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Best Ranked Grand Theft Auto Games

Rockstar's golden goose series gets divvied up and placed into an educated row of ranked Grand Theft Auto games.

By Ryan EppsPublished 6 years ago 15 min read
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If you haven't played Grand Theft Auto, or more stupendously, have never even heard of it, than I pity you very dearly. Video game aficionados, world wide critics and, of course, the game's many fans all attest to the simple fact that Grand Theft Auto (oftentimes shortened to GTA) is among the greatest franchises ever built, possibly even the most successful of all time.

That's a remarkable feat, given that their publisher and developer, known respectively as Rockstar Games and Rockstar North, blossomed out of a Take Two Interactive acquisition all the way back in '98. Today, GTA is only one of various Rockstar video game franchises, like Max Payne, Midnight Club, Bully, and Red Dead, to name a few. Despite this, Grand Theft Auto still remains their crowning jewel.

Interestingly, the series itself is split up into three distinct gameplay universes, "2D Universe," which includes the very first four installments, "3D Universe," incorporating GTA III, San Andreas, Vice City and most other console games, and finally the "HD Universe," which pertains to GTA IV and V. Each addition to the series still embodies the specifics from past iterations, like the names of cars, commercial brands, fictional cities, and even characters, most of which tend to meet particularly violent ends.

Steeped in controversies of promoting violence while setting world records with each new release, Grand Theft Auto is one of the few forms of entertainment that rises above and transcends media, entirely by satirizing the real world. No other video game or franchise can say the same. To honor its legacy and to peruse its long history of virtual criminality, let's take a look at the best ranked Grand Theft Auto games, if only to see which one outright stole the car best.

Our first console introduction to the lower California-inspired, sun drenched worlds of Los Santos and its surrounding cities, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is without a doubt Rockstar's most beloved video game. Stunning graphics of its time, thousands of side quests to choose from, an award-winning soundtrack, and a storyline that still inspires us to this day, with quests that will be remembered for an eternity, San Andreas proved to be well ahead of its time and, by far, the most iconic open world title in gaming history.

You are thrown into the life of Carl Johnson, otherwise known as CJ, as he returns home from Liberty City to bury his deceased mother. Harassed upon arrival by two cops from his past, one of whom is voiced by Samuel L. Jackson himself, CJ soon understands that he must re-learn how to navigate the tough gang-infested streets of his home, while battling internal family issues, constant police surveillance, drug kingpins, street racers, mafia hitmen, and tyrannical multi-millionaires.

One of the saddest video game moments is the end of this world wind of a story, which will go down as having some of the most provoking storylines and characters ever created in video games. San Andreas easily takes the cake as one of the best ranked Grand Theft Auto games, merely for its contributions to the virtual world, but also because it's probably the most well-rounded gaming title in existence.

Raking in over $800 million dollars within 24 hours of its release, Grand Theft Auto V proved to be one of the quickest and best selling video games of all time. Add to this Rockstar's re-release of the game for the Playstation 4 and Xbox One platforms, which occurred one year later, the total number of revenue received is somewhere in the billions.

For a simple, yet awe-inspiringly complex video game that blended raunchy criminal activity with fast-paced speed racing, in addition to literally hours upon hours of featured content, this was revolutionary. So, it's not difficult to see why it's one of the best ranked Grand Theft Auto games, but you might be wondering why it's second, and that's because of Rockstar.

GTA Online, Rockstar's step up from the previous installment's clunky and otherwise unimpressive online sector, gave them the power to rake in even more dough with in-game buying options, so that players who didn't want to spend hours stealing and killing for millions could just buy the houses and cars they wanted with real life money. The issue with this: ignorance of GTA V's amazing single player world and the fans who stick solely to that awesome side of open world play: the ability to do literally anything you want.

To most, it may be considered the greatest game ever made, but honestly, Rockstar really flunked in disregarding their fans who heeded single player content. The developer still releases DLCs for its online portion of the game, but players who had fallen in love with the psychosomatic behavior of literally ripping Los Santos to shreds in single-player mode were completely left out of the equation, a strategic failure that Rockstar has yet to amend.

Still, no one can deny it's currently one of the best Xbox One games, and probably of the few most popular being played as I write this.

Yet another Liberty City installment, GTA III was the series introduction to console gaming and launched the franchise into a world of stardom, plus much and more controversy. It was the first title released since 1999, and set the stage for an era of totally revamped and modernized gameplay. Critically acclaimed, best selling, winner of multiple Game of the Year awards for 2001, and receiving an overall reception of "greatest ever," Grand Theft Auto III wasted no time delivering a knockout in the form of amazing content and graphics that looked far ahead of its time.

