185-405: Grand Theft Auto ( GTA ) is an action-adventure video game series created by David Jones and Mike Dailly . Later titles were developed under the oversight of brothers Dan and Sam Houser , Leslie Benzies and Aaron Garbut. It is primarily developed by British development house Rockstar North (formerly DMA Design), and published by its American parent company, Rockstar Games . The name of
370-404: A baseball bat , and an invitation to the launch event as rewards. The official Grand Theft Auto IV website was redesigned on 8 February 2008 to show a preview of activities and locales within the game's world. To encourage pre-order sales, Rockstar collaborated with several retail outlets to provide a special edition version of the game. It includes a metal safe deposit box , an art book, and
555-445: A cell phone for contacting friends and starting activities. The cell phone is also used to access the game's online multiplayer mode, and to enter cheat codes . To access the in-game Internet, which allows Niko to send and receive emails and set up prospective dates with potential girlfriends, Niko can use Internet cafés located around the city. The game also features a subway system , allowing players to quickly traverse through
740-627: A fantasy " setting. Tutankham , debuted by Konami in January 1982, was an action-adventure released for arcades . It combined maze, shoot 'em up, puzzle-solving and adventure elements, with a 1983 review by Computer and Video Games magazine calling it "the first game that effectively combined the elements of an adventure game with frenetic shoot 'em up gameplay." It inspired the similar Time Bandit (1983). Action Quest , released in May 1982, blended puzzle elements of adventure games into
925-408: A hitman , ordering him to kill the son of Russian crime lord Kenny Petrović. When Petrović threatens retaliation, Dimitri convinces Niko to assassinate Faustin and satisfy Petrović. However, Dimitri betrays him after the killing and brings Niko to his former employer, Ray Bulgarin, who accuses Niko of stealing from him during a failed human trafficking job years earlier. Niko denies the allegation and
1110-446: A joystick -controlled, arcade-style action game, which surprised reviewers at the time. While noting some similarities to Adventure , IGN argues that The Legend of Zelda (1986) by Nintendo "helped to establish a new subgenre of action-adventure", becoming a success due to how it combined elements from different genres to create a compelling hybrid, including exploration, adventure-style inventory puzzles , an action component,
1295-571: A monetary system , and simplified RPG-style level building without the experience points . The Legend of Zelda series was the most prolific action-adventure game franchise through to the 2000s. Roe R. Adams also cited the arcade-style side-scrolling fantasy games Castlevania (1986), Trojan (1986) and Wizards & Warriors (1987) as early examples of action-adventure games. Games like Brain Breaker (1985), Xanadu (1985), Metroid (1986) and Vampire Killer (1986) combined
1480-585: A remastered version of the trilogy, using Unreal Engine ; following some leaks, Rockstar officially announced Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition on 8 October 2021. The game features graphical and gameplay upgrades, and replaced existing versions on digital retailers. It was released for the Nintendo Switch , PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on 11 November 2021, and for Android and iOS on 14 December 2023. Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City
1665-767: A subgenre of open world action-adventure video games in the third-person perspective . They are characterized by their likeness to the Grand Theft Auto series in either gameplay or overall design. In these types of open world games, players may find and use a variety of vehicles and weapons while roaming freely in an open world setting. Metroidvania is a portmanteau of Metroid and Castlevania ; such games are sometimes referred to as "search action", and are generally based on two-dimensional platformers. They emphasize both exploration and puzzle-solving with traditional platform gameplay. Survival horror games emphasize "inventory management" and making sure
1850-412: A " wanted " meter in the head-up display (HUD). On the meter, the displayed stars indicate the current wanted level (for example, at the maximum six-star level, efforts by law enforcement to incapacitate players become very aggressive). Law enforcement officers will search for players who leave the wanted vicinity. The wanted meter enters a cool-down mode and eventually recedes when players are hidden from
2035-408: A Free Mode, in which players have the entire map open to explore, with no end goal or mission to complete. Hosts of the game can control many variables, such as police presence, traffic, and weapons. The multiplayer mode was discontinued on Windows in 2020. Grand Theft Auto IV takes place in 2008, within a redesigned version of Liberty City. The design of the city focuses on a recreation of four of
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#17327722236282220-428: A basic simulation of a working city, complete with pedestrians who generally obey traffic signals. Further details are used to flesh out an open-ended atmosphere that has been used in several other games, such as The Simpsons: Hit & Run , which has less emphasis on crime or violence, and Lego City Undercover , which reverses the roles of police officer and criminal, although the player goes undercover in gangs for
2405-545: A choice of what to say. The NPC gives a scripted response to the player, and the game offers the player several new ways to respond. Due to the action-adventure subgenre's broad and inclusive nature, it causes some players to have difficulty finishing a particular game. Companies have devised ways to give the player help, such as offering clues or allowing the player to skip puzzles to compensate for this lack of ability. Brett Weiss cites Atari 's Superman (1979) as an action-adventure game, with Retro Gamer crediting it as
2590-474: A combination of complex story elements, which are often displayed for players using audio and video. The story is heavily reliant upon the player character's movement, which triggers story events and thus affects the flow of the game. Popular examples of action-adventure games include The Legend of Zelda , God of War , and Tomb Raider series. There is a good deal of controversy over what actually constitutes an action-adventure game. One definition of
2775-469: A combination of different motion capture performances. For the gameplay and animations, the team redid a lot of the work from previous games, wanting Grand Theft Auto IV to "feel next-generation". The role-playing elements from San Andreas were removed fairly early in development, partly due to the animation work it would have required, and because consistently needing to visit the gym felt antithetical to Niko's motivations. The game's targeting system
2960-448: A complex text parser and no free-moving character. While they share general gameplay dynamics, action-adventures vary widely in the design of their viewpoints, including bird's eye , side-scrolling, first-person, third-person , over-the-shoulder, or even a 3/4 isometric view . Many action-adventure games simulate a conversation through a conversation tree . When the player encounters a non-player character , they are allowed to select
3145-597: A different setting – a fictional version of London – and new missions and characters. Grand Theft Auto Advance , released in 2004 exclusively for the Game Boy Advance , featured a top-down perspective , similarly to the first two main games in the series, and the same setting as Grand Theft Auto III , to which it served as a prequel. Three games were released for the PlayStation Portable : Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories in 2005, which
3330-422: A euphemism for sex used in the game). These mini-games were left partially intact in the game's code. This prompted application of an AO (Adults Only) ESRB rating to the version of the game containing the leftover code. Take-Two Interactive was forced to re-release the game in order to restore the M (Mature) rating. A class action lawsuit against Take-Two was also filed as a result of the "Hot Coffee" code. One of
3515-448: A few small towns. This version of San Andreas is currently the only setting in the series that doesn't feature any map limitations, allowing players to explore the entire island at the beginning of the game. Los Angeles was extensively researched for Grand Theft Auto V . The team organised field research trips with tour guides and architectural historians and captured around 250,000 photos and hours of video footage during these visits. Since
3700-541: A film rather than the whole narrative". The developers considered adding co-operative multiplayer to the main story campaign, but decided it worked better as a single-player experience. When Sam Houser first showed interest in using the Euphoria software in the game, he was told that it would be impossible or only limited to cutscenes, but some members of the team were able to make it work. Engineers from NaturalMotion worked on-site at Rockstar North for several months at
3885-472: A firefight ensues, allowing Dimitri and Bulgarin to escape. Dimitri's men burn down Niko and Roman's apartment and taxi company, forcing them to flee to Bohan. While Niko finds work with several local drug lords , Dimitri briefly kidnaps Roman in a failed attempt to lure Niko into a trap. Later, Niko discovers that his romantic interest, a woman named Michelle, is an undercover government agent, who then entraps him into working for her superior. In exchange for
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#17327722236284070-406: A game on their platform. They didn't want us to make a Grand Theft Auto for kids, and we weren't interested in making a game we wouldn't normally make. Action-adventure video game An action-adventure game is a video game hybrid genre that combines core elements from both the action game and adventure game genres. Typically, classical adventure games have situational problems for
4255-517: A game with a mix of elements from an action game and an adventure game , especially crucial elements like puzzles inspired by older adventure games. Action-adventures require many of the same physical skills as action games, but may also offer a storyline, numerous characters, an inventory system, dialogue, and other features of adventure games. They are typically faster-paced than pure adventure games, because they include both physical and conceptual challenges. Action-adventure games normally include
