TheGrand Theft Autofranchise has created a legacy that spans over 20 years within its catalog of titles. Ever since the originalGrand Theft Autocame out, Rockstar, formerly known as DMA Design Limited, has worked hard to become one of the gaming industry juggernauts of today. Though the lastGrand Theft Autotitle to release wasGrand Theft Auto 5in 2013, the astounding success of the series proves fans should expect to seeGrand Theft Auto6before the century is through. Most of the titles ever released in its series were between 2001 and 2009 with about 9Grand Theft Autotitles being released if fans countThe Lost and DamnedandThe Ballad of Gay Tonyas a singular release.
With a series as long asGrand Theft Auto,there are bound to be drastic differences between the earlier titles in the series and the more recent ones. InGrand Theft Auto’s case, it can be chopped up into different universes. There are the 2D universe games encompassing the earliestGTAtitles, followed by the 3D universe games during the PlayStation 2 and original Xbox era, with finally the HD universe encompassing the last few titles. It is within each of these universes that the stories between each game are confined, with characters sometimes making cameos in other games within the same universe.
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D Tier
The originalGrand Theft Autocame out in 1997 and was an experimental wonder, mixing genres and giving the player the freedom to tackle missions from any angle they could think of. With the success of the originalGTA, DMA got to work on expansion packsGTA: London 1969which saw release on both the PlayStation 1, andGTA: London 1961which only saw a PC release. One unique aspect about the originalGTAwas the fact that players could select who they wanted to portray as, as the game starts off with different protagonists to select from. This would be one of the few timesGrand Theft Autofeatured the choice of a female protagonist.
Where the originalGrand Theft Autowould be considered in the 2D universe, the 2DGrand Theft Auto Advancewould be considered in the 3D universe. This is becauseGTA Advancetakes place a year before the events ofGTA 3in a much more toned-down version of Liberty City. OriginallyGTA Advancewas going to be a port ofGTA 3but it was changed due to the amount of effort that would be needed to port every mission onto the console.GTA Advancecarried many of the core mechanics from the first twoGTAtitles and featured some new mechanics fromGTA 3such as Vigilante missions. Though it was released afterGTA: San Andreas, the limitation of the hardware made it feel like a multitude of steps were taken backward.
C Tier
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Warscontinued the trend ofGrand Theft Autofor handheld consoles first available on the Nintendo DS and shortly after the PlayStation Portable.GTA: Chinatown Warswas a success unlike itsGTA Advancecounterpart, being applauded for its creative use with the Nintendo DS’s touch screen. Though the game featured the classic top-down view of olderGTAtitles, players had the ability to spin the camera around dynamically during gameplay. This was a welcome addition asGTA: Chinatown Warswas played in a fully 3D world portion of Liberty City.
Grand Theft Auto 2plays very similarly to the originalGTAwhich makes sense as the expansions for the original were released only months beforeGTA 2’srelease.Grand Theft Auto 2however didn’t do much to improve on the core gameplay design which ended up hurting its review score.GTA 2had a PC port that included multiplayer with up to 6 players, and later a port for the Game Boy Color that had to be trimmed down due to the hardware limits. One unique aspect ofGTA 2was that it featured cutscenes from a live-action short which was meant to set the tone for the game.
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B Tier
Grand Theft Auto 3was when the franchise took its first step into the 3D world, taking place in a reimagined Liberty City. Though Liberty City would be reimagined multiple times later, this was fans' first taste of it directly from the streets as opposed to a bird’s eye view. The shift from 2D to 3D prompted many new creative decisions that changed howGrand Theft Autowould play forever. The game featured a fully voiced cast, a reworked combat and driving system, and a much richer story.GTA 3was praised for its revolutionary game designwinning multiple awards, despite the game’s violent portrayal.
Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City StoriesandVice City Storiesare very similar toGTA: Episodes from Liberty Cityin that they are side stories that take place in the main game’s main city.GTA: Liberty City Storiestakes place inGTA 3’sLiberty Cityand features little more than a new story and multiplayer.GTA: Vice City Storiesalso includes a new story within a revisited Vice City, and also includes newer features such as the ability to bribe police and hospital staff to keep weapons when busted or wasted. One major addition is Empire Building which allows the player to operate properties taken over from enemy gangs.
A Tier
Grand Theft Auto 5is the lastGTAgame to come out and the only one to have come out in the 2010s. ThoughGrand Theft Auto Onlinecould be considered its own game by this point, both were released around the same time in 2013.GTA 5was a global success upon release, breaking video game sale records and satisfying fans who have long awaited a revisit to the popular San Andreas region. Though the game was a major success, breaking the promise of single-player DLC hurt Rockstar’s reputation as the game had a multitude of possibilities for more content. Though this would satiate some fans through its online service.
After the success ofGTA 3,Grand Theft Auto: Vice Citywas released quickly becoming the best-selling game of that year.GTA: Vice Cityimproved on its predecessor by introducing more gameplay elements that added to the dynamic open-world game. It introduced the ability to drive motorcycles, fly helicopters and planes, and purchase assets. The scope ofGTA: Vice Cityfelt larger thanGTA 3andVice Cityis a place fans would love to revisit in the HD eraas, aside from a couple of cities inGTA: San Andreas, has not been remade in the HD universe as of yet.
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Grand Theft Auto 4was a major shiftin the direction ofGTAgames, featuring a more realistic and grittier style of gameplay. This culminated in its DLC later on bundled asGrand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City.This bundle included two side storiesThe Lost and Damned, andThe Ballad of Gay Tonywhich explored different perspectives ofGTA 4’sLiberty City. Both feature entirely new stories with new and returning characters which take place parallel toGTA 4instead of a different time period. Though both are applauded for their execution, the only real drawback was their comparatively short length.
S Tier:
As mentioned before,Grand Theft Auto 4ushered in the HD erawith a revisit to the beloved Liberty City, full of new gameplay mechanics and the firstGTAgame to use Rockstar’s RAGE engine. This new game engine is notable in that it features a more realistic approach to the gameplay, from the movements of the characters to how the vehicles are handle. Among these changes came new additions that added to the realism approach such as the new character ragdoll and vehicle crash physics. This shiftedGTAaway from the more arcadey style it had become accustomed to, to a grittier focus, suitable for the nature of its narrative.
Grand Theft Auto Onlineis the multiplayer element fans had been dreaming of as it allows players to play with their friends with little restrictions. Multiplayer inGTAgames before were limited to PC and with few players, or couch-coop in the case ofSan Andreas, or sometimes not even implemented as a feature. ThoughGrand Theft Auto 5sadly never saw single-player DLC,GTA Onlinehas seen major support for its service since 2013 and as of now, it has essentially become a criminal empire simulator. Among the multitude of stories a player and their friends could explore, there are also countless community-made mini-games that players can also take part in ensuring there is always something to do.
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreasfor its time was a masterpiecein design and what was capable for the time. Not only did it expand upon what its predecessors introduced, but it shattered expectations by including 3 cities, a desert, a mountain, and many wilderness areas in between. On top of this, players had the ability to customize their main character like nothing before, where the player had to manage the weight and muscle, as well as build the skills necessary to take on various tasks. This also includes haircuts and beard styles, tattoos, clothing, making for a truly personalized experience. This amount of character and world depth has barely been reproduced and fans are still awaiting a true revisit to San Andreas in its entirety.
Grand Theft Auto 6is rumored to be in development for unspecified platforms.