The story opens to the criminal protagonist, Claude, as he's shot and left for dead by his girlfriend, Catalina. Incidentally, both of them appear in San Andreas as a sort of prelude to the events that happen here. Sucked into an underworld of mobs and criminal conspiracies, Claude must untangle himself from the holds of Liberty City's most diabolical syndicates as he's approached by the likes of the Yakuza, CIA agents, cartel operatives, political affiliates, and kingpins, all of whom end up wanting him dead as the player delves deeper into the story.

It's an epic journey that embodies one of the greatest franchise inceptions, moving Grand Theft Auto into the limelight without changing any of the content that was associated with past installments of the series. It's one of the best ranked Grand Theft Auto games for its highly controversial use of sexual content and extreme violence, which kept the game glued to its original identity as a satirical look into the nature of lawlessness.

In a way to annul the extreme disappointment of Grand Theft Auto IV, Rockstar Games released two expansion packs that brought all new weapons, vehicles, characters, and stories to the streets of Liberty City. Likewise, both expansion packs made the game exponentially better for updating the GTA IV online portion, which was also lacking greatly from release.

What was neglected in the parent title was somewhat amended in The Ballad of Gay Tony, which dropped players into the shoes of Luis Fernando Lopez, a nightclub bouncer turned criminal associate. As you weave through his story, rampaging in the all-new APC tank and performing missions for characters already met in the GTA IV main storyline, you start to gain somewhat of a bond with the character, which could not be said of the uninteresting and unmoving Niko Bellic.

In the Lost and the Damned, players are tossed into the world of biker gangs, drugs, and arms deals as they navigate the life of Billy Grey following his release from Alderney Prison. As president of the "The Lost MC," a biker gang that has appeared in multiple GTA titles, Billy's return sparks the unhappiness of vice president Johnathon "Johnny" Kiebitz, whose leadership during Billy's year-long absence wrought the consolidation of the club's debt, a peace brokerage made between their archenemy, "The Angels of Death," and the broadening of their drug/gun running trade.

Pretty much immediately, Billy ends the peacefulness without restraint, sending the Lost into a vortex of gunfights, roaring mufflers and double crosses that make for an ending unlike any other DLC I've ever played. Reminiscent of a few Sons of Anarchy episodes, the plot unfolds beautifully and really makes up for the unsatisfactory end results of Grand Theft Auto IV.

Their second platform released game in the series, Vice City, is for some the quintessential Grand Theft Auto experience, and for many reasons, they're completely correct. However, with the modernization of graphics and the stunning life-like qualities inherent in contemporary CPUs, Vice City seemingly falls by the wayside when up against the infamous San Andreas and V, both of which speak for themselves.

Still, with one of the most legendary protagonists, who was incidentally voiced by Ray Liotta, and a string of multi-dimensional characters that breathe life into the Miami-inspired world, Vice City is still one of the best ranked Grand Theft Auto video games for delivering their best soundtrack ever compiled, in addition to stream-lining a whole new way of experiencing in-game mayhem: helicopters and airplanes.

Influenced by Scarface and Miami Vice, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City was the first of many Rockstar titles that was intended to reach beyond the concept of a video game. In this 2012 WIRED article, creators Dan Houser, Jamie King and Navid Kohansari speak about the new realms of bringing Hollywood to the digital entertainment world, specifically with casting top name stars for their games' protagonists, which later became one of GTA's most iconic staples. And, reason alone for its inclusion at this tier, it all started with Vice City.

The Grand Theft Auto game that was the follow up of San Andreas and the first of two titles released primarily for the Playstation Portable was none other than Liberty City Stories, the prequel of GTA III. While it may not have been as hyped or as popular as other titles in the series, Liberty City Stories certainly added its own spin to the universe.

Mostly limited by the PSP's rather minuscule storage compared to the PS3, the game fell short in many areas, specifically in cutting out flyable vehicles, like airplanes, and adding instant death to the unlucky players who fell into any body of water. Overall, though, the game received relatively high reviews, and since being re-released for the Playstation 2, iOS and Android Marketplace, it's amassed even more critical reception.

In this installment, you play as the exiled "Toni" Cipriani, who is only just returning to Liberty City from overseas. He is immediately persuaded into working for Salvatore and Vincenzo Cilli, only to end up being backstabbed in the process. Shuffling among the ranks of a dangerous mafia family while maneuvering through the thin streets of Liberty City is something that can never be emulated and gives Liberty City Stories instant status among the best ranked Grand Theft Auto games in history.

The dreaded and oftentimes forgotten eleventh title of the long enduring Grand Theft Auto series sends players back to Liberty City, only this time you're a war ready Eastern European by the name of Niko Bellic. Joining his cousin, Roman, in assisting with his failing taxi business, Niko meets nothing but failure on top of failure, mixed with some extremely poor decisions.

Most of the game sees Niko working for any number of odd characters, many of whom use him for his talents in violence, from the roided-up meathead Brucie Kibbutz, to the more eccentric Patrick "Packie" McReary. But, with every added mission comes added disappointment. Unlike previous games, wherein characters would finish the game with well into the millions of in-game doh, players couldn't reach anymore than a few million in GTA IV, which was cause for some great concern, despite being one of the main focal points of the game.

