GTA and Me

Rockstar Games have been around since 1998, but didn't shake the earth until 2001 with the release of GRAND THEFT AUTO III. It was their first step into the third dimension with the GTA series. GTAIII punched you in the face with AWESOME! The game was realistic with a freedom never seen before in a video game. And has since, been seen as an extremely important landmark in video game history. Rockstar released two GTA titles within the next five years (GTA VICE CITY and GTA SAN ANDREAS), and they were increasingly successful. Rockstar seemed to have followed the motto "if it ain't broke, don't fix it", while only adding to the successful recipe. Frosting on the cake.

I wasn't fortunate enough to own a PS2 when GTAIII came out in 2001, but that didn't stop me from getting my eager hands on it. I borrowed a PS2 from a spoiled friend of mine who wasn't using it, and I owned a copy of GTAIII (a friend gave it to me). To me, there was no other game that mattered on earth. This game was the best game ever made. I finished the game within a week, and kept playing whenever I got a chance. I obviously had to give back my friend's PS2, so with a tear and a hope, I put GTAIII into my drawer. Over the years I got to simply play VICE CITY and SAN ANDREAS, but never beat them. I noticed that those games surpassed my beloved GTAIII, but I had no access to them. I did loads of research and was always updated online with GTA SAN ANDREAS news. I was so excited for this game before it came out that I was thinking of buying it on the launch day without even having a PS2. I was convinced that even if I just owned it, that I would be fulfilled. But in that time, I was in high school, and my priorities changed. I was becoming more and more worried about how I looked than releases of video games I had no access to. It was 2004, and I still only had a Playstation. I gave up, needless to say, on keeping up. GTA SAN ANDREAS released and I watched it pass by. I wasn't too worried about it. I was more worried about the "super successful" band I was in. Time went by and I put my "childish toys" away..

Until GTAIV was announced at E3 2006.

The announcement of GTAIV didn't really hit me until about a year later when I saw the first trailer. I had gotten a job in 2006 and bought myself an Xbox 360 with my first paycheck. PS3's were too expensive and people were getting shot and trampled on because of them. So I took the safe route and got a 360. Like I said, it didn't hit me until 2007.. "I will finally own a GTA game on my own system on the actual launch date.." My buried dreams were coming back to life. I waited and got pumped up for this game that I was sure was going to be good. Once I pressed the "close tray" button, expectations needed to be met. To this day, GTAIV holds a special place in my heart and has earned the rightfully earned title (by me in my opinion), THE BEST GAME EVER MADE (no. 1 on my list of favorite games).

There are obvious achievements this game has to offer like amazing top notch HD visuals powered by Rockstar's own in-house engine, an unbelievably realistic physics engine, high quality voice acting powered by incredible writing from Dan Houser (co-founder of Rockstar Games) himself, an optional cover system that works perfectly with the solid gunplay mechanics, tuned driving mechanics that feel just right, very fun activities, over 40 hours of creative gameplay and SO MUCH MORE. The direction of this installment was obviously different from its predecessor as well. Where GTA SAN ANDREAS began to cross the line from realism into craziness, GTAIV made it evident that Rockstar Games made the decision to make their games as believable as possible. The story of the main protagonist is simply a story of an immigrant's submission to his dark past that he wished to leave in his old country. America is no pure country. That theme is a theme that I personally love. All GTA games have the underlining tone of being a parody of American culture. GTAIV was more obvious because it was through the lens of a character who is new to the country.

For four years, this game has been played more than any other game that I have ever played. For four years, there was nothing that could stand against my favorite game.

Until GTAV was announced.

I was at work when this game was announced on Rockstar's website at nine in the morning. What did they give me? A logo. I cried. A little. With it was a date claiming the release of a trailer. It's been nine months since the announcement and Rockstar has released a trailer and ten screenshots. With that alone, I have been COMPLETELY convinced that this game will take the mantle of being my favorite game ever. Taking the locale back to the LOS ANGELES is one of the reasons why I'm going nuts over this game. I'm from the LA area, so to be able to play in a world that is based off of a city that I regularly visit is pretty exciting.

My excitement for this game has shown me something else about my connection and love for this series in general. I've grown up really liking crime movies. There's something about having your protagonist be not morally conformed to following the law that has always intrigued me in story telling. When GTAIII came out, my dreams had come true. I love video games. I love crime movies. Mash them together and you get the GTA series. I loved every single GTA game because they were everything I could want in a game. I've had conversations with friends about how I could so easily replace my number one favorite game. I couldn't nail the reason why it has been so easy for me to say "Most likely GTAV will be my favorite game ever." I think I might have a reason now. I love the Grand Theft Auto series. I love what they represent, how they play and how they're presented. Each one has topped the last in every way. I'm in love with the cities Rockstar creates. The world in which you roam is the main character. The protagonists are the secondary characters. I love these games first and foremost because of the detail of realism they pour into these worlds. In GTAV, I'm sure the story will be fantastic, but I know the world they create will be much more impressive. That's what GTA means to me. Video games are becoming more and more sophisticated in representing the cities and worlds we live in today. Nobody does it better than Rockstar Games. No series does it better than Grand Theft Auto.

GTAV will release within a year. I will watch every trailer. Look at every screenshot. Read every article. Pre-order the special edition (maybe twice). I will most likely replace GTAIV in my heart with this game. And in six years, I will probably GTAV with another GTA game. Because in the end, my number one game is not one game. It's a series of games. A philosophy of game design. A genre of tone and mechanics. It is Grand Theft Auto.