It has been highlighted that there isn’t a general GTA thread, and the GTAV thread is by [Deleted User], so here is a thread for general discussion of all things GTA. I will work a bit more on it in time, but hopefully this will do for now.

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Grand Theft Auto 1997 PS1 - DOS/Windows - GBC
Where it all began. Having milked Lemmings (almost) dry, DMA Design began development on Race 'n' Chase, a top-down racer where you played the cops, pursuing a criminal. That morphed into an open world crime spree, and so GTA was born. The original game somewhat lacked some of the anticipated features (like catching scheduled buses and trains to move around, as a risk-free alternative to driving) this largely did not matter; the marketing campaign had leaned heavily into the public outcry, whipping up a furore. Who cares that you can’t catch the bus when this insane video game is training the nations children to be crazed, homicidal, car-stealing maniacs?

While much of the gameplay holds up, the game’s erratic camera is vomit inducing. It would be interesting to see a reworking of this with modern sensibilities, but the recent remaster of the original 3D trilogy suggests that we couldn’t rely on a decent job.

Expansions:
Grand Theft Auto London 1969 1999 PS1 - DOS/Windows
Grand Theft Auto London 1961 1999 DOS/Windows



Grand Theft Auto 2 1999 PS1 - Windows - DC - GBC
A sequel to the original, set in the future, this introduced a few tweaks to gameplay, with a little more complexity to progress. Arguably an inferior game, despite this.



Grand Theft Auto III 2001 PS2 - XB - Windows - Mac OS… pretty much everything now.
WOAH! It’s like Grand Theft Auto, but in THREE DIMENSIONS! This is insane. This is what a new generation of consoles is for. This is the future of video games, except it isn’t the future, it’s happening right now, in 2001 (which was the year that everything futuristic would happen if you believed all films and TV in the 80s, but now this sentence is getting complicated). Largely due to the shift to 3D, and the in-engine cutscenes that allowed, this is the first recognisable root of modern GTAs’ gameplay (although the world-building, caricature characters, awesome soundtracks and satire/parody have been staples since the very beginning). Obviously, however, the only thing that the general non-videogame-playing public would talk about was the ability to use a prostitute to boost your health, then kill the prostitute to get your money back. As predicted, this instigated a nationwide wave of sex-worker murder. No, wait, it didn’t.


Grand Theft Auto: Vice City 2002 PS2 - XB - Windows - Mac OS… and so on, and so forth.
This is everyone’s favourite, right? Sure, some misguided souls rave on about San Andreas, but does anyone have a bad word to say about Vice City? Bold, bright, brilliant. The soundtrack was incredible, and the radio stations that delivered it were pitch perfect. The burgeoning success of the series meant that production values were rocketing, as seen in the stellar cast, with Ray Lotta, Tom Sizemore, and William Fichtner headlining, and supported by the likes of Burt Reynolds, Luis Guzman, and forum-favourite Danny Dyer. This game is so great, there’s no way anyone could ruin it, right?


Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas 2004 PS2 - XB - Windows - Mac OS… you know the drill.
The third instalment of the ‘original trilogy’. Where Vice City was largely a finessing of III, San Andreas was an explosion of scale and features and, to many, tried too hard to do too much. For many players, though, it was the first time in a virtual world of such incredible scale, and the shift to west coast gang culture was a welcome change of tone. Obviously, however, the only thing that the general non-videogame-playing public would talk about was the Hot Coffee mod. Badly animated sex scene between low-resolution polygon puppets. Yay.



Grand Theft Auto IV 2008 PS3 - 360 - Windows
Where previously we only had to wait 1-2 years between new GTA software, this was a four year wait, and another new console generation. Jus imagine what all that development time and all that processing power will bring us… Turns out it was sluggish vehicle physics, an achievement for killing all 200 pigeons, and a cousin more annoying than Vinny. It should be noted that a lot of people liked the vehicle physics, and found them more realistic than other entries in the series, which complemented the grittier tone. There are also lengthy videos on YouTube, showing how the AI in IV is superior to V.

Expansions:
Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost & The Damned 2009 PS3 - 360 - Windows
Grand Theft Auto IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony 2009 PS3 - 360 - Windows
Where IV lacks universal appeal, these expansions appear to be loved by all. The first title featured brief full-frontal male nudity which, in our topsy-turvy world, was deemed by some to be more controversial than, y’know, all of the murder, general violence and mindless distraction that had been in the series from the start.



Grand Theft Auto V / Online 2013 PS3 - 360 - Windows - PS4 - XBO - PS5 - XSX/S
Both technically impressive and insanely good fun, it’s no surprise this game will soon be released on its third generation of hardware. The huge world came with a polishing of the graphics that added to the sense of a large, believable game space. The ability to shift between three characters (with a technically impressive, almost unbelievably short delay) allowed for variety in story and gameplay, and salved players’ consciences when they could blame their psychopathic mass-murdering on Trevor’s mental health. As for Online, it seems to be the gift that keeps on giving, although its scale and variety is daunting for the new player.



Oh, also:
Grand Theft Auto Advance 2004 GBA
2D, top-down gameplay, but in the original trilogy universe (a prequel to III).
Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories 2005 PSP - PS2 - plus various others
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories 2006 PSP - PS2
LCS was another prequel to III, while VCS is a prequel to VC.
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars 2005 PSP - DS - iOS etc.
What’s this? Top-down 3D? Okay, I can run with that.