History of Grand Theft Auto. History of GTA History of the game GTA review
Pour yourself a hot cup of coffee, sit back and get ready to embark on a journey through the world of GTA from its inception to the present day.
5 years ago, if you had said that the games of the GTA series would have a huge impact on the entire gaming industry, gain millions of fans around the world, they would be equal and imitate them, then hardly anyone would have believed you. In those days, GTA was only very controversial and not always brilliant, a kind of "bad boy simulator" on the streets of a big city. Simple sprite two-dimensional graphics even at that time looked somehow frivolous, but still people who understand good games saw behind this apparent simplicity a huge potential for almost unlimited freedom and fun. After all, only the hardware limitations of that time did not allow to show the full breadth of the game's creators. At the beginning, the development of the game was carried out by a small company DMA, which later changed its name to the well-known Rockstar North. It was these guys who were able to turn an ordinary arcade game into a great GTA III, which became not only a hit in the gaming world, but also a cultural phenomenon that sets the tone for games at the beginning of the 21st century! It has been a long and arduous journey at this stage, with the Grand Theft Auto series being considered one of the best in the history of PC gaming.
Grand Theft Auto - Beginning
On February 28, 1998, this day changed the world of video games forever, although it would take another 3 years before GTA was taken seriously. On this day, Grand Theft Auto was released on PC and later on Play Station. By that time, DMA had a wonderful Lemmings game in its assets, but the popularity of GTA increased over time, leaving small and funny creatures far behind, somewhere in childhood. GTA tried to show novelty in everything: a huge city in which there are a lot of different buildings, objects and roads, complete freedom in exploring this city, a large selection of transport and a lot of music. The city was divided into three large districts that bore painfully familiar names: Liberty City, Vice City, and of course San Andreas.
In the world of GTA, you could do anything, you could perform many interesting tasks, you could spit on the law, rush around the city in a stolen car and crush pedestrians without a twinge of conscience, you could grab a weapon and chase the townspeople on foot, making money on this fun entertainment a lot of money. Were in the game and the so-called mini-games, what is the pursuit of Hare Krishnas, with the inevitable execution of the latter! Although the first 3D games had already begun to appear in those years, DMA decided to go the proven route - GTA was completely two-dimensional with a virtual camera fixed somewhere in the sky. Hurricane gameplay, humor and a good plot fell in love with many gamers, and at the request of the public, on April 29, 1999, DMA released an add-on for PC and Play Station: GTA: London 1969. The game takes place in the capital of England in the specified period of time. The add-on contained 30 new missions, the same number of new vehicles, and of course, a new soundtrack in the style of the time.
GTA 2 - respect - everything
GTA became a worldwide hit and the DMA couldn't help but release a sequel, which appeared on October 29, 1999 on PC and Play Station. GTA 2 took the famous non-linear gameplay from its younger brother, greatly improved the artificial intelligence and featured a completely new and interesting storyline. Set in the near future, the game features seven different criminal gangs vying for dominance in the city. The main leitmotif of the game was to gain respect among these factions: for those who are respected, any door to success in this world is open. In the game, you can receive tasks from the leaders of the bandits, or you can just ride around the city, arranging brawls with whoever you like.
The developers still did not want to make the GTA world three-dimensional, and the player had no choice but to watch the game from a bird's eye view. The graphics of the game has undergone significant changes and looked much better than the original GTA. In 2000, GTA 2 was released on the famous Dreamcast console. The game sold well and the army of GTA fans was replenished with even more fans, but as it turned out, it was only a warm-up before an absolute hit - the great and terrible GTA III.
GTA 3 - everything that is not done is done for the better
With the release of a new generation of consoles, a new era of three-dimensional games has come. This phenomenon did not pass by the developers from the DMA company (whose staff was significantly increased, and now the company has become known as Rockstar). The long-awaited release of the game on Play Station 2 took place on October 23, 2001 (the release was delayed due to the tragic events of September 11 in New York, as the game could cause a negative reaction from people). The game was released on PC on May 21, 2002. Fully three-dimensional world, even more freedom to explore the world around, a huge selection of vehicles and weapons, a very interesting and thoughtful plot and memorable characters. All this provided the game with huge popularity, the game was bought very well, thereby setting a record for the PS2 in the number of copies sold. Many players played the game for several months, completing additional tasks and finding many interesting places in the huge city of Liberty City. All this splendor was flavored with excellent and sometimes even cynical humor, and what a soundtrack the game had!
Another important factor that influenced the popularity of the game is the ability to make various modifications to the PC version of the game and change many game parameters as you please. A huge number of Fan sites appeared, from which you could download your favorite skin, vehicle model or modification that changes the world beyond recognition. All this together made GTA III a trendsetter in the world of games of those years, even a special genre appeared: “A game in the style of GTA”.
GTA: Vice City - success is money
Rockstar Games did not expect such a success from GTA III and of course they released a sequel, but what a sequel! GTA Vice City went on sale October 29, 2002 for PS2 and May 13, 2003 for PC. Vice City was very different from GTA III, if Liberty City was constantly overcast, then the sun almost always shone in Vice City, and this is not surprising, because according to the developers, the action of the game takes place in sunny California in the 80s of the XX century! The unique atmosphere of the resort town, girls in bikinis, nightclubs and reckless residents of the resort, constantly stoned mafiosi, luxury cars and motorcycles. The game world has become even larger, the gameplay has become even more interesting, and the graphics are more beautiful. Rockstar has signed a contract with Sony to bring even more quality and beloved music to the game. No wonder the soundtrack for the game is called the best soundtrack in games, it was released separately on 7 CDs!
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The protagonist Tommy Vercetti, finally gained the charisma that the heroes of previous games in the series lacked so much, voiced by the great actor Ray Liotta, Tommy spoke, not forgetting to joke and sarcastically communicating with no less interesting characters in the game. Another interesting feature of the protagonist was the ability to change clothes depending on where he was going to go - to a party or to a booze with his friend - Phil Cassidy! Tommy can now buy property that generates a stable income and can be used as a safe house, i.e. to save the game. All this was very much enjoyed by the players who fell in love with Vice City more than the unforgettable GTA III.
Grand Theft Auto: Double Pack is fun doubly
It was still 2 years before the next GTA game, but Rockstar did not let the fans take a breath, and soon released a licensed version of GTAIII and GTA: Vice City in one box, not only on Sony Play Station 2, but also on X-BOX. Now fans of the creations of Bill Gates were able to see - what is GTA! And the owners of the X-Box appreciated this gift from Rockstar: the game sold very well on this platform. Everyone wondered what would happen next, because Vice City squeezed everything technologically out of the PS2 that this console was capable of, and many believed that Rockstar would wait for the next generation of consoles to come out in order to create a new world in the GTA universe. But as it turned out, great developers work at Rockstar, they managed to create this world on PS2, as it turned out, it was too early to write off the old PS2 woman.
GTA: San Andreas - the invention of the bicycle
When Rockstar officially announced the creation of a continuation of GTA, but did not provide facts, regarding the name of the future game, a lot of rumors appeared on the Web regarding the continuation of GTA. Someone said that the game would be called GTA 4. Someone claimed that the action would take place in Sin City or Sin Sity, someone argued with foam at the mouth that the game would take place in Tokyo in 2010 ... And only experienced fans understood perfectly well that if there were Liberty City and Vice City, then it is logical that the next city should be San Andreas. And these people were absolutely right, only it was no longer a city, it was a whole state - San Andreas. San Andreas consisted of 3 huge cities plus the countryside, which is located between these cities. The territory of San Andreas had an unprecedented size, it is 5 times larger than the territory of Vice City, and each area of the vast world is unlike other areas and is unique in its own way: In San Andreas, forests are replaced by deserts, deserts by small towns and farms, and those, in turn, are spacious city streets. It seems unbelievable but such a huge world fit on a single-layer DVD without any problems, including traditionally a large amount of music and conversations of the inhabitants of the state. And all this splendor works without problems on PS2! The game was traditionally released first on Play Station 2 on October 26, 2004, and on X-BOX and PC on June 7, 2005.
It is impossible to briefly list all the innovations that were included in the game: these are bicycles, and the ability of the main character to swim, in general, a lot of RPG elements were introduced into the game - such as food, attractiveness, pumping up, possession of weapons and martial arts, and much more. The ability to change any clothes, hairstyles, tattoos made it possible to make a completely unique character out of the main character, unlike others. In addition, the main character was a black boy named Carl Johnson or CJ. In general, the plot of the game is written very well and allows you to feel the atmosphere of a real American ghetto, filled with fun and hopelessness, criminals and honest people. In general, CJ is the most charismatic and memorable character in the games of the GTA series, and not only him: the corrupt policeman Frank Tanpenny, superbly voiced by Samuel L Jackson, fits well into the atmosphere of the game. It seems surprising, but the new part of GTA again made a sensation in the world of games and proved that every time it gets better and better. Even the famous "Hot Coffe" mod scandal didn't stop the game from becoming one of the best games of the decade.
Recently, Rockstar released a special edition of GTA: San Andreas for PS2, which includes, in addition to the game itself, the Sunday Driver documentary.
Grand Theft Auto Advance - GTA in your pocket
In the fall of 2004, a rather unexpected release took place: GTA was released on the Game Boy Advance pocket console. Of course, the capabilities of this unpretentious console were not enough to port GTA III to it, but the ported Grand Theft Auto looks pretty good on it. The game takes place in Liberty City, a new story was written specifically for this game, and some additions were made. The game is still 2D, but at some points in the game you can turn on the pseudo-3D mode. So it's fun to play even now. Having released the game on the GBA, Rockstar was convinced that it was doing a good job of making GTA for this segment of the gaming market, the company decided to continue working in this direction and set about porting GTA III to the then-unreleased next-generation pocket console - PSP.
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GTA: Liberty City Stories - Return to Liberty City
The capabilities of the PSP are impressive, this small handheld console supports fully 3D games with a relatively large game world, can play high-quality music and much more. But so far, only GTA: Liberty City Stories has unlocked the full potential of the PSP. The game was released quite recently: October 25, 2005 and has already won recognition around the world. Judge for yourself a fully three-dimensional Liberty City from GTA III, repeating it almost completely, the only difference is that some objects have not yet been completed, because the game takes place several years before those shown in GTA III. The famous bridges have not yet been completed and residents use the ferry to move between the islands. Now you can ride motorcycles around the familiar city, a lot of new weapons, a lot of music, a very interesting plot, many characters are familiar to us from GTA III, the game has multiplayer and a lot of other interesting things. Add here the ability to listen to your favorite MP3s, despite the fact that the soundtrack for the game is very extensive and varied. So for now, GTA: LCS is the perfect game for the pocket console, many people bought it just for the sake of GTA!
The medal has 2 sides
Despite all the splendor of GTA, the game is often criticized. From the very first games, the series has been accused of excessive cruelty and lack of political correctness. GTA III is accused of instigating murders, you probably remember the story of that Japanese boy who outplayed GTA III who killed his parents and blamed GTA III for this terrible crime. The game was banned from sale in some prefectures in Japan. Vice City was accused of calling for nationalism and almost fascism, representatives of the Haitian and Cuban nations living in the United States made such a statement. GTA San Andreas was accused of having pornography in it because of CJ's explicit sex scenes with his girlfriends hidden, but opened with a special modification, the result of this high-profile scandal was that the game was banned from being sold in Australia, and Rockstar suffered multi-million dollar losses and was forced to release a special version of the game that lacks these scenes. People forget that a game is just a game and should not be treated as something more. Don't forget that GTA games don't encourage violence or drug use, they just give you a chance to feel like a bad guy in the game, which is much better than doing all these things in real life.
Despite everything, each new part of the series gets better and better, and despite everything more people of all ages play it, few games can boast that they managed to interest so many completely different people. We wish Rockstar continued success in creating a new GTA on the next generation of consoles, we already know that it will be a Sony Play Station 3 with truly fantastic features. We wish Rockstar to learn from the mistakes of the past, not to repeat them in the future and not to make new ones.
Play GTA games and have fun, because these games are made with soul and professionalism.Let's start from the beginning there was no Rockstar Games, and no GTA even smelled. Under the leadership of David Jones, a native of Scotland, the DMA studio was created, in 1988, signing a contract with the British publisher Psygnosis, DMA released its first games, Menace and Blood Money, no one could have thought that space shooters could interest not only players but also critics. DMA later ported its games to the Commodore 64, DOS, and Atari ST.