4440-491: A large amount of freedom to the player. Traditional action games are structured as a single track series of levels with linear gameplay , but in Grand Theft Auto the player can determine the missions that they want to undertake, and their relationship with various characters are changed based on these choices. Influenced by the earlier game Turbo Esprit , the cities of the games can be roamed freely at any point in
4625-439: A large body of water and connected to each other and to two smaller islands, Starfish Island and Prawn Island, by a series of road bridges. At the beginning of the game, the player only has access to Vice City Beach, with the rest of the city being gradually unlocked as the story progresses. The same setting would be later used in the prequel Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories (set in 1984), albeit with several changes to reflect
4810-453: A large landmass in the southeast, while Bohan forms its own, smaller island in the northeast, and Algonquin acts as the city's central island. The setting also incorporates three smaller islands—Charge Island ( Randall's Island ), Colony Island ( Roosevelt Island ), and Happiness Island ( Liberty Island )—and a fourth landmass, Alderney, which is located west of Algonquin and regarded as its own independent state (similarly to New Jersey). Alderney
4995-513: A large map encompassing three cities and surrounding rural area. Two main instalments were published for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 . The 2008 title Grand Theft Auto IV focused on realism and detail, removing various customisation features, while adding an online multiplayer mode. Grand Theft Auto V , published in 2013, featured three playable protagonists. It was released to massive financial success, breaking multiple records. It
5180-457: A major bank robbery. Niko is later hired by Ray Boccino, a caporegime in the Pegorino crime family , to oversee a diamond deal, which goes awry. Boccino repays Niko by helping him find his ex-comrade Florian Cravic, now known as Bernie Crane, who claims he was not the one to betray their unit. Niko realises that the traitor was the only other survivor: Darko Brevic. Niko continues working for
5365-401: A mission is retried was to ensure that the gameplay felt "less canned and less like Groundhog Day ". Dan Houser described Niko Bellic as "a more rounded character" than those in previous games. He felt that his dual personality—often saving innocent people, while also being a "cold-hearted killer"—made him more relatable. He also felt that Niko's unfamiliarity with Liberty City allowed for
5550-419: A more developed storyline in which they are forced to overcome an unfortunate event (e.g., being betrayed and left for dead), which serves as motivation for the character to advance up the criminal ladder and ultimately leads to the triumph of the character by the end of the storyline. The Grand Theft Auto series belongs to a genre of free-roaming role-playing video games called open world games, and grants
5735-416: A multiplayer match. Giant Bomb ' s Gerstmann and GameRevolution ' s Costantino felt divided about the multiplayer, the latter naming it a "fantastic idea", but feeling as though connectivity problems resulted in a "broken" experience. The Windows version received "universal acclaim", according to Metacritic. Reviewers liked the enhanced visuals and the additional features, but criticised
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5920-420: A mural on a wall at a secluded warehouse location, showcasing the art in a video on 28 November 2007. A third trailer was released on 6 December 2007, introducing some of the game's characters, such as Roman and Michelle. The trailer features the song "King Ring" by Russian rap artist Seryoga , which Rockstar felt captured the "melting pot mentality" of Liberty City. Dan Houser wanted the third trailer to capture
6105-405: A new film titled Grand Theft Auto "; it claimed to have successfully taken legal action against similar attempts in the past. Each game in this series allows the player to take on the role of a criminal in the big city, typically an individual who ends up rising through the ranks of organised crime through the course of the game. The player is given various missions by kingpins and major idols in
6290-435: A number of different time periods. The games are split into three different universes (2D, 3D, and HD), each with their own reinterpretations of previously established settings. The universes share the names of cities, several brands, and background characters who never make physical appearances in the games (with a few exceptions), but are otherwise considered to be separate continuities. Liberty City, based on New York City ,
6475-404: A portion of the game. Criminal activities in Grand Theft Auto games do not go unnoticed by the police. As the player engages in these in-game illegal activities, they may gain a "wanted level", represented by a maximum of five or six stars. A small crime, such as running over a non-player character , may create a one star wanted level situation, while shooting an officer may earn more stars. As
6660-467: A rough synopsis, a six-paged, detailed document. Once the synopsis was reworked, the designers broke it into missions, represented by a large flow document demonstrating each section. The writers then work on the introductions to the missions; the gameplay dialogue comes much later. Unlike previous Grand Theft Auto games, Grand Theft Auto IV does not have cinematic influences. "We were consciously trying to go, well, if video games are going to develop into
6845-711: A side-scrolling platformer format with adventure exploration, creating the Metroidvania platform-adventure subgenre. Similarly, games like 005 (1981), Castle Wolfenstein and Metal Gear (1987) combined action-adventure exploration with stealth mechanics, laying the foundations for the stealth game subgenre, which would later be popularized in 1998 with the releases of Metal Gear Solid , Tenchu: Stealth Assassins , and Thief: The Dark Project . The cinematic platformer Prince of Persia (1989) featured action-adventure elements, inspiring games such as Another World (1991) and Flashback (1992). Alone in
7030-400: A single avatar as the protagonist . This type of game is often quite similar to role-playing video games . They are distinct from graphic adventures , which sometimes have free-moving central characters, but also a wider variety of commands and fewer or no action game elements and are distinct too from text adventures , characterized by many different commands introduced by the user via
7215-424: A smaller group of characters, but found that the story became boring and that players were less likely to explore the world. The stranger characters found in the game world were based on the "crazy people" that populate New York, according to Dan Houser, which in previous games were only able to be captured through radio stations or mild pedestrian behaviours. The team based the ethnicities, clothing, and behaviours of
7400-536: A state rather than a city. Based on California and Nevada , the state encompasses two landmasses, separated by a river and surrounded by a large body of water. The southern portion of the map features the cities of Los Santos (based on Los Angeles ) and San Fierro (San Francisco), separated by vast forest and mountain areas. By contrast, the northern portion is one large desert region and incorporates only one city, Las Venturas ( Las Vegas ). Both landmasses feature additional rural settlements, which are less inhabited than
7585-401: A state. The game features only the southern portion of the state, which is depicted as a large island. The southern portion of the island is occupied mostly by the city of Los Santos (which resembles Los Angeles much more closely than its San Andreas counterpart), while the northern portion, known as Blaine County, is less inhabited, featuring vast areas of desert, forest, and mountain, and only
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7770-509: A temporary tattoo of its logo. The game became widely anticipated. Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter suggested Take-Two may delay the game from its 16 October 2007 release date to boost 2008 financial results and avoid competing with games like Halo 3 ; Rockstar responded it was still on track for "late October". In August 2007, Take-Two announced the game would miss its date, delayed to their second fiscal quarter (February–April) of 2008, citing technical difficulties with
7955-443: A time to incorporate Euphoria software into the game. Rockstar also worked with Image Metrics for the game's facial animations. The facial rigs had around 100 joints, with a total of 300 minutes of facial animation. The scale of the project caused some issues for the animators, forcing them to have rigs completed before animation began. They also faced difficulty in the direction of the actor's head—either straight on when looking at
8140-424: A wide variety of crimes and violent acts while dealing with only temporary consequences, including the killing of policemen and military personnel. The sixth game in the series, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City , also came under criticism. One mission in particular, in which the player must instigate a gang war between Haitian and Cuban gangs, has been controversial. Haitian and Cuban anti-defamation groups criticised
8325-586: Is a compilation of III , Vice City , and San Andreas , and was first released in 2005 for the Xbox. It was later re-released for the PlayStation 2, Windows, Mac OS X, and PlayStation 4. The Trilogy also served as the revised package for San Andreas , which had to be pulled from shelves due to the controversial Hot Coffee mod . A report in August 2021 suggested that Rockstar Dundee was leading development on
8510-506: Is a standalone compilation of the two episodes for Grand Theft Auto IV . It contains both The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony on one disc. It was released on 29 October 2009 for the Xbox 360 and on 13 April 2010 for PlayStation 3 and Windows. Microsoft added Episodes from Liberty City to its backwards compatibility list for Xbox One platforms in February 2017. The standalone release of Episodes from Liberty City for Windows
