An open world in computer games is often an unaffordable luxury that only rare developers can offer gamers. It would seem that the specifics of a shooter mixed with it would hardly allow the creators to give the player access to an entire city - but this is exactly what happened with GTA, and from the very first episode, which was released almost twenty years ago. Most recently, the fifth part of the series was released, so it’s worth remembering all the parts of GTA in order.
Two-dimensional world: "GTA 1" and "GTA 2"
Back in 1997, a game with a rather strange name was released. It is with this game that we need to start listing all the parts of GTA in order. This game had a top-down view, you were asked to control a hero who could collect weapons on the street, kill passers-by, thereby attracting the attention of the police. It was also possible to arrange shootouts with the servants of the law, but the most interesting thing was that you could steal any car that you see in front of you. You could get everything - a garbage truck, an ambulance, a fire truck and even a train. And most importantly, you didn’t have to adhere to the storyline - you could do whatever you wanted - arrange races, shootouts, blow things up, and so on. Such a project caused considerable excitement, which led to the release of two add-ons, which added two new cities to explore, and with them new cars, pedestrians, bandits, and so on. Naturally, the developers did not stop at this stage - in 1999 the second part was released, which received an improved engine, better graphics, and a much greater variety of actions. Three gangs were added with unique storylines - each of them had to be respected in order to gain support and access to tasks, but this completely cut off your connection with the opposing gang. If we consider all parts of GTA in order, then this is where the two-dimensional generation ends. All other games were released in 3D.
"GTA 3", "Vice City" and "San Andreas"
All parts of GTA can be divided in order into two generations - two-dimensional and three-dimensional, as well as into blocks that will include the main game and additions to it. For example, in 2001 a real revolution was made - the GTA series switched to 3D, now you control your character from a third-person view. Naturally, the entire world has also been redesigned, but the concept remains the same - you can complete tasks in the storyline, or you can have fun in free mode, using a huge arsenal of weapons and an even more expanded fleet of cars and other vehicles, among which planes and helicopters have appeared. In 2002, the first addition to the third episode, Vice City, was released, and in 2004, San Andreas. Both additions received new cities, new characters and new storylines. Naturally, many other things were changed, so that each of the add-ons managed to break the sales record of its predecessor. In principle, this is a property that all parts of GTA have. The list is in order, however, and not too long. The path of quality was chosen rather than quantity.
"GTA 4", "Lost and Doomed" and "The Ballad of Gay Tony"
If you want to study all the parts of GTA, the list in order will help you with this - from it you will learn that quite a lot of time has passed since San Andreas, which was released in 2004 - the fourth episode went on sale only in 2008 , but the wait was worth it. After all, the game began to look even more impressive, the engine became even more advanced - not to mention the variety. The city became much larger, weapons became even more numerous, as did vehicles. New features have appeared, such as your own phone to communicate with other characters and a relationship system. In 2009, two expansion packs were released for Episode 4, which further expanded the story campaign that the original two games lacked. And this is practically the end of all parts of “GTA” in order. Photos from the fifth episode were not available for quite a long time, many doubted that it would even be released, but it still happened.
"GTA 5" and "GTA Online"
The developers spent another four years developing the next part of the game, and in 2013, users saw the long-awaited masterpiece "GTA 5", which offered them simply incredible opportunities - along with "GTA Online", the multiplayer version, which is now played by several hundred people simultaneously thousands of people. This is where all the parts of “GTA” end - the list is not very long, but incredibly rich.
Tell your friends about the games!
History of creation
The Scottish company DMA Design (later Rockstar North), headed by the famous developer and creative author of the first GTA game, Dave Jones, loudly declared itself in 1997. Having released his first masterpiece - Grand Theft Auto. Starting this year, success was a constant companion to all subsequent computer sequels. It took three years to create the first global bestseller. After its release there was a stunning response. Some people really liked the new concept of the game, others did not share the enthusiasm of other avid gamers. But this is where success lies - there were no indifferent people, and there could not be anyone.
Fans were looking forward to the continuation of their favorite GTA and its improvement. Their thirst was quenched by the subsequent 5 versions. In total, there are 5 full-fledged projects, the final of which was released in 2013 under the name Grand Theft Auto V. You can also find many official add-ons for sale, and fans of the series have released thousands of their own modifications, adding weapons, clothes, new cars and even entire cities.