The real breakthrough of DMA in the gaming industry occurred in 1990 after the release of Lemmings (a logic game). Lemmings has sold over 20 million copies worldwide and has been ported to 20 different systems.
While the DMAs were known around the world for their games, the Nintendo team took an interest in them and offered to help them develop the Nintendo 64 along with other well-known developers Rare, Paradigm, Midway Games and LucasArts.
And finally, in 1997, the first part of the Grand Theft Auto game was released, which opens our article on gta history. It was similar in mechanics to the game Body Harvest, which was released earlier by the developers. The game was only released on two platforms, PC and PlayStation. In the game, the user was given the role of a bandit who worked for various gangs. Naturally, there was a lot of controversy and disagreement after the release, “too much violence”, but thanks to these disputes and indignations, DMA was provided with PR and advertising for the so lacking young company. DMA has released the most successful game since Leming. The freedom of action! That's what struck the public in this game, because there was nothing like it in the gaming industry, of course, DMA became famous for this particular game.
After a successful release Grand Theft Auto, DMA became interested in the British edition of Gremlin Interactive, GI successfully negotiated with DMA, and bought the company, after which Jones became the creative director of both companies. IN 1999 
Gremlin Interactive folded and was sold for $40 million and renamed Infogrames Sheffield House to French international holding company Infogrames. After the company was renamed Rockstar Games. And then, Infogrames sold DMA to publisher Take-Two. In the same year, Rockstar Games releases GTA 2 for PC, PlayStation and Dreemcast, and after the release of the game, the founder of the former DNA, David Jones, leaves the company and creates a new studio in Dundee (Scotland), one of the branches of Rage Software.
In 2001, a new part of the game is released Grand Theft Auto III, it was not like its predecessors, in the third part about the car thief was made on the new RenderWare engine that was developed by everyone known in our time 
like Criterion Games. GTA III was a Playstation 2 exclusive, making the PS 2 the best-selling console in the US and Europe. In 2002, GTA was ported to PEKA, at the time Grand Theft Auto: Vice City was released on PS2, which used the same engine and gameplay details as Grand Theft Auto III added only a few innovations. And also in voice acting of Vice City characters world stars participated:
Ray Liotta and Tommy Vercetti
Tom Sizemore and Sonny Forelli.
William Fitchner and Ken Rosenberg.
Philip Michael Thomas and Lance Vance.
Robert Davi and Colonel Juan Garcia Cortez.
Danny Dyer and Kent Paul.
Danny Trejo and Humberto Robina.
Dennis Hopper and Steve Scott.
Lee Myers and Mitch Baker.
Gary Basey and Phil Cassady.
Faruza Balk and Mercedes Cortez.
Jenna Jameson and Candy Sachs.
GTA Vice City was ported to PEKA in 2002, and a Collector's Edition was released that included the Grand Theft Auto III Grand and Theft Auto Vice City editions for the Xbox. The Xbox port was handled by Rockstar Vienna (a division of Rockstar Games based in Vienna, Austria).
A year later, in October 2004, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas on PS2, 
the third 3D game in the series, and the fifth in the line of other projects. In 2005 the game was ported to PC and Xbox. Innovations were added to the game that the public liked very much, a new means of transportation was added, now it was possible to ride a bicycle around the city, and it would be possible to fight with enemies not only in the doorways and on the streets, now the battle can be fought in auto transport, in the car it was possible plant three more of his people from the group who also opened fire on the enemy.
After a long break from the company, on April 29, 2008, Rockstar North releases Grand Theft Auto IV, which was released on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Six months after the release on the console, the company pleased PC gamers and released the computer version of GTA IV on December 2 in America, December 3 in Europe. The new part of GTA was made on the new Rockstar Advanced Game Engine (RAGE for short), the game has completely updated its look, the mechanics have changed, 
Liberty City, externally copied from New York. And also added different options for endings. New means of communication have been added to the game: telephone, Internet, police computer, television. Just like Liberty City Stories and Vice City Stories (exclusive to PSP and PS2), there is a multiplayer option. After the release of the original game, followed by two DLCs, Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned was released on February 17, 2009. The main character was a biker called Johnny Klebitz, a member of The Lost gang. The second expansion, The Ballad of Gay Tony, was released on October 29, 2009. In this part, we have the fate of playing for Luis Lopez. In the first, as in the second addition, a change was made in the form of vehicles and ammunition, which were not in original GTA IV.
AT DMA history there have been several projects announced but never released: Nintendo 64 ports of Wild Metal Country and the original GTA; Clan Wars (3D strategy about medieval Scotland); attack! (platformer about cavemen for N64); and a port of the hit Epic Games shooter Unreal for Nintendo.
Grand Theft Auto
The cult phenomenon "Grand Theft Auto" appeared on the gaming horizon in October 1997. No company other than English DMA Design, didn’t think of crossing a typical arcade game with a “top-down” view and a car thief simulator. The player had to conquer three fictional US cities by stealing cars, running errands for mafia bosses, collecting bonuses, escaping from the police and earning a million dollars.
A separate achievement of the game was a great soundtrack that combined almost all types of modern Western pop music: hip-hop, house, funk, techno, industrial, country, metal and rock. The melodies were mixed in the style of a radio broadcast and “tied” to various types of cars, so when we got into some Jugular, we heard a jaunty techno trance, and when we flopped into the seat of a pickup truck, we involuntarily spat out the annoying songs of the rural outskirts.
Assignments were given by phone or pager. Having agreed to complete the mission, the player had to meet a strictly defined time and at the same time try not to become a victim of a stray bullet, an accident, an explosion, and police inspectors. In case of success, a generous reward awaited him. In addition, money was credited for every stolen car and every killed pedestrian. A separate mini-game was the entertainment “kill the Hare Krishnas”, who wandered in single file in crowded places, literally begging to be wound on wheels.
By the way, the prototypes of cities GTA real places have become: Liberty City is, of course, New York; San Andreas with its Golden Gate-like bridge - San Francisco; finally, Vice City - Miami (fans of the TV series Miami Vice, we believe, do not need to explain where the third city has such a name).
Grand Theft Auto supported a multiplayer game for four users and newfangled 3Dfx Voodoo graphics accelerators for those times.
Grand Theft Auto: London 1969
Take the original GTA and move it in time and space. London, 1969, parodies of spy movies, the Tower, Big Ben, cars with the colors of the British flag and music in the spirit of the 70s (yuck!) - that's what the fans of the game expected.
Grand Theft Auto 2
A sequel that has become a disappointment for many fans of the series. Instead of full 3D, they were waiting for a thoroughly tweaked engine from the first part, getting hold of colored lighting, modeling the day-night cycle and bright explosions. Three cities turned into one, divided into 3 districts - a business district, "sleeping" outskirts and an industrial zone, each of which operated its own gang. The evil corporation Zaibatsu ruled all the disgrace (we can do without transliteration, okay?), And among the small fry there were Yakuza, Loonies, Russians (at least somewhere they recognized us), Rednecks, SRS and Hare Krishna. We still carried out the orders of mafia bosses, but in addition to money, we also earned respect points, reflecting the degree of attitude of one or another group. It is easy to guess that by working for some bandits, the player automatically became the object of hatred from their competitors...
Grand Theft Auto 3
Shock, revolution, incredible - these are the words to describe this game, which was born in 2001. For the first time in the history of the series, the virtual world has become fully three-dimensional, which allowed the designers to make it many times more lively, open and interactive.
The developers decided not to invent a bicycle and named the new city the same as the first of the three megacities Grand Theft Auto- Liberty City. Gray monoliths of skyscrapers, everyday industrial quarters, prosperous surrounding areas, foggy night highways, streams of water from a leaden sky: the employees of a small Scottish studio managed to perfectly convey the unique atmosphere of New York. Intoxicating freedom of action, a famously twisted plot, great radio stations, the best cars, bloody mafia showdowns, restless police Grand Theft Auto 3 to the top of the gaming Olympus, and the mixture of gaming directions itself began to be called nothing more than a “gangster simulator”.
As of October 2004, GTA 3 has sold over 11 million copies on PC, PS2 and Xbox. It still occupies a place of honor on the shelf of every true action game lover to this day.
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
Fourth game in the line GTA was born in the fall of 2002 and instantly gained popularity among fans of the series and attracted the attention of many newcomers. It became clear that Rockstar North(renamed again from Rockstar Studios) set out to translate into three dimensions each of the cities of the very first game - Liberty City, Vice City and San Andreas.
Perhaps the main advantage of the game was the appearance of a Real Hero - in vice city the protagonist gained a name and a gift of speech, which allowed the writers to actively involve him in the plot. Tommy Vercetti is not a dumb fry at all; he learned not only to talk, but also to buy real estate, slowly taking over the City of Vice. Less significant but no less useful innovations include the ability to enter buildings, riding a motorcycle and a wide range of clothing that allows you to get away from annoying cops in style.
Despite certain technical flaws and an outdated graphics engine, GTA: Vice City fell in love with a huge number of players - 13 million copies sold speak for themselves.
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Finally, Rockstar moved all the cities from the first part to full 3D. However, in the final part of the trilogy, instead of one city, we discovered a whole state consisting of three large metropolitan areas: Los Santos, the prototype of which was Los Angeles, San Fierro and Las Venturas, created on the basis of San Francisco and Las Vegas respectively. The size of each of them is about the size of Vice City, is it impressive? Still, but that's not all. We also have vast countryside and desert with a dozen smaller towns. And, most importantly, all this huge space is available without a single loading screen, which is present only when moving inside buildings and back outside.
San Andreas is the place where you can really roam. San Andreas is a huge volcano, from which a sea of various possibilities erupts, which cannot be listed, and what possibilities! Tattoos, hairstyles, car upgrades, girls, stealth and RPG elements such as food, driving and shooting skills, physical characteristics, relationships with girlfriends. The protagonist finally doesn't wave his arms and bulge his eyes when he hits the water, but swims and even dives! The protagonist learned to shoot from two "barrels" at once. A bunch of mini-games have appeared, such as basketball, billiards, slot machines and much more. The game has many new sub-missions: a thief, a train driver, a worker in a quarry and more.
AT GTA: San Andreas we are expected to meet with the good old heroes from previous games in the series, as well as many different prerequisites for certain events.
In terms of graphics, the third of the 3D games in the series GTA definitely got better. The draw distance has been increased from two to four times, new methods for processing reflective surfaces have been introduced, and each game model now exists in "day" and "night" versions. In addition, the number of polygons used in the creation of models has been significantly increased.
The number and variety of vehicles is amazing. San Andreas has about 180 ground vehicles, while Vice City has "only" 120. The fleet has also been increased from GTA: Vice City, now it has more than two dozen types of aircraft and helicopters, and, yes, we will see the legendary DoDo!
The fleet of boats has also been expanded compared to the previous parts of the series, and the cops we hated have finally got motorcycles at their disposal! As for the desert and countryside mentioned above, here we will be given a ride on such exotic vehicles as an ATV, a Bigfoot, a tractor or a combine harvester.
Musical accompaniment, traditional for the games of the series GTA, as always, is very diverse and is implemented by eleven radio stations, among which the legendary K-JAH was noticed, as well as the no less legendary Lazlow.
Today it is difficult to imagine a player who has never played any game from the Grand Theft Auto series. She has a multi-million army of fans of different ages around the world. Total sales have already surpassed 125 million copies. This series is being criticized by politicians, lawsuits are being filed against its authors, but it continues to come out. GTA has come a long way from a 2D top-down action game to one of the most famous franchises of all time. Therefore, today, when the release of Grand Theft Auto V is just around the corner, and there seems to be no strength to wait, I suggest you plunge into nostalgia, or maybe learn something new about this wonderful series.
I draw your attention to the fact that, starting from the third part, there will also be fan modifications among the screenshots. On the PC, the series has formed a powerful community of modmakers, which is impossible to pass by. Screenshots with modifications tend to look better than the rest, or contain elements and brands of the real world.
Above you see art by Australian artist Patrick Brown, known for his work based on computer games. Grand Theft Auto is one of his favorite creative themes. Specifically, this art depicts the main characters from the games in the series.
