GTA 6 City of the Week is a weekly article series here on GTA BOOM. Every week, we will evaluate a different city in the United States, gauging how well it would fit GTA 6 as a setting.
GTA V News Recap
This week wasn't particularly explosive when it comes to news around GTA. Many expected the big Sony press conference, which revealed the new PS4 Slim and PS4 Pro along with footage from a number of highly anticipated games such as Mass Effect Andromeda would also yield announcements from Rockstar. It wasn't entirely unreasonable to expect something, seeing that the mysterious game titled "Agent", which may or may not be under development, was slated as a Sony exclusive.
Alas, the lips of Rockstar Games remained sealed, leaving us with the same speculation as before. However, seeing as we should make the best of what we have, we've put together a poll here on GTA BOOM surveying which of the three most likely new projects the community wants the most. With GTA 6, Red Dead 3 and, though tentatively, GTA 5 Story DLC seem like the most likely candidates for being in production,those were the options we offered.
The poll will be open until the 21st of September, though we've already collected over 400 votes! Currently it seems that GTA 6 is the most anticipated potential project, though that might still change in the days to come. We'll be posting a summary article about the survey and its results when the voting has closed.
In other news, a glitch discovered over a week ago has, in the time since, wreaked havoc in GTA Online's racing scene causing the balance to be completely whacked. The glitch is tied to frame rates, though it results in a massive boost of speed for the Annis RE-7B in a certain config in all cases. There has been no word on a patch or fix yet from Rockstar, though based on how quickly they fixed the Banshee 900R back in the day, we won't have to wait too long.
We will have to wait a few years until a new GTA game rears its head, though. The community may (so far) seemingly favor the next main installment in the flagship franchise of Rockstar, but chances are they'll leave the series some time to rest. Naturally, that doesn't stop speculation, so let's check out yet another possible location for the next big GTA game stateside.
Baltimore
Somehow we keep coming back to the east coast, don't we? Of course, it might have something to do with the high concentration of major cities in the region which would make for some pretty swell GTA locations. Then again, it's not like the franchise is any stranger to the coast either, what with Liberty City being based on New York and all.
Baltimore is not only the largest city in the state of Maryland, but the largest independent city in the United States, meaning that it does not form a part of any county within the state. It is known for being deeply rooted in history, having some of the most historic landmarks in the country as well as the highest rate of buildings present on the National Register of Historic Places.
The City of Neighborhoods, as it is sometimes referred to, features over 200 separate official designated neighborhoods. With such a large amount, massive deviation can be expected, making the city visually and architecturally varied. Downtown Baltimore is a modern, high-rise business district one come to expect from major American cities, featuring a particularly scenic bay area, which is most prominently featured in promotional images.
Obviously, as is the case with all major cities, Baltimore has many faces. While the idyllic, modern, clean and stylish Inner Bay area is also a real side of the city, so are the quieter, roomier suburbs and poorer, run-down blocks. The city also features quite a few large parks and green areas to break up the otherwise urban monotony.
From a geographic standpoint, Baltimore is pretty good, but not quite good enough to be overtly praised. The bay is a major feature of the city, yes, but it is just a smaller inlet coming from a bigger inlet, meaning that technically the city isn't even coastal, depending on how you look at it (people who know this sort of thing, sorry if I'm wrong here). Point is, while there is a lot of water, it isn't quite enough to justify turning the city into an island off-hand.
That said, the other geographical markers are looking good. Other, smaller settlements right next to, or nearby, the city? Check. Areas free of urbanization nearby? Check (with some liberty taken, though). Baltimore's prominent bay is something that cannot be ignored, but unfortunately, it isn't as much of a boon as such formations were in the case of other cities.
In terms of industry, Baltimore has been forced to go through some major career changes, so to say. Early in its existence, the city established itself as a major port and industrial producer. This was later augmented with distribution and mercantile responsibilities with the completion of a major railway linking the city to Ohio. Over time, the city's persona as being a major industrial powerhouse solidified with numerous manufacturing plants springing up to live off the busy port. Said port also resulted in Baltimore being a main gateway for immigrants.
However recently this role shifted following a sudden bout of deindustrialization. The city has been repurposed to be more of a service provider and tourist destination rather than an industrial giant, though signs of its past remain. The Johns Hopkins University and Hospital have become some of the biggest employers in the city, while since 2013 a massive rise in science and tech related companies has made the city a start-up hot-spot.
Recently a major and culturally significant tragedy occurred in Baltimore which must be mentioned. After an african-american man was arrested under questionable pretenses by six police officers who allegedly used greater force than necessary. Possibly as a result of said force, Freddie Carlos Gray, Jr. died due to injuries sustained to his spine. The six officers were suspended with trials pending, however after a string of incidents involving police-on-african-american violence across the country, several protests followed. Some of these turned violent, resulting in the declaration of a state of emergency and the summoning of the National Guard.