Computer games GTA
- Grand Theft Auto is the very first game in the series, released in 1997. The view of what was happening in it was from above, and the graphics were slightly superior in texture detail to their time. The most unusual feature of the first part, which distinguished it favorably from other games of that time, was unlimited freedom. After downloading, gamers immediately found themselves in a huge metropolis, where they could do whatever they wanted. Passage consisted of gaining experience points, with which you could move to the next level.
- Grand Theft Auto 2 is a sequel, which, unlike other versions, takes place in 2013. It was released in 1999, and thanks to the success of the first GTA it quickly became a hit. The graphics have received significant changes, but everything still remains in 2D.
- GTA 3 is the first part released in full 3D and is already similar to modern ones. It received very serious graphics changes, as well as an interesting storyline.
- Vice City - the graphics have not changed much compared to the previous version, but the interface has become much more convenient, and the missions are even more interesting and exciting. The city also changed, and it became possible, in addition to the plot, to take on separate missions not related to it.
- San Andreas is one of the most popular parts of GTA. There are a lot of different improvements and additions here. The world map became much larger, the character learned to swim, and also became able to change clothes, pump up muscles and get tattoos. There is even more freedom, and mini-games have also appeared.
- GTA IV - the main advantage is the graphics. It has undergone serious changes, so serious that the virtual world has become very much like the real one.
- GTA V is a recently released version. Now, instead of one main character, there are three of them, and you can control them in parallel in real time. The world has become even more realistic and life-like, and there is even more freedom.
- GTA game online - in previous parts there was a multiplayer mode, but here it was separated into a separate part.
Components of a single concept
What do all the games in the GTA series have in common? The first thing that comes to mind is freedom and criminals. It was these components that became the key to her success. The player has the right to choose which level to complete and in which part of the city to complete the task. And to be in the role of a citizen who doesn’t care about laws and rules, who doesn’t dream about it, at least in the virtual world. The essence of each of them is to turn from the “six” into a venerable criminal. This is quite difficult to achieve.
Screenshot from Grand Theft Auto IV, Rockstar Games.
You need to complete quests, and at the same time skillfully drive a stolen car, which is often chased by the police. Or even by helicopter, ambulance, boats and other means of transportation. All this is diluted with good music, selected in the style of the particular year in which these gangster showdowns take place.
Gameplay and game mechanics
Disapproval was repeatedly expressed about the convenience and speed of control of the main character and the cars he stole. But, despite all the shortcomings of the graphics and some difficulties in control, they all had, and still have, a fascinating effect. From the first minutes you no longer belong to yourself, you are completely absorbed by the illusory world of a skillfully recreated city and its unique lively atmosphere. Excellent voice acting has become an integral part of games. True, she appeared only starting from the third part. Before it, developers mainly used regular text at the bottom of the screen. The main attractive point for perception is precisely the location and movement of other characters and participants in these dashing cities, independent of you. By the way, when you play GTA online on this page, you will also be able to immerse yourself in this atmosphere.
Scenario
The scenario is basically based on the principle: beat everyone and become the coolest guy in town. But, despite its apparent simplicity, making it interesting and exciting is quite a difficult task. After all, the uniqueness of each fictional city was developed for each GTA. These are Los Angeles, London, Manchester and other already invented cities: Vice City - the city of vice, the prototype of Miami, San Fierro - the prototype of San Francisco, and so on. For each project, an individual script was developed, which takes up hundreds of A4 pages. Perhaps such a thorough approach became the key to the success of all series of games without exception. Perhaps it was the interesting scenario and independent virtual world in which you are allowed to do whatever you want that became the reason for literally every boy to want to start playing GTA.
Screenshot from Grand Theft Auto V, Rockstar Games.
These games can be called a crime drama with funny jokes and gags. The main thing is not to lose touch with the real world during the game and after completing all the tasks, return to reality and realize that you can’t behave like that here. Sometimes this can be very difficult to do and it takes some time to “come to your senses.”
