Grand Theft Auto It was born in 1997, when three young programmers, David Jones and the Houser brothers came together to create a game that combined action, driving, violence and some role-playing. Since then, GTA has not stopped evolving, also becoming a synonym for controversy. Today we will tell you a little about each GTA title, as well as the evolution that these video games have followed throughout their almost 25-year history.
Main Series
Grand Theft Auto – (1997)
The first GTA of all was a quite different video game from what has reached our days, but it already had the foundations of what would end up being a great saga well defined.
The base component of Grand Theft Auto was the free will. The player could do whatever he wanted to earn points. Most of the missions were ordered through the phone booths. Others were activated by entering a specific area or entering a car. Many of these missions involved stealing and delivering cars around the three cities on the map: Liberty City, Vice City, and San Andreas. Hence the title of the game.
Grand Theft Auto 2 – (1999)
The mechanics of GTA 2 remained practically intact compared to the first installment. The city would change and the plot would take place in "Anywhere City", a retrofuturist city in 2013.
The missions became more complex in this new installment. Criminal syndicates were introduced. Our mission would be to assert ourselves in the city to gain respect and be able to access more complex and professional jobs. Violence also increased in this game, this title not being exempt from controversy.
Grand Theft Auto III – (2001)
In 2001 the world arrived for the first time three-dimensional to GTA. Now we were driving Claude in the third person, a thief who is betrayed by his girlfriend Catalina during a robbery at Liberty City Bank. During the escape, she shoots him and leaves him for dead. Claude would then be caught and sentenced to prison.
During his transfer to prison, the police van would be ambushed by the Colombian cartel to free another of the prisoners, allowing him to escape sentence. From there, he would have to accept orders from different mafias to survive in liberty city.
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City – (2002)
Following the same concept of an open world with free will, GTA Vice City would arrive in 2002. The game was based on the XNUMXs Miami, with all its stories related to drug trafficking and the confrontation of different mafias.
In the game we would have to control Tommy Vercetti, a former thug who had just been released from prison after a 15-year sentence. Once free, our protagonist would be involved in a sabotage during a drug exchange in which he would lose both the merchandise and the $2 million deal. That's where Tommy and Ken's adventures begin, as they come together to discover those responsible for the attack. For this they will have to make a multitude of contacts and get into all kinds of criminal businesses.
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas – (2004)
It is set in the early 90s. The game deals with the story of Carl Johnson, who returns to the city on the occasion of the death of his mother, who had been murdered. After setting foot outside the airport, CJ is surprised by corrupt police officers who threaten to frame him for the murder of an officer. The deal for not doing it is for him to help them in their illegal plans. Soon, the protagonist will discover that all the band system that I knew has changed.
San Andreas, along with Vice City, were harshly criticized and controversial, especially due to the violence and sexual content of the video game. Parts of the accusations came from parent-teacher associations, despite it being a video game that was clearly intended for adults.
Grand Theft Auto IV – (2008)
For the most purists, GTA IV is the roundest GTA of all. And it is that it is probably the game that is most out of place in the entire saga, at the same time that we face the GTA more mature of all. In it we drive Niko bellic, a Slav who is really upset after having fought in the Bosnian war. Encouraged by the letters that his cousin Roman sends him from Liberty City, where he seems to live luxuriously, Bellic decides take a trip with the intention of Starting over. Bellic wants to leave both the war and his subsequent criminal life in his country.
Unfortunately for Niko, upon arriving at his new home, he discovers that all the letters he had received were lies. He is then faced with the reality that he is supposed to be an immigrant with a dark past in a country that he does not know at all.
Grand Theft Auto V – (2013)
It is the first GTA controlled from 3 protagonists: Michael, Trevor and Franklin. The first two have a criminal past in common, while Franklin ends up in the "gang" after trying to steal a car from Michael's son and failing in the attempt. While in the previous installment the story was prioritized, in GTA V the Gameplay.
This fifth installment was a whole franchise revolution. The story took a backseat thanks to the huge map, the impressive catalog of vehicles and the amount of content that was gradually introduced into GTA V Online.
GTA main series DLCs
- Grand Theft Auto: London 1969 – (1999)
- Grand Theft Auto: London 1961 – (1999)
- Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned – (2009)
- Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony – (2009)
laptop series
Grand Theft Auto Advance – (2004)
It was released for the Game Boy Advance. It is a GTA III prequel in the same style as GTA II. The game begins with the story of Mike and Vinnie, two colleagues who want to flee Liberty City to start a life in a quieter place. Before leaving, Vinnie wants to close some business with the mob, but on his last mission, his car is blown up and he dies. It is then that Mike decides to stay in Liberty City to find the murderers of his friend. For this he asks for help from 8-Ball, a character who will later be key in the plot of GTA III.
Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories – (2005)
It was the first GTA game in 3D for portable consoles, and in its beginnings it was exclusive to PSP (later it would also end up being ported to PlayStation 2 and recently it reached mobile devices).
Tells the story of Tony Cypriani, a character that already appeared in GTA III. The title shows how Toni tries to rise within the Leone family, showing the other side of the plot of the 2001 video game.
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories – (2006)
Vice City Stories is a Vice City prequel. In it we drive Victor Vance, a Dominican man who ends up in the United States Army to pay for the treatment of his sick brother.
Vic ends up doing all kinds of illegal jobs for Sergeant Jerry Martinez. Once he is discovered, Martínez accuses Vance of being responsible for everything and cleans his hands. Our protagonist ends up being kicked out of the army, being totally helpless. It is then that without eating or drinking it, he ends up in a criminal organization.
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars – (2009)
Chinatown wars returned to the origins of GTA offering a 2D game with aerial perspective. It came out for the PSP and Nintendo DS, although it also debuted a few years later on the iPhone and finally on Android.
It is a quite different GTA, where we will be fully involved in the triads, that is, in the Chinese mafia. We will control Huang, a 25-year-old who leaves Hong Kong and arrives in Liberty City for the first time due to the death of his father, leader of a triad.
The title combines a very interesting story with a really huge and varied map. It has a multitude of really fun side missions even filled with black humor that will make you smile more than once.