Grand Theft Auto
- Developer: DMA Design
- Publisher: BMG Interactive
Platforms and release dates:
- MS-DOS and Windows: November 8, 1997
- PlayStation: December 14, 1997
- Game Boy Color: November 22, 1999
Could anyone at that time predict that in the future GTA become one of the most famous, popular and scandalous brands in the entire gaming industry? That its budgets and "box office" will compete with the loudest blockbusters in the world of cinema? Hardly. In fact, the first part bears little resemblance to its eminent descendants, and for its time it did not shine at all.
Grand Theft Auto is a 2D top-down arcade game. Many games at that time were already in 3D, so GTA was a dying genre. However, the game still managed to stand out and attract the attention of players. To understand why this happened, you need to understand one thing: the vast majority of games of that time were not ... violent. They were created with an eye on the fact that most potential players will be children. They certainly didn't feature teddy bears or pink ponies, but they didn't show any brutality against law-abiding taxpayers either. What can not be said about Grand Theft Auto.
GTA had a rare, for its time, age rating of 18+ and, to tell the truth, was a gangster simulator. That's right: under the guidance of the player turned out to be a deliberately bad character who was engaged in various criminal activities. First of all, this is theft of vehicles, for which the game got its name. As well as shootouts with other gangsters, police, and even attacks on ordinary passers-by on the street.
The second key feature of GTA is the freedom of movement around the city, which was even more unusual for games of that time. Here you could simply score on all tasks, steal a car and go wherever your eyes look. And during the missions, the city was also not locked: the player is free to choose the path to the goal. There were actually three cities: Liberty City, San Andreas, and Vice City, which are based on the real-life New York, San Francisco, and Miami, respectively. During the story, after collecting the required number of points, the player was transported to a new city.
The game begins with the choice of one of eight characters. Moreover, some of them are women, which is also not typical for subsequent games in the series. Despite all the scale, the levels in the game are still present. In order to move from one to another, you need to score a certain number of points. They are given for different actions - for the theft of wheelbarrows, for accidents, murders. But the main source is the obligatory story missions. In addition to them, you can also find a number of side missions, for example, rampage missions, during which you need to earn a certain number of points by killing people and blowing up cars using the issued weapons. Interestingly, the number of lives in GTA was limited: died several times - start again. It was impossible to save the game, just like in the old platformers.
The arsenal in GTA was not rich: a pistol, an assault rifle, a flamethrower and a grenade launcher. Yes, even a bulletproof vest that can withstand three hits. But with transport, things are much more fun: the game included cars, trucks, limousines, as well as motorcycles and the holy trinity - police cars, fire trucks and an ambulance.
Relations with the police in GTA have always been very interesting. As soon as you break the law, the cops immediately begin the pursuit. And the more you violate, the more aggressive they become. There are four levels of pursuit in total, the further you climb, the harder it is to survive and escape. To do this, you need to find a police badge, or repaint the car in a car repair shop. But if it was not possible to escape, the police will arrest you, take away all weapons and body armor, and the score multipliers you have earned.
The original game has been ported to Sony PlayStation and Game Boy Color. But the easiest way to get acquainted with it is by downloading its free version from our website:
Or from the official site rockstar:classic R* games. You will need to enter your age and email address, where you will receive a link to download the game.
Grand Theft Auto: London 1969
London 1969 is an add-on for the original Grand Theft Auto. In it, as you might guess, the action moves to London. What is surprising, without the usual antics, like changing the name of the city to a fictitious one (like New York and Liberty City, for example). The stylistics corresponded to the sixties of the XX century. In the game you can find a lot of references to the events of that time. For example, outwardly the main character looked like James Bond, the first film about which appeared just in the sixties. Traffic in London, by the way, as expected, was left-hand.
Grand Theft Auto: London 1961
There was also a third addition to the game - London 1961 of the year. It was free, but required the installation of London 1969, which in turn requires the original Grand Theft Auto.
Grand Theft Auto 2
- Developer: DMA Design
- Publisher: Rockstar Games
Platforms and release dates:
- Windows: September 30, 1999
- PlayStation: October 25, 1999
- Dreamcast: July 28, 2000
- Game Boy Color: November 10, 2000
The English version of the game can be downloaded for free from the site classic Rockstar games
Although the second part received a three-dimensional engine, it still had a top view, which delayed world recognition a little more. Nevertheless, progress in comparison with the first part inspires respect. DMA Design correctly understood what the players want from them: more violence and lawlessness! GTA 2 Came out brighter than the first one. It had a switch in the menu between day and night. She had more and more of everything. But first things first.
The main character of the game has already been determined in advance - his name is Claude Speed. It's hard to say, the same Claude, who later is the main character GTA III, and appears in GTA: San Andreas- His last name is not mentioned at all. But the events of GTA 2 take place many years after these games - in 2013. It's funny, because this is the year. Presumably, in 1999, for developers, it seemed like something far away, which may not be due to the predicted end of the world. Now Claude has to make his way to the top of the city's underworld." Everywhere» ( Anywhere City). Presumably, with this name, the developers tried to disown any connection with reality, or from the need to more accurately model the city.
"Anywhere" is traditionally divided into three parts: Downtown, Residential and Industrial areas. As before, the journey goes from one area to the next. To pass, you must first accumulate $1,000,000 in the first district, then $3,000,000 in the second, and $5,000,000 in the third, to end the game. There is a new way to spend money: going to church. You can find it by getting into the news service minivan with the antenna always pointing towards the church. The cost of the hike is $50,000, but it's worth it: there will be an exclamation of “Hallelujah! Another soul saved! - and the game will be saved! But if during a visit to the church Claude did not have the required amount, the curse followed “Damn! No offering, no salvation!
A key role in GTA 2 is played by gangs that have launched their tentacles into the metropolis: the Zaibatsu Corporation appears in all areas. In addition to her, the first area was inhabited by: Yakuza and Thugs. In the second district: Scientists SRS (Sex and Reproductive Systems) and Hillbillies. In the third area: Krishnaites and the Russian mafia.
Each of the gangs has its own characteristics: corporate colors, logo, cars and weapons. But most importantly, they have tasks for Claude, which can be obtained from a pay phone. As you can see, the developers did not even suspect that by 2013 this type of communication would practically die out. But in order to get a job from a gang, you need to be on good terms with it. In the corner of the screen is a reputation meter with three gangs in the current district of the city. If the counter went to the left, then the tasks of the gang became unavailable. When the player killed members of the gang, he worsened relations with her, but improved them with other gangs. At the same time, a gang with a bad attitude towards Claude had a more powerful weapon (friendly ones are always armed with pistols). Also, each gang had a boss, and at the end of the events in the city area, these bosses decided to remove Claude, but he did it first.
In addition to representatives of groups, two types of independent bandits also met on the streets: car thieves and thieves. They could act both against ordinary citizens and against representatives of gangs, and even against the player! You could simply be pulled out of the car and thrown on the pavement, or robbed at a rate of $ 10 per second.
Generally speaking, the AI in the second part is seriously improved. Some drivers armed with pistols, and after the player steals the car, they may try to get it back. Skirmishes between gangs, police and civilians can occur in the city - without any participation from the player!
Vehicles have also been improved. Now their physical qualities differ: the game has learned to take into account their mass. Taxis and buses began to pick up passengers. Claude was also now able to earn extra money as a taxi driver and bus driver. But for some reason, motorcycles were removed from the second part.
Relations with the law became even more interesting. Firstly, there are now 6 levels of wanted. At each subsequent level, the authorities are taking increasingly harsh measures to capture or kill Claude. They chase him, set up barricades, SWAT arrives, government agents, and then the army joins in - jeeps, armored cars, and even tanks bring in! In order to get away from the police, as before - you need to find the star icon, or repaint the car in the workshop. But you can also get out of sight, then eventually the search will stop.
The arsenal of the second part has become an order of magnitude richer: a pistol, dual pistols, an uzi submachine gun, an uzi with a silencer, a shotgun, a flamethrower, an electric shock, a grenade launcher, grenades, a Molotov cocktail! You can get a new gun by picking it up from the ground, or by killing the owner. Also, what is quite surprising, weapons can be installed on the car! Including: uzi, mines, engine oil and a bomb that explodes with the car. Weapons can already be installed on some cars: a heavy machine gun on an army jeep and a stationary flamethrower (alas, only in one of the missions). Yes, and you can still find a tank in the game!
Grand Theft Auto III
- Developer: DMA Design
- Publisher: Rockstar Games
- Localizers: Buka (2002) / 1C-SoftKlab (reissue 2010)
- PC: May 20, 2002
- PlayStation 2: October 22, 2001
- Xbox: October 30, 2003
- iPhone: December 15, 2011
- Android: December 15, 2011
It's no exaggeration to say that GTA III has left its mark on history. Thanks to its three-dimensionality (I say this because "3D" - today, more associated with movies and red-blue glasses), it drew the attention of many more players than the previous parts. Not to mention, the game looks and plays much better this way. As a result, Grand Theft Auto III sold many, many millions of copies and gained a lot of fans. But the point is not only that. The game turned out to be so popular that it even formed its own genre, the representatives of which began to be called simply: “GTA clone”. For example, these are games and series such as: , , , , , , , and many dozens of others.
But not only this game is famous. And not even numerous Game of the Year awards, and an average rating in 97% out of 100 possible on the site Metacritic.com although it certainly had its effect. But much more interesting are the numerous scandals and public crusades against the game. She was accused of being too realistic cruelty, that it negatively affects the minds of children and even adults. In it, you can kill policemen and civilians, and also, which greatly outraged the public, you could shoot a prostitute who got into a car and, in fact, did her job. Allegedly, after playing GTA III, someone might try to repeat what they saw in real life. Some horrific incidents in the US have been attributed to violent games, and Grand Theft Auto in particular. Politicians talked about this, although scientists have not been able to prove any effect of cruel games on the human mind. What about the trial Jack Thompson I haven’t heard against Rockstar, probably only lazy. Needless to say, that all this played the game in favor? It's so interesting to see for yourself, but why so much noise? And most of the players were probably satisfied.
The popularity of GTA III, as well as the ease of decompressing files, has led to the creation of one of the most powerful modding communities in history. Everything was changed: models, textures, scripts. The number of new machines, including well-known real models, is many hundreds. Buildings, trees, models of passers-by and other little things were also changed. There were many global modifications, for example, bringing winter to Liberty City, or turning the game into a movie " Matrix", or the game "". And, of course, one cannot forget about Multi Theft Auto- multiplayer, which appeared in the game only thanks to the fans!
The main character of GTA III is a silent guy who does not say a word throughout the game. Why, we didn’t even know his name - everyone just calls him “guy”. True, looking ahead, the guy also appeared in gta san andreas, where did you meet Catalina in illegal races. And there Catalina calls him Claude. Not Claude Speed what was the name of the hero GTA 2, simply Claude. There is no good reason to believe that this is one and the same person, although there are no facts denying such a possibility either.
Grand Theft Auto III takes place in the city Liberty City based in New York. Let me remind you that he was also the first city in the first part of the series. Traditionally, the "City of Freedom" is divided into three areas: the islands of Portland and Stanton, as well as part of the mainland Coastal Valley. Initially, only the first of them is available - Portland. Later, in the course of the story (and not after collecting the required number of points, as before), two more districts open one after the other. Moreover, the forced relocation to the next district of the city did not close access to the previous one, as it was before. You can move between them by autotunnels, suspension bridges and even by metro. In each of the districts there is one apartment, upon entering which you can save your progress for free and indefinitely. The nearest one is always shown on the radar. Unlike previous games in the series, GTA III has a dynamic change in the time of day, as well as weather conditions. Interestingly, one day here is equal to 24 minutes.
Portland is mostly poor class, and the main attractions are: a small park, a port (hence the name), Chinatown and a small mansion on a hilltop, and only in Portland there is a railroad over the city with several stations. Roughly in the middle of Stanton, there is a business center, many skyscrapers, a stadium, a large construction site for the Stanton Plaza building, and a small marina. The "Coastal Valley" is dominated by private mansions, there is a dam, and most importantly - "Francis International Airport", in which you can find the only aircraft in the game that can be used. By the way, so that the players do not try to repeat the incident " 11 September”, the wings of the Dodo were shortened, which made it very difficult to control. Well, who cares?..