A huge step forward
Just think how much time has passed since the release of the first part of the GTA game and what a huge amount of work has been done by the developers of this series to improve the entire line, and now you can trace what a huge path the developers have taken to always be “on the wave” of popularity and success. We just have to enjoy all the innovations and conquer new cities with the goal of becoming the coolest and most respected gangster. Hurry up to grab your first car and prove that in this city you are the boss and no one dares tell you what to do and when!
What gamer doesn't know the series? GTA? Probably only those who have recently joined gaming or some completely oblivious fan of quests. But even those who are familiar with this three-letter combination are not necessarily familiar with all parts of the series. Of course, over the 12-odd years of the series’ existence, 12 different games have been released - it’s no wonder you don’t get to know them all.
Grand Theft Auto
In 1997 the studio DMA Design(in future Rockstar North Limited) And Tarantula Studios(in future Rockstar Lincoln) jointly gave birth to the project Grand Theft Auto, which surprised the public with its non-standard approach to the gameplay, and also outraged it with its categorical cruelty.
GTA. Sometimes you have to run on foot.
Well, from the very first part, players were asked to play the role of a criminal who moved up the criminal ranks, working as a group of six for the crime bosses of three cities: Liberty City (New York), San Andreas (San Francisco) and Vice -City (Miami). The goal of each stage of the game was to collect a sufficient amount of money - the main part could be obtained by completing missions, as well as replenishing your account by committing various criminal acts.
The two-dimensional format then looked quite organically on RS And PS One, where the game came out almost at the same time. Later, in 1999 year, the stripped-down version was dragged to Game Boy Color. And in the same year, having connected to the work of the studio Rockstar Canada And Runecraft, the developers have released an add-on with a new city, cars and missions - London 1969, also on RS And PS One. And in 2001 they created another one - London 1961. Exclusive for RS, by the way.
Grand Theft Auto 2
The second part, published on RS And PS One in 1999 (in 2000 at Dreamcast And Game Boy Color) has taken a significant step forward. No, the 2D top view hasn't gone away yet, but there have been plenty of changes. They had to go wild in the near future (2013 is still, by the way, the “near future”), in a city called Anywhere City, which did without real prototypes.
GTA 2. Riots at the crossroads.
Looked most advantageous RS- a version in which the mentioned changes were present in full: city residents became more active, the same car thieves appeared among them, not only the police, but also SWAT began to pursue the offender, and the possibility of saving appeared. To do this, you had to go to church and pay a significant amount.
Otherwise, everything was similar to the first part: several gangs for which you can work, earning influence, stealing cars, working part-time at legal jobs that require driving skills, missions with mass genocide of the population, etc.
Grand Theft Auto 3
The key point is when Rockstar transferred the principle of working with an open world to three-dimensional space, happened in 2001. Then the game showed itself for the first time as a priority console project. The advantage was then Sony with her PS2. The following year the game was moved to RS, and here is the version for Xbox stayed until 2003.
GTA 3. Get out, my shift has started.
Events taking place in 2001 brought players back to Liberty City. The developers made the plot more coherent and added written characters to the game. True, the main character still remained mute and nameless. Due to the transition to three-dimensionality, the game has signs of a car simulator, and not just an arcade race on flat cars. Yes, and shooting began to slowly approach standards TPS that time. A significant change was also the fact that for the first time in the history of the series there was no multiplayer.
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
DMA Design finally got used to the new name ( Rockstar North) and released the game in 2002 Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.Again, first of all on PS2. Although released in 2003 RS-the version was created as an independent project, in contrast to the port on Xbox 2003.
GTA: Vice City. What kind of cars do you have, gentlemen? I just don’t know which one to steal...
This time the action takes place in Vice City, where Tommy Vercetti (yes, the hero finally got a name) is sent after being imprisoned in Liberty City. It all starts with a grandiose setup, in which Tommy, of course, becomes the last one. Ultimately, this situation turns out to be successful for him, since by trying to recover the stolen money and drugs, he significantly increases his influence in the criminal world.
But the essence remains the same - free movement, a set of mandatory and side missions of a predominantly criminal nature, a lot of driving in cars and other vehicles, as well as mayhem, mayhem and more mayhem. It is worth noting a greater emphasis on gunfights, including the ability to fire while driving.
