Then and Now…

Loads of teenagers and adults all over the world know what the acronym GTA means… For some it brings to mind that old top-down little 2D game, for some it's just stealing cars, for others the shooting, but almost everybody finds the style that suits them in the game. In any of them. But where did this whole thing start???

GTA

GTA (Grand Theft Auto) means a big car theft. That's basically what the first part of the game is about. It's worth knowing, but then who doesn't know that the first 2 parts were top-down and 2D? There are 3 cities in this part: Liberty City, Vice City and San Andreas. We have things to do in all 3 cities… Back then it was a great little game, and personally, as a kid, I played it for hours. You never forget what a great feeling it was to be so free, to commit crimes without punishment, it was a huge experience, especially for a teenager.

GTA - London 1969

The very first expansion of the GTA series. It hit the market between '98 and '99. It didn't really come with many changes, except that its story took place in a real city (which hasn't been repeated to this day), in 1969 to be exact, so the cars were replaced too. The graphics improved perhaps only in that the cars were more nicely made. For me it was quite a big disappointment, and for many others too, because you wanted more, it could have been better, but then it has its own beauty too… But after all, an expansion won't fill the place of a new part, so we were already longing for the real sequel.

GTA II

And yes, it arrived, to our great joy! In 1999, to be exact. Even though this one remained top-down too, it had improved enough… Nicer graphics, we could get a bit closer to the ground, so we no longer drove around in ant-sized cars… The missions were no longer mostly about stealing cars, certain people had to be taken out as well. The character was better developed, and the cars were even more fun to drive, crash and blow up. Somehow, though, the atmosphere wasn't the same as in the first part. This one was better played on the PSX, on PC it didn't change much. And now let me show you the picture!

GTA - Advance

The first handheld version of the GTA series, which saw daylight in 2000. Advance got its name from being released on the Advance pocket console, then considered the best of the colour versions of the Nintendo GameBoy. Unlike the first part, though, the events take place in only 1 city, Liberty City (New York). It was an enjoyable little piece, and useful while waiting in the doctor's waiting room, on the toilet, or when lazing about in the cool room at Grandma's. This part was tolerated better, because being a portable console and GTA, it could be tied to the yard, or a trip, a holiday, almost anything. So it was good in several respects, and cheap too.

GTA III

The best game in the world! Way better on PC! A great psychopath training course!

We could read these sentences between 2001 and 2002, when the first 3D part of the GTA series came out, which has become almost a legend. Back then Rockstar Games was the very embodiment of dreams in the eyes of a few people, people went wild in front of their computers over what a game it was, they stamped their feet and spent hours at the machine. Simply unbelievable… A game that is just like reality… For a GTA fan back then it felt as if a new-technology car, train, motorbike or whatever had hit the market. Our main character can't be made to speak in this part, its story turned out quite long compared to the previous ones, but very exciting. Besides that, cruising around got even more enjoyable, and the shooting too… not to mention the explosions. And as a bonus we had the skins, which 1-2 days after the game's release we could already download from most GTA sites. Then came the new cars, buildings, more skins, complete mods, etc. Of course, right after the game's release the clever theories about the making of GTA IV began, which did get made indeed, but 6 years after the release of GTA 3…

GTA Vice City

Back to the '80s, the disco era, to Vice City (Miami) to be exact. The game has been available since 2003, and thanks to its atmosphere you never get tired of it. You could be much freer, we can eat pizza, change clothes, buy weapons and tools in a much better way than in the previous part. It turned out very good. Our main character is Tommy Vercetti, and in this part the character we control can talk. And is quite ruthless too. The missions became much more exciting and more action-packed too, and all this is so surprising because the game was built on the GTA III engine…

GTA San Andreas

The reform came in 2005, when one of the most popular, and perhaps the best part of the series was released. It offered more than ever before: there was a hairdresser, tattoos, tuning, a pub, fast food restaurants, simply unbelievable. Oh, I left out the clothing… The story starts in 1993, and our main character this time is Carl Johnson (C.J.), an African-American guy. In this part the events of the ghettos came to the fore, the gang wars, drug dealing, murders, the lowest depths of the underworld. This time we play not in one city but in 3: Los Santos (Los Angeles), San Fierro (San Francisco) and Las Venturas (Las Vegas). In this part the state got its name, which naturally is San Andreas. It was also the last game in the series built on the GTA 3 engine, but by far the best compared to the earlier parts. Of course, the atmosphere of Vice City outdoes San Andreas, but in action there's no question that San Andreas comes out the winner. No use arguing, they put together good games at Rockstar Games…