In fact, due to a tragedy that happened just before the game's release, its release was delayed by three weeks, due to the need to change some game moments in order to reduce the similarity between Liberty City and New York. For example, the white and blue colors of police cars were replaced with black and white. Also, children, school buses, female taxi drivers have disappeared from the game. Gone was a character named Darkel, who issued insane tasks that looked like terrorist attacks. The last reminder of him are four bums in the Portland tunnel, "guarding" the Molotov Cocktail. However, it is impossible to say for sure whether all the changes have been made in the last three weeks, the fact is that some of the content of the beta version has been cut. And it's hard to blame the developers for that.
GTA III begins with the fact that the same Catalina, who was with Claude for about 9 years (the events of San Andreas - 1992, GTA III - 2001), unexpectedly betrays him during a bank robbery, shoots him, and leaves with a Colombian named Miguel. So our guy ends up behind bars. He shines for ten years, but while being transported to prison, unknown persons attack a police convoy in order to free one of their own. At the same time, they at the same time free Claude and his fellow traveler with bandaged hands, and then the Callahan Bridge, where all this action took place, suddenly explodes, taking the raiders with it. So only Claude and the guy named Bald(in original - 8 Ball- eighth, black, ball in the pool). Together they leave the bridge and stop at Eddie's garage to change their prison clothes and sit out. After that, Claude, on the recommendation of Bald, goes to work for the Italian mafia. And then - a long road in the footsteps of Catalina.
At first, Claude is not very trusted, and is forced to do the most dirty and petty work, such as delivering prostitutes and stealing cars. But then, when he catches the eye of people occupying a higher position, he gradually acquires authority and receives the attention of the don himself. Salvatore Leone. However, as you know, being too close to the authorities is not only beneficial, but also dangerous. Claude will have to experience this rule in his own skin. Later, he will have to work for many very strange characters, such as a torture lover and a man who hides from the FBI in a public toilet. The whole thing is demonstrated through small cutscenes at the beginning and end of the mission. They don't start in a phone booth, by the way. Instead, Claude needs to come to the point marked on the radar (by the way, he first appeared in the third part), marked with a large red circle.
Although the "telephone missions" also remained in the game. Through them, Claude is called by representatives of the gangs and offered a job that is not related to the plot. There are three such phones in total, and at the end of the tasks of each of them, Claude will quarrel with one of the gangs, whose representatives will now always be aggressive. Also in the presence of the task "Rage", in which it is proposed to exterminate the bandits, or cars, from the proposed weapons. And if you sit in a van with the inscription "Serious toys" - the task began with the use of small radio-controlled cars filled with explosives, with which you need to undermine gang cars. And in several cars it is proposed to overcome uneven terrain, collecting checkpoints. It's a risky business, because Claude can fall into the sea, and by the way, he can't swim. There are 20 trampolines around the city, on which it is proposed to make "unique jumps" - when time slows down, and the jump is shown from a cinematographic camera. In the last area of the city, you can find a garage into which you want to drive certain types of cars. As a reward, money is given (the more intact the car, the more), as well as the opportunity to order any of the previously stolen cars here. Well, of course, it remains to remember the "professional" missions - they can be activated by getting into a taxi, ambulance (now it's clear how they recruit drivers without a license), fire and police. The last of them, "vigilante", can also be completed on some other vehicles, for example, on army ones, and even on a tank!
If you think that GTA is played for the sake of completing some tasks, then you are mistaken. The main distinguishing feature of this game is in a living city. Here, passers-by walk the streets, cars drive along the roads, bandits shoot at each other, the police patrol the city. And they all follow the rules of the road: do not exceed the speed limit, stop at intersections. This idyll can last forever. Until someone, namely the player, decides to intervene. One shot is enough (if you just walk along the street with a Kalash at the ready - this does not bother anyone) to start a chain reaction: passers-by raise a shout and rush away, armed bandits may start shooting back, and the police are trying to arrest the violator. But after all, the player does not stop there: you can shoot at the fleeing civilians, killing them and shooting off the limbs, from which blood is gushing like a fountain. Grand Theft Auto III is called a brutal game for a reason. An ambulance immediately arrives at the scene, and doctors try to resurrect the victims. If successful, they can get back on their feet and immediately try to take revenge by attacking Claude! But if the doctors do not have time (they are also mortals), then the bodies on the ground disappear, and chalk markings appear in their place, as if the police had visited the crime scene and taken the body.
But such crimes do not go unpunished. The police are ready to decisively attack the criminal, calling for help as necessary. There are 6 wanted levels in total: at the beginning it is only the police itself, from the third level a helicopter is added to help them, then special forces, the FBI and the US Army with soldiers and tanks. To lower the wanted level, you can hide from view, find the star icon, or repaint the car. However, the battle with the forces of law and order in itself can be very interesting! Cops can be killed, cars can be blown up, helicopters can be shot down, and tanks can be destroyed with a grenade launcher. And how long will you stay alive at the sixth level of the wanted list? I must say that instead of death, Claude ended up in the hospital, where they took away all his weapons and some money for treatment. And when arrested - similarly, adjusted for the police station and a bribe. There was no mention of an end to the game. And then, after all, no one forbids just downloading the game so as not to look for all these weapons again.
There were 50 cars in the game, as well as 3 boats and 1 Dodo plane. The most famous GTA III Easter egg is connected with the latter: the fact is that you can fly to the Dodo on the “ghost island” - the area with the bank from the opening video. Unfortunately, there were no motorcycles at all. But the cars, to be honest, were enough. Among them are family clunkers, simple coupes, pickups, minibuses, buses, trucks, limousines, sports cars and so on. All of them are fictional. The physical model is far from perfect, even by the standards of that time. The damage is only visual and does not affect driving performance. When the hit points run out, the machine lights up and explodes. The same happens after the coup on the roof.
The weapons in the third part were the following: own fists, a baseball bat (you can always find it near the save house), a pistol, an uzi, a shotgun, a Kalashnikov assault rifle, an M16, a sniper rifle, an RPG-7, a flamethrower, a lemon grenade, a Molotov cocktail and detonator for a car bomb. All these weapons can be carried around with you, and the ammo cap is set to 9999. You could also find armor that gave the character an additional 100 points of damage, which he sustained until he turned off. All this goodness can be found on the street, bought in stores or received for free - if you collect hidden packages. For every ten packages found, a new weapon appears near each of Claude's apartments. There are a hundred packages in total, and to collect them it is better to use a map that can be easily found on the Internet.
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
- Developer: Rockstar North
- Publisher: Rockstar Games
- Localizer: 1C-SoftKlab (2009)
Platforms and release dates:
- PC: May 09, 2003
- PlayStation 2: October 28, 2002
- Xbox: October 31, 2003
- iPhone: December 06, 2012
- Android: December 06, 2012
If you remember vice city- also called the second city from the first part Grand Theft Auto. The game starts with a splash screen stylized as a computer command line Commodore 64. And soon after the launch, you realize that you are in the past - in Miami 1986. In the game, however, the city is called by a fictitious name - Vice City, but there can be no doubt about which city served as a model. vice city is strikingly different from Liberty City: it is slightly larger and divided into only two districts, and much more colorful. Half-naked girls walk the streets, palm trees sway in the wind, yachts stand on the pier, the rich play golf, and the main character, Tommy Vercetti, judging by the clothes, just went on vacation. Everything here is saturated with the "eighties": music and conversations on radio stations, cars on the streets, clothes on random passers-by.
It is tacitly believed that the main inspiration for the creators of the game was the movie " Face with a scar» ( scarface). So, on the radio that you can listen to in the car, you can hear the songs from this film. In it, too, the action took place in Miami. On the airship in the sky you can see the slogan of the film: The World is yours. After acquiring a strip club, Tommy can wear the costume of the main character of the film - Tony Montana. The Malibu club is a copy of the Babylon club, Diaz's estate is very similar to the estate of Tony Montana, and the office is a copy of it, and the drug lord himself Ricardo Diaz, in its impulsive nature, it resembles the protagonist of the film. Needless to say, the final mission is reminiscent of the Scarface ending?
The basic mechanics have not changed much over the year, but the authors have focused on expanding the player's capabilities. So, it is now possible to buy real estate. Part of it is designed to create additional save points, and the other makes a profit. In the second half of the game, the player is tasked with acquiring especially important businesses: a taxi company, an ice cream factory (a cover for drug dealers), a Malibu club, a car dealership, and even a porn studio. There are also given assignments related to production and distribution matters. So that the player does not get lost in this huge city, in addition to the radar, a full-fledged map has finally been built into the game.
Unlike Claude, Tommy is not averse to changing his wardrobe from time to time, although the standard "Hawaiian" with jeans suits him very well. Many costumes become available after certain missions. Dressing up also reduces the police wanted rate.
Perhaps not the most important, but still quite an interesting innovation can be considered a change in the hotel room where Tommy is staying. After some story missions, he brings a "trophy" into the room - for example, a mask after robbing a bank. And, of course, you can find "infinite" weapons here - which still appear as you find hidden things - this time figurines, inside which drugs were transported. And for completing the game by 100%, a T-shirt appears in the issue with the inscription "I completed GTA by 100%, and all I got was this idiotic T-shirt."
Weapons have also been seriously reworked. First, it has now become much larger. In this regard, not everything can be carried with you - weapons are divided into several types: brass knuckles (instead of fists), close combat (bat, knife, chainsaw, as well as an assortment of tool stores) pistols (9mm pistol and revolver), shotguns and guns (shotgun, shotgun, automatic shotgun), machine guns (M4, Ingram, Tes 9, Kruger, MP5), as well as heavy weapons (M60, Sniper rifle, PSG-1. Gatling, Flamethrower, Grenade launcher). Taking another weapon from the same cell - threw out the old weapon from it.
In addition to hundreds of car models, Weiss has six types of motorcycles, seven aircraft (mainly helicopters) and five boats. Tommy, like Claude, cannot swim, but he flies perfectly. I must say that the transport has become more similar to its real prototypes.
Most of the side quests migrated from the previous parts. First of all, these are “professional” missions in city service vehicles. To them was added the task of delivering pizza, an insane duration - more than an hour. You can also steal cars according to the list, now he is in a car dealership. Fury missions have not changed. There are only more races, as well as various tasks with overcoming obstacles. The game even has a stadium where stunt competitions take place. To earn extra money, it was possible to rob the cashiers of stores, after which it was necessary to hide from the police, since a siren worked in the store. Instead of exploding toy cars, helicopters and planes, as well as "neutralized" racing cars, are now in vogue. Racing them is still fun. Back in the day, many players struggled through a story-driven mission in which they had to plant explosives using small but deadly radio-controlled helicopters inside a building under construction.
There are more modifications to Vice City than to GTA III. It's also a myriad of new vehicles, clothing, weapons, buildings, and even locations. Perhaps the most famous is deluxe- it contains a replacement for all (!!!) vehicles in the game, with real highly detailed models. Among them: Mercedes SLR Cabrio, Aston Martin Vantage, BMW X5, Audi RS6, Ferrari 360 Modena, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII, Subaru WRX STI, Nissan Skyline and others! Also, the new transport was given new physical characteristics. In addition, Deluxe redraws many of the buildings in the city. And what's more: it adds several new areas, including moto-parks for stunts. And finally, it produces over a hundred small changes. Naturally, the game will not be very comfortable to play. But for free play (which, in my opinion, is the most important thing in the Grand Theft Auto series) - just what you need!
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
- Developer: Rockstar North
- Publisher: Rockstar Games
- Publisher in Russia: 1C-SoftKlab
Platforms and release dates:
- PC: June 07, 2005
- PlayStation 2: October 26, 2004
- PlayStation 3: December 11, 2012
- Xbox: June 07, 2005
Not so long ago, the founder of the studio Rockstar Dan Houser, said: "the best games of a generation come out at sunset, not at dawn" - commenting on the fact that Grand Theft Auto V will be released on consoles Xbox 360 and PS3, just before the release of a new generation of consoles. These words have a weighty argument, in the form - so far the largest and most scandalous game in the series, released at sunset PlayStation 2.
The Russian version appeared quite recently - only in February 2010, almost five years after the release of the game. Traditionally, only subtitles were translated. However, fans have already managed to translate the game very well on their own. True, this does not apply to the very first machine translation, which produced phrases like “spent”, “cackling rooster is not ready yet”, “signs thrown out”, etc.
