Every Grand Theft Auto Game Ranked
Every Grand Theft Auto Game Ranked
History of Grand Theft Auto: From the PS1 to Worldwide Phenomenon
Welcome to MojoPlays! Today, we’re looking at every “Grand Theft Auto” game ranked. All of these games are iconic, but which one is a cut above the rest? What’s your favorite GTA? Let us know in the comments below!
#11: “Grand Theft Auto Advance” (2004)
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Rockstar has seen a lot of success in handhelds, but the Game Boy Advance wasn’t a device that let them thrive. Returning the series to its top-down roots didn’t prove too successful; by 2004 players were already used to the flashy, 3D “GTA” games and a return to the awkward, top-down view wasn’t welcome. Plenty of other “GTA” hallmarks were missing, too, including radio stations and voice acting; you’d be spending most of your time driving and completing missions in total silence. Underneath all the flaws there’s still a solid story, but few would disagree that “GTA” on the Game Boy Advance is the worst the series has ever gotten.
#10: “Grand Theft Auto” (1997)
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Originally intended to be a racing game, a glitch in the enemy AI meant cops would ruthlessly chase down the player to apprehend or kill them. Rather than change this, developers doubled down and put out “Grand Theft Auto”, entirely themed around trying to evade the bloodthirsty cops. It was just as ambitious as later entries too, introducing us to the franchise’s most iconic locations: Los Santos, Liberty City, and Vice City, all packed onto a PS1 game disc. But “GTA” just hasn’t aged too well; the top-down camera is extremely dated and the awkward controls make it unpleasant to play, despite its charm and legacy.
#9: “Grand Theft Auto 2” (1999)
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Throughout its run, Grand Theft Auto has been known for its satirical takes on real American cities like New York and LA – but “GTA 2’s” base campaign took place in a city based on hellish futures previously seen in 1980s sci-fi flicks. Though it was a slight improvement over the first one in terms of gameplay, its weird premise meant it didn’t quite live up to the hype. Still at the time it was great for those who craved more after the first game and it even featured something unique to the series; a live action opening scene.
#8: “Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories” (2005)
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Only a year after the poorly received “GTA Advance”, Rockstar brought out another portable title – but this time it was for the PSP, and it revolutionized what “GTA” games could be. Its story was interwoven with “GTA III”, featuring a main character we’d already met and were interested to learn more about. Though unsurprisingly, it wasn’t a graphical powerhouse like the console “GTAs” have always been, it utilized the PSP’s hardware to give us 3D graphics on a handheld. Technology has advanced enough that you can now play it on mobile devices, too, taking murder and mayhem wherever you go.
#7: “Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories” (2006)
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The success of “Liberty City Stories” meant Rockstar stuck around in the handheld market for a while, and quickly brought out a follow-up, “Vice City Stories”, sending players all the way back to 1980s Florida. Already a beloved setting, “Vice City Stories” was a phenomenal improvement on “Liberty City Stories”, charting the struggles of a US soldier trying to buy medicine for his family. Vital features missing from the previous release, like swimming, were finally added, and despite the PSP’s limits Rockstar still captured Vice City’s beauty and style. It’s not a patch on console games, but you’ll still love every second you play.
#6: “Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars” (2009)
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The most recent handheld “GTA” was also the best, releasing on the PSP and, impressively, the Nintendo DS. We went back to Liberty City with Alderney removed and walked in the shoes of Triad gangster Huang Lee. The top-down view was back with a vengeance and with some gorgeous, cel-shaded graphics to boot, all of which helped it run better on the DS – which wasn’t known for its powerful hardware. And “Chinatown Wars” wasn’t just about making the existing “GTA” formula work on smaller devices, it also added features of its own, like a surprisingly deep drug dealing system; it even made use of the DS’s touch screen.
#5: “Grand Theft Auto III” (2001)
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At the turn of the century, “GTA” burst into the 3D era and hasn’t looked back since. Rockstar got back to basics: no more strange, futuristic dystopias, we were heading to a fully realized Liberty City. The classic, chaotic gameplay was forged in “GTA III” and hasn’t actually changed too much since, which is a testament to “III’s” innovation. But great as the gameplay is, it was also the dawn of Rockstar’s cinematic storytelling, finally presenting players with a story you’d previously only see in crime movies. It’s easy to forget now just how revolutionary “GTA III” and its characters were since 3D, open-world games with lots of side-activities have become the norm, but “GTA III” is still an incredible game.
#4: “Grand Theft Auto: Vice City” (2002)
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Rockstar hasn’t actually produced as many period pieces as they have games about modernity, but when they do go to the past, they knock it out of the park. The setting more than the story is what makes “Vice City” one of the greatest video games ever made, with a 1980s, synthwave aesthetic you can’t help but fall in love with. That’s not to say the story is bad though, far from it. Clearly inspired by pillars of the crime genre like 1983’s “Scarface”, the rise and corruption of small-time mobster Tommy Vercetti might be a tale you’ve heard before, but it’s masterfully translated to the medium. It might be set in the 80s, but it’s truly timeless.
#3: “Grand Theft Auto V” (2013)
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The era of the PS3 and Xbox 360 ended with a bang when “GTA V” came out. Returning to Los Santos for the first time since “San Andreas” we now had three protagonists to grapple with in a zany story about heists, drugs, and Hollywood – not to mention the largest map in a “GTA” game to date. But though the single-player campaign is outstanding, multiplayer mode “GTA Online” may work to the game’s detriment, leaving it lower on our list. Plenty of people love the online play, but it’s difficult not to be sad that online has replaced Rockstar’s popular single-player DLCs and has taken development time away from “GTA VI”.
#2: “Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas” (2004)
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The fifth game may have had a bigger map, but “San Andreas” made history by having three huge cities in the entire, fictional state of San Andreas, as opposed to just one. The game’s story took you through Los Santos, Las Venturas, and San Fierro, with plenty to see in between. Though “San Andreas” was bright and wacky in a lot of ways, it had an important story inspired by plenty of real-life events; the corruption of the police is tackled through the game’s seminal villain Officer Tenpenny. And of course, you’ve always got the option to break into Area 51 and steal a jetpack for hours of fun.
#1: “Grand Theft Auto IV” (2008)
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The franchise’s trademark satire is at its most biting in “GTA IV”. It might be the black sheep with its more serious tone and love-it-or-hate-it driving controls, but the main story is so masterfully told you’ll forgive its flaws. A classic critique of the myth of the American dream, Niko Bellic comes to Liberty City and quickly gets sucked into its criminal underbelly never to escape. But it’s not just the main story that makes “GTA IV” so great, it also had two DLCs just as good, if not better, than Niko’s story, all hinging on one pivotal diamond deal gone wrong. With “GTA IV”, Rockstar had something to say and they said it through the best “GTA” game of all time.
