Grand Theft Auto

Grand Theft Auto is the award winning video game that stunned the public in 1997. Created by Dave Jones, it was later adopted by Dan Houser, Sam Houser and Zachary Clarke. UK company Rockstar North developed the game and Rockstar Games published it.

Grand Theft Auto - Playing The Game

Grand Theft Auto is a mixture of action, adventure, driving and role playing. The player adopts the role of a criminal whose overall objective is to rise through the ranks of organised crime. The motivation for doing so often comes in the form of having to overcome an unfortunate event, such as being left for dead or being betrayed. The powerful underworld bosses set missions that must be completed to progress through the storyline. These missions include a variety of activities, such as assassinations and other crimes, and also other off the wall activities like pimping and learning to fly.

The game is set in a big city and falls into the genre of "sandbox games"; free roaming games that give the player a large amount of freedom in deciding what to do and how to do it. Unlike most other action games that are limited to following a single track series of levels with linear gameplay, GTA allows the player to choose which missions they undertake, and these choices affect relationships with other characters that the player can develop.

The level of detail present in GTA is ever increasing. Pedestrians obey traffic signals.

Controversy Surrounding Grand Theft Auto

Grand Theft Auto has courted controversy due to its adult nature and violent themes.

Voice Acting

Voice overs have been done by an all star cast that includes: Danny Dyer, Michael Madsen, Burt Reynolds, Dennis Hopper, Gary Busey, Samuel L. Jackson, Chris Penn, James Woods, Joe Pantoliano, Frank Vincent, Robert Loggia, Kyle MacLachlan, Peter Fonda and Ray Liotta.

Grand Theft Auto - Beginnings

The first game in the Grand Theft Auto series was released on PlayStation and Windows PC in 1997. The game is set in the following three fictional cities:

• Liberty City
• San Andreas
• Vice City

Later, two expansion packs were offered, both using the name Grand Theft Auto: London, allegedlt set in London 1961.

There are currently nine stand-alone games with two expansion packs for the original and two expansion packs being released for the latest console installment. Check out the later games in the Grand Theft Auto series.