The game attracted a big public scandal: among the resources of the game, an erotic mini-game cut from it was found. Cut out so badly that folk craftsmen instantly returned it to working capacity - just throw a few files into a folder and press the launch combination in the game, after which you can go on a date with one of the girls. After a successful date, the girl could invite CJ"for a cup of hot coffee" (for which this episode received the name hot coffee). Without modification - the girl's house will simply be shown, from which unambiguous sounds are heard, while the camera staggers in different directions. With the modification, everything is much cooler: we can watch an erotic scene inside the house. During it, the girl completely undresses (although Carl for some reason remains in clothes), after which a mini-game begins with quick and frequent keystrokes, the purpose of which is to satisfy the girl. The result, by the way, influenced the final result of the meeting.
After the discovery of content on discs with the game, a big scandal erupted, because the game was sold with an age rating Mature in the USA (17+), which does not provide for such explicit scenes. The rating of the game quickly changed to adults only(18+, that is, you just had to wait a year ...), under which many stores were forced to move the game to the pornography section, or even return all copies to the publisher. Later, a new edition was released with the same Mature rating, which no longer contained controversial content. For the PC version, along with patch 1.1, which contains some fixes for game bugs, the functionality of the Hot Coffee modification was also disabled, due to which the patch is also known as "No More Hot Coffee".
Rockstar explained this content only as an experiment of its employees, which it was decided to abandon in favor of a lower age rating. In fairness, it should be noted that without the intervention of hackers in the archives of the game, this content would never have become available to the player. To activate it, you need to download a modification called Hot Coffee from the Internet and drop the files into the game folder. But, is the process very different from installing numerous erotic modifications for many other games? In both cases, the user was aware of what exactly he was installing and what changes would occur in the game.
A new scandal was soon added to the Hot Coffee scandal: in 2006, a well-known prosecutor and lawyer Jack Thompson, who opposes violence in games, drew attention to the GTA. He accused the game of instigating violence in reality, encouraging people to take weapons and leave the house with them. Similar episodes really were, and are still happening in the United States, but Jack Thompson was seriously convinced that the games were to blame for everything. He repeatedly demanded to ban the sale of the Grand Theft Auto series. However, already in 2008, the Florida Supreme Court revoked Thompson's attorney's license for misrepresenting facts, insulting, including a judge, after yet another dismissal of his lawsuit. This ended Jack Thompson's public career.
How did all this affect GTA: San Andreas and Rockstar? Oh, they have earned a unique reputation. And although the legal costs clearly cost the publisher dearly, their game received incomparable PR. Many bought the game simply to see for themselves what is so cruel and terrible in it. If you believe Kotaku, then according to information as of September 2011, the game was sold in a total circulation of 27.5 million copies. Perhaps comments are unnecessary.
GTA: San Andreas takes place in 1992 in a fictional state San Andreas. Presumably, it is named after the eponymous fault in the earth's crust in the state of California. If you thought that San Andreas, like the third city in the very first part of Grand Theft Auto, is based on San Francisco, then you are somewhat mistaken. The fact is that the game no longer has one city, but three: Los Santos, San Fierro and Las Venturas. Moreover, in addition to each of them, there is also a rural area (in the case of Las Vernturas - desert), which for the most part in the game are used as tracks for illegal races. Thus, the total area of the game world of San Andreas is five times larger than in GTA III and at four than at GTA: Vice City. The cities and the surrounding area are separated from each other by a wide river, across which many bridges have been built. The railway runs between all three cities, where it has several stations. You can also quickly move between cities using airports.
Los Santos is based on Los Angeles. It has a lot of areas that are completely different from each other. It's full of references to the real Los Angeles. What are the walk of fame and the huge inscription " Vinewood» on a hill, behind which is also the district of the same name, consisting of rich celebrity villas. But there is also a dysfunctional ghetto, where dysfunctional families live, many of whom have been forced to steal since childhood in order to survive. Los Santos is torn apart by the confrontation of gangs consisting of blacks and Mexicans. In the business center of the city there are many skyscrapers, from the highest of which you can jump with a parachute. The stadium hosts miniature races in Nascar cars. The countryside around Los Santos is not very remarkable. Just farms, a factory, and a few small villages.
San Fierro is the name of the city based on San Francisco. Most of all, it is interesting for its hills - it’s very cool on them, you can jump from top to bottom in a fast car or on a motorcycle, but you can climb for quite a long time. It also has its own tram system. The tram cannot be destroyed or slowed down. There is a ship at the docks that buys stolen cars according to lists. San Fierro is the automotive capital of the state. There is an extreme driving school here, after which CJ is invited to take part in illegal races. As for the legal ones, a derby is held here at the stadium. The city is run by triad families, as well as pimps and thugs who have ties to the gangs of Los Santos. The countryside is interesting except for the presence of a real mountain - Chiliad, from the top of which the most difficult championship is held - the descent on mountain bikes.
Las Venturas, as you might guess from the name, is a local Las Vegas. The main and only attraction, like the famous prototype, is a very long main street, occupied by casinos and hotels. In the casino, by the way, you can play some games of chance, winning or losing up to a million dollars at a time. These same casinos are run by three families of the Italian mafia, Leone, Forelli and Sindacco, as well as triads familiar from San Fierro. There is also a stadium where two disciplines are held at once, depending on the day of the week: motocross and extreme motorcycle stunts. Not far from the city there is a huge mining quarry where you can earn some money on a dump truck (relevant if you just lost a couple of millions in a casino). But the most interesting begins further, in the hot desert. There is an abandoned airport turned into an airplane graveyard, a highly classified military base "Area 69" and a huge hydroelectric dam.
The main character in GTA: San Andreas is Carl Johnson, or just CJ ( CJ). He is black and grew up in a dysfunctional family in the Los Santos ghetto. The game starts with CJ flying in from Liberty City, where he lived for the last five years, for his mother's funeral. Upon arrival, he is immediately attacked by corrupt cops, accused of killing an officer (which they committed themselves) and thrown on the street by a hostile gang. Late for the funeral, Carl, however, finds his brother Sweet and sister Kendl in the cemetery, as well as acquaintances from childhood Ryder and Big Smoke. From them, he learns about the plight of the Grove Street gang, after which he decides to stay to help set things right. Further, several shocks await him, an escape from his hometown to the rural wilderness, and further through all three cities of San Andreas.
The plot may not have enough stars from the sky, but how else could it be possible to pull so many unique and dissimilar characters onto the stage! There is an old hippie here who sees government conspiracies everywhere, as well as a government agent who knows about so many things and has impressive connections. There is a strict boss of the Chinese triad, two black warring rappers, a 27-year-old genius who is afraid to leave the house, creates very dangerous toys, a casino croupier who changes his formal suit for latex at night ... you can go on and on.
Also in the game there are a lot of references to the previous parts of the series. In fact, GTA III, Vice City and San Andreas are often referred to as a trilogy as they take place in the same universe and their events often overlap. So, hot Mexican Catalina meets Carl for the sake of committing a couple of robberies, after which she leaves him for an illegal racer Claude who takes her to Liberty City. How this novel ended, we know from GTA III. One of the owners of the casino in Las Venturas will also go to the "City of Freedom" in the future, his name is Salvatore Leone, and in front of CJ at the Caligula casino, he meets a waitress Maria Latore, to whom he is married during GTA III. Salvatore also gives CJ a short visit to Liberty City at Marco's Bistro. And straight from vice city Lawyer arrives in Las Venturas Ken Rosenberg and record producer Kent Paul. And that's not all references.
For the first time since GTA 2, the ability to interact with the gang returned to the series. Los Santos is divided into four major cities: Groove Street"(this is a gang of CJ and his family)," Varrio Los Aztecas" (friendly), " Ballas" and " Los Santos Vagos". With the last two, the war is just ahead: Los Santos is divided into sectors, the colors of which are marked on the map depending on the gang that owns them. The ultimate goal is to completely "green" the entire map. You will have to start with a small piece, including the streets around CJ's home. To win at least one new piece, you need to unleash a war with the gang on it: kill several of its members, and then withstand three attacks from this gang, one more powerful than the other.
You can take a few comrades from the Grove Street gang to help you - the higher the authority (increased by capturing territories), the more fighters you can take. They can also climb into the car with Carl, or sit in the back seat of the motorcycle. After capturing the territory, members of the Grove Street gang begin to patrol it. It will also be possible to take the profits received from the held areas near the house of Karl. But not everything is so simple: enemy gangs often try to recapture their territories - you need to go and suppress the rebellion, otherwise the territory will be lost. But, when the whole map turns green, the riots will immediately end, and there will be no more Ballas and Vagos in Los Santos.
Interestingly, striptease clubs appeared in the game, which Carl can visit, and where he can even order a private erotic dance. Prostitutes, who can be "removed" while in the car, no one cancels either.
But what's even more interesting is that Carl can now have girlfriends. They are found both in cities and in rural areas. Two of them are found during the storyline, but the rest you need to look for on your own. Naturally, none of them suspects the existence of the others. The benefits of good relationships with girls can be obtained even without the modification of Hot Coffee. So, a girl from San Fierro has connections in a medical facility, thanks to which Karl will no longer be deprived of weapons if he goes to the hospital. The same goes for a girl from a desert village near Las Venturas who has similar connections with the police. In addition, each of the girls can allow Carl to take her car, and can also give a unique costume. CJ looks great in a police suit, next to the corrupt cops Tenpenny and Pulaski, and in a rustic suit only on a tractor and ride.
But in order to get these bonuses, you have to work hard. Each girl requires personal attention: you need to go on dates with her (for example, to a bar, restaurant, eatery, or a nightclub where you have to complete a mini-game with dancing), give gifts and drive expensive cars at a certain speed. All girls have different tastes and customs.
There are a lot more side quests than before, even though Fury missions have been lost. But the "professional" tasks have not gone away: ambulance, taxi, police, and firefighters are still waiting for their hero. They were also joined by pimps (delivering prostitutes to clients, as well as their protection) and even drivers of local trains (they can be stolen!). In addition, you can earn extra money as a burglar, truck driver, courier, valet parking attendant, mining truck driver, and motorbike racer at stadiums. There are also amazing activities such as triathlon (swimming, cycling and running), jumping on a powerful motorcycle at the docks and a BMX bike at a construction site, and mountain biking down Mount Chilliad. Plus to all this - several dozen racing tracks, including flights on various aircraft.
The game also added in the number of mini-games. So, going to the bar, you can play billiards for money. There are several ancient video games that can be played on the slot machine, or the home console in CJ's house. Entering the basketball court, you can take the ball in your hands and try to set a record of hits from different points on the court. You can dance in the clubs, and some cars can be equipped with hydraulic suspension, after which you can participate in low rider competitions.
Gambling can be mentioned in a separate line. Already in Los Santos, you can find machines that accept bets on horse races. But the most interesting thing awaits Carl at the Las Venturas casino. Here you can play roulette, blackjack, poker, wheel of fortune and numerous "one-armed bandits". In the beginning, Carl is not allowed to play at the big stakes tables. First, you need to win or lose a lot of money, thereby gaining a reputation, after which it will be possible to bet millions. Of course, the risk of losing is very high, but no one has canceled the ability to load saves until fortune smiles on you.
It is worth noting that CJ knows much more than the heroes of previous games. Much was borrowed from the previous Rockstar game - (in San Andreas, by the way, there is one location from this game). The crosshair no longer hangs permanently in the center of the screen - it only appears when you hold down the right mouse button. Karl knows how to covertly move crouching, and sneaking up behind with a knife, he can kill the enemy by cutting his throat. Can jump and climb over obstacles, such as numerous fences. Carl can learn one of three types of martial arts from the masters in the gyms. He is also not afraid to fly on a jetpack, skydive, and even ... knows how to swim and dive!
Carl can expand his wardrobe by shopping at San Andreas's many clothing stores. Purchased clothes are immediately duplicated in the closets of all (well, almost) houses that can be purchased in the game. What is even more interesting: not costumes are bought, but individual elements: tops, bottoms, shoes, hats, glasses, watches and chains. They can be worn in any order, making Carl look like a clown, a cowboy, or a gentleman, for example. Or completely ridiculous - in panties with hearts, cowboy boots, a hockey mask and a chainsaw in his hands ...
