The original car-jacking shoot-em-up has returned, in a new re-mastered form: Grand Theft Auto Trilogy – The Definitive Edition.
Grand Theft Auto needs no introduction, but for those not entirely familiar with the beginnings of the notorious gaming franchise, it might deserve some backstory.
The first GTA was released in 1997, and immediately caused shock and horror with mums and dads. Parents had to contend with a fresh generation of video games that for the first time matched high-fidelity graphics with unrelenting and unreserved violence.
Unfortunately for them, it was great fun! And a sequel soon followed that put players back in its familiar top-down view, helping their character steal cars and complete deathly odd-jobs.
The game was popular with PC gamers at the time, but wouldn’t go gangbusters for another couple of years and the arrival of the third in the series. GTA 3 gave gamers a 3D open world city to shoot, smash, and steal their way through, complete with various cars and islands to explore.
Grand Theft Auto Trilogy – what made it different
Whereas other video games put you on a linear story track of shoot this, blow this up, step forward, rinse and repeat, GTA let players do what they wanted, when they wanted, and where they wanted.
A spare few minutes could quickly turn into an expression of vehicular carnage (followed by a police chase of epic proportions). Or, it could see you ‘borrow’ one of the fastest cars in the game and go for a scenic drive while listening to a radio station of choice (but one with proper, real-life songs). The choice was yours, and choice was awesome.
Not only did Grand Theft Auto span two sequels in quick succession (each one building on the newer, better graphics of the PlayStation 2) but it virtually created the entire open-world genre of video games. Everything from World of Warcraft to the Assassin’s Creed franchise has stemmed – in some way, shape or form – from Grand Theft Auto. And while Nintendo loyalists might point to the success of Zelda’s Ocarina of Time as being the first proper open-world explorer, you never saw Link steal a horse and then mow-down a bunch of Gerudo Guards with an M16.
The point is, the original Grand Theft Auto was a big deal. Not just to those playing it at the time, but to all the games that would succeed it. It’s a slice of video game history. And to celebrate the 20th anniversary of its first proper open-world outing, developer Rockstar Games has released the original 3D trilogy of games remastered – but largely unchanged (save for the graphics being updated for modern consoles and computers).
Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy then, is a tribute to those original titles, and sees the return of its titular crime boss characters and gameplay, along with some truly stellar voice acting from the likes of Michael Madsen, Ray Liotta, Samuel L Jackson, Burt Reynolds and Phil Collins (yes, that Phil Collins).
The remastered games are a big nostalgic and violent walk down memory lane for those who still remember playing the originals, and serve as a fantastic introduction to what has become video game history to those who now take open-world games for granted. It doesn’t matter if it’s your first playthrough or your seventh, the original Grand Theft Autos remain a great deal of fun.
Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition is currently available online via Steam, Xbox and PlayStation Stores.
It will be available starting next month in all good games stores, including Geekay Games.