8695-475: Is absent in Chinatown Wars . All islands, barring Happiness Island, are connected by road bridges, underground tunnels, and a subway system ; none of which lead out of the city. San Andreas, based on San Francisco , is one of the three original cities introduced in Grand Theft Auto . It is the second setting available to the player. The locale encompasses two landmasses: a large northern portion, which
8880-422: Is also a prequel to Grand Theft Auto III ; Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories in 2006, which is a prequel to Vice City ; and Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars in 2009, which features the same setting as Grand Theft Auto IV , but the two games are otherwise unrelated. Both Liberty City Stories and Vice City Stories were later ported to the PlayStation 2, while Chinatown Wars was originally released for
9065-735: Is an action game that includes situational problem-solving. Adventure gamers may also be purists, rejecting any game that makes use of physical challenges or time pressure. Regardless, the action-adventure label is prominent in articles over the internet and media. The term "action-adventure" is usually substituted for a particular subgenre due to its wide scope. Although action-adventure games are diverse and difficult to classify, there are some distinct subgenres. Many games with gameplay similar to those in The Legend of Zelda series are called Zelda clones or Zelda -like games. Popular subgenres include: A Grand Theft Auto clone belongs to
9250-533: Is coming, implying that the year is 1999. Grand Theft Auto V features the fictional town of Ludendorff in the state of North Yankton, which is the setting of two missions and is inaccessible outside of the storyline. The 2020 update for Grand Theft Auto Online , The Cayo Perico Heist , introduced the eponymous fictional island, a "tropical paradise" off the Caribbean coast of Colombia privately owned by notorious drug lord Juan "El Rubio" Strickler. The island
9435-502: Is divided into fifteen districts and generally considered to be the city's core, and a smaller island in the southeast, consisting of only one district, which acts as the city's docks area. The northern landmass is further divided by Aye Valley, which cuts through the heart of the area from the east to the west. A reimagined version of San Andreas was featured in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (set in 1992), as
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#17327722236289620-429: Is divided into two parts: the first part discusses the controversies surrounding the series, while the second half takes a theoretical look at the games absent of the controversy. Roger Corman , who produced the unrelated 1977 film Grand Theft Auto , claimed that any attempted film adaptation of the video game series was unable to proceed. In 2017, he claimed that he sued the "video game manufacturer who flat-out stole
9805-481: Is entirely depleted, gameplay stops, and players respawn at the nearest hospital. The single-player mode lets players control an Eastern European war veteran, Niko Bellic . During the story, Niko meets and befriends various new characters. They can then perform favours for Niko whenever he asks; for example, his cousin Roman, who owns a taxi service, can send one of his cabs to take Niko to any destination around
9990-482: Is impassable by the player. This particular version of Liberty City returned in the prequels Grand Theft Auto Advance (set in 2000) and Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (set in 1998), albeit with several changes to reflect the different time periods. The city was also mentioned in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas , and was the setting of a mission in
10175-454: Is inspired by New York, it is not beholden to it. He wrote that the city "exists in its own universe and rightfully so". Crispin Boyer of 1UP.com directed praise at the city's "breathtaking vistas, incredibly varied scenery, and lived-in look." Conversely, Jesse Costantino of GameRevolution felt that the game lacked important features common in other open world games. Reviewers praised
10360-461: Is one of the three original cities introduced in Grand Theft Auto . It is the first setting available to the player. The city encompasses two landmasses (a large one in the southeast and a smaller one in the northeast) and a Manhattan -like central island; two smaller islands are featured along the river that separates the three main islands. The setting also incorporates the neighbouring state of New Guernsey (a parody of New Jersey ), which occupies
10545-517: Is played from a third-person perspective and its world is navigated on foot and by vehicle. Throughout the single-player mode, players control Niko Bellic. An online multiplayer mode is also included with the game, allowing up to 32 players to engage in both cooperative and competitive gameplay in a recreation of the single-player setting. Two expansion packs were later released for the game, The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony , which both feature new plots that are interconnected with
10730-467: Is summoned by Pegorino for a final favour: to help with a highly lucrative heroin deal in collusion with Dimitri. He must decide to either work with Dimitri or exact revenge. If Niko goes through with the deal, Dimitri betrays him again, kills Pegorino, and sends an assassin to kill Niko at Roman's wedding, but the assassin accidentally kills Roman instead; Niko retaliates by tracking and murdering Dimitri. If Niko chooses revenge, he kills Dimitri aboard
10915-554: Is the most controversial video game series in history, with over 4,000 articles published about it, which include accusations of glamorising violence, corrupting gamers, and connection to real life crimes. The game was controversial from the first incarnation of the series. Grand Theft Auto was condemned in Britain, Germany, and France due to its "extreme violence", and Brazil banned it outright. Publicist Max Clifford planted sensational stories in tabloids in order to help sell
11100-548: Is the third setting available to the player. The city encompasses one large landmass, divided into eight districts which form the city's core, and a smaller island, Vice Beach, in the northeast. Like its real-life counterpart, Vice City is depicted as a tropical city, easily distinguished from the other two in the game by its beaches and palm trees. A redesigned version of Vice City was introduced in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (set in 1986). The city consists of two main landmasses, Vice City Beach and Vice City Mainland, separated by
11285-563: Is used as both a transshipment base and a partying place by El Rubio, and draws inspiration from Norman's Cay and Hacienda Nápoles . Cayo Perico is the first setting in the series not located in the United States since London. The series has included a wide variety of voice actors . The original Grand Theft Auto , its mission packs and its sequel , as well as Grand Theft Auto Advance and Chinatown Wars did not feature any voice credited to specific roles. The first game in
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#173277222362811470-517: The Uncharted franchise, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Ark: Survival Evolved . Grand Theft Auto IV Grand Theft Auto IV is a 2008 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games . It is the sixth main entry in the Grand Theft Auto series , following 2004's Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas , and the eleventh entry overall. Set in
11655-413: The 16-bit era . The games in the Grand Theft Auto series are set in fictional locales modelled after real-life cities, at various points in time from the early 1960s to the 2010s. The original game's map encompassed three cities—Liberty City (based on New York City ), San Andreas (based on San Francisco ), and Vice City (based on Miami )—but later titles tend to focus on a single setting and expand upon
11840-579: The BBC and the Design Museum . In 2013, The Telegraph ranked Grand Theft Auto among Britain's most successful exports. The series has also been controversial for its adult nature and violent themes, as well as for cut content. The Grand Theft Auto series is split into separate fictional universes , named after the primary level of graphics capability used in each era. The original Grand Theft Auto , its expansions and its sequel are considered
12025-468: The Grand Theft Auto series surpassing a collective total of 100 million copies. As of July 2013, the game has sold over 25 million copies, making it one of the best-selling video games , and one of the best-selling games on both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 . All sales records broken by Grand Theft Auto IV were beaten by its successor, Grand Theft Auto V . In the United Kingdom,
12210-557: The Mafia and earns the trust of Don Jimmy Pegorino, who orders him to kill Boccino after suspecting him of being a police informant. Niko also helps Packie kidnap Don Giovanni Ancelotti's daughter to ransom her for the diamonds, but Bulgarin intercepts the exchange. In the ensuing firefight, the diamonds are lost. Eventually, government agents find Darko in Romania and bring him to Liberty City for Niko to decide his fate. Afterwards, Niko
12395-600: The Nintendo DS and later ported to PlayStation Portable. In 2009, The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony were released for the Xbox 360 as expansion packs to Grand Theft Auto IV ; a " strategic alliance " between Rockstar and Microsoft resulted in the timed exclusivity. The expansions focus on characters who played a relatively minor role in the main game, and whose stories take place simultaneously with Grand Theft Auto IV ' s. Both were later released for
12580-553: The Platypus , prompting Pegorino to target Niko at Roman's wedding but accidentally kill Packie's sister Kate, whom Niko had been dating; Niko retaliates by tracking and murdering Pegorino. Later, Niko learns that Mallorie is pregnant. Preliminary work on Grand Theft Auto IV began in November 2004, a month after the release of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas . Rockstar president Sam Houser felt that following up San Andreas
12765-495: The PlayStation in 1998 and the Game Boy Color in 1999. Grand Theft Auto 2 was released in 1999 for Windows, later receiving ports on the PlayStation, Dreamcast and Game Boy Color. The PlayStation 2 also featured three instalments of the main series, all of which have been re-released on several platforms; a deal between Take-Two Interactive and Sony Computer Entertainment resulted in their timed exclusivity on