There are two other ways to make your CJ unique (or just mock) - a trip to the hairdresser, where for a modest fee you can choose one of the many hairstyles, and also - a tattoo parlor, where you can cover most of Carl's body with different tattoos.
Well, once the houses were mentioned. CJ prefers to buy residential buildings for himself, personally for himself. Both luxury and cheap village apartments. All of them can be saved. Yes, during the course of the story, you can still get housing. But it is also very desirable to buy a new one: it is convenient, because the game world has grown a lot, and dragging through the whole city to a single save point is long and often dangerous.
Perhaps one of the most surprising innovations in GTA: San Andreas was the parameters of the protagonist. CJ has the following stats: Fat, Stamina, Respect, Lung Capacity, Appearance, Muscle, Driving Skills, Pilot Skills, Motorcycling Skills, Cycling Skills, and Gambling Experience and Weapon Shooting Skills!
If suddenly you imagine scattering skill points when you level up, like in some role-playing game, then immediately forget it. To build muscle and become more enduring, you need to go to the gym and do exercises that consist of pressing one or more keys very often. At this time, Carl is on the screen lifting dumbbells, or riding an exercise bike, losing fat. So that the fat does not end (it will pull the health indicator along with it), you need to go to the eatery and gorge yourself on junk food. This is done for a long time and tediously, but the results are visible: Karl becomes muscular. And if you only get drunk, then he will become fat, like Big Smoke. With other parameters by analogy. Part of the side quests gave bonuses to performance: the ambulance mission increased health, the burglar - endless running, and to improve driving skills, you need to attend special schools.
CJ's arsenal is almost the same as in GTA: Vice City. However, explosives now include things like a gas grenade and a C4 with a remote detonator. Some useful things appeared: a fire extinguisher, a spray can of paint and a film camera. In connection with the appearance of girls, gifts can be found for them: a bouquet of flowers, a cane, a dildo and a vibrator. For fun, they can be used in combat. And the last thing: a night vision device with a thermal imager, as well as a parachute (disposable).
As mentioned earlier, there is a separate skill scale for each type of firearm. The higher the skill, the more accurate the weapon shoots, and at the maximum level of one-handed barrels (9mm pistols, sawn-off shotguns, micro-ultrasounds and TES-9) - they can be taken one in each hand! The fastest way to improve your skills is in the shooting range, in the network of traditional Ammu-Nation weapons stores.
Instead of the usual hundred hidden items, San Andreas had many unique collectibles. So, in Los Santos, it is proposed to paint over 100 graffiti of enemy gangs, for which four types of weapons appear in CJ's house. In San Fierro, there are 50 photo angles - icons that are only visible through the camera lens, and four weapons appear behind them near the garage workshop in Doherty. In Las Venturas, 50 lucky horseshoes were scattered, for which four types of weapons appear near the Four Dragons casino, and luck in gambling also increases. Also scattered throughout the state were 50 shells (you need to dive for them, and the reward is an increase in lung capacity and attractiveness) and 70 unique jumps that pay money.
If it suddenly seemed to you that in the previous games in the series there were too few vehicles, then this cannot be said for sure about San Andreas. And it's not even about the banal addition of new cars and motorcycles, although the game is fine with this. The main thing is that there are whole new categories: two bicycles, many planes (including a huge passenger liner, a smaller passenger plane, a corncob, an airplane and a military fighter armed with homing missiles), trailers with trailers that detach and attach, a tow truck with a controlled crane, harvester, ATV, kart and even a train, even if you can ride it only on rails. And there is a wonderful thing called jetpack. Wearing it, you can fly, and even shoot, aiming as if you were outside the transport. To give you an idea, there are a total of about two hundred vehicles in San Andreas!
All transport is conditionally divided into the following categories: cars, motorcycles, bicycles and aircraft. Each category has a separate skill. The more you ride, the better Carl gets at it. This is most noticeable on bicycles, and in the case of cars and motorcycles, high skill is the key to entering stadiums. True, there is another category - swimming facilities, but there is no skill for them.
Starting from San Fierro, it will be possible to find special schools for extreme control of cars, boats, motorcycles and aviation. Performing tasks in them, CJ improves his skills. In each school you can get medals: bronze, silver and gold. If there is at least one bronze among them, then there will always be one wreck near the school. If there is no bronze, but there is silver, then something better will be added to the wreck. And for gold - you can get really cool transport. So, for gold in the driving school, you can get the only game copy " Hotknife", based on Ford Model A(1920-30s), of which there are only a few units left in the real world. And in the flight school you can get at your disposal a military helicopter.
In addition to the usual painting station, you can visit the workshop, where most cars can be "pumped" to the fullest. Body parts, rims, spoilers can be replaced, convertibles can be fitted with a roof, hydraulic suspension is installed on some cars, nitro acceleration can be installed, a separate color for interior and exterior painting, and even a vinyl pattern can be selected!
Carl's relationship with the police differs little from his "colleagues" from previous games. Unless now, to get rid of the chase, it is not necessary to look for stars - you can hide from sight, and then they will quickly go out on their own. Also, cops no longer use spiked tapes. But, generally speaking, thanks to the scale and expanses of San Andreas, the war with the forces of law and order here is sharp and interesting like nowhere else!
If there were just a lot of modifications to the previous games in the series, then to San Andreas - there are simply insanely many of them! More than a few thousand. And they are still out! Among them there are not only numerous replacements for cars, textures of everything and everything, but even new locations with their own stories! Of course, the vast majority of them are of very low quality, but still. There are many mods for other games and universes, such as numerous lightsabers. And the most interesting and original, in the opinion of the author, are modifications containing Russian content - Soviet and Russian cars, clothes, and so on.
In a separate line, I would like to mention a well-known addition called ENBSeries. This is a graphical improvement that adds many new graphical effects to the game, such as shaders version 3.0 (only version 2.0 is used in the game) and many others.
Nevertheless, the main achievement of craftsmen can be safely called modifications that add multiplayer modes to the game. The most famous of them: Multi Theft Auto and San Andreas Multiplayer, which are also used in website (gta.ru) and support up to hundreds (!!!) players at the same time! Fortunately, the scale of San Andreas allows this.
In the desert near Las Venturas, near a row of huge satellite dishes, not far from Site 69, you can find the eatery "Lil Prob's". Next to her, a flying saucer is spinning on a pillar, hinting at the contents of the tavern. Inside, the walls are adorned with numerous photographs of UFOs, and in the back room is a UFO-detection apparatus, as well as a map of San Andreas with points marked on it.
Presumably, from something like this, the idea was born that in GTA: San Andreas there really must be a UFO somewhere! Or something otherworldly, like Bigfoot and Nessie. Many players just started to make up stories about seeing this or that strange event in the game, forcing other players to spend time checking these ridiculous legends. But take my word for it: there are NO UFOs in San Andreas! It's all just fiction. Yes, and there is no “Zone 69” either, and there cannot be. This is true, otherwise the government would not hide such information from its taxpayers.
Grand Theft Auto Advance
- Developer: Digital Eclipse
- Publisher: Rockstar Games
- Platform and release date: Game Boy Advance: October 25, 2004
The action takes place in Liberty City from GTA III, with minor changes such as the absence of ramps, tunnels and subways. That's because the game was two-dimensional, with a top view, like GTA and GTA 2. Well, what did you expect from the Game Boy Advance? However, the game should be interesting for fans of the third part. The action in GTA Advance takes place a year before GTA III. Among the characters there are old acquaintances, "The Eighth Ball" and King Courtney, as well as the previously poorly disclosed Yardy gangs and the Colombian Cartel, and others. You will play as petty criminal Mike, who, with his friend Vinnie, was trying to earn money to get out of Liberty City. The last thing was to be working for the mafia Salvatore Lyon, but Vinnie was killed, and Mike decides to take revenge on the killers. The game still had "outbursts of rage", hidden packages and springboards that were moved. And there were professional missions - police, ambulances and the rest. As well as an expanded set of weapons.
Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories
- Developers: Rockstar Leeds
- Publisher: Rockstar Games
Platforms and release dates:
- PSP: October 25, 2005
- PlayStation 2: June 06, 2006
The action takes place in Liberty City 1998, the game is a prequel to GTA III. The main character is Toni Cipriani, already familiar to GTA III players. There, in the future (relatively LCS), he held a high position under Don Lyon and gave Claude tasks against the triad. He was also a real sissy: an elderly mother scolded him even with subordinates. Interestingly, he seemed to be quite complete, although he had not yet been so in the LCS. Apparently, mom fed.
But back to Liberty City Stories. Here Tony just arrives in the city, where he enters the service of Don Salvatore Lyon and other mafia bosses. Generally speaking, the story campaign is quite long - 70 missions. In addition to Salvatore, there are other old acquaintances: Donald Love, Phil Cassidy, Maria Latore, « eighth ball" and Miguel(Colombian, future ally catalina).
Interestingly, Liberty City here is not the way we see it in GTA III. It's still three years apart. To the great horror, the districts of the city are still isolated from each other, but the tunnels and subways will not be completed during this game. As well as the Callahan Bridge, which can only be crossed on ski jumps. It turns out that the islands for quite a long time were strongly isolated from each other and from the mainland. In addition, many buildings and establishments that belonged to different owners at different times have undergone changes.
The LCS had the following side missions: garbage truck driver (delivering bodies to a landfill), "Karmageddon" (Karmageddon, probably a reference to the famous game - ) - you need to make a mess on a fire truck, delivering pizza, selling cars (namely, selling, not stealing ), sale of motorcycles, a guide to Liberty City, "angel of revenge" - a costumed mission to catch violators of the order, shooting from a motorcycle seat at specified vehicles. In addition, old acquaintances have been preserved: professional missions, outbursts of rage, races, telephone missions, hijacking, unique jumps, collecting secret packages.
Generally speaking, it's amazing, but there are motorcycles in the LCS! Later, their absence in GTA III is also explained - the public insisted on a ban on motorcycles. The arsenal was practically copied from GTA: San Andreas.
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
- Developer: Rockstar Leeds
- Publisher: Rockstar Games
Platforms and release dates:
- PSP: October 31, 2006
- PS2: March 6, 2007
But it will be after, and in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories- Victor Vance - an honest guy entering the military service at Fort Baxter, under the command of a sergeant Martinez. Unlike Victor, Martinez is intimately familiar with Vice City's underworld. He even hires Victor to do some dirty work. At the end of the last task, Martinez sets up Victor, for which he is fired from the army. After that, he has no choice but to continue to merge into the criminal world of Vice City. At some point, he begins to build his own criminal empire with his brother Lance. They are involved in many activities together, including racketeering, loansharking, robbery, drug dealing, pimping, and smuggling.
In addition to the traditional missions of a policeman, ambulance, taxi and firefighter, new ones have been added: a medical helicopter, a firefighting helicopter, and the work of a beach patrol. You also had to deliver vehicles according to the lists, as well as collect 99 balloons to get free weapons, complete rage missions and unique jumps.
The city in the VCS is somewhat different from the original. Some of the buildings can be found unfinished or non-existent. There was an opportunity to ride on a Ferris wheel, visit the trailer park. A floating restaurant appeared in the port.
Grand Theft Auto IV
- Developer: Rockstar North
- Developer: Rockstar Games
- Localizer: 1C-SoftKlab
Platforms and release dates:
- Xbox 360: April 29, 2008
- PlayStation 3: April 29, 2008
- PC: December 19, 2008
The first thing that catches your eye when looking at is the graphics. At the time of release, the game was very technologically advanced and demanding on hardware. So, having recently bought a system unit for a thousand dollars, you had to put up with the fact that you could not see the maximum graphics settings. However, soon a lot of patches appeared for the game and the brakes, for the most part, disappeared, and dynamic shadows only became more beautiful.
What is surprising, because before the games of the series have always seriously lagged behind others in terms of technology, taking the scale and gameplay. This was due primarily to the weakness of the prefix PlayStation 2, and the scale was incomparable with other games. Now there were no such restrictions. PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 made it possible to make a much more detailed and technologically advanced game world. The game used a new proprietary development engine: RAGE (Rockstar Advanced Game Engine). He supported the technology DirectX 9 and used it to its fullest. Also, the game had an outstanding physics model of the behavior of vehicles, and even some destructible objects. For the first time in GTA the work of the suspension was felt, and the cars received very realistic external damage.
