).
Cities
FictionalLiberty City -
New York City (
Grand Theft Auto,
Grand Theft Auto III,
Grand Theft Auto Advance, and
Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories)
Vice City -
Miami (
Grand Theft Auto ,
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories)
San Andreas -
San Francisco (
Grand Theft Auto)
San Andreas - A state based upon
California and
Nevada (
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas).
*
Los Santos -
Los Angeles*
San Fierro -
San Francisco*
Las Venturas -
Las VegasAnywhere City - Unknown (
Grand Theft Auto 2)
Carcer City - Most likely
Newark, New Jersey or
Detroit. Said to be neighboring Liberty City (
Manhunt takes place in Carcer City; mentioned in
Grand Theft Auto III,
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and
Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories)
Non-fictionalLondon (
Grand Theft Auto: London, 1969 and
Grand Theft Auto: London, 1961)
Manchester (
Grand Theft Auto: London, 1961)
Towns in the state of San Andreas (in GTA:SA)
Dillimore, San Andreas (Red County)
Palomino Creek, San Andreas (Red County)
Montgomery, San Andreas (Red County)
Blueberry, San Andreas (Red County)
Angel Pine, San Andreas (Whetstone)
Bayside, San Andreas (Tierra Robada)
El Quebrados, San Andreas (Tierra Robada)
Las Barrancas, San Andreas (Tierra Robada)
Las Payasdas, San Andreas (Bone County)
Fort Carson, San Andreas (Bone County)
Ghost Towns Aldea Malvada, San Andreas (Tierra Robada)
Las Brujas, San Andreas (Bone County)
*
Claude Speed - The name of the
Grand Theft Auto 2 character, as revealed by the
FMV introduction's credits.
**
Claude: the nameless protagonist from
Grand Theft Auto III. In
San Andreas a phone call upon completion of the game reveals his first name is in fact Claude. In
GTA III, he is only referred to by nicknames
Fido and
(The) Kid. Since the release of
San Andreas many players speculate that Claude is
Claude Speed, the protagonist in
GTA2.
*
Tommy Vercetti -
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City*
Carl "CJ" Johnson -
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas*
Mike -
Grand Theft Auto Advance*
Toni Cipriani -
Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories*
Victor Vance -
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City StoriesBecause of the success of the
Grand Theft Auto series, notably
Grand Theft Auto III and subsequent games, several other developers have attempted to replicate
GTA's driving/shooting formula and open-ended sandbox play. Notable games that are often seen as doing so include:
*
DRIV3R and
Driver: Parallel Lines*
The Getaway series*
Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven*
Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction*
True Crime: Streets of LA and
True Crime: New York City*
The Simpsons Hit & Run (Considered by some to be a
parody)
*
Wreckless: The Yakuza Missions*
The Godfather: The Game*
Scarface: The World is YoursAs a result of such similarities, Rockstar has placed several
Easter eggs to mock the competition. In
GTA III, there was a mission called "Two Faced Tanner" in which players were required to kill an undercover cop who was "useless out of his car" (they even went so far as to give the pseudo
Tanner a female's walking animation).
In
GTA: Vice City, during the mission "Autocide", the targets that the player must kill are subtle references to the main characters of
Driver 2 (Dick Tanner, after Tanner),
The Getaway (Marcus Hammond and Franco Carter, after Mark Hammond and Frank Carter), and
True Crime: Streets of LA (Nick Kong, after Nick Kang Wilson).
DRIV3R responded by sticking floatie-wearing characters named Timmy Vermicellis, after the protagonist of
Vice City, Tommy Vercetti, since no one in the
GTA series could swim before
GTA: San Andreas.
In
San Andreas, while breaking into
Madd Dogg's mansion, players will see a man playing a video game and making fun of the way the main character walks stating "How could
Refractions mess up so bad? Tanner, you suck ass
" (Tanner's walking animations were often criticized). Another San Andreas Easter egg mocks True Crime, which was depicted on several billboards in the city of Los Santos.* A similar arcade game called A.P.B. predates the Grand Theft Auto series by eleven years, sporting a top-down perspective used in earlier GTA games. However, the objectives of the game is entirely reversed in that the player take on the role of a police officer tasked to pursue and arrest lawbreakers, all while the game attempts to discourage the player from breaking the law themselves (colliding with other vehicles or running over pedestrians, etc.)
* The TrueType font used for the "Grand Theft Auto" title text since Grand Theft Auto III is called "Pricedown". The font also bears striking resemblance to the title sequence of the 1972-to-present game show The Price Is Right â€" the font could be inspired by the show.
**Ray Larabie is credited for creating the Pricedown font and naming it in 1998 [2], before Rockstar adopted it for GTA III's title design and interface. It is also worth noting that Larabie was promoted as the art director for Rockstar Games in Toronto during the mid-1990s.[3]
**The similarity of both font designs for the game show and the video game led MADtv to produce a 2003 sketch, where a game show "Grand Theft Auto" featured a The Price Is Right-like set with contestants killing each other with GTA-style weaponry.
* Head Radio, an in-game radio station originating from the original Grand Theft Auto, made repeated appearances in following GTA titles, including GTA 2, GTA III and GTA: Liberty City Stories. The original Grand Theft Auto depicted the station playing a variety of music genres, while sequel renditions are depicted specifically playing modern pop and rock music.
* The rap song "Grand Theft Auto" by Da Shootaz is the most frequently featured song in the series. In addition to appearing as a radio track in GTA, GTA2 and GTA III, a chorus of the track's music is featured as a pager ring tone in GTA III and as the opening theme song of a mock computer game in GTA: Vice City's intro movie.