Grand Theft Auto: Advance
GTA: Advance. Good old genocide...
In 2004, console holders Game Boy Advance realized that she was famous GTA I somehow distanced myself from them after the transition to three dimensions. That's why Rockstar contracted a studio to create the port Digital Eclipse. That is, it was only at first a port of the third part. But in the end it turned out that there was no way to port the game. So the developers decided to make a backstory, the events of which take place a year before the events of GTA3. And, of course, there was no three-dimensionality - everything was in the style of the first two parts. But the plot was better developed and told about a criminal named Mike, who throughout the game takes revenge for his comrade Vinnie, still committing mischief in the same Liberty City.
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Series GTA continued to adhere to its previous policy: San Andreas went out first to PS2(2004), and then on RS And Xbox(2005). This time Xbox at least it didn't fall behind its competitors. But domestic localizers got it wrong - the game was translated into Russian only last year.
GTA: San Andreas. Cheat? Why not?!
This time there will be a short trip into the past, or rather to 1992. The main character, named Carl Johnson or simply CJ, returns to San Andreas and decides to restore order by fixing the rather bad affairs of his old gang. The writers made a knight's move, as a result of which San Andreas turned from a city into a whole state, an analogue of California. During his criminal adventures, CJ will visit three cities: Los Santos, Las Venturas and San Fierro.
Without changing the basic principles of the game, the developers added a lot of new things to it: they significantly expanded the set of vehicles, adding exotic models, taught the hero to swim and introduced an element of leveling up the hero. Depending on the player's actions, the protagonist could develop or weaken his skills in hand-to-hand combat, driving, running, etc.
Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories
GTA: Liberty City Stories. Invisible pillar!
After Vice City The period of the portable format began for the series. Sony achieved exclusivity status, thanks to which the project Liberty City Stories came out first on PSP(2005), and was later ported to PS2(2006, no changes to schedule). The story of Toni Cipriani, known for the third part, turned out to be very successful - it was one of the best-selling games for PSP.
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
GTA: Vice City Stories. Oh no, not a flight mission...
Rockstar Leeds And Rockstar North continued expansion PSP. Exactly the same project Vice City Stories was originally released on a portable console, and only a year later - on PS2 to increase sales without worrying too much about the chart. The plot is again criminal, but this time the hero is not a bandit to begin with. Military Victor Vance is forced onto a slippery slope by circumstances. However, he takes up his new craft quite quickly.In 2008 series GTA switched to HD consoles along with the release of the project Grand Theft Auto 4. New gaming platforms were already fighting on equal terms, displacing personal computers, on which the game was delayed in release for a year.
GTA 4. I'm not evil, I'm enterprising.
Niko Bellic, the main character of the fourth part, became one of those gullible emigrants who fell for fairy tales about the “land of opportunity.” However, Niko’s life was much worse in his homeland (somewhere in Eastern Europe, but definitely not in Russia), so the layout of the long-suffering Liberty City did not exactly suit him, but seemed quite acceptable.
While continuing to twist the criminal lace into the plot, the creators of the project did not forget about other aspects of the game, which also underwent significant changes. The combat system was completely redesigned - during firefights you could use cover and auto-aim, and the range of hand-to-hand combat techniques was expanded. In addition to this, social elements were added - Niko had to keep in touch with friends, periodically participating in friendly drinking, going bowling, etc.
Grand Theft Auto: Episodes From Liberty City
But when it came to additions for GTA4, Xbox 360 still prevailed over other platforms. AND The Lost and Damned, And The Ballad of Gay Tony first entered the “boxing”, and only then, in 2010, reached RS And PS3.
GTA: The Lost and Damned. Yes, I myself don’t fly just because I like to drive.
Both additions, without chasing massive gameplay changes, told two rather impressive stories, developing in parallel and intertwined with the events of the fourth part. Not a bad move, revealing all the details of the crime drama about Niko through the actions of two other heroes - biker Johnny Klebitz and major Luis Lopez.
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars
And again GTA aimed at a more modest format - Chinatown Wars released in 2009 on Nintendo DS, PSP And PS2, as well as in 2010 at iOS. The game used an isometric view and cel-shading technology.
