Grand Theft Auto

Description

The original Grand Theft Auto was initially conceived as a police pursuit simulator, but reimagined to let players embrace criminal freedom. The result is a chaotic, irreverent sandbox that laid the foundation for one of gaming’s most influential franchises.

GTA’s gameplay unfolds from a bird’s-eye perspective, with pixelated graphics and a gritty urban aesthetic. You steal cars, evade police, complete missions for crime syndicates, and rack up points through destruction and mayhem. The game takes place over several cities: Liberty City, San Andreas, and Vice City, loosely modelled on New York, San Francisco, and Miami, respectively. Within each city the game has a nonlinear progression system. Missions were delivered via payphones, and players had to accumulate millions of points to unlock new areas and chapters.

The game’s tone was anarchic and satirical, with exaggerated violence, irreverent radio stations, and a soundtrack that included original tracks like “Grand Theft Auto” by Da Shootaz. Despite its crude visuals and clunky controls, GTA was praised for its open-ended design and became a commercial success. It also stirred controversy for its violent content, which was amplified by a deliberately provocative marketing campaign orchestrated by publicist Max Clifford. When I got the game just after its launch, the violence was arguably a large part of the appeal.

These original versions of GTA came in typical ‘large box’ PC release, inside containing a CD-ROM in its jewel case, with documentation – including a map. The original UK release was on 28 November 1997 and game received classification for release in Australia on 15 October 1997. So release date is approximate, I picked it up in December or January. Two expansion packs GTA: London 1969 and GTA: London 1961 were released in 1999, offering new missions set in a stylised version of 1960s England. These retained the original engine and gameplay structure but added period-specific vehicles and dialogue.

Purchased not long after release, was one of the most open-world experiences of its time but otherwise rather basic top-down graphics. Cool game at the time but no indication what the franchise would eventually become.

The game gave no hint of becoming the series we know today. At the time despite being an open sandbox and a lot of fun, it was hard to see past the relatively basic graphics when 3D gaming had already taken off on the PC with numerous 3D accelerators on the market. Retrospectively it is looked at quite differently. The original GTA is now remembered as a bold experiment in player agency and urban chaos, setting the stage for the 3D formula of the game that would come with Grand Theft Auto III in 2001.