In addition, the game used innovative technology Euphoria on which the animation of the characters was made. For example, now in a head-on collision at high speed, you can fly out through the windshield, constantly hitting objects, gradually losing speed and health. What can we say about realistically knocked down pedestrians. Also, very high quality, a reaction to injuries from firearms was implemented.
The action of the game takes place again in Liberty City. Not in the one that was in GTA III. AT GTA IV a new "era" starts: the game no longer overlaps with the events of the previous parts. There are no old characters in it, not even mention of them. Although at the same time, the game retained many previously invented parodies of brands. Mostly these include the names of vehicles that are now unambiguously similar to some real models. Also preserved are fashion brands selling clothes, eatery names like Burger Shot or Cluckin Bell, beverages Sprunk and eCola, and much more.
New Liberty City is much more like the real one New York, than ever. It is traditionally divided into three parts: The Broker (based in Brooklyn), Algonquin (Manhattan) and Alderney (New Jersey). In addition to these, there are also "islands", such as Bohan (Bronx), the largest of them, as well as an island with " Statue of Happiness» (a parody of Statue of Liberty- she has a face in the game Hillary Clinton holding a glass of coffee in his hand). All together they are connected by numerous bridges, tunnels and a high railway. In addition, for the first time in the series, it was possible to take a taxi, which could take you to any object marked on the map (including player markers anywhere on the map). The main character got into the car, chose the route and speed (faster - more expensive), after which the taxi began to go, and the player could look at the streets around, throughout the trip. Also at the helicopter station you can book a tour of Liberty City from a bird's eye view. Well, or steal one, and inspect everything yourself.
The following problem became the subject of jokes and indignation of the players: only taxis could drive in the city. This happened with a lack of RAM, the diversity of traffic directly depended on the number of gigabytes. However, this way Liberty City became more like New York - there are also a lot of taxis there.
The main character in Grand Theft Auto IV was an immigrant from Eastern Europe - a Serb named Niko Bellic(Actually, the Serbian surname Bellic is spelled Belic, but Bellic is better for the English ear). He sails on a ship to the "Land of Great Opportunities" to start life from scratch. In the past, he happened to fight in a real war, where he had seen enough of everyone, after which he began to see the world very cynically. And when he returned to his homeland, Niko could not find an honest job - no one wanted to take a soldier. Then he had to deal with criminal cases - in particular, smuggling, transportation of illegal goods, and even ... slaves. But one of the enterprises failed, the ship sank along with all the goods. Niko miraculously managed to escape, but his boss, named Ray Bulgarin thought Niko owed him money. And then he had to go to Liberty City, where his cousin has been living in a luxurious mansion, surrounded by supermodels, and with many sports cars in the garage for ten years. Roman Bellic. At least that's how he described it in his letters.
After stepping off the ship onto solid ground in the port of Liberty City, Niko finds Roman, dirty, drunk and driving a taxi. Instead of a mansion, he lives in a dirty one-room apartment, and the only cars he has are taxis from his small taxi company. Yes, and he still only miraculously stays afloat: Roman owes money to a moneylender, and besides, he often plays cards. It is not difficult to guess that now Niko will have to take care not only of himself, but also of his unlucky cousin. The plan to start a new life quickly turns into the same blue dream as Roman's mansion. He would have to work for a loan shark, then for his boss, and then for drug dealers, the mafia...yes, anyone with money.
Rockstar loves to reveal topics that are often hushed up. This time they turned towards immigrants from Eastern Europe and Russia. The south of Bokhan, the first of the regions of the game, is completely given over to the Russians. There are places such as the Perestroika cabaret and the Comrades bar. Here, passers-by on the street often speak Russian, with Niko or simply on the phone. And in the first clothing store you can buy different types of sweatpants, and even a hat with earflaps with a hammer and sickle on the forehead. As Niko remarks, "these clothes look like they were brought from our homeland." A very nice feature of the game was the radio station Vladivostok FM, which plays only domestic songs! Ukrainian singer performed as a DJ Ruslana and a rapper Seryoga recorded an exclusive track for the game called "Invasion".
GTA IV took up quite a lot of gigabytes. To fit it, it took two double-layer DVD discs. In fact, the lion's share went to music for radio and ... television. In his apartment, Niko can simply sit in an armchair or sofa and start watching TV. It had several channels and TV shows, including historical chronicles, animated series, glamorous TV shows, and more. All this was performed on the game engine and voiced by the actors. Like everything else in the game, the TV programs were brimming with satire, parodies, and just plain fun humor.
Two more important innovations are the mobile phone and the Internet. If earlier it was only possible to receive calls on the phone (and Claude had only a pager at all), now there are more functions than an example. Firstly, now you can call all the familiar characters yourself. So you can invite a girl on a date, or a friend for a booze. The phone also has a camera, the pictures of which can be saved. With the help of a mobile phone, it was possible to enter the video editor and the multiplayer mode of the game. Oh, and enter cheat codes.
If GTA: San Andreas and previous games only brought new missions to the series, then GTA IV lost most of them. Of the professional ones, only the tasks of the police and taxis (for the Roman taxi depot) remained. There are still numerous (though not as unique as in San Andreas) races and car theft missions. The latter have now changed somewhat: Niko's phone receives a photo of the car and the name of the street where it stands. So the player had to first identify the place and the car, and then drive it to the garage. From the well-forgotten old, the missions received through the telephone box, which consisted in commission of contract killings, returned. That's all. Unless, there are unique jumps and hidden things, which this time are 200 pigeons (“flying rats” - flying rats - in the English version), cooing when approaching, and which need to be shot. To my great surprise, there is no bonus in the form of free weapons after the extermination of pigeons.
But not everything is so bad: there were many side tasks with a plot. There are many characters on the streets who need Niko Bellic's help. As a rule, tasks are monosyllabic - give a lift, or kill someone. What is more interesting: during the main storyline, it is possible to keep the “ordered” characters alive. In this case, you can find these characters somewhere in the city, and get a task from them.
To the dates from the last part, hangouts with friends were also added. Niko can meet friends during the course of the story. But the girls will have to look on the dating site. Both are practically the same, in fact, except for the beginning (each girl has different tastes in terms of clothes and Niko's car) and the final - Niko does not go home to friends for a cup of coffee. The purpose of these events is to win favor, in numerical terms. When it gets high, the characters begin to do favors for Niko: arrange a well-paid job, bring and sell weapons at a discount (because now there is practically no point in looking for them on the streets), load a car bomb, ward off the police, organize a discount in a fashion store and in in such a spirit.
To arrange a meeting, you need to call the character and indicate the place where you intend to take him (her). You need to meet different characters at different times, because everyone has a different life schedule, and if you wake them up, they are offended. They can also call and invite Niko to hang out. Dates and meetings can be held in the same places. In a diner, in a club, in a bar, in a cabaret where they show shows and even in a strip club where you need to order a lap dance. There were also mini-games: bowling, billiards and darts. In one meeting or date, you can visit several places, after which you need to take the character home.
The most beneficial, in terms of improving relationships, is going to a bar. There, Niko and a friend get drunk and begin to tell what they really think. Very interesting at times. And at the exit, both turn out to be so drunk that they begin to walk backwards and constantly fall. It is very difficult to drive a car in such a state - the camera shakes, the car itself turns where it wants, and the police also start chasing if they see it.
Because of this feature, another small scandal erupted around GTA IV. Some people saw this as propaganda for drunk driving. Allegedly, the game teaches people how to drive a car while intoxicated. A video even appeared on the Internet: a man played GTA IV for two weeks, where he drove a car drunk Niko. After which he drank himself and tried to drive a car in the game. Result: The game does not provide any drunk driving skills at all.
In terms of customization of the protagonist, GTA IV is much inferior to San Andreas. There are no more hairdressers and tattoo parlors in Liberty City. And the assortment of clothing stores is not amazing. However, the hike in them is more interesting: you can go up to any product and try it on. All clothes are still available in the wardrobe in Niko's apartment.
In terms of arsenal, the fourth part is again inferior to San Andreas in quantity - there are only 15 weapons. Gifts and almost all types of edged and heavy weapons have completely disappeared from the arsenal. See for yourself what's left: a knife, a baseball bat, Glock 22 and Desert Eagle pistols, an uzi and an SMG, a pump-action and combat shotgun, an AK-47 and an M4, two sniper rifles, an RPG-7, a Molotov cocktail and a fragmentation grenade.
But the combat system has undergone significant changes. First of all, this concerns the introduction of the increasingly popular system of shelters from. Niko and his enemies can land on almost any obstacle, including cars. Shootouts have become much more realistic, more tactful, although they have lost in excitement and dynamics. However, in your free time from missions, no one will stop you from taking an RPG and going to blow up all the oncoming cars and helicopters, although Niko will not live long in this case. However, it is no longer necessary to get out of the car to open targeted fire. Niko can break glass and stick out light weapons (pistol or submachine gun), as well as throw grenades and incendiary mixtures. But as for shooting: when you hold the button, a crosshair now appears on the screen, allowing you to shoot in 360 degrees, although before you could only left and right.
There are also fewer vehicles in GTA IV. All controlled planes, bicycles, amphibian hovercraft, parachute, jetpack and even the holy of holies - Tank have disappeared from the game! However, we still have: cars, motorcycles, boats and helicopters. In GTA IV, they are more than ever similar to their real prototypes. It became quite obvious where the Mercedes, Lamborghini or Ferrari are. The physics model has also become much more realistic, the suspension work is good, and crashes have never looked so realistic. And yet, tuning has disappeared from the game. But a car wash has now been added to the paint shop. Well, will it replace tuning and customization? Interesting features of transport in GTA IV include the appearance of GPS in cars. During missions, the shortest path to the target is marked on the radar. You can also set your own marker on the map. In expensive cars, GPS is even voiced, it can warn of turns in advance.
Together with the tank from the fourth part, the military forces also disappeared. However, the police are still assisted by FIB agents (the game analogue of the FBI) and special forces. And the search system itself has undergone major changes. On the radar during the chase, you can see a circle measuring the search area. The higher the wanted level, the larger the area. To get away from the police, you need to get out of sight, leave the marked area and do not catch the eye of the law enforcement forces for some time. If Niko is spotted, the search area moves and centers on him. There are no more police stars, but you can still repaint the car. Now this action will rewind time by six hours.
Rockstar finally took some common sense, and now they have developed a multiplayer mode for the game. It includes 15 interesting modes that support up to 32 players. These modes include deathmatches, racing, mafia missions, gangsters vs. cops, gangsters vs. SWAT, capture control points, hunt for "goods", industrial hijacking, planting a bomb on a ship, and finally, the good old "Free mode".
The system was used as a platform for multiplayer Microsoft Games for Windows Live. And there was also a mandatory registration in an incomprehensible service Rockstar Games Social Club. As a copy protection SecuROM. The game also had built-in additional protection against NoDVD, nicknamed by the players only as "a drunken camera and a brick on the gas pedal." It consisted of the following: if the game decided that you were using NoDVD, then getting into the car, you would soon find it smoking and with the brakes turned off, while the camera staggered just like after taking alcohol! In fairness, all owners of licensed copies avoided a similar fate, in addition, they could download an alternative startup file that allowed you to run the game without a disc, while maintaining multiplayer. Registration of the game, however, remained mandatory.
It's no secret that the most frequently released fan-made additions have always been new cars. Many of them you can see here in the screenshots. And if the ones already in the game were very similar to real ones, then what can we say about fan models of transport, whose creators were not bound by any legal restrictions. For example, now, at the behest of the player, the car "Benshi" could become not just like Dodge Viper, she literally became her, as if it were so.
You can also remember the real tuning created by the craftsmen, with blackjack, vinyl and neon lights! Well, the most important thing is a huge number of graphic modifications. Often, looking at their screenshots, you seriously doubt - is this not a photograph?
Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City
- Developer: Rockstar North
- Developer: Rockstar Games
- Localizer: 1C-SoftKlab
Platforms and release dates:
- Xbox 360: October 29, 2009
- PlayStation 3: April 13, 2010
- PC: April 13, 2010
Episodes take place in the same Liberty City, which is GTA IV. The city is almost identical, except for some important places. Additions contain their own main characters, new characters and story missions. The link is a line about diamonds owned by Ray Bulgarin. They slip out of his hands, after which each of the heroes tries to take possession of them - Niko Bellic from gta IV, Johnny Klebitz from TLAD and Luis Lopez from TBOGT, for their own reasons. In addition, all three heroes are also connected to a large shipment of drugs, which are closely monitored by the police. Together, the three plots form one, shedding light on many white spots in each other's plots. In terms of the length of the storylines, each addition is approximately equal to 1/3 of the plot of GTA IV.
