Grand Theft Auto (series)

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This article is about a computer and video game series. For other uses, see grand theft auto.
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.
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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.

Contents

[edit] Series overview

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 and how to do it through different methods of transport and weapons. 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, including the killing of policemen and military personnel. 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.

[edit] History

The original Grand Theft Auto (PC version)
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The original Grand Theft Auto (PC version)
Grand Theft Auto 2 (PC version)
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Grand Theft Auto 2 (PC version)
Grand Theft Auto III, the first game in the series which immersed players in a truly 3D environment
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Grand Theft Auto III, the first game in the series which immersed players in a truly 3D environment

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.

[edit] Grand Theft Auto 1 series

The first title in the series, Grand Theft Auto, appeared on the PC and PlayStation in 1997/1998[1] as well as a reduced Game Boy Color port, and subsequently two expansion packs were offered:

  • 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.

[edit] Grand Theft Auto 2 series

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.

[edit] Grand Theft Auto III series

  • 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). Graphics were also updated with a new 3D game engine. While not the first of its kind, the gameplay engine had expanded the explorable world of GTA III, doing away with a traditional game structure where the player faces a "boss" at the end of the level and moves onto a new level, opting instead for more realistic mission-based approach. Multiplayer was discarded but GTA III improved in many other areas such as voice-acting and storyline (before, there was speech only in short animated cutscenes between levels, other communication was simply 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 violence against police and its indifference to innocent bystanders, making future games in the GTA series synonymous with violence. Following the success of GTA III, the following titles released are stand-alone sequels (though all take place before GTA III chronologically).

  • Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (2002), set in 1986 in Vice City (based on Miami). Influences for the game include movies such as Scarface, Carlito's Way and the TV series Miami Vice. In fact, the entire basic storyline of the game is homage to Scarface, including the climatic gun-fight in the main character's mansion at the end.
  • Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (2004), set in 1992 in the fictional state of San Andreas (based on California and Nevada, specifically Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Las Vegas), inspiration comes from movies such as Boyz N the Hood and Menace II Society, and early 90s west coast gangsta rap culture and groups such as N.W.A..
    • San Andreas expanded on previous RPG elements, adding the ability to dress the player's character, exercise, and tattoo him. These elements also have an effect on gameplay as other characters would comment on the player character's physique or clothes.
    • San Andreas also 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 for the Game Boy Advance, it ended up becoming its own completely original adventure set roughly a year before GTA III.
  • Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories (2006), the second PlayStation Portable game, was released on October 31, 2006 and set in 1984 Vice City. It is currently exclusive to 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.

[edit] Grand Theft Auto IV series

The next installment of the series, Grand Theft Auto IV (GTA IV), is stated to be released on October 16, 2007 for the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360, the first Grand Theft Auto to be released simultaneously on the PlayStation and Xbox platforms. Both versions of the game have been indicated to obtain its own exclusive downloadable episodic content via Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network. The only other information released by Rockstar has been regarding GTA IV's game engine, which will be the Rockstar Advanced Game Engine used in Rockstar Games Presents Table Tennis.

[edit] Time periods of GTA games

[edit] GTA locations

[edit] Cities and states

Fictional

Non-fictional

[edit] 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)

[edit] Characters

[edit] Protagonists

  • 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, though there is no proof of this.
  • 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 Stories

[edit] Others

[edit] Similar games

Main article: GTA clone

Because 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:

Billboard in GTA: San Andreas mocking True Crime: Streets of LA.
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Billboard in GTA: San Andreas mocking True Crime: Streets of LA.

As 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 a "strangely animated" 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.

[edit] Trivia

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Content in the trivia section should be integrated into other appropriate areas of the article.
  • 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 — 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.[verification needed]
    • 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.
    • 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 Rail 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. Also, the adrenaline drug that was featured as a pick-up item in the two previous games, GTA III and GTA: Vice City, was removed.
  • 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.

[edit] References in popular culture

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  • 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 Homicide 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. After Dave enters the car, the name of the vehicle is displayed with a generic make, in GTA fashion (In the sketch, "Toyola" is displayed instead of the name of the depicted Toyota). 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.
  • Dave Chappelle also produced another skit, dubbed "The New Tupac," in which a "new" Tupac song is played in a club (10 years or so after Tupac's death). Tupac raps of things that have happened recently, including a reference to San Andreas player character, Carl "CJ" Johnson: "...Run up in your spot like CJ from San Andreas".
  • An episode of the television series CSI: Miami 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 Auto's 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.
  • In the 2003 comedy film Malibu's Most Wanted, the lead character B-rad (played by Jamie Kennedy) shoots at cars and people during one scene aggressively. When asked where he learned to do that, he replies "Grand Theft Auto III".
  • 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.
  • Coca-Cola produced a commercial which has appeared in theaters, and set in a video game. The game resembles a lot of the key elements and style of graphics as the GTA series. The protagonist begins the commercial as though he is about to commit violence but enters a store to buy Cola, pulls a driver out of a car to give him another bottle of Cola and then proceeds to do good deeds around the city while people sing and cheer him on.
  • Mike Epps portrayed a character in the film Resident Evil: Apocalypse, where he was driving around the zombie infested Raccoon City, and then runs down a zombie that walks out in front of him yelling out loud "GTA mother f***er!." After he hits the zombie, he drives off saying "10 points," a reference to the early Grand Theft Auto point system where the player is awarded money when committing specific criminal offenses (including running over pedestrians). Coincidentally, Capcom, which develops the Resident Evil series, also distributes Grand Theft Auto games in Japan.
  • In the Robot Chicken episode "Lust for Puppets", Mario and Luigi stumble into Vice City, and their antics parody the gameplay conventions of both the Mario series and the GTA series. For example, after Luigi kills a girl's pet turtle (thinking it was a Koopa Troopa), he gets one star on his "wanted" meter, attracting the attention of the police (as is customary in the GTA games). When he and Mario escape, the wanted meter increases to two stars. Also, the brothers pick up a prostitute, believing that she is Princess Peach.

[edit] See also

[edit] Soundtracks (Radio stations)

[edit] Notes and references

  1. ^ The actual release date of Grand Theft Auto is not clear. While Rockstar Games asserts in its official website that the game was released in 1997, GameSpot and IGN indicated that the game was only released on February or March 1998, respectively.
  2. ^ According to the final entry of the official Liberty Tree "online newspaper", Grand Theft Auto III is implied to be set around the first release of GTA III, specifically, October 2001.
  3. ^ Grand Theft Auto 2'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].

[edit] External links

[edit] Official sites

[edit] General resource

[edit] Selected fan sites


Video game controversy
v • d • e
Computer and video game law Family Entertainment Protection Act - Truth in Video Game Rating Act - Video Game Decency Act
Organizations Entertainment Software Rating Board - Pan European Game Information - Computer Entertainment Ratings Organization - Office of Film and Literature Classification - National Coalition Against Censorship - Videogame Rating Council (defunct) - Recreational Software Advisory Council (defunct)
People Jack Thompson - Cody Posey - Devin Moore - Hillary Rodham Clinton - Joe Lieberman - Herb Kohl - Sam Brownback - Evan Bayh - Fred Upton - Rick Santorum - Berit Kjos
Games Grand Theft Auto series / Hot Coffee mod - Mortal Kombat series - Night Trap
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Topics related to the Grand Theft Auto series
Games • Characters • Gangs • Soundtracks • Locations • Timeline • Others
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