One of the most controversial video game franchises of all time is also one of the greatest video game franchises of all time and I wouldn't have it any other way. Now just to clarify that I haven't played all of the Grand Theft Auto games because I was too young at the time and its unlikely that I will ever get around to playing the ones that I haven't played so those reviews will be based on the footage I've seen. With that said, let's take a look at this franchise in possibly my biggest video game series review to date:
Grand Theft Auto (including London 1969 and London 1961) (footage review)
Released in 1997, back when Rockstar North was known as DMA Design, we get the very first game in the series. The game is more of a game that requires you to get as many points as possible to get to the next level which is OK I guess and you can do that by well just doing anything that the game tells you. I haven't played this game so I can't really say if the gameplay is any good, but having read up on it and seen it in action, its a good game, but a game that lacks any form of purpose if you know what I mean. Should also be noted that the next 2 games were just expanding on this game, but continued to have no purpose. 7/10
Grand Theft Auto II (footage review)
Here we have the second game in the series which has the same gameplay as before and isn't that much different to its predecessor. The graphics are a little bit more detailed and it does have a sort of time feature where you can decide on what time of the day the game should be set at, whether it be noon or whatever else and it does feature new ways of getting points, but on the whole, its just the same game as before, but with more things to do. 8/10
Vice City Stories (footage review)
In my personal opinion (despite not having played the game), this was the game that saw a breakthrough in the series and gaming overall. It showed an open world environment from a third-person perspective and much like with the more recent games, it has its own story that can be done at the player's leisure with a number of other things to do as well. The story is quite similar to GTA4 in that it involves a war veteran finding an enemy of his from being in the army and will do whatever it takes to do just that. Having seen it in action, its a pretty good game with a lot going for it and anybody who likes this sort of game, will definitely find enjoyment in this game. 9/10
Vice City (footage review)
Much like with the last game, this is another open world, third person game where the story can be done at the player's pace, but unlike before, story missions have to be completed in order to explore more areas. The game has a new protagonist who is freed from prison and is sent to Vice City (which if I haven't explained already, is a fictional version of Miami) for some sort of drug dealing business. The game is the same as before with doing other things than just the story missions, which has actually been expanded on so that you can do more civilised jobs than being a criminal such as getting injured people to a hospital and doing pizza deliveries. But that being said, it has made the game great and I for one, would've loved to play it if I was only old enough, but oh well. 9/10
San Andreas (footage review)
With a new city to explore (which is based on parts of California and Nevada) and even more things to do, we get what many critics and gamers have considered to be one of the greatest video games of all time. That being said its much like its predecessors in that you can focus on the story, but also do other things as well which has once again been expanded on and at long last, loading screens are a thing of the past for the gameplay and you can now swim and climb as well. The protagonist this time around is from the get go, a criminal and much like before, is wanting to kill someone whom he has had a history with. It is one of the best games out there, but it isn't perfect (from what I have seen anyway) with some very bad character models, low resolution textures and auto aiming enemies being an absolute pain, but from what I've seen, it looks to be a great game. 9/10
Liberty City Stories (footage review)
Moving on from Vice City and San Andreas, we now move on to Liberty City. The game incorporates many of GTA3 and its successors (and in case any of you are wondering, this review is done in chronological order), but some people may find it to be a little bit restricted in some parts of it. A new camera system is now in use along with the use of motorcycles in the city. The game's main protagonist is a man called Toni Cipriani (someone that you GTA3 fans may remember and is voiced by Danny Mastrogiorgio) who has been laying low in Liberty City after having killed what can be best described as a made man for a boss of his and unlike the other protagonists, actually has a story which does involve killing an old friend of his, but only serves as part of a much bigger story where Toni must work hard to become the leader of some kind of Mafia family. Having seen it in action, its an ok game. Its not as big and action packed like some of the other games on this list, but does manage to give us character development on Toni who was a supporting character in GTA3 which for the most part, is just ok. 7/10
Advance (footage review)
Now I'm not really sure on how to explain about this game. To begin with, its just liek the old GTA games which many felt was the right thing to do, considering the GBA's limitations, but it may be just too easy for a lot of us, but I'll leave that for you to decide. Unfortunately, much like with its predecessors, this game has another story that is the protagonist wants to kill someone from his past, although it doesn't start like that until towards the end of the game. Overall, not the greatest game in the series by any means, but at least it was a good attempt to make a game for a Nintendo platform.