12950-607: The most expensive video games ever made. The game's setting, Liberty City, is based on New York City. The team did not look at the previous renditions of Liberty City as inspiration, wanting it to retain the "general feel" but nothing else. The map is roughly three times the size of Grand Theft Auto III ' s. The developers originally considered using the entire state of New York , before restricting it to Manhattan, and then expanding it out again. They considered including more suburbs with woods, and would regularly vote on which areas to include. Art director Aaron Garbut said that
13135-525: The most expensive video games to develop . Grand Theft Auto IV was released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles in April 2008, and for Windows in December. Upon release, the game received critical acclaim, with praise particularly directed at the narrative and open-world design. Grand Theft Auto IV broke industry sales records and became the fastest-selling entertainment product in history at
13320-430: The "2D universe". Grand Theft Auto III and its sequels are considered the "3D universe". Grand Theft Auto IV , its expansions and Grand Theft Auto V are considered the "HD universe". Each universe is considered separate with only brands, place names and background characters shared between them. Grand Theft Auto , the first game in the series, was released for MS-DOS and Windows in November 1997, ported to
13505-818: The "first to utilize multiple screens as playing area". Mark J.P. Wolf credits Adventure (1980) for the Atari VCS as the earliest-known action-adventure game. The game involves exploring a 2D environment, finding and using items which each have prescribed abilities, and fighting dragons in real-time like in an action game . Muse Software 's Castle Wolfenstein (1981) was another early action-adventure game, merging exploration, combat, stealth, and maze game elements, drawing inspiration from arcade shoot 'em ups and maze games (such as maze-shooter Berzerk ) and war films (such as The Guns of Navarone ). According to Wizardry developer Roe R. Adams, early action-adventure games "were basically arcade games done in
13690-406: The "visceral qualities" of the game, but focus less on the story, as the first two trailers had done. On 8 February 2008, five teaser trailers for the game were released, each showcasing a particular character or service within the game. Similar teaser trailers were later released in pairs on 21 February, 7 March, and 11 April. Another trailer, released on 27 March 2008, showcases some scenes from
13875-516: The 9th Game Developers Choice Awards including Game of the Year , four at the 12th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards including Overall Game of the Year , and seven at the 5th British Academy Games Awards , tying with Modern Warfare for the most nominations at the latter. At IGN ' s Best of 2008, it won eleven awards, including Best Voice Acting across all three platforms and overall, and Best Story for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. It
14060-451: The BBC to resolve the matter. It first aired on 15 September 2015 on BBC Two . In 2006, McFarland & Company published The Meaning and Culture of Grand Theft Auto . Compiled by Nate Garrelts , the 264-page book is a collection of essays regarding the Grand Theft Auto series, to help audiences better understand the games and to make a point about due diligence of game criticism. The book
14245-490: The Dark (1992) used 3D graphics , which would later be popularized by Resident Evil (1996) and Tomb Raider (1996). Resident Evil in particular created the survival horror subgenre, inspiring titles such as Silent Hill (1999) and Fatal Frame (2001). Action-adventure games have gone on to become more popular than the pure adventure games and pure platform games that inspired them. Recent examples include
14430-535: The NPCs on the photographs and videos that they captured around New York, divided into different areas; they created mood boards for each location. The NPCs also converse in different languages. Grand Theft Auto IV sees a shift in the series to a more realistic and detailed style and tone, partly a result of the transition to consoles which offered high-definition graphics and the new and improved capabilities of such consoles. The development team worked to represent
14615-486: The PlayStation 2, before receiving ports to Windows and the Xbox . The 2001 title Grand Theft Auto III moved away from the two-dimension (2D) graphics used in the first two games to three-dimension (3D) computer graphics Grand Theft Auto: Vice City was published in 2002, and was the first to feature a speaking protagonist, voiced by Ray Liotta . Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas , released in 2004, introduced various new elements, including character customisation and
14800-466: The PlayStation 3 and Windows as part of a compilation, titled Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City , also available on Xbox 360. Numerous titles in the series have received ports to mobile devices. Chinatown Wars was released for iOS in 2010 and for Android and Fire OS in 2014. For their tenth anniversaries, Grand Theft Auto III and Vice City were both re-released for iOS and Android in 2011 and 2012, respectively. In 2013, San Andreas
14985-569: The PlayStation 3 version. IGN predicted the delay would benefit other publishers, particularly Activision with Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare . On 24 January 2008, Rockstar announced the 29 April release date. Some gameplay features were censored for the Australian and New Zealand versions but the restrictions were subsequently removed. Capcom published the game in Japan on 30 October 2008. In August 2008, Rockstar announced that
15170-537: The Rockstar North offices "so while they worked they could look up and there was New York". Benzies claimed that the team took over 100,000 photographs on location in New York, though Garbut estimates that they took around 250,000. They also studied architectural plans for apartments, used satellite images to determine city block layout, researched sales figures for models of cars, and read books that detailed
15355-687: The Windows version is "the most attractive version", it's "annoyingly fiddly to get there". GameSpy ' s Tuttle was able to overlook the demanding system requirements in exchange for the game's other features. Grand Theft Auto IV earned awards from several critics and publications. It received Game of the Year awards from Digital Spy , the Entertainment Merchants Association , GameTrailers , Giant Bomb , IGN Australia , Kotaku , Los Angeles Times , The New York Times , and Time . The game led
15540-484: The action significantly". The port's enhanced visuals were commended by many reviewers. GameZone 's Hopper considered the visuals an improvement over the original versions. Andy Robinson of Computer and Video Games called the visuals "impressive", while Tom Orry of VideoGamer.com called them "superb". Conversely, the port's system requirements, considered difficult to run with advanced settings, received criticism. Eurogamer ' s Gillen said that, though
15725-474: The areas that they felt "characterised it the best". Garbut wanted to capture a caricature of the city as he felt that most people were familiar with "the highlights" from film or literature but did not need to know the areas precisely. The city was not built with specific missions in mind; the area was created first, and missions implemented later. To achieve a realistic environment, 60–70 employees from Rockstar North travelled to New York for research: first at
15910-468: The beginning of the project in March or April 2005 for a week and a half, and a smaller trip in 2007. Police officers who previously worked the beat drove the team around Washington Heights . A full-time research team based in New York handled further requests for information, such as the ethnic minority of a neighbourhood or videos of traffic patterns. Videos shot in New York were played on televisions at
16095-404: The best feature of the port, and Steven Hopper of GameZone called it a "great touch". The port's upgrade to 32 concurrent players in the online multiplayer mode, as opposed to the console version's 16 players, was also met with positive feedback; Eurogamer ' s Gillen said that the "possibility for mayhem... increases", while Will Tuttle of GameSpy felt that the player increase "changes
16280-399: The billboards were implemented in the game around six months prior to release. The game's script, written by Dan Houser and Rupert Humphries, is about 1,000 pages. Approximately 660 actors provided voices for the game over 80,000 lines of dialogue. After conceiving the character and setting, Dan Houser spoke with his brother Sam Houser and Leslie Benzies to bounce story ideas before writing
16465-403: The boroughs of New York City : Broker (based on Brooklyn ), Dukes ( Queens ), Bohan ( The Bronx ), and Algonquin ( Manhattan ). The setting also includes the neighbouring state of Alderney (based on New Jersey ). Initially, bridges are locked down due to a terrorist threat, and police constantly pursue players if the bridges are crossed. The blockades are lifted as the story progresses, allowing
16650-415: The character customisation available in the multiplayer mode, and noted that it runs "just as smoothly" as the single-player game. 1UP.com ' s Boyer called the multiplayer modes "excellent", and IGN ' s Goldstein named it one of the best. Official Xbox Magazine ' s Hicks dubbed the multiplayer as "hugely entertaining", while Walter of GamesRadar praised the "seamless" process of entering
16835-404: The city underworld which must be completed to progress through the storyline. Assassinations and other violent crimes are featured regularly. Occasionally, taxi driving, firefighting , street racing , bus driving , or learning to fly helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft are also involved in the game. In later titles, notably those released after Grand Theft Auto 2 , the player is given
17020-456: The city's infrastructure, including its subways , sewers, and garbage disposal. Hove Beach is based on Brighton Beach , which Sam Houser found "pretty incredible" and unusual; the name is based on the English city Brighton and Hove , made up of the former neighbouring towns Brighton and Hove . Houser appreciated that Brighton Beach was home to several Eastern Europeans due to the nature of
