'GTA V'

1997 in gaming history is a year we should all remember; even as a six year old, I do remember first watching gameplay of (a few years later playing it myself) Grand Theft Auto, the original, released on the first PlayStation console (the big grey one with the wired controllers and the physical memory cards). The aerial views and the small controllable character made the game disappointing for me. I was unable to get past stealing a bus, having to do a really complicated three-point-turn in the midst of traffic and somehow managing to get a nearly unshakable wanted level, or managing to leave said vehicle and shoot some innocent passerby until they retaliated and killed you. Personally, I could not wait for an improvement, if there were to be more games in the series.

I'm embarrassed to say that I haven't played all Grand Theft Auto titles, mostly due to only just finding out they exist but also because I may not have possessed the console they were released on; for these I cannot honestly write a review. My apologies, but these include: Grand Theft Auto Advance (Gameboy Advance), Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (Nintendo DS), Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City (including The Ballad Of Gay Tony and The Lost and the Damned) and Grand Theft Auto 2.

2001 sees us safely onto the PlayStation2 with Grand Theft Auto 3; our main character is a mute guy who goes by the mononym “Claude.” Although he doesn’t talk, he’s still a man you wouldn’t want to mess with, with his ties steadily growing stronger with the Leone crime family and the lack of limitation to his ruthlessness. Not much is good about GTA 3; the graphics, at the time, were passable, the movement of character was choppy at best, and the faces barely moved throughout endless dialogue opportunities. On the upside, the driving is good and the now-third person view is a welcome change. With this entry in the Grand Theft Auto archive, Rockstar had plated their flag firmly in place with the rest of the PlayStation legends.

We only had to wait a year before we were introduced to arguably THE best GTA game on the PS2 and still many people’s favourites: the 80s set, neon and pastel-tinged Vice City. Tommy Vercetti is our main man this time round, with a loud Hawaiian shirt and a can-do attitude, he manages to make friends—from ordinary guys like Lance Vance to dim witted lawyers like Ken Rosenberg—easily and work his way up the social ladder, gaining unwanted wanted interest (as is the norm by now) from rival gangsters and general bad eggs. An awesome 80s soundtrack and an equally fun and impressive range of cars to “borrow,” this game is a guilty pleasure for everyone, not to mention the newfound ability to ride motorcycles and the odd hidden weapons in strange places (you can find a Katana sword in the back office of a coffee shop in the mall). If you play no other game in the entire series, I implore you to pleases give Vice City a play; you won’t regret it.

It’s not until 2004 that we welcome our first Black main character in Carl "CJ" Johnson. We switch to a stereotypical suburb with no end of gang rivals (CJ being part of the gang on his street, Grove Street..green is their colour), low-rider cars, gangster rap, and the drug of choice being changed from generic white powder to the more leafy variety. The gameplay is pretty much the same as VC, however this time we get to (rather clumsily in the beginning) ride a BMX bike and there's even a two player mode for as long as you both stay within certain parameters of the screen.

Back with Italian-American Antonio "Toni" Cipriani in Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (2005), it's exactly what you expect it to be, the same level of graphics are a little disappointing but what we've come to know from GTA's foray into the PlayStation 2. As you may remember from the original game set in LC, we were a grunt worker for the Leone crime family as Claude. This time, after having to leave the city since doing a favor and offing a guy for Don Salvatore Leone, Toni is back and ready to work his way to the top, slowly earning himself a place at Don Salvatore's side, the music for this game has changed a little, but it's essentially just an update version of the radio stations from GTA 3. Altogether not a memorable outing for the series, easily swept under the carpet.

Now that Rockstar was back in the groove of releasing GTA titles back to back almost with only a year apart, we were introduced to our second Black main character: Victor "Vic" Vance. The brother of Tommy Vercetti's close friend Lance Vance (of Vice City fame), Vic is a US Army corporal who is reliable and never breaks any laws; that is, until a fellow soldier plants drugs in his barracks and reports him for keeping company with a known prostitute. Needless to say, he is dishonorably discharged from the military and is now free (as was excruciatingly predictable) to do whatever he wants. Associating himself with old Vice City favourites like lawyer Ken Rosenberg and making new acquaintances in Avery Carrington (legendary actor Burt Reynolds), he holds up the Vance name and the gameplay is not painfully slow burning for once. A hidden gem that somehow flew under the radar.

It's understandable when a new era of gaming emerges that games for said consoles are slow to be released. Another two years would pass before we'd be given our first taste of PlayStation 3 magic in the form of Grand Theft Auto 4; for the first time too, we would be treated to luxuries like being able to enter a clothing shop to change our outfit, using an internet cafe, and driving just a little too fast so we were flung through the windshield and died instantly more often than not. Eastern European Niko Bellic is our protagonist this time; in short, he arrives on US soil to stay with his brother Roman (living as though he has more money than he does). Chaos ensues as Niko fights loan sharks on behalf of his idiotic brother and quite often kills as revenge for the loss of a loved one. This is a game we needed to introduce us to the wonders that "next gen" consoles can give.

And so we come to the very latest installment in this awesome collection (14 games in.. this being 15), Grand Theft Auto 5, boasting an online mode which is brilliant, with the ability to literally choose your character's appearance according to their genes, play whatever missions you like AND make friends both in-game and on PSN. If you're sticking to the main story instead or as well, don't worry, you won't be disappointed. Where the backdrop to it's predecessor was gloomy and cramped, Rockstar went above and beyond with not only jaw-dropping graphics but a bigger map, more sunshine, amazing cars (you can even buy cars with your phone), and a plethora of side activities such as yoga, tennis, golf, triathlon and parachuting, to name a few. By far the best (in my opinion) is the choice of not one but three playable main characters, all somehow tied to each other through their villainy and unlikely friendships. Firstly, we have Michael De Santa: a 40-something White guy in the witness protection program, living in the prolific hills area of the city of Los Santos with his wife Amanda and two adult children Jimmy and Tracey; boasting a big house and posh cars, Michael has a life we all envy. Secondly there's Franklin Clinton: a Black guy in his 20s/30s who lives with his mother in a bungalow style house, always bailing his friend Lamar out of trouble with the two pennies he has to rub together, he has a penchant for car theft and works for a car dealer named Simeon. Finally we have Trevor Phillips: a 40-50 year old (his age is hard to peg) White, possibly mentally unstable guy who lives in a trailer park by himself (until his mother shows up and locks him out of his trailer); often visited/pestered by his best friend Ron, Trevor has his fingers in many dangerously addictive pies, from running a drug manufacturing ring to collecting fugitives for his friend Maude. Trevor has a love for all things explosive, shooting, driving and fighting often being seen to be fighting or drunk or high.

By far THE best game of the franchise, GTA 5 will always be the benchmark for Rockstar to try and overcome (hopefully soon). Although a couple of things confuse me: where are the pets? (aside from Chop and a random dog with a jogging lady) and most importantly, where are the young children? Maybe Rockstar will address this in the next game, maybe not. All I know is that I have enjoyed, and will continue to enjoy, growing up with the series for the best part of a decade. Thank you Rockstar Games, long live Grand Theft Auto!