Reviews are mostly wishy-washy and there tends to be a divide on whether or not it's good overall, but the highlight of this game can be felt and seen in its maturation of the series. Coined a "rags to slightly better rags" storyline, Grand Theft Auto IV was, like all of its other titles, an attempt to paint the modern state of the world. Although seven years prior, the attacks of 9/11 and the subsequent war on terrorism were imbued into the story.

One article even goes so far as to praise GTA IV's narrative richness, for while it may have still utilized unlimited bounds of criminal activity, Niko's introspective characteristics always seemed to make the player retroactively think back on their immoral ways.

That being said, Grand Theft Auto IV reviews may not have been the best in the series, nor a fan favorite, yet it still revolutionized modern gaming by enhancing CPUs and graphics, which breathed life into the game's urban metropolis, effectively making one of the best ranked Grand Theft Auto games that never reached its true potential.

Playing as Victor Vance, a US Army Corporal and brother of Lance Vance, players get to reacquaint themselves with the neon afterglow and cocaine riddled streets of Vice City, a stand-in for Miami, Florida.

The map is pretty much identical to that of its predecessor, but since it was released for the PSP, none of the same extensive content exists in Vice City Stories. It made for a great follow up to Liberty City Stories, for it added planes and helicopters, plus greatly improved on the overall amount of content and performance.

Likewise, it scored high on most reviews, and calls to attention the highly missed open world of Vice City. The rerelease for the PS2 was even an improvement on lighting and gameplay, then increasing revenue for Rockstar.

Vice City Stories won two awards, IGN's best-licensed soundtrack on the PSP and Best Handheld Game of 2007. Among the best ranked Grand Theft Auto games, it's probably the most underrated of the bunch. Don't let that deter you, though, there's hours worth of fun in store, plus the scarcity of the city in other GTA titles makes Vice City Stories a must.

Though Grand Theft Auto Advanced beat Chinatown Wars to Nintendo Gameboy handheld devices, the ladder is a much more fluent and appreciated game. When it comes to optimizing Grand Theft Auto size video games on smaller consoles, like the PSP and Gameboy, a lot of awesome content tends to get thrown out in the process, since not everything will be able to fit into the final product.

Chinatown Wars proves to be one of the best ranked Grand Theft Auto video games by inciting a new way of envisioning handheld gameplay: by slimming down to meet better requirements for graphics and other awesome features.

It's not just gamespace and finalized content. GTA's Huang Lee, the main character of this game, is probably the most humbling and sincere of all their ranging characters, which is a refresher, plus he's the very first Asian denomination to helm a Grand Theft Auto title, easily making ChinatownWars a must-play hit.

Initially played in top-down perspective, Grand Theft Auto was the introductory to a whole new video game monopoly, one that seemed it could (and would) stand the test of time like no other. Even with its clunky physics and decade-old gameplay, the first GTA revolutionized how storytelling would work in line with multiple characters, spanning three separate cities (all of which is intertwined), still making history to this day.

With Grand Theft Auto: The Director's Cut, you also get the subsequent London-based sequels that followed Grand Theft Auto's somewhat successful initial release. The two GTA: London games, one based in 1969 and the other in 1961, greatly modified upon the first title, installing precedence to an overall expansion on the series.

The concept, in itself, having multiple playable characters in three separate cities, was an almost dream come true, but even so, Grand Theft Auto (the original baby) still inspires the modern game to this day, given that all three cities of Vice City, Los Santos, and Liberty City were existing in it. If that doesn't make it one of the best ranked Grand Theft Auto games, then the mere fact of it's birthing one of the best video game franchises of all time is enough to satisfy me.

The last to be among the best ranked Grand Theft Auto games would have to be the obvious sequel to the original GTA, another top-down perspective and three-tired setting, called Anywhere City, US.

Though it's referred mostly by fans as the worst in the series, merely because of its age and mixed reviews. Others might argue it had set the standard for the Rockstar signature in open-world and criminalistic video games, but it still promote as much hype or pleasure as the future names in the series eventually would.

Despite this, GTA 2 served as a stepping stone in video game history, the point at which a series can step beyond the bounds of being a virtual world, then becoming something much more realistic and meaningful.

The Grand Theft Auto series, in of itself, was detrimental to the gaming world, which many often seem to forget. Invoking more components, better graphics, and the need for an iconic story, one with iconic players, was the essential takeaway that Rockstar needed to improve upon the series entirely, and the only thing necessary to thank is Grand Theft Auto 2. Now, let's get back to some crime-inducing mayhem, shall we?

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About the Creator

Ryan Epps

A cosmic adventurer rendering wayward letters into infinite lengths of conception and prose, like quantum streams of pneumatic information

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