17205-466: The city. Cabs are always available during gameplay for quick travel to a destination. Throughout the course of the game, players are also faced with morality choices, which alter the storyline appropriately depending on the player's choice. While free roaming the game world, players may engage in context-specific activities such as bowling or darts . Other available activities include a vigilante mini-game, and in-game television programming. Niko has
17390-438: The city. He befriends Yardies second-in-command Little Jacob and is forced to work for Vlad Glebov, Roman's Russian loan shark, whom Niko eventually kills upon learning he had slept with Roman's girlfriend, Mallorie. In retaliation, Niko and Roman are kidnapped by Russian mobsters on orders of their boss Mikhail Faustin and his lieutenant, Dimitri Rascalov. Indifferent to Vlad's murder, Faustin releases them and employs Niko as
17575-407: The controversies involved with this game was Mothers Against Drunk Driving 's (MADD) criticism of the ability to drink and drive as a new feature. MADD had even requested ESRB to change the rating of the game from "M" for ages seventeen and up to "AO", for adults only, because they felt it was inappropriate for children, even at the age of seventeen, to experience drunk driving in such a manner. In
17760-408: The cover system allows players to execute an attack plan. In addition to the combat system, most reviewers noted the vehicle handling was more realistic than in previous games. Robinson of Computer and Video Games felt that the vehicle handling echoed realism, while Hicks of Official Xbox Magazine called the vehicle selection "excellent". Costantino of GameRevolution praised the improvement of
17945-405: The creation of Grand Theft Auto . Directed by Owen Harris and written by James Wood, the drama stars Daniel Radcliffe as Rockstar president Sam Houser and Bill Paxton as disbarred attorney Jack Thompson . In May 2015, Rockstar filed a lawsuit against the BBC for trademark infringement, stating that they had no involvement with the development of the film and had unsuccessfully tried to contact
18130-529: The criticism. It is, however, possible to drive drunk again in the successor, Grand Theft Auto V . The Lost and Damned expansion pack for Grand Theft Auto IV was condemned by US parents group Common Sense Media who issued a public warning against the pack's content due to a full-frontal nudity scene during one of the cutscenes. They claimed the game was "more controversial than its predecessors" because it featured "full frontal male nudity". Nintendo wanted us to make Grand Theft Auto , and we wanted to make
18315-399: The design was a face to convey the appropriate emotions and a body that could move nicely with the new animations. The in-game purchasable outfits were also designed to fit with the character. The team ensured that the gameplay choices presented to the player were not too extensive, as they still had to make sense to the character, who is driven by the people around him. Dan Houser felt that
18500-570: The developers. The proprietary Rockstar Advanced Game Engine was used for Grand Theft Auto IV . Garbut found the game's technical design similar to Grand Theft Auto III ' s, with both being the first in the series released on their respective platforms. He claimed an operable game engine was not finalised until late in development, at which point "there's still plenty of guesswork" until optimisation near release. The characters' physical performances were recorded using motion capture . Up to eight actors, dressed in full suits, could perform on
18685-407: The different time period. A third version of Vice City will be featured as the main setting of the upcoming Grand Theft Auto VI . The London 1969 and London 1961 expansion packs for Grand Theft Auto take place within a fictionalised version of London during the 1960s. As such, they are the only games in the series to be set outside of the United States. The portion of the city used in
18870-678: The episodes to show "a different side of Liberty City". In January 2010, Rockstar announced that the DLC would be bundled as Episodes from Liberty City , released for PlayStation 3 and Windows on 13 April 2010 in North America and 16 April in Europe. Episodes from Liberty City was also bundled with the main game in The Complete Edition , released on 26 October 2010 in North America and 29 October in Europe. The Xbox 360 version of
19055-400: The fictional Liberty City, based on New York City , the single-player story follows Eastern European war veteran Niko Bellic and his attempts to escape his past while under pressure from high-profile criminals. The open world design lets players freely roam Liberty City, consisting of three main islands, and the neighbouring state of Alderney, which is based on New Jersey . The game
19240-453: The final game, drunk driving is a playable event, but it is a crime that automatically generates a wanted rating and main playable character Niko Bellic loudly (and drunkenly) proclaims that it is a "bad idea" and that he "should know better". Notably, it is impossible to drive while drunk in the GTA IV expansions, The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony . These were released after
19425-407: The first contemporary game in the series since 2001's Grand Theft Auto III ; the team felt that enough time had passed to avoid feeling repetitive. The types of in-game vehicles were decided upon early in development, after which the vehicles department begin creating the designs. The vehicles are not based on specific real-life counterparts, but take elements from several, with some original ideas by
19610-443: The first game. The controversies flared up again with Grand Theft Auto III , since the 3D graphics made the violence more realistic, and players could pay for the services of prostitutes to restore their health, and if they wished, kill them to get some of their money back. There is also criticism from the focus on illegal activities in comparison with traditional "heroic" roles that other games offer. The main character can commit
19795-428: The freedom that it allows the player. Seth Schiesel of The New York Times named the city the "real star" of the game. Official Xbox Magazine ' s Hicks was impressed by the city, attributing this to the game's artificial intelligence . Robinson of Computer and Video Games considered the environment believable, and felt that the world was "utterly unmatched". Goldstein of IGN felt that, although Liberty City
19980-439: The game an element of "replayability". Eurogamer ' s Tom Bramwell considered the morality choices a fair substitute over "bosses with large health bars". The game's characters—particularly Niko—received positive reactions from critics. Hicks of Official Xbox Magazine and Andy Robinson of Computer and Video Games both called Niko "charismatic" and "likeable", stating that they prefer him over previous protagonists of
20165-461: The game and its DLC were made backwards compatible with the Xbox One on 9 February 2017. Industry analysts found Grand Theft Auto IV ' s marketing much more subtle than Microsoft's marketing of Halo 3 (2007), identifying Rockstar's interest in controlling the output at all times. The game was marketed through video trailers and press demonstrations. On 29 March 2007, the debut trailer
20350-405: The game became the fastest-selling game of all time, selling over 631,000 copies in twenty-four hours. This broke the record set by Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas at 501,000 copies over the same period. During the first five days of availability, the game sold over 927,000 copies in the United Kingdom. In the United States, Grand Theft Auto IV sold 2.85 million units in its first five days. By
20535-485: The game itself serves as a reboot for the series. The new timeline established by Grand Theft Auto IV would continue with two expansion packs, The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony , and a sequel, Grand Theft Auto V , as well as its online component, Grand Theft Auto Online . The handheld game Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars is also considered part of the HD Universe, because it features
20720-486: The game were placed on buildings and public transport. The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) removed advertisements promoting the game from their property in April 2008; Take-Two filed a lawsuit in response, claiming that the CTA had violated a contract. Visitors to the website of WKTT Talk Radio—a fictional radio station within the game—were offered a chance to leave a voice mail message stating their problems. Prior to leaving
20905-443: The game would be coming to Windows on 18 November 2008 in North America and 21 November in Europe, with additional development work by Rockstar Toronto . Microsoft partnered with Rockstar in a US$ 50 million deal to bring two episodic downloadable content packs to the Xbox 360: Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned on 17 February 2009, and Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony on 29 October 2009. Dan Houser wanted
21090-476: The game's open world and complete optional side missions. Composed of the fictional city of Liberty City, the world is larger in area than most earlier Grand Theft Auto series entries. At the beginning of the game, players can only explore the first island—composed of Dukes and Broker—with all other islands unlocking as the story progresses. Players use melee attacks, firearms and explosives to fight enemies, and may run, jump, swim or use vehicles to navigate
21275-485: The game's characters. Dan Houser described Liberty City as "the biggest character" of the game. The Grand Theft Auto IV rendition of Liberty City is more detailed and larger in size than most earlier entries in the series; although smaller than San Andreas, the setting of the previous main game, the developers considered it comparable in scope due to city's verticality, number of buildings, and level of detail. The team wanted less dead spots and irrelevant spaces, such as
21460-574: The game's depiction of violence and players' ability to drink-drive . Its successor, Grand Theft Auto V , was released in September 2013. Grand Theft Auto IV is an action-adventure game played from a third-person perspective . Players complete missions —linear scenarios with set objectives—to progress through the story. It is possible to have several active missions running at one time, as some require players to wait for further instructions or events. Outside of missions, players can freely roam