GTA: Chinatown Wars. The cops have no luck these days.
The action once again takes place in three districts of Liberty City, where former daddy's boy Huang Li is forced to build his own career from scratch. Of course, not without criminal overtones. There is also something new in the game. For example, various methods of car theft - the cooler the car, the more difficult it is to start it.
Now we have reached the unknown. GTA 5 so far they have only managed to announce and report that the case will take place in the already well-known city of Los Santos and its environs. The rest is rumors, and even then they are somewhat vague.
GTA 5. Flight to a bright future.
Nothing has yet been said about the consoles on which the game will appear. And there is no clarity about the release time. The best guess is 2012, but publishers have recently indicated that they are not sure about releasing the game next year.
Today it is difficult to imagine a player who has never played a game from the Grand Theft Auto series. She has a multi-million army of fans of different ages around the world. Total sales have already surpassed 125 million copies. This series is criticized by politicians, lawsuits are filed against its authors, but it continues to be published. GTA has come a long way from a 2D top-down action game to one of the most famous franchises of all time. Therefore, today, when the release of Grand Theft Auto V is just around the corner, and there seems to be no strength left to wait, I invite you to plunge into nostalgia, or perhaps learn something new for yourself about this wonderful series.
I draw your attention to the fact that, starting from the third part, there will also be fan modifications among the screenshots. On PC, the series has formed a powerful community of mod makers, which is impossible to ignore. Screenshots with modifications tend to look better than others, or contain real-world elements and brands.
Above you can see art from Australian artist Patrick Brown, known for his work based on computer games. Grand Theft Auto is one of his favorite themes for creativity. This particular art depicts the main characters from the games in the series.
Grand Theft Auto
- Developer: DMA Design
- Publisher: BMG Interactive
Platforms and release dates:
- MS-DOS and Windows: November 8, 1997
- PlayStation: December 14, 1997
- Game Boy Color: November 22, 1999
Could anyone at that time have predicted that in the future GTA will become one of the most famous, popular and scandalous brands in the entire gaming industry? That its budgets and box office receipts will compete with the biggest blockbusters in the world of cinema? Hardly. In fact, the first part bears little resemblance to its famous descendants, and for its time it was by no means brilliant.
Grand Theft Auto is a 2D top-down arcade game. Many games at the time were already 3D, so GTA was part of a dying genre. However, the game still managed to stand out and attract the attention of players. To understand why this happened, you need to understand one thing: the vast majority of games of that time were not... violent. They were created with the expectation that most potential players would be children. They certainly didn't feature teddy bears and pink ponies, but they also didn't demonstrate cruelty against law-abiding taxpayers. The same cannot be said about Grand Theft Auto.
GTA had a rare, for its time, age rating of 18+ and, to tell the truth, was a gangster simulator. That's right: under the leadership of the player, there was a obviously bad character who was engaged in various criminal activities. First of all, it is the theft of vehicles, which is why the game got its name. And also shootouts with other gangsters, police, and even attacks on ordinary passers-by on the street.
The second key feature of GTA is the freedom of movement around the city, which was even more unusual for games at the time. Here you could simply forget about all the tasks, steal a car and go wherever your eyes lead you. And during missions, the city was also not locked: the player is free to choose the path to the goal. There were actually three cities: Liberty City, San Andreas and Vice City, which are based on real New York, San Francisco and Miami, respectively. During the story, after gaining the required number of points, the player was transported to a new city.
The game begins with choosing one of eight characters. Moreover, some of them are women, which is also not typical for subsequent games in the series. Despite its scale, there are still levels in the game. In order to move from one to another, you need to score a certain number of points. They are given for various actions - for stealing cars, for accidents, for murders. But the main source is the mandatory story missions. In addition to them, you can also find a number of side missions, for example, “rampage” missions, during which you need to earn a certain number of points by killing people and blowing up cars using the issued weapons. Interestingly, the number of lives in GTA was limited: if you died several times, start again. It was impossible to save the game, just like in old platformers.
