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The Grand Theft Auto series is one of the most well-recognised brands in not just gaming but in the entertainment industry as a whole, especially with GTA V becoming the most profitable entertainment product off all time.
Rockstar's flagship series has come a long way from it's humble beginnings in 1997 with the release of the original top-down Grand Theft Auto to the sprawling open world of Los Santos. During the 21 years GTA has been around, the series has taken us from it's colourful rendition 70's Miami in GTA Vice City to LA in the 90's and GTA's own version of New York, Liberty City. Read on to see #1.
#8 Grand Theft Auto
The whole concept of the original Grand Theft Auto ended up coming together by accident. DMA Design were working on a to make a multiplayer car racer but eventually ended up as the game we all know and love. The game was a best-seller on release, selling around 1 million copies in its first year.
GTA took us to 3 cities during the course of the game and allowed the player to create hell in it's playground. Although it was an adaption of the concept from the game Race N' Chase, DMA Design made it their own and started the series on a solid foothold.
#7 Grand Theft Auto 2
Although GTA 2 may look similar to the original due to mainly its top down view, it was a big improvement on many levels with rival gangs to work for, a big improvement on NPC pedestrians etc. However, despite the positives, this one hasn't aged that well which is why it's so far down on this list. I remember playing this game for hours till I finally got GTA III.
#6 GTA Chinatown Wars
GTA Chinatown Wars, although a novel addition to the PSP library, ended up as a pretty good entry to the series despite clunky controls. A return to the top-down perspective, Chinatown Wars featured a thoroughly enjoyable storyline and a ton of interesting mini-games which added to it's charm.
#5 GTA III
The next entry in this list is the revolutionary GTA III. With GTA III Rockstar revolutionised what we imagined could be possible in an open world. Players played as the silent protagonist Claude and followed his story around GTA's version of New York - Liberty City.
Although the game hasn't aged as well as the entries that followed it, mainly because of somewhat clunky controls and the lack of checkpoints in certain missions, it's still a nice drive around memory lane.
#4 GTA IV
Anyone who knows me knows that I personally found GTA IV to be a disappointment. The story itself was gritty and compelling as we followed Nico Bellic's murderous rampage through Liberty City.
In my opinion the game just wasn't as fun and wacky as previous entries - something the single player DLCs to this entry corrected.
#3 Grand Theft Auto V
The juggernaut that is Grand Theft Auto 5 comes in at number 3. Unarguably one of the most popular games ever made, Trevor, Michael and Franklin's story only comes in at #3 because the two games ahead of it are pure masterpieces. I still rue that no single player DLC ever came out for this one despite initial promises by Rockstar.
#2 GTA Vice City
My personal favourite in the series, mainly because I've probably finished this game from start to finish at least half a dozen times. Tommy Vercetti's Scarface inspired story stuck with me for years and many fans will still tell you that Lance Vance's betrayal at the end killed a tiny part of their ability to trust.
From start to finish, Vice City was a blast. From the music in the multitude of radio stations to the world and mission variety, GTA Vice City is easily one of the greatest video games ever made.
#1 GTA San Andreas
GTA San Andreas is another game in the series that falls into the category of greatest games ever made. With an all star cast to one of the best video game stories ever told, it's almost unbelievable that CJ's adventure took place on a PS2.
From going to the gym to get as ripped as you can to taking CJ in a rampage around the city, San Andreas was fun no matter what you were doing.
Which GTA game do you think is the best? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.