21645-514: The game's hip-hop radio station The Beat 102.7. Record producer Bobby Konders, who owns the record label Massive B and hosts the in-game radio station Massive B Soundsystem 96.9, flew to Jamaica to get dancehall artists to re-record tracks to make references to the boroughs of Liberty City. The Housers's father, jazz musician Walter Houser, provided several classical music tracks for the game. Microsoft 's Peter Moore announced Grand Theft Auto IV at E3 2006 by rolling up his sleeve to reveal
21830-425: The game's mechanics, particularly the physics engine's advanced vehicle and character animations. Reviewers praised the sound design. Goldstein of IGN praised the actors' performances and the use of licensed music. GameSpot ' s Calvert and GamesRadar ' s Walter also commended the licensed music, the latter admiring the humour of the radio's talk stations. Michael Pinson of The Pro Audio Files praised
22015-529: The game's storyline progresses: Portland (based on the industrial areas of Brooklyn and Queens , with additional elements from Manhattan and Long Island ), Staunton Island (based mostly on Manhattan), and Shoreside Vale (loosely based on North Jersey , The Bronx , Staten Island , and Upstate New York ). The islands are connected by road bridges and an underground tunnel system. A tunnel leading out of Liberty City can be found in Shoreside Vale, but it
22200-422: The game's world. The online multiplayer mode for Grand Theft Auto IV allows up to 32 players to freely roam across the map. Players decide which game mode they wish to play, including deathmatches and street races. Both cooperative and competitive game modes are available, split into ranked and unranked matches. For players to level up through ranks, in-game money has to be earned. The game also features
22385-408: The game's world. There is a first-person perspective option when using vehicles. In combat, auto-aim and a cover system can be used as assistance against enemies. Should players take damage, their health meter can be fully regenerated by consuming food or drinks, using medical kits, or calling for paramedics. If players commit crimes, the game's law enforcement agencies may respond as indicated by
22570-593: The game, and are examples of open world video game environments which offer accessible buildings with minor missions in addition to the main storyline. There are exceptions: missions follow a linear, overarching plot. These missions are required to complete in order to unlock new areas in the game. Grand Theft Auto III and subsequent games have more voice acting and radio stations, which simulate driving to music with disc jockeys, radio personalities, commercials , talk radio , pop music , and American culture. The use of vehicles in an explorable urban environment provides
22755-467: The game, it remained in the game code, and was discovered in both the console and Windows versions of the game. After the release of San Andreas , modders managed to find the unused code in the game and released unofficial patches for the Windows and Xbox (with a modchip ) versions as well as a PlayStation 2 version through the use of an Action Replay code enabling the player to engage in these sexual mini-games (dubbed "Hot Coffee" in reference to
22940-465: The game, such as a bank robbery and police chase. A television commercial from GameStop debuted on 1 April, focusing on the activities in Liberty City. Viral marketing strategies were used to promote the game. Wanted posters were placed around New York City promoting the game's characters and website; billboard versions were also posted throughout the city. Murals and posters advertising
23125-560: The game. Jean-Robert Lafortune of the Haitian American Grassroots Coalition is quoted as saying that "The game shouldn't be designed to destroy human life, it shouldn't be designed to destroy an ethnic group," for this and similar scenarios, including lines in the game's script such as "kill the Haitian dickheads" said by character "Diaz" during an altercation between the player and a Haitian gang. After
23310-401: The game. Garbut found the increased demand of detail brought on by the advanced technology daunting. A technique used to make the visuals look real was to avoid harsh edges, instead blending surfaces together to make the world look dirty and lived-in. The props department created multiple variations of different objects to make the world more interesting and unique. Grand Theft Auto IV was
23495-406: The gameplay still follows a number of adventure game genre tropes (gathering items , exploration of and interaction with one's environment, often including an overworld connecting areas of importance, and puzzle-solving). While the controls are arcade-style (character movement, few action commands) there is an ultimate goal beyond a high score. In most action-adventure games, the player controls
23680-590: The games is based on Central London , although heavily condensed and mostly geographically inaccurate. It consists of two landmasses, separated by the River Thames and connected by several road bridges. A fictionalised version of Manchester is also featured in the games. Grand Theft Auto 2 is set in Anywhere City, a fictional US retro futuristic metropolis with no apparent inspiration from any real-life city. The setting consists of three areas, which
23865-399: The highest-rated PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 game. Reviewers praised the narrative, open world design and combat system. Hilary Goldstein of IGN felt that the game "sets a new benchmark for open-world games", and Andrew Reiner of Game Informer wrote that the game "completely changes the landscape of gaming". Reviewers lauded the open world design, some further complimenting
24050-574: The idea", and that they "settled out of court and they gave me some money". He said that he retains the rights, "but the way it was actually written in the contract is a little bit cloudy", and that his lawyers were analysing the contract to ensure that he can remake the film. Take-Two Interactive responded to Corman's claims, noting that the company "owns all rights for films related to the Grand Theft Auto video game series", and that it "can and will take appropriate legal action against anyone attempting to misuse our intellectual property by attempting to make
24235-521: The label Grand Theft Auto clone on similar titles. The series has been critically acclaimed, with all the main 3D entries in the franchise frequently ranked among the greatest and best-selling video games ; it has shipped more than 425 million units, making it one of the best-selling video game franchises . In 2006, Grand Theft Auto was featured in a list of British design icons in the Great British Design Quest organised by
24420-659: The latter. A third version of Liberty City was featured in Grand Theft Auto IV , its expansion packs The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony (all three set in 2008), and the handheld game Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (set in 2009). This iteration closely resembles New York, and consists of four main boroughs, which become available to explore as the story progresses: Broker (based on Brooklyn), Dukes (Queens), Bohan (The Bronx), and Algonquin (Manhattan). The placement of these boroughs mirrors that of their real-life counterparts: Broker and Dukes occupy
24605-508: The main Grand Theft Auto IV storyline, and follow new protagonists. Development of Grand Theft Auto IV began soon after the release of San Andreas and was shared between many of Rockstar's studios worldwide. The game introduced a shift to a more realistic and detailed style and tone for the series. Unlike previous entries, Grand Theft Auto IV lacked a strong cinematic influence, as the team attempted an original approach to
24790-530: The manner in which the game was first demonstrated, but that it did not anticipate long-term effects on development. In December 2023, the game was officially announced as Grand Theft Auto VI , with a projected release date of 2025 for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. Grand Theft Auto has spawned numerous additional games and expansion packs . In 1999, the original game received two expansion packs: Grand Theft Auto: London 1969 and Grand Theft Auto: London 1961 , which, as their names suggest, featured
24975-412: The message, callers were asked to read the terms and conditions, which revealed that some of the voice mail message would be selected for use in the game. In the month prior to launch, Rockstar and GameStop held a competition offering up to US$ 10,000 and a trip to New York City for the game's launch event. Microsoft held a similar sweepstakes competition, offering consoles, games, Microsoft Points ,
25160-668: The missions in San Andreas had become too linear, and wanted to present choices to the player in Grand Theft Auto IV . The writers found that Niko needed a motivation to come to America, so they created his cousin, Roman. Dan Houser felt that the two could not be brothers as there would be a deeper level of familiarity than necessary. He described the two as a double act , with Roman's fantasist charm playing off Niko's tough cynicism. The team gave other non-playable characters (NPCs) more definable behaviours and dialogue to make them feel more alive. The writers initially considered having
25345-538: The most realised video game characters attributing this to the game's script, while 1UP.com ' s Boyer commended the use of character bonding during missions. Many reviewers found the combat system was more responsive than in previous games, particularly praising the addition of the cover system. Justin Calvert of GameSpot wrote that the cover system makes the game's combat a "huge improvement" over previous games. Reiner of Game Informer agreed, writing that
25530-418: The motion capture stage at one time. The camera included a teleprompter for actors to read their scripts. Over a hundred moves would be captured each day of production. The voice acting performances were often recorded months later alongside facial reference capture, and an actor's voice could be composited over a different actor's physical performance. The in-game animations were crafted similarly, using
25715-611: The murders of several known or suspected terrorists , the superior clears Niko's criminal record and aids him with seeking the traitor. Roman's fortunes improve when he receives a large amount of insurance money from the arson, which he uses to rebuild the business and buy an apartment in Algonquin. Roman also proposes to Mallorie, who accepts. While working for the Irish Mob , Niko befriends gangster Patrick "Packie" McReary, helping him and his brothers carry out various jobs, including