The arsenal in GTA was not rich: a pistol, a machine gun, a flamethrower and a grenade launcher. And even a bulletproof vest that can withstand three hits. But with transport, things were much more fun: the game had cars, trucks, limousines, as well as motorcycles and the holy trinity - police cars, fire trucks and ambulances.
Relations with the police in the GTA have always been very interesting. As soon as you break the law, the cops immediately begin pursuit. And the more you violate, the more aggressive they become. There are four levels of pursuit in total, the further you get, the more difficult it is to survive and escape. To do this, you need to find a police badge, or repaint the car at a car repair shop. But if you fail to escape, the police will arrest you, take away all your weapons and body armor, and your score multipliers.
The original game was ported to Sony PlayStation And Game Boy Color. But the easiest way to get acquainted with it is to download its free version from our website:
Or from the official website Rockstar:classic games R*. You will need to enter your age and email address, where you will receive a link to download the game.
Grand Theft Auto: London 1969
London 1969 is an add-on for the original Grand Theft Auto. In it, as you might guess, the action moves to London. Surprisingly, without the usual antics, such as changing the name of the city to a fictitious one (like New York and Liberty City, for example). The style corresponded to the sixties of the 20th century. In the game you can find a lot of references to the events of that time. For example, in appearance the main character looked like James Bond, the first film about which appeared in the sixties. Traffic in London, by the way, as expected, was on the left.
Grand Theft Auto: London 1961
There was also a third addition to the game - London 1961 of the year. It was free, but required the installation of London 1969, which in turn requires the original Grand Theft Auto.
Grand Theft Auto 2
- Developer: DMA Design
- Publisher: Rockstar Games
Platforms and release dates:
- Windows: September 30, 1999
- PlayStation: October 25, 1999
- Dreamcast: July 28, 2000
- Game Boy Color: November 10, 2000
The English version of the game can be downloaded for free from the website classic Rockstar games
Although the second part received a 3D engine, it still had a top-down view, which delayed global recognition a little longer. Nevertheless, the progress compared to the first part inspires respect. DMA Design they correctly understood what the players want from them: more violence and mayhem! GTA 2 came out brighter than the first one. There was a switch in the menu between daytime and nighttime. It had more and cooler everything. But first things first.
The main character of the game has already been determined in advance - his name is Claude Speed. It's hard to say whether this is the same Claude, who later is the main character GTA III, and appears in GTA: San Andreas- his last name is not mentioned there at all. But the events of GTA 2 take place many years after these games - in 2013. It's funny because it's this year. Presumably, in 1999, for developers it seemed like something distant, which may not happen due to the predicted end of the world. Now Claude faces a path to the top of the city's underworld." Anywhere» ( Anywhere City). Presumably, with this name the developers were trying to disown any connections with reality, or the need to more reliably model the city.
“Anywhere” is traditionally divided into three parts: Downtown, Residential and Industrial areas. As before, the journey goes from one area to the next. To transfer, you first need to accumulate $1,000,000 in the first region, then $3,000,000 in the second, and $5,000,000 in the third to end the game. A new way to spend money has emerged: going to church. You can find it by sitting in a news service minivan with an antenna always pointing towards the church. The cost of the hike is $50,000, but it is worth it: you will hear the cry of “Hallelujah! Another soul saved!” - and the game will be saved! But if, during a visit to church, Claude did not have the required amount, the curse “Damn it!” No offering - no salvation!
A key role in GTA 2 is played by gangs that have launched their tentacles into the metropolis: the Zaibatsu Corporation appears in all areas. Besides her, the first district was inhabited by: Yakuza and Thugs. In the second region: SRS (Sex and Reproductive Systems) Scientists and Hillbillies. In the third district: Hare Krishnas and the Russian mafia.
Each gang has its own characteristics: corporate colors, logo, cars and weapons. But most importantly: they have tasks for Claude, which can be obtained from a pay phone. Apparently, the developers did not even suspect that by 2013 this type of communication would practically die out. But to get a task from the gang, you need to be on good terms with them. In the corner of the screen is a reputation meter for the three gangs in the current area of the city. If the counter went to the left, then the gang's missions became unavailable. When the player killed members of a gang, he worsened relations with it, but improved them with other gangs. At the same time, the gang with a bad attitude towards Claude acquired more powerful weapons (friendly ones are always armed with pistols). Also, each gang had a boss, and at the end of the events in the city area, these bosses decided to remove Claude, but he did it first.
