We're going to go out on a limb and assume you've played at least one game in the Grand Theft Auto franchise if you're visiting this website. Call it a hunch. However, since the debut of the very first GTA game back in 1997, a total of 15 games have been released under the label. However, as we all know, there can only be one which carries the title of best, and usually the answer isn't as simple as "the newest one".
Debate about which title is superior to all others has gone on unending for almost as long as the existence of the franchise itself, and since it really does come down to personal preference, there truly isn't a single correct answer. But we're interested in the community's consensus nonetheless.
However, notwithstanding if they've played them all or not, even an avid fan of GTA might have a hard time remembering all 15 titles. The franchise has graced a number of platforms in these past two decades and went through many major changes in gameplay and style. To help you jog your memory for your vote, we'll provide a summary of the history of GTA below.
Grand Theft Auto (1997 — PC, PS1, GameBoy Color)
The very first title in the franchise was very different from the GTA 5 most people are playing today. If you'd compare two screenshots without knowing the connection, it might be hard to tell that they're related. The game was played from a top-down perspective, a single shot could kill the player and you could name your character, which was also the system used to activate cheats.
This game introduced the settings that would return in the franchise even today — Liberty City, Vice City and San Andreas. Though the whole "satirical fictional version of the USA" shtick didn't quite formulate yet, players were dropped in a world clearly based on the real one, but with crime being rampant. The open-world nature of the game, as well as player freedom, were established as staples of the franchise.
Naturally, playing it today would make the visuals seem extremely dated and the gameplay somewhat repetitive, but the level design is fantastic and exploring the locations can still provide quite a bit of entertainment. A neat feature on the PC version allowed players to remove the game CD after it loaded, insert a music CD and listen to the tracks on the in-game radio.
Grand Theft Auto: London 1969/1961 (1999 — PC, PS1)
It's a little-known fact that GTA has actually visited a location other than the USA before. Two expansion packs were released for the original GTA, adding new maps based on London to the game, alongside new vehicles and missions. That said, these packs didn't quite bring a whole lot of new content and were generally considered to be weaker than the base game, and were criticized for not actually improving or tweaking anything, thus all the issues of the original title remained.
Grand Theft Auto 2 (1999 — PC, PS1, Dreamcast, GameBoy Color)
GTA 2 took the series in a different direction, with a slight dystopian, sci-fi tinge to it. The game was set in "Anywhere City" which had a unique retrofuturistic look and overall was designed with a grim futuristic vibe. While Rockstar backpedaled on this and all future GTA games would much more closely resemble the real world, it was an interesting setting nonetheless.
It was the first game to feature something that actually amounts to a — granted, rather threadbare — storyline with a single set protagonist. The game was largely identical to the previous title in terms of gameplay, being played from a top-down perspective with the same controls and same game mechanics, however more activities were introduced, such as rampages and side-missions.
Grand Theft Auto 3 (2001 — PC, PS2, Xbox, Mac, iOS, Android, Fire OS)
GTA 3 is often considered as the point where the franchise achieved mainstream popularity. A major shift from the previous games was the game going fully 3D with a third person camera, however countless other improvements were introduced across the board. The game featured a proper storyline, a lot of voice acting, decent graphics for the time, a reactive world where NPCs would do their own thing and behave realistically as well as a dynamic day/night cycle.
The game only featured a single location, Liberty City, however it was separated into three islands which players had to unlock as they progressed through the story. The game also introduced a much wider range of vehicles, including boats and aircraft, alongside several different classes of automobile.
Side missions were expanded upon greatly, offering significantly more kinds of activities to complete, and mission variety was jacked up too, resulting in gameplay that was far less repetitive. New mechanics, such as drive-by shooting was also added. The game also was first to feature the series' now-signature collage style box art.
It was also the first title to generate any significant amount of controversy with the high level of violence and inclusion of sexual content. That said, it was also a majorly popular title, and was the best-selling game of 2001 amid universal critical acclaim. Some maintain that it was the most important title of its generation and is the best entry in the franchise.
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (2002 — PC, PS2, Xbox, Mac, iOS, Android, Fire OS)
GTA: Vice City was even more of a success than its predecessor. Selling more copies and gaining even more praise by improving upon the already fantastic foundations laid by GTA 3, Vice City was an instant classic. Set in a fictional version of Miami during the 80's, inspired by films and shows such as Scarface and Miami Vice, the game oozed style.