* Several radio stations, landmarks, area names and layouts are based on radio stations, landmarks and areas in and around Dundee, Scotland (the former location of Rockstar North's headquarters) and Edinburgh (Rockstar North's present location). Examples include:
** Sunnyside, a district and turf of the Loonies gang in GTA2, and Sunnyside Taxis, a fictional taxi company in GTA: Vice City and GTA: San Andreas, are named after a mental hospital in Montrose, which is near Dundee.
** The Wave 103 radio station in Vice City is a spoof of the Dundee radio station Wave 102.
** The Verdant Bluffs desert district in San Andreas is named after the historical mill in Dundee called Verdant Works.
** Bayside, a sea-side suburb in San Andreas is named after Tayside, a former local government region in which the city of Dundee was situated in.
** The Leaf Links golf and country club in Vice City is named after Leith Links, a park in Leith, which is connected to Edinburgh. Leith Links is where the earliest record of golf is found in the world, and Leith bolsters its claim to be "the home of golf" because the first official rules were formulated there.
** The Garver Bridge in the city of San Fierro, San Andreas is based on the Forth Road Bridge, which links Fife to Edinburgh. The Kincaid bridge, located in the same city and close to the Garver Bridge, is based on the Forth Bridge that also links Fife to Edinburgh.
** There are also references to Scottish football teams and players in the computerised Horse Racing mini-game available in San Andreas's betting shops, such as "Henrik's Jaw", a joke at the fact ex-Celtic F.C. striker Henrik Larsson broke his jaw in a match during the period that San Andreas was in development.
* Despite the violent nature of the games, GTA III and GTA: San Andreas have had strong anti drug use stances. In GTA III, there are several missions in which the player has to stop the spread of SPANK, a fictional drug. In San Andreas, drugs become a major focal point of the game, with a number of lead characters as heavy users of a number of drugs, and are cited as a major difference between the Grove Street Families and Ballas street gangs.
* Every Grand Theft Auto cover art since Grand Theft Auto III has had a helicopter on their top-left corners. Grand Theft Auto Advance is the only exception, featuring a blank background in its cover art.* In the last episode of the second series of Swiss Toni, Swiss gets addicted to Vice City and, after some intense playing, has trouble telling real life from his virtual life. The fact that players can kill and rob a prostitute after sex in Vice City is also mentioned in the episode - and even encouraged by Swiss's co-worker.
* In the film Over the Hedge, a game similar to Grand Theft Auto is parodied, dubbed "Auto Homocide 3".
* Dave Chappelle did an "If Grand Theft Auto was real life" sketch in his show, where he leaves for work, pulls out the driver of a passing car, switches weapons by having them appear in his hands out of midair, kills the driver after the driver shoots him (slowly depleting Chappelle's health with each shot), sees the driver's body vanish, and drives away in the stolen vehicle. The HUD that appears onscreen is based on the HUD in Vice City. The sketch mostly parodies some of the unrealistic gameplay mechanics in the series.
* An episode of the television series ' featured a gang of young criminals who based their crimes on a fictional game intentionally similar to Grand Theft Auto, named Urban Hellraisers. The game's box and logo are extremely similar to those of the later Grand Theft Autos, and the episode's plot acts out the claims of Grand Theft Autos critics that such games inspire violent behaviour in young people. This of course, caught the attention of many gamers, as the episode had anti-gamer rhetoric and slander, with an over the top plot and lack of cultural sensitivity towards gamers.
** An episode of the television series Killer Instinct followed a similar storyline in the episode "Game Over."
* Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne features an Easter egg that activates a scene reminiscent of the top-down versions of the GTA series (although it also borrows elements from modern GTA games), in which a pedestrian is shot dead in a drive-by shooting, from which the killer emerges from his car to steal all of the dead man's money and drives away.
* An episode of the satirical news show The Daily Show featured correspondent Samantha Bee reporting from San Andreas. A street scene from the game was displayed in the background as she discussed the reaction of San Andreas residents to video game rating debates in the United States House of Representatives. This is a reference to the rerating of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas the in the wake of the Hot Coffee controvesy.
* In the 2005 film Dirty, drug lords and Canadian thugs were seen playing Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Ironically, Clifton Collins, Jr., who played a major role in the film as Officer Armando Sancho, voiced Cesar Vialpando, a street gang member in GTA: San Andreas.
* In the film The Break-Up, Vince Vaughn's character, Gary, plays Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas''.* List of gangs in Grand Theft Auto series
* List of vehicles in Grand Theft Auto series
* Video game controversySoundtracks (Radio stations)* Grand Theft Auto III soundtrack
* Grand Theft Auto: Vice City soundtrack
* Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas soundtrack
* Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories soundtrackOfficial sites* Grand Theft Auto official site
* Free download of GTA and GTA2 at Rockstar Classics
* GTA1
* GTA: London
* GTA2
* GTA III
* GTA: Vice City
* GTA: San Andreas
* GTA Advance
* GTA: Liberty City Stories
* GTA: Vice City Stories
* GTA4General resource*The Grand Theft Auto series at MobyGames
* Grand Theft Auto Retrospective from UGO.com
* The History of Grand Theft Auto
* GTA storyline, a detailed explanation of the GTA storyline by chronological order of its timeline (Contains spoilers)
* GTA radio station guide; covers radio stations for GTA III, Vice City and San Andreas''.
*Game engine news at JoystiqFan sites* Grand Theft Auto series website directory at the Open Directory Project
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