In addition to representatives of gangs, there were also two types of independent bandits on the streets: car thieves and thieves. They could act both against ordinary townspeople and against gang representatives, and even against the player! You could simply be pulled out of the car and thrown on the asphalt, or robbed at a rate of $10 per second.
Generally speaking, the AI in the second part has improved significantly. Some drivers are armed with pistols, and after a player steals a car, they may try to get it back. In the city, clashes can occur between gangs, police and civilians - without any participation from the player!
Vehicles have also been improved. Now their physical qualities vary: the game has learned to take into account their mass. Taxis and buses began picking up passengers. Claude could also now work as a taxi driver and bus driver. But for some reason the motorcycles were removed from the second part.
Relations with the law have become even more interesting. Firstly, there are now 6 wanted levels. With each subsequent level, the authorities are taking increasingly stringent measures to capture or kill Claude. They chase him, set up barricades, SWAT arrives, government agents arrive, and then the army gets involved - jeeps, armored cars, and even tanks are brought in! In order to escape from the police, as before, you need to find an asterisk badge, or repaint the car in a workshop. But you can also hide from sight, then over time the search will stop.
The arsenal of the second part has become much richer: a pistol, dual pistols, an Uzi submachine gun, an Uzi with a silencer, a shotgun, a flamethrower, an electric shock, a grenade launcher, grenades, a Molotov cocktail! You can get a new cannon by picking it up from the ground or by killing the owner. Also, what is quite surprising, weapons can be installed on a car! Including: ultrasound, mines, motor oil and a bomb that explodes along with the car. Some cars may already have weapons installed: a heavy machine gun on an army jeep and a stationary flamethrower (alas, only in one of the missions). Yes, and you can still find a tank in the game!
Grand Theft Auto III
- Developer: DMA Design
- Publisher: Rockstar Games
- Localizers: Buka (2002) / 1C-SoftClub (reissue 2010)
- PC: May 20, 2002
- PlayStation 2: October 22, 2001
- Xbox: October 30, 2003
- iPhone: December 15, 2011
- Android: December 15, 2011
It is no exaggeration to say that GTA III has left its mark on history. Thanks to its three-dimensionality (I say this because “3D” today is more associated with movies and red-blue glasses), it attracted the attention of many more players than the previous parts. Not to mention, the game looks and plays much cooler this way. As a result, Grand Theft Auto III sold many, many millions of copies and gained a lot of fans. But this is not the only point. The game turned out to be so popular that it even formed its own genre, the representatives of which began to be called simply: “GTA Clone.” For example, these are games and series such as: , , , , , , , and many dozens of others.
But this is not the only thing the game is famous for. And not even the numerous “Game of the Year” awards, and the average rating in 97% out of 100 possible on the site Metacritic.com, although it certainly had its impact. But much more interesting are the numerous scandals and public crusades against the game. She was accused of being overly realistic in cruelty and of having a negative impact on the minds of children and even adults. In it you can kill policemen and civilians, and also, which greatly outraged the public, you could film a prostitute who got into the car and, in fact, did her job. Allegedly, after playing GTA III, someone might try to repeat what they saw in real life. Some horrific incidents in the US have been attributed to violent games, particularly Grand Theft Auto. Politicians talked about this, although scientists could not prove any influence of violent games on the human mind. And about the trial Jack Thompson I haven’t heard anything against Rockstar, I’m probably just lazy. Needless to say, all this played to the game’s advantage? It’s so interesting to see for yourself, but what’s all the fuss about? And most of the players were probably satisfied.
The popularity of GTA III, as well as the ease of unpacking the files, led to the creation of one of the most powerful modding communities in history. Everything was changed: models, textures, scripts. The number of new cars, including well-known real models, numbers in the hundreds. Buildings, trees, models of passers-by and other little things were also subject to changes. There were also many global modifications, for example, those that brought winter to Liberty City, or turned the game into a movie “ Matrix", or the game "". And, of course, one cannot help but remember Multi Theft Auto- multiplayer, which appeared in the game only thanks to the fans!