In addition, they add some new features to the game, such as mini-games, additional tasks, new weapons and vehicles. As well as new sites on the Internet, new programs on TV and new tracks on the radio, including several new radio stations. Interestingly, in Episodes all areas of the city are initially open and available for research, unlike GTA IV.
According to the author, Episodes from Liberty City is a great addition that eliminates most of the claims to the original. It greatly expanded its capabilities, diversified the arsenal and fleet of vehicles. In addition, GTA IV, together with the episodes, forms a common plot. Each of the characters has their own point of view on Liberty City. Niko Bellic is an immigrant who is trying to settle down in an unfamiliar world, having no friends and relatives here, with the exception of a cousin, and not owning a peaceful profession. Johnny Klebitz is a biker for whom the motorcycle and the well-being of his Lost gang are the raison d'être. The atmosphere in TLAD is so thick that you start to get used to the role - a tough biker who despises four-wheelers and Japanese fakes, and Liberty Rock Radio must be playing on the radio. Luis Lopez, in turn, sees Liberty City as one big glamorous hangout full of big boys, faggots and whores. Playing as him, you start to steal only sports cars and dress in expensive suits. The great thing about Ballad is that it brought the Tank back into the game!
It came as a surprise to many that Rockstar originally released the first episode, The Lost and Damned, exclusively for the Xbox 360. It wasn't until many months later that the announcement of a port to PC and PS3 surfaced. History repeated itself with the second expansion, The Ballad of Gay Tony. Two versions of Episodes editions were released in Russian: Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City - it contains two workable episodes, without the original GTA IV, and also as part of the "Full Edition", where there were both Episodes and the original GTA IV. However, 1C again translated only the text, and besides, not in the best way, you can find much better fan-made localizations on the net.
Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned
The plot "" starts at a time when Niko Bellic starts working for Mikhail Faustin. This is evidenced by the story of one of the bikers that he is dating the daughter of some Russian, who is Mr. Faustin.
The protagonist of the game, Johnny Klebitz (yes, he is Jewish), is the Vice President of The Lost biker club. The Lost are a real gang of armed thugs who prefer chopper-type motorcycles. They are armed not with some clubs, but with real firearms. You need it to protect against other gangs, or to attack them, as it turns out. The gang has its own club The Lost Liberty - with booze, strippers, a pool table and other attributes of a biker club. Johnny sleeps right here on a mattress in the back room, which also has a computer and TV.
The president of the club and the gang is Billy, who is just getting out of prison after going through a rehabilitation course. Before his return, Johnny coped well with the duties of the manager: he negotiated peace with another powerful gang - the Angels of Death, and also kept the business afloat. But now, after the return of Bill, he again takes the reins of power, first of all declaring war on the Angels of Death. He also forces Johnny to do menial work for the Jewish mafia. Thus, the game focuses a lot on the confrontation between Johnny and Bill. Other members of the gang also have their own attitude towards both leaders.
The first and most important innovation in TLAD is the emergence of its own gang, ready to come to the rescue at the first call. These are not faceless clones, as in GTA: San Andreas. You will know the name of each of them, and even ... the level. Levels are accumulated for surviving raids on enemy gangs, which have also been added to TLAD. The deceased comrade is replaced by a newcomer, leaving behind a photograph on the wall, in the club of the Lost gang.
If the gang left, then Johnny's escorts will try to follow him in strict order of battle. Also, in some missions, Johnny himself needs to follow Billy, in which case he will restore health and armor, and will also be able to talk to other bikers riding nearby.
In addition to "comrades in battle", Johnny also has friends with whom he can spend time. They can also provide services from the very beginning - customize motorcycles and weapons.
Air hockey was added to entertainment and competitions. In addition, in the club you can play the card game "more-less" and compete in arm wrestling. And in the city you can take part in biker races, in which you can also use a baton. Interestingly, Johnny does not shop. It is impossible to change his club leather jacket, and why? It would be ridiculous. The interface has also undergone changes, it has “grown old” and acquired in detail. In addition, the palette of the city has changed a lot: now it is completely yellowish-gray, and there is little that disturbs it. And instead of pigeons, now you need to kill 50 seagulls, the Innovation motorcycle will become available as a reward.
The TLAD add-on is primarily dedicated to motorcycles. Therefore, it is not surprising that they were added the most - as many as 17 pieces. Near the club, Johnny is always waiting for his faithful chopper - "The Witcher" (Hexer). In addition, 4 trucks and 2 cars were added.
Johnny's signature and first available weapon was a sawn-off double-barreled shotgun, which was not in the original GTA IV. Other additions include a pool cue, a new semi-automatic pistol, an assault shotgun that fires bursts, a real grenade launcher that fires 40mm parabolic projectiles, and homemade explosives.
The add-on also affected the multiplayer mode, adding five new types of competitions at once: an armed helicopter chase after a motorcycle (in the English version there is a play on words - Chopper vs. Chopper), a number of tasks for the club, "hunting for a wolf" - when all players try to kill one biker , a gang war for territories, and the last - the battle of the "Lost" against the police SWAT.
Grand Theft Auto IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony
"" begins at the moment when Niko Bellic, along with the McReary family, robbed the bank of Liberty City.
"Ballad" is entirely devoted to everything glamorous and dirty. Gay Tony, aka Blue Tony, aka Anthony Prince, owner of two nightclubs in Liberty City, one gay and one straight. But we play, fortunately, not for him, but for his bodyguard and partner, Luis Lopez, a Latino of traditional orientation. Luis helps Tony by working as a bouncer in clubs and doing many illegal things at his behest. The fact is that Tony owes a lot of money here and there, and if he does not pay off, he may lose his business. In addition, Louis has to take care of his family and friends, who now and then get into trouble.
A distinctive feature of the "Ballad" is a bias away from realism. Unlike GTA IV and TLAD, she no longer tries to be serious. TBOGT in this regard is much more reminiscent of Vice City and San Andreas. It is bright, colorful and very funny. Finally, she brought back the Tank! Almost. An armored personnel carrier is an armored personnel carrier with a turret with a large-caliber gun mounted on it. It is much faster than any tank, and also has a high rate of fire, so it's just great for creating a rustle in Liberty City.
In The Ballad, Rockstar continued to actively make up for the lack of side missions in the original. So, "drug wars" were added - tasks for transporting drugs, for the completion of every ten pieces in which weapons were delivered to Louis' apartment. In Luis's home area, hand-to-hand fighting without rules is held, in which you can participate for money. There was an opportunity to play real golf. And the “triathlon” here is not the same as in San Andreas: first, Luis jumps with a parachute, then gets into a boat and sails on it to the car on which he finishes. Yes, the parachute is back. New tasks are also associated with it - you need to fly through the “crowns” marked in the air, and then land at the indicated place, or even on a moving truck. It is also worth mentioning the work in a nightclub. Louis can take over as bouncer. There is also a mini-game with drinking champagne, as well as dancing (again waving the San Andreas pen) where you can pick up a girl.
The weapon Luis initially carries with him is a very powerful .44 caliber pistol. Also added: a shotgun with explosive bullets, an assault submachine gun, a gold (!!!) uzi, a light machine gun, a new improved sniper rifle and sticky bombs. In addition to weapons, several dozen vehicles, music tracks have also been added to the game, and several changes have been made to the multiplayer mode.
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars
- Developer: Rockstar Leeds
- Publisher: Rockstar Games
- Nintendo DS: March 17, 2009
- PlayStation Portable: October 20, 2009
- iPhone and iPod Touch: January 18, 2010
- iPad: September 10, 2010
Games ... we launch some to distract ourselves for the evening, and some for a couple of minutes. Games are a part of our life, another way to brighten up gray everyday life. However, there is a game, launching which you become a part of her life. You are a friend of its main characters, you are a tool for building a plot. Here you are not the center of attention, but only part of the game world. Alive and real...sometimes even more real than this one. GTA- a game that plays people ...
Grand Theft Auto did not immediately become so popular. Before turning the world of interactive entertainment on its head, GTA has come a relatively short, but not at all easy path. After several generations of graphics cards, processors and hard drives, the game has evolved from a two-dimensional square world into something stunningly beautiful.
The Scottish town of Dundee, the beginning of the 80s, the computer club "KACC" - this is where they hung out Dave Jones, 14 years old Mike Daly, Russell Kay and Steve Hammond. For several years, the guys became bosom friends who were united by a love for games, or rather, their development. The same city was home to the Eberteus University, which opened one of the world's first courses in game programming. Jones, without hesitation, quit his job and enrolled in these courses. Everything that is not done - everything is for the better! And before he finished the courses, he began to develop his first projects, the money from the sale of which would then become a very important factor in creating the legendary GTA.
In 1987, Jones decided it was time to start something serious and opened a firm called "DMA Design" with the money mentioned above. Russell Kaye and Steve Hammond also joined the original line-up, and a little later, Mike Daly. A cool fact is the decoding of the name "DMA", which first sounded like "Direct Brain Access", and then even cooler - "Doesn" t Mean Anything "(" Doesn't mean anything at all "). The first fame came to the company with the release in 1990 The Lemmings, which built the name and money of DMA brick by brick with a total circulation of 20 million copies.However, this would not last forever and eventually DMA would have disintegrated if not for the muse who visited the company in 1994.
Already at the end of this year, work on Grand Theft Auto is in full swing at the DMA. For almost three long years, the company was preparing a revolution that they themselves did not even suspect. Three years before the new millennium, in November 1997 GTA comes out on PC and PlayStation. Looking from a bird's eye view at the pixels, the size of a fist and pseudo-3D, you do not immediately understand why the game catches you so much. It is believed that the fewer tools the artist has and the narrower the limits of his capabilities, the more realistic and accurate he will convey his feelings in his work. This is exactly what happened with GTA: the hands of developers, shackled by the technologies of the time, created freedom ... For the first time in the game, you could do absolutely anything you wanted. At the same time, the plot was generally for a fad: it consisted of loosely connected tasks, which you could just not give a damn about and go to destroy and steal everything in a row. The lawlessness on the streets of the game was also paid for with in-game money, which opened up access to new cities. These cities, by the way, were called Liberty City, Vice City and San Andreas =)
GTA is love at first sight: either not like it at all, or strongly and forever. For the originality of the game, you can forgive the outdated look and a bunch of other shortcomings, which the magazines did not do. The game did not make a splash in the gaming press, but it was not lowered to the plinth either. At the same time, like every successful project, GTA began to form a community of fans who did not even doubt that there would be a sequel. And it was. While some of the employees were busy finishing the PlayStation version of the game, DMA Design was already starting development GTA: London 1969(the first add-on) and a sequel called GTA 2.
Things started to change here, bad for the DMA and hopefully good for the GTA (it's not clear how things would have played out if the DMA had continued to work on the rest of the game). The publisher of the first part of the game was bought by Take2 Interactive, which transferred the rights to GTA. However, this was not enough for Take2 and they openly stated that they would like to master DMA Design itself. Dave Jones at that time did not yet realize what kind of happiness he had in his hands (I'm talking about GTA :), so he considered the offer profitable. So in 1999, DMA became part of the Rockstar Games studio.
There is not much to say about the addon, as well as about the second part of GTA. GTA: London 1969 - a new city that was a very good copy of London, a new soundtrack, 20 new cars and slightly more believable pedestrians. This is where the differences probably end. GTA 2 with the Rockstar logo on the cover hit store shelves in 1999. But there was nothing particularly new here either. Slightly prettier graphics, the sound also improved and got a new soundtrack. There was no division into cities - one huge metropolis with unique cars in each area (there were 40 types of cars in total). It was in GTA 2 that clans appeared (in the amount of 6), which you could join and be at enmity with other clans, but this innovation was unnoticed by heavy criticism of both the press and the players. It became obvious that such a free-spirited game is stifled by graphics and technology. So the Rockstars set to work on a new game planned for 2001, when the world will shake with 3D GTA 3….