Pause for Thought: Grand Theft Auto

Grand Theft Auto is probably one of the most played game series ever. Developer Rockstar Games has created one of the most popular games in history. But why is Grand Theft Auto so popular? That’s a question you could be asking with every popular game serie. Series like Halo, Gears of War, Gran Turismo, Uncharted, … Why are they all so popular? What is the special element that makes it just that little bit better than the rest?

Let’s just start at the beginning, shall we? The first of the GTA’s, Grand Theft Auto, was released in October 1997. It was a revolutionary game for its time. The fact that the game was about committing crimes, made the game unique. Also, the freedom that the player had in the game, was the first of its kind. Grand Theft Auto was a TD game, which stands for Top Down. That means that you are playing the game from above. The game might seem a bit flat, but it isn’t. Every building is in 3D. The game is located in Liberty City.

Grand Theft Auto 2 is the sequel for the first GTA. It’s the last of the Classic GTA’s and also the last of the Top Down Views, not considering GTA Advance. GTA2 is based on the same type as Grand Theft Auto: you are a criminal and you have to earn money by doing tasks for other criminals. You can also work on your own, by stealing cars, start fights or cause mayhem in one way or another. The biggest difference between GTA and GTA2 is that there are gangs and you have to earn respect. You can only do missions for a gang if you have earned enough respect.

Grand Theft Auto III is the first of the Third Person GTA’s. The step from Top Down View to Third Person was a big step forward for the series. The game was released 4 years after the original Grand Theft Auto, on the 22^nd of October 2001. The beginning of the game shows some similarities to The Ballad of Gay Tony. You start in the middle of a bank robbery, as Claude, the main character. The game is once again located in Liberty City, based on New York. The city has completely been redesigned for GTA III, containing two islands and a peninsula.

Grand theft Auto: Vice city is the second GTA in the GTA III-era. As the name suggests, the game is set in Vice City, a sunny and glamorous city in Florida where drugs have a major role in the criminal underworld. GTA Vice City offers more than its predecessor GTA III. Apart from the storyline and the known side missions, it’s now possible to buy safe houses and assets, compete in stadium events, drive motorcycles and fly helicopters. GTA Vice City was released in 2002 on the PS2. In 2003, the game was available for PC and in 2004, the Xbox version was released. Vice City Stories is a game that’s set in 1984, two years before the original Vice City. It was released for PSP in 2007.

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas was released exclusively for Playstation 2 in October 2004. The game had staggered the audience because of its big size. San Andreas represents a complete state, with three large cities and ten small villages. Apart from the storyline and the usual submissions, the player has many possibilities in GTA San Andreas, like tuning, sports and going out with girls. No doubt, GTA San Andreas is one of the most extensive games of this time. The game is the last of the GTA III era, completing the list of the three original GTA cities. According to a lot of players, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas was the best GTA.

The most recent of the GTA series, is GTA IV. Grand Theft Auto IV is once again set in Liberty City. The city has been completely redesigned. The story has nothing to do with the old GTA’s. GTA IV is the beginning of a new GTA era.

GTA never takes place in an existing city, but in a parody of an existing city, with notable exception of GTA London, which off course is a real city, and GTA2, where the name of the city is unknown. The most well-known cities of GTA are the cities of Grand theft Auto, which are used again in the later versions. The spin-offs of real cities resemble the real features and atmosphere of the real cities, what causes every city to be different from the others.

Well, now we all know a little bit more about Grand Theft Auto, but we still don’t know why GTA is so popular. We still don’t know what that special element is. If you think you know, leave a comment!