Grand Theft Auto

Grand Theft Auto laid the foundation for one of the most successful game brands of all time, in a form that differs fundamentally from later installments. The game is played from a top-down view, across three loosely connected cities named Liberty City, San Andreas, and Vice City, whose names the franchise later borrowed for its three-dimensional sequel. The player takes on the role of a small-time criminal who picks up jobs from various gangs via street payphones and gradually climbs the underworld hierarchy. It was precisely this openness and the option to either complete missions or simply drive around the city causing minor mischief that felt unusual at the time of release and foreshadowed the later sandbox genre.

The core of the gameplay is stealing and driving vehicles, shootouts with the police, and completing missions such as delivering goods, eliminating a target, or a chase. The player's behavior is tracked by a star-rating system indicating the level of police attention, which deploys increasingly tougher units, up to military forces, as violence escalates. The graphics consist of small but legible sprites viewed from a fixed isometric camera, accompanied by radio stations playing music and parodic DJ segments that rounded out the atmosphere of a satirical metropolis. It was precisely this humorous detachment that set the game apart from the raw impression its content alone might suggest, and a number of hidden bonuses and jokes rewarded players for thoroughly exploring the streets.

Grand Theft Auto caused considerable controversy after release over its violence and the way it rewarded criminal behavior, and in some countries it faced censorship or an outright sales ban, which paradoxically only increased its media coverage. Even so, it became commercially successful and kicked off a series that remains among the most significant in the games industry to this day. Today the controls and graphics feel archaic, navigating the city without a map is demanding, and the gameplay feels stiff compared to later titles, but its historical significance as a pioneer of the open-world genre is undeniable.

Why play it: As a pioneer of the open-world genre it holds undeniable historical significance, even if the archaic controls, graphics, and mapless navigation today make playing it more of a curiosity than a comfortable experience.