Grand Theft Auto III (footage review)
At long last, we have made it to GTA3, a game of which the last few games have been prequels of. The game follows a silent criminal called Claude who after performing some kind of heist with his girlfriend and accomplice Catalina (voiced by Cynthia Farrell), is betrayed by her and after escaping prison, joins a mafia in the hopes of finding her ex-girlfriend so that he can take her down. So again, the story is very similar to the game's many prequels, but that being said, there is a lot to do in this game, much like the other games in the series and it also combines elements from one of Rockstar's very old games. From what I can see, its a pretty decent game, but I hate it when you have protagonists that don't talk. I mean, that of all things is just far too unoriginal. But its still a good game regardless. 9/10
Grand Theft Auto IV (including Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony)
Believe it or not, this was the very first GTA game that I've ever played and also one of the first games I played on the PS3. The game focuses on the character Niko Belic (voiced by Michael Hollick), an Eastern European war veteran who has come to Liberty City (a fictional take on New York City) to pursue the American Dream and to find and take down a traitor of his unit during an unnamed Eastern Europe war and that's exactly what he does, even if he has to do jobs for people to get what he wants. Much like the other games, the game has a large open world environment for you to explore and the majority of the things you'll be doing, won't be any different to it's predecessors. You can do story related missions as well as side missions, or you can do things with your friends in the game such as bowling, seeing stand up comedy from real life comedians, going to a strip bar (and honestly, there isn't a single game in the series that doesn't have this) or whatever else. Now in addition to this game, 2 expansions were made, both of which have their own stories with their own characters and a new protagonist. The first is the Lost and Damned which features a familiar face from GTA4, Johnny Klebitz (voiced by Scott Hill) who is the vice president for a motorcycle gang called The Lost. This is the shortest of the 2 DLCs, but has a lot of good things in it like the ability to call for back up and at last, in game checkpoints. The other one is The Ballad of Gay Tony which again, has its own set of characters and the protagonist is Luis Fernando Lopez (voiced by Mario D'Leon), a gangster who works as a bodyguard for Gay Tony who for the most part, gives him jobs to deal with those who are after him. As a whole and despite the frustrations and controversy, this is a great game that will take a while to complete, but manages to do nearly everything right. The characters are great, the amount of content in the game is great (well for the most part) and its definitely a good start to the HD series. 9/10
Chinatown Wars (footage review)
And now we get the next portable game in the series, which for once, is actually pretty good. It resembles much of the original game's elements and additionally, introduces new ways of taking down police cars and using the overhead camera view in a whole new way. It also has a system where you can do drug dealing around the city. The story is actually pretty good. Its nearly similar to before, but manages to make the overused scenario better and more intense. If you've enjoyed the games so far, then you'll no doubt like this one too. 8/10
Grand Theft Auto V
The biggest game in the series so far and possibly the biggest open world game ever, we get the long awaited 5th main entry in the series after waiting a good few years after GTA4. Anyway, the game takes place in the fictional city of Los Santos (based on Los Angeles, the second Rockstar game to be based on that particular city (the first being L.A. Noire)) and its countryside surroundings and yeah, the map is bigger than any other open world game to date. The game focuses on 3 playable protagonists, a retired criminal with a dysfunctional family called Michael De Santa (voiced by Ned Luke), a reckless, psychopathic, drug addicted criminal called Trevor Phillips (voiced by Steven Ogg) who was Michael's former partner in crime until something happened and a typical young American called Franklin (voiced by Shawn "Solo" Fonteno) who was a gang banger and never was a criminal until the events of the game. The 3 of them, while very different characters, share the goal of performing heists in the pursuit of the almighty American dollar and with the help of a few allies in the city, they do just that, but must also deal with the FIB (a spoof of the FBI) which I won't spoil as to why they get involved, so you'll just have to play the game to find out. So much like with the other games, the scenario is similar but very different to before and you get to do even more things than in any other game to date. You can ride a plane as well as a helicopter, do various tasks for random people in the area, paraglide, do yoga, acquire local businesses and a whole lot more. This game also has a lot of Easter eggs and references to other games and real life stuff as well. iFruit serves as a spoof to Apple and while the actual app that you can on iOS devices doesn't work, the spoof itself is actually pretty funny. There's also a number of references to the idea of Los Santos being invaded by aliens and a couple of references and characters to other games in the series are featured as well. The biggest thing that I think all of us like, is the well constructed heists. You get to plan out how you do them, then get the goods, and then do the job at hand and with 3 playable protagonists, you can do them in 3 different perspectives. In my honest opinion, this is the biggest and best game in the series that I have played so far and one of the greatest games of the 7th generation as well. It isn't as perfect as people may say it is with a few minor glitches and Trevor having the most over the top missions that in a way, overlooks the other 2, but on the whole, it is a great game that is a lot of fun and is definitely my favourite all time open world game so far. Rockstar, you've done it again and I look forward to seeing your next big game. 10/10
So despite controversy, the amount of lawsuits and everything else, it just shows that this is one of the greatest and most controversial video game franchises of all time which shows no sign of stopping and I look forward to see where this franchise goes in the 8th generation of gaming. 9/10
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