Retro|Spective 102R: Grand Theft Auto

[Neon Ignition]

Cracking my knuckles, we dive into the biggest franchise in gaming... now one of the most dormant money makers too...


Grand Theft Auto
"Just ignore the bodies"



Game 01 - Grand Theft Auto
Launched in quick succession for PC, then PS1, then Game Boy Color, the original game is now twenty five years old. Using two dimensional graphics in a 3D emerging era, the game made its mark via its open design and graphic content. Taking place in Liberty City, San Andreas and Vice City the game took place across six main levels with players doing what they pleased but progressing through main missions - a template the series still holds true to today.








How much impact did the original GTA make on you?

[wakka]

I wasn't allowed it on PS1, on account of it being an 18 and me being 7. But friends and particularly friends' older brothers had it on both PS and PC, and I feel like I played it a good amount of it. We never bothered with the missions though, just cruising around doing sandboxy stuff. It's one that for that reason I'd like to go back to and play properly.

Its anarchic vibe and go-anywhere freedom were definitely interesting, but didn't feel totally unique at the time. Bearing in mind I never properly played the missions, it felt less impressive than Carmageddon and Duke Nukem 3D, which had already done the stuff-your-mum-wouldn't-like with better graphics at that point (friends' older brothers' PCs again providing a crucial source of pixellated murders of innocents and digitised strippers).

I did own the GBC game, which my parents did allow. But it wasn't very good, and I never got far with it. The streets were practically empty, robbing it of a lot of its fun.

[QualityChimp]

The original GTA is a game that managed to be excellent, even when you got beyond the shock factor.
I've always liked top-down or isometric racers like Micro Machines or 1000 Miles Rally, so it instantly appealed, but the fact you could get out of your car seemed like a first to me.

There was some Mega Drive cyberpunk game where you could get in a car, but there weren't many games around that time.

There were loads of lovely little touches like the buses made a beeping sound when you reversed.

My fave memory, though, is getting the demo on a PlayStation Magazine cover disc and my friends and I taking turns causing as much havoc as possible before the demo timer ran out.
There was absolute scenes the first time one of us managed to run over all of the Hare Krishnas and getting the 'GOURANGA' message. Can't imagine getting away with anything like that today!

[wakka]

Ha I remember that disc and playing that timed demo, too!

[Hirst]

I love the first game, even with all the rough edges. Probably know every little corner and street in it to this day. It was a lot better on PC than on PS1 (especially with a 3dfx card). There used to be a small but very active community making replacement car graphics and mods for it until the late 2000s, they were still knocking out little 2D cars well after San Andreas was out. There were all sorts of weird rules about palettes and you had to draw the cars about 20% less long than the real dimensions as the ones in the game were all slightly stunted and it looked weird if you didn't.

I could probably say all sorts about it, but something I think rarely gets a mention is that the soundtrack is really good. Considering all the genres it spans, it's surprising that it was done in-house by only a few people, lion's share of it by one guy. Also, if you've played it for any length of time and got used to the stock police radio chatter, you'll notice in almost every single film where a cop car turns up from then on: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87Ls5ImYEXA

It's a shame that since about GTA4 era, Rockstar have regarded the top-down games as something of an embarrassment and mostly tried to bury their existence. I would love if somebody went back and did a new top-down GTA style game with fancy graphics and what-not. Probably won't happen.

[Neon Ignition]

Much like games that have tried to emulate the experience I've struggled to really get along with the top down versions of the series and it was the same with this though the novelty of the time carried it somewhat. It just feels like the view is too restricted for the action when the speed picks up but I got some fun out of the classic cycle of messing around. Weirdly the approach never felt too fresh to me as when I think early open world driving game my mind always goes to...

[Cassius_Smoke]

I had that Demo... Played it to death. Then bought the game because Gamestation didn't care about age. Come to think of it, did games even have age ratings back then?

I can't say I played the game much past the first few missions to be honest, I just enjoyed causing chaos.

[Neon Ignition]

Game 02 - Grand Theft Auto: London 1969
An expansion, though often sold separately, for the original game arrived with this real world name using 60's era title. Outside of the setting the game offered more of the same gameplay. Reception was more mixed on this than the main game had enjoyed.









Higher or Lower on Being Worth Scoring a 69?

[Neon Ignition]

Game 03 - Grand Theft Auto: London 1961
A freeware follow up to the first expansion, 1961 was designed to help promote the launch of GTA on internet enabled PC's and is a much shorter expansion that reuses all of 1969's assets but acts as a prequel







Swingin' action or a lack of Flairs?

[Asura]

Much like games that have tried to emulate the experience I've struggled to really get along with the top down versions of the series and it was the same with this though the novelty of the time carried it somewhat. It just feels like the view is too restricted for the action when the speed picks up but I got some fun out of the classic cycle of messing around. Weirdly the approach never felt too fresh to me as when I think early open world driving game my mind always goes to...

Me too! I had this for the Amstrad and it's probably the very earliest videogame I can remember playing, inasmuch as I can tell you what it was (earlier stuff were things like Pong clones, where my memory of them is indistinct and the games weren't unique enough to pick out of a crowd). I used to play it for hours, and it's funny because structurally it is very like GTA. You have to go on missions, like finding all the farmer's lost sheep.

[Cassius_Smoke]

I got London. Didn't enjoy it. It had distinct feel to it, which I liked. Soundtrack was cool too. This might have been the first to use real music?

[Hirst]

London 1969 was OK, but it had three major problems - it only had one city (compared to three in GTA1), it was surprisingly easy due to a weird lack of police cars, you could rattle it off in a few hours without much trouble. The Manchester 1961 download was rushed out to keep people quiet more than anything else.

[Neon Ignition]

Typical.... lack of policing in London!

[QualityChimp]

It's funny, but I absolutely rinsed the original, but then laid off playing any more until 3.
Maybe I'd had my fill or games were moving on?
At the same time as GTA: London came out, Driver was released and that totally was more my jam with the massive muscle cars powersliding around corners and losing hubcaps like in the movies. Stuntman followed 3 years later.

[Neon Ignition]

Game 04 - Grand Theft Auto 2
Switching to a slightly futuristic setting within Anywhere City, the game also used live action sequences and a gang loyalty system making it a fair departure from the original game even if the core gameplay remained the same. The game only drew a mixed response in reviews but sold well enough to allow for a third entry...








GTA 2 Many?