GTA SA

GTA Liberty City Stories

The first GTA that, besides coming out only on PS2, is set in the location of GTA III, and some of the characters are the same as in GTA III. It differs in that a few cars were added compared to its predecessor, and of course they tried to fix the bugs that had occurred. After this part's release it became obvious that Rockstar Games had formed an alliance with Sony… But I wonder how long this great friendship will last?

GTA VCS

An interesting continuation of Vice City, because we travel back in time, and the story is set in 1984 instead of 1986. Quite a lot of improvements can be spotted in this part, and this member of the series is padded with much more action. In this part we get the chance to run shops, we have our own bodyguards, and once we've finished the game we can even watch TV. It turned out to be quite an enjoyable game, and a respected one. Again, we can enjoy it only on PS2.

GTA VCS

GTA IV

You could say that since San Andreas we had been waiting for the new, professional one to come. The big turn perhaps happened in 2007, because in 2008 GTA IV arrived first on Xbox 360, then later on PlayStation 3, and in 2009 on PC. A very enjoyable piece, for which R* created a completely new engine, although the engine wasn't dedicated specifically to the GTA series, it was optimized for the game called Read Dead Redemption. Not that you'd notice it much while playing. Watching TV has been available from the very beginning, but now using a computer made it onto the list too. Unfortunately, though, the hairdresser and tattoos were left out of the game, so in that respect this part of the game is a bit of a disappointment. Not such a big deal, and the cars, the buildings, the people and the houses make up for it anyway. Enjoyable and new. The usual nonsense started, like GTA V being officially announced and the like, but come on… Rockstar Games has more imagination than that. But if GTA V does turn out to be the next one, then I was wrong, though I'd be very curious what kind of game they can throw together in 1-2 years…

GTA Chinatown Wars

The game can perhaps be called the sequel to GTA Advance, and it was made primarily for the console called the Nintendo DS. It's top-down, but at the same time a very entertaining game, with an environment worthy of a Nintendo. Its graphics are pretty good, an enjoyable piece, but it doesn't hold you as much as, say, GTA III. What's interesting, though, is that stealing the car really is our job now, since we have to start the cars ourselves. We can do that on the lower screen. In my opinion it's a very good way to kill boredom.

GTA IV - The Lost and Damned

This is the 1st expansion disc of GTA IV, made for the Xbox 360, but by 2010 the PC and PS3 versions were done as well. It's worth trying for the good missions, true, it's not very long, since it's an expansion, but it's still very enjoyable. It doesn't contain that many new cars or vehicles, and the location stayed the same too, so in that respect the city won't be unfamiliar. And we already know the cars and bikes well enough to decide who to chase with what. It turned out good, that's the truth…

GTA Chinatown Wars

Since Advance, no GTA game has been made for a Nintendo handheld, only for the GameCube, but that's not a handheld. I already wrote a few things about this game in my "Chinatown Wars for iPad" article, but I also wrote there that it was conceived primarily for the Nintendo DS. In 2009. It wasn't a big breakthrough, since it's not the same as if something had been released for PC or a next-gen console. Few people own a Nintendo DS, and whoever has one is rather a kid or a teenager, so the 18+ age rating bore fruit for this Nintendo gaming… That's why it had to be released on the iPhone and iPad as well.

GTA IV - The Ballad of Gay Tony

This is yet another expansion; whoever speaks English, I think the title tells them everything, and for whoever doesn't, only this much: GAY = the word meaning homosexual… This one also appeared first on Xbox 360, of course, but now comes the part where, for the first time since London 1969, an expansion appeared on PC.

GTA - Episodes from Liberty City

This is also just an expansion, or rather 2? It actually contains the Gay Tony and The Lost and Damned expansions, it was released on all 3 platforms, and you don't need GTA IV to play it.