Gaming
Games
10 Ways Grand Theft Auto Changed Gaming
While we're all gagging for GTA, let's take a look at what made Rockstar's series one of the greats.
GTA. The original open world platform
© [unknown]
Drip, drip, drip. Screenshot, screenshot, screenshot. There's good-natured teasing, and then there's outright cruelty. And at the moment it's hard to know which Rockstar is guiltiest of as it quietly releases a handful of images here, a handful of images there from the most anticipated game on the planet: Grand Theft Auto V.
It's now 10 months since the studio officially announced the long-awaited fifth instalment of its staggeringly popular open-world action series. And yet, other than that original teaser, and the few recent pics, no-one's seen hide nor hair of gaming's biggest secret. Heck, we still don't even have a clue when it's coming out. Which is just the way Rockstar likes it.
If we can be reasonably sure of anything, it's that it won't now release this side of Christmas (just in case you were getting your hopes up. Soz). But the incredible hype the mere existence of the game – remember, we know nothing outside of the trailer and screens – is capable of generating highlights exactly how great an influence Rockstar North's series has had on the culture of gaming.
It's not too much of a stretch, in fact, to say GTA III, which marked the series' evolution to three dimensions, changed pretty much everything. So while its maker keeps us hanging on, desperately and pathetically, for the next set of pretty pixels, it's as good a time as any to reflect on how GTA has changed gaming.
Amazing Soundtracks
Licensed music has featured in games for decades. But prior to GTA, no-one had really treated it with a DJ's care and attention, curating multiple playlists tailored to capture perfectly the vibe of each game.
Radio Stations
And those soundtracks have always gone hand-in-hand with the radio stations, typically hilariously written satires of American life and urban culture that proved video games could be smart and funny.
Freedom
GTA III defined the open-world genre, one of the most popular game types today. As recently as this month (Sleeping Dogs), rivals continue to shamelessly copy Rockstar's winning formula – but no-one has bettered it.
The Art Of Violence
Give a player all that freedom and all those weapons, slap an '18' certificate on it, and we all know what's going to happen. Right?
A Hollywood Production
It's not simply a case of having great graphics. In GTA Rockstar has displayed its mastery of cinematic techniques – which continued in the likes of Red Dead Redemption and Max Payne 3 – that's often as good as anything you'll see on the big screen.
Brilliant Writing
As technology improved, games have looked ever more amazing, but most have featured scripts barely worthy of CBeebies. All the GTAs from III onwards, though, have featured slickly professional, utterly believable writing and characterisation, helping establish games as a serious, grown-up entertainment form.
Celebrity Stars
Ray Liotta, Samuel L Jackson, Michael Madsen, Phil Collins, Ricky Gervais: games had featured Hollywood talent before, but GTA was such a mega-success actors and stars lined up to take part because it was actually good for their career.
Media Hero & Villain
Championed in one breath for its cultural impact, GTA's adult content also ensured it was a villain of the tabloid press, making video games headline news – usually stupidly and unfairly - for all the wrong reasons.
Jack Of All Genres
The advent of GTA III established not only the open-world genre, but also the idea of an action game that seamlessly blended multiple genres, from driving to run-and-gun and beyond.
A Living, Breathing World
In GTA you can make your own fun. But even if you do literally nothing, the world carries on regardless as the citizens of the sprawling cities go about their business with unsettling realism - as this amazing timelapse video shows.