25900-557: The music video for Rick Astley 's " Never Gonna Give You Up ". The second trailer was released on 28 June 2007, showcasing the game's physics engine and featuring the song "Arm in Arm (Shy Child Remix)" by the Boggs . Dan Houser noted that the game was "still rough" when the first trailer was released, but that cutscenes were "coming on board" by the second trailer's release. To unveil the game's cover art, Rockstar contracted artists to paint
26085-455: The narrative. IGN ' s Goldstein accepted that the darker tones to the story were a break from series tradition. Jon Hicks of Official Xbox Magazine felt surprised by the amount of depth to the story. Reiner of Game Informer wrote that the level of freedom in the game contributed to his enjoyment of the story. The morality choices faced by players throughout the narrative were also welcomed. 1UP.com ' s Boyer felt that they gave
26270-474: The next stage, then the thing isn't to try and do a loving tribute or reference other stuff," said Dan Houser. He said that the writers wanted something "fresh and new and not something that was obviously derived from [a] movie". Dan Houser felt that the quality of the writing had to improve alongside the advancements in graphics and technology. He noted that the improvements in facial animation allowed for slower-paced cutscenes. The unique dialogue that plays when
26455-467: The nominees at the 2008 Spike Video Game Awards with eight nominations; it led the winners (tying with Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots ) with three awards: Game of the Year, Best Action Adventure Game, and Best Performance by a Human Male for Michael Hollick 's role as Niko. The following year, The Ballad of Gay Tony won Best DLC. Grand Theft Auto IV was nominated for three awards at
26640-554: The northwest portion of the map. All four major islands are divided into multiple districts, inspired by New York and New Jersey's boroughs. A redesigned version of Liberty City was introduced in Grand Theft Auto III (set in 2001). This iteration is only loosely based on New York, and incorporates elements from other U.S. cities, such as Philadelphia , Detroit , Boston , Chicago , and Baltimore . The city encompasses three main islands, which are gradually unlocked as
26825-432: The number of stars increase, the amount and strength of the response will increase; a single star might have a few police cars chase after the player, while at 5 or 6 stars, tanks and attack helicopters will chase down the player. Many in-game missions will automatically give the player a wanted level after completing a certain event which they must then get rid of before the mission is complete. Often, trying to keep away from
27010-424: The numbering scheme absent from the previous two main games to represent the same leap in production as Grand Theft Auto 2 (1999) to Grand Theft Auto III (2001). Development of Grand Theft Auto IV ceased by 21 April 2008 when the game was submitted for manufacturing . Producer Leslie Benzies estimated that the budget of the development efforts exceeded US$ 100 million , making Grand Theft Auto IV one of
27195-418: The officers' line of sight. The game's cover system allows players to move between cover, to fire blindly, aim freely, and target a specific enemy. Individual body parts can also be targeted. Melee attacks include additional moves, such as dodging, blocking, disarming an opponent and counter-attacking. Body armour can be used to absorb gunshots and explosive damage, but is used up in the process. When health
27380-446: The original three locales. Each game in the series centres on different respective protagonist who attempts to rise through the criminal underworld due to various motives, often accompanying themes of betrayal. Several film and music veterans have voiced characters in the games, including Ray Liotta , Dennis Hopper , Samuel L. Jackson , William Fichtner , James Woods , Debbie Harry , Axl Rose and Peter Fonda . DMA Design began
27565-458: The player character. Although the following title, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas , also featured many notable film actors—such as Samuel L. Jackson , Peter Fonda and James Woods —it had been decided that the use of such actors should be reduced, particularly for leading roles. As a result, many of the prominent roles in San Andreas were voiced by lower profile actors or rappers. From Liberty City Stories through to Grand Theft Auto V ,
27750-489: The player has enough ammunition and recovery items to " survive " the horror setting. This is a thematic genre with diverse gameplay, so not all survival horror games share all the features. The Resident Evil franchise popularized this subgenre. Action-adventure games are faster-paced than pure adventure games, and include physical as well as conceptual challenges where the story is enacted rather than narrated. While motion-based, often reflexive, actions are required,
27935-473: The player to explore and solve to complete a storyline, involving little to no action . If there is action, it is generally confined to isolated instances. Classical action games, on the other hand, have gameplay based on real-time interactions that challenges the player's reflexes and eye-hand coordination . Action-adventure games combine these genres by engaging both eye-hand coordination and problem-solving skills. An action adventure game can be defined as
28120-484: The player to relate to him more, only driven by his vague past and relationship with Roman. When deciding on Niko's background, the writers felt that being an immigrant could lead to more dangerous situations, and therefore more enjoyable missions; after discussions with criminal experts, Dan Houser found that "the real scary characters are not born in America anymore". He felt that Niko's outsider view of American culture
28305-426: The player to traverse between islands safely. Grand Theft Auto IV is set in the fictional "HD Universe ", which mirrors and parodies the real world. The previous games formed fictional universes of their own, which despite having many similarities with the HD Universe, are considered to be different continuities. Hence, the Liberty City depicted in Grand Theft Auto IV is different from its previous renditions, and
28490-616: The player will switch between as the story progresses: the Downtown District, the Residential District, and the Industrial District. Each district is depicted as its own individual island. The game is set in an unspecified time period—conflicting sources suggest anything from "three weeks into the future", to the year 2013, while the game itself features several references to the "new millennium" that
28675-660: The police while wanted will cause the player to gain even higher wanted levels. The player can remove their character's wanted level by avoiding detection or spending in-game money at specific locations to elude the police (such as a mod shop to repaint their car). Alternatively, if the player-character dies, they will respawn at a hospital and the wanted level will be removed, though the player may lose money, guns, and other benefits they had before being chased. The "wanted level" gameplay concept has become common in similar open world games . Most Grand Theft Auto games are set in fictional parodies of well-known United States cities, in
28860-564: The port for its inferiority over the console versions. The in-game features added in the port were well received. The addition of the Video Editor was met with positive reactions; GameSpot ' s Calvert called it "a great way to get creative", while Kieron Gillen of Eurogamer criticised the unpredictability in its timing. Critics also praised the addition of the customisable radio station, which allows players to listen to their own choice of music; Tom Chick of 1UP.com named it
29045-445: The release of the game, hundreds of in-game buildings have been identified as being based on real-world landmarks. The New Yorker ' s Sam Sweet notes that, with sales of the game reaching thirteen million copies, "there will be more people living in the imaginary state of Los Santos than in the real city on which it was modelled." Vice City, based on Miami , is one of the three original cities introduced in Grand Theft Auto . It
29230-676: The same map as Grand Theft Auto IV , except for Alderney. Niko Bellic, an Eastern European ex-soldier, arrives in Liberty City aboard a cargo ship, the Platypus , to escape his criminal past, pursue the American Dream , and search for the man who betrayed his unit to an ambush during a war ten years prior. Reuniting with his cousin Roman, he discovers that his tales of riches were lies concealing his small, dirty apartment, unprofitable taxi company, gambling debts, and disputes with loan sharks . Niko begins assisting Roman with his problems, which leads him to make his first criminal contacts in
29415-441: The separate features of the sound design—including the city's ambiance, licensed music, character dialogue, and vehicle and weapon sound effects—applauding the developer's use of uniting the features together. Carolyn Gudmundson of GamesRadar also retroactively praised the soundtrack, commending its suitability to the setting. The online multiplayer mode received positive reactions from critics. Reiner of Game Informer praised
29600-479: The series has continued using lesser known actors to voice main characters, but still uses celebrities and real-life radio personalities to voice the DJs of the many radio stations featured in each game. Some games also feature celebrities portraying themselves, such as Lazlow Jones , Phil Collins , Ricky Gervais , Katt Williams , and Dr. Dre . According to The Guinness World Records 2008 and 2009 Gamer's Edition, it
29785-515: The series in 1997, with the release of the Grand Theft Auto . As of 2020, the series consists of seven standalone titles and four expansion packs . The third main title, Grand Theft Auto III , released in 2001, is considered a landmark game, and brought the series into a three-dimensional environment for the first time. Subsequent titles have followed and built upon the format established by Grand Theft Auto III , receiving significant acclaim. The games influenced other open-world games, and led to
