Grand Theft Auto 2 is a rather odd duck about which you'll read more in our 2D Era retrospective next week, but in short, it took the franchise into a dystopian industrial sci-fi setting as opposed to the contemporary satirized realism the series became known for. This more abstract installment was a one-time deviation, as the next game would define the status quo of the franchise which we know today.
When Grand Theft Auto III rolled around in 2001, the winds of change were already blowing. DMA was still the developer, but Rockstar Games, not yet acquired by Take-Two, was the publisher, and a number of iconic franchise-defining staples were established. It may not be the most successful GTA game ever, but one could argue it was the most influential. It practically birthed a new genre.
Some of the things GTA 3 introduced which stuck are the iconic collage cover art (which always has a helicopter in the top left corner), the fictional-but-obviously-based-on-a-real-location settings, the humor satirizing modern American society, the open world 3D gameplay, wide array of activities to complete and diverse lineup of memorable characters.
GTA 3 was also the first game in the franchise that could truly be called a massive success. For its time, the 2 million copies it sold in four months was a major achievement even if it pales to the sales of GTA 5 more than a decade later. Following this title, every single GTA game became a highly successful, top-selling title.
The 3D era is fondly remembered by fans of the franchise, yielding some of the series' most iconic locations such as Liberty City, Vice City and Los Santos. In name, Liberty City and Vice City appeared already, but these were their definitive incarnations until the arrival of the HD Era. Both spin-offs in the era, Vice City and San Andreas are considered to be among the best video games of all time, with some claiming each to be the best of the franchise to this day.
San Andreas stood out particularly with its large, multi-city map and relatable storyline and characters. It also took place roughly around the same time as GTA 3, and the two games were directly linked in terms of storyline. The 3D era also yielded some other spin-offs, namely the "-Stories" games which recycled the maps from 3 and Vice City to bring new storylines to different platforms.
When the HD era, begun by Grand Theft Auto IV, brought new depth and graphical fidelity to the franchise, another boost in popularity followed. Upon its release, the game broke several sales records and sold over 3.6 million copies within a day of launch, a stark contrast to GTA 3's two million over four months.
The game had the most detailed map in a GTA game to date, with the most activities and vehicles. It was a notable upgrade from previous titles in every technical aspect, though the story took a more somber and serious tone. Oh, the humor wasn't gone, what with internet cafés called TW@ and similar jokes, but the main storyline itself was darker than usual.
Many gameplay mechanics were extremely polished, however, and the game world was filled with easter eggs. It's success spawned two full-fledged expansions, The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony. These expansions used the base game's map, but introduced new characters, vehicles and game mechanics while expanding on the world and storyline of the main title.
While not the first game in the franchise to have multiplayer, GTA 4's version of "Online" was popular and well received by players. It allowed up to 32 players to run around in the same world as in single player and to engage in various game-modes such as deathmatch, races and more, including a free play mode where they could just screw around in an unrestricted game world.
Additionally, server hosts could set a number of factors governing the multiplayer world, such as whether or not there would be police present, what weapons were available and the presence of NPCs. Many of these features are missing from the current iteration of GTA Online, much to the malcontent of fans.
Most recently, GTA 5 entered the lineup, and we've already written plenty about it in almost every aspect.
It broke every sales record there is, racked up over 80 million sales the last time we got a number, a long list of free DLC has been released for Online, and over the 4 years since its release, it racked up huge amounts of revenue, an immense player base and countless accolades and awards.
Over the next three weeks of October, we will take more detailed looks at the history of GTA, broken down into the three eras — 2D, 3D and HD. We'll be starting with a more in-depth look at the series's beginnings, and the odd title that was GTA 2 next week.
Over two decades, Grand Theft Auto has amassed a staggering number of fans. Some have been following the franchise since day one, some dropped out, while others only came into the fold later in the series, but all of them share some fond memories spent in the virtual worlds created by DMA and Rockstar.