29970-408: The series is a term for motor vehicle theft in the United States. Gameplay focuses on an open world where the player can complete missions to progress an overall story, as well as engage in various side activities . Most of the gameplay revolves around driving and shooting, with occasional role-playing and stealth elements. The series also has elements of the earlier beat 'em up games from
30155-519: The series to do so was Grand Theft Auto III which, despite a limited budget and the series' low profile at the time, featured several notable actors from film and television. These included Frank Vincent , Michael Madsen and Kyle MacLachlan , who all had prominent roles. At the time it was rare for a video game to use such high-profile actors, and Grand Theft Auto III is considered a pioneer in doing so. The next game, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City , featured more film actors, including Ray Liotta as
30340-448: The series. George Walter of GamesRadar praised the depth of the character, and IGN ' s Goldstein felt that the character of Niko feels relatable when faced with difficult decisions. Jeff Gerstmann of Giant Bomb felt that Niko was "the only thing that mattered to [him]" as he progressed through the story, with the character becoming one of his favourite features of the game. Schiesel of The New York Times named Niko one of
30525-404: The soundtrack CD. The publisher also collaborated with Sony to release a 40 GB PlayStation 3 console with a copy of the game. GameStop hosted midnight launch events at over 3,500 of its American stores, with contests and giveaways. Grand Theft Auto IV received "universal acclaim" from critics, according to review aggregator Metacritic . It is the second-highest-rated game on the site, and
30710-457: The story. As part of their research for the open world, the development team conducted extensive field research in New York, capturing over 100,000 photographs and several hours of video. The developers considered the world to be the most important element of the game; though not the largest map in the series, they considered it comparable in scope due to its verticality and level of detail. The budget climbed to over US$ 100 million , making it one of
30895-431: The targeting system makes players feel responsible for all deaths. IGN ' s Goldstein praised the fluidity of the cover system, and felt that the auto aim mechanic is a "great help in larger battles". GamesRadar ' s Walter wrote that the cover system has "paved the way to a new style of mission". David McComb of Empire called the combat "sharp and instinctive", and Hicks of Official Xbox Magazine felt that
31080-468: The team chose the setting because of the detail and variety it provided, describing New York as "an amazing, diverse, vibrant, cinematic city". Writer Dan Houser added that the team "wanted to be somewhere where we had a foothold" due to the amount of research required for the world; Rockstar Games's main headquarters are located in New York. The team consciously avoided a precise recreation of New York City to allow for more enjoyable game design, selecting
31265-465: The teleprompter, or down when looking at a script. Image Metrics head of production David Barton noted that "having realistic eyes is 90 percent of the battle", as it allows the player to believe the character. SpeedTree was used for in-game environment rendering. When selecting music for the in-game radio stations, music supervisor Ivan Pavlovich said "[we had] to pick the songs that make New York today what it is, but make sure they won't feel dated by
31450-430: The term "action-adventure" may be '"An action/adventure game is a game that has enough action in it not to be called an adventure game, but not enough action to be called an action game." In some cases an action game with puzzles will be classified as an action-adventure game, but if these puzzles are quite simple they might be classified as an action game. Others see action games as a pure genre, while an action-adventure
31635-497: The threat of a lawsuit by the Haitian-American Grassroots Coalition, Rockstar removed the word "Haitians" from this phrase in the game's subtitles. San Andreas was criticised initially due to its "gangster" elements, which include drugs, prostitution, and murder. It later received additional criticism after the discovery of an interactive sex minigame , nicknamed Hot Coffee; initially cut from
31820-412: The three major cities. The cities are connected by a train track system, and each one features an airport, which can be used to fast travel from a city to another. At the beginning of the game, players only have access to Los Santos, with the rest of the map being gradually unlocked as the story progresses. A third version of San Andreas appeared in Grand Theft Auto V (set in 2013), again imagined as
32005-653: The time the game comes out." The developers contacted over 2,000 people to obtain recording and publishing rights; they hired a private investigator to locate the relatives of late Skatt Bros. member Sean Delaney to license the band's song, "Walk the Night". Billboard reported that Rockstar paid as much as $ 5,000 per composition and another $ 5,000 per master recording per track. Developers originally considered letting players purchase music in an in-game record shop and for Niko to have an MP3 player , but both ideas were cut. DJ Green Lantern produced tracks exclusively for
32190-494: The time, earning US$ 310 million in its first day and US$ 500 million in its first week. Considered one of the most significant titles of the seventh generation of video games, and by many critics as one of the greatest video games of all time , it won year-end accolades, including Game of the Year awards from several gaming publications . It is among the best-selling video games with over 25 million copies sold by 2013. The game generated controversy, with criticism directed at
32375-399: The title. After one month of availability, the game had sold over 8.5 million copies. It broke three Guinness World Records on 13 May 2008: highest grossing video game in 24 hours, highest revenue generated by an entertainment product in 24 hours, and fastest-selling video game in 24 hours. On 11 March 2011, Take-Two announced that the game had sold over 20 million copies, with
32560-406: The upgrade in quality across all design aspects while maintaining the coherence of the previous games. The team took the game's development as an opportunity to "strip things back and start again", refining the art style without losing the style of the series; they distanced the game from the "cartoon-like style" of its predecessors while creating a new style that was consistent across all aspects of
32745-400: The wide open deserts in San Andreas . They wanted the game to be "a more focused experience" than San Andreas , and Dan Houser felt that the limited activities of New York allowed this. The team felt that the addition of Niko's mobile phone added to the immersion of the world and represented society's shifted focus on phones. The in-game brands and products are designed over several years;
32930-492: Was "a nightmare". Rockstar North , the core 220-person team behind the game, co-opted studios owned by parent company Rockstar Games to facilitate development between a full team of over 1,000, including 50 employees at Rockstar NYC , 40 at Rockstar Lincoln , 10 at Rockstar San Diego , and around 600–700 working part-time internally and externally. Some key members of the development team worked 12-hour days during production, often without holidays. The team decided to continue
33115-533: Was "fun". The team wanted Niko to be "more of an anti hero than a hero, capable of making positive actions within his criminal world". They wanted his demeanour to reflect the weight of his past and choices. Niko's design underwent a few changes, but was finalised early in development. His outfit underwent several changes based on Eastern Europeans, particularly photographs of men fighting in winter wars in Yugoslavia and Chechnya . The primary motivation for
33300-410: Was discontinued and replaced by a single-player-only version of Grand Theft Auto IV: Complete Edition in 2020. The series has been expanded into various other formats. Jacked: The Outlaw Story of Grand Theft Auto , a book written by David Kushner chronicling the development of the series, was published in 2012. In March 2015, BBC Two announced The Gamechangers , a 90-minute docudrama based on
33485-425: Was later re-released with various enhancements, in 2014 for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One , and in 2015 for Windows; versions for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S were released in 2022. On 4 February 2022, Rockstar confirmed that development of a new entry in the series was "well underway". In-development footage of the game leaked in September 2022; Rockstar noted that it was "extremely disappointed" by
33670-418: Was nominated for Choice Video Game at the 2009 Teen Choice Awards . Within twenty-four hours of its release, Grand Theft Auto IV sold over 3.6 million copies, equating to approximately $ 310 million in revenue. Within a week, it generated more than $ 500 million in worldwide revenue, equating to approximately 6 million copies sold for Take Two. The numbers surpassed analysts' expectations for
33855-426: Was one of the first focuses of development due to the advanced technology; the team wanted it to feel realistic without being too technical. The cover system was a "natural addition" to the targeting. Benzies described the multiplayer as the hardest part of the game's development. The team wanted the multiplayer to feel like an extension of the cinematic single-player experience. Dan Houser described it as "a section of
34040-443: Was ported to iOS, Android and Windows Phone and RT; the mobile port was later re-released for Xbox 360 in 2014, the year of the game's tenth anniversary, and the following year for PlayStation 3. In 2015, Liberty City Stories was ported to iOS, Android and Fire OS. Grand Theft Auto Double Pack was released in 2003 for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox, and includes both Grand Theft Auto III and Vice City . Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy
34225-461: Was released. It was narrated by protagonist Niko, and depicts the open world accompanied by the song "Pruit-Igoe" by Philip Glass , originally composed for Godfrey Reggio 's 1982 documentary film Koyaanisqatsi . The trailer is credited for starting the Rickrolling meme; after the higher viewership crashed Rockstar's website, several users re-posted the trailer, but some misleadingly played
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