The main character of GTA III is a silent guy who doesn't say a word throughout the entire game. Why, we didn’t even know his name - everyone just called him “guy.” True, looking ahead, the guy also appeared in GTA: San Andreas, where I met Catalina at illegal races. And there Catalina calls him Claude. Not Claude Speed what was the hero's name GTA 2, Just Claude. There are no compelling reasons to believe that this is the same person, although there are also no facts that deny this possibility.
Grand Theft Auto III takes place in the city Liberty City, based in New York City. Let me remind you that it was also the first city in the first part of the series. Traditionally, the "City of Liberty" is divided into three areas: the islands of Portland and Stanton, as well as part of the mainland Coastal Valley. Initially, only the first of them is available - Portland. Later, as the story progresses (and not after gaining the required number of points, as before), two more districts open up one after another. Moreover, the forced move to the next district of the city did not block access to the previous one, as was the case before. You can move between them via road tunnels, hanging bridges and even by subway. Each district has one apartment, upon entering which you can save your progress for free and indefinitely. The closest one is always shown on the radar. Unlike previous games in the series, GTA III introduced dynamic changes in the time of day and weather conditions. Interestingly, one day here is equal to 24 minutes.
Portland is predominantly poor and the main attractions are a small park, a port (hence the name), Chinatown and a small mansion on top of a hill, and only Portland has a railway above the city with several stations. Roughly in the middle of Stanton is a business center, many skyscrapers, a stadium, a large construction site for the Stanton Plaza building, and a small marina. "Coastal Valley" is dominated by private mansions, there is a dam, and most importantly, "Francis International Airport", where you can find the only plane in the game that can be used. By the way, so that players do not try to repeat the incident " 11 September", Dodo's wings were shortened, which made control very difficult. Well, who cares?..
In fact, due to a tragedy that occurred almost before the game's release, its release was delayed by three weeks due to the need to change some aspects of the game in order to reduce the similarities between Liberty City and New York. For example, the blue and white colors of police cars were replaced with black and white. Children, school buses, and female taxi drivers also disappeared from the game. A character named Darkel, who gave out crazy tasks similar to terrorist attacks, has disappeared. The last reminder of him is four homeless people in a Portland tunnel, “guarding” a Molotov Cocktail. However, it is impossible to say for sure whether all the changes were made in the last three weeks; the fact is that some of the content of the beta version was cut out. And it’s hard to blame the developers for this.
GTA III begins with the fact that the same Catalina, who was with Claude for about 9 years (the events of San Andreas - 1992, GTA III - 2001), unexpectedly betrays him during a bank robbery, shoots him, and leaves with a Colombian named Miguel. So our guy ends up behind bars. He faces ten years, but while being transported to prison, a police convoy is attacked by unknown people in order to free one of their own. At the same time, they free Claude and his fellow traveler with bandaged hands, and then the Callahan Bridge, where all this action took place, suddenly explodes, taking the raiders with it. So only Claude and the guy named Bald(in original - 8-Ball- eighth, black, ball in the pool). Together they leave the bridge and stop at Eddie's garage to change out of their prison clothes and sit out their time. After this, Claude, on the recommendation of Baldy, goes to work for the Italian mafia. And then - a long road in the footsteps of Catalina.
At first, Claude is not very trusted, and is forced to do the dirtiest and most petty work, such as delivering prostitutes and stealing cars. But then, when he catches the eye of people occupying a higher position, he gradually gains authority and receives the attention of the Don himself. Salvatore Leone. However, as you know, being too close to your superiors is not only beneficial, but also dangerous. Claude will have to experience this rule the hard way. Later, he will work for many very strange characters, such as a torture lover and a man who hides from the FBI in a public toilet. The whole thing is demonstrated through small videos at the beginning and end of the mission. By the way, they no longer start in a phone booth. Instead, Claude needs to come to the point indicated on the radar (by the way, he first appeared in the third part), marked with a large red circle.
Although “telephone missions” also remain in the game. Through them, representatives of the gangs call Claude and offer him work that is not related to the plot. There are three such phones in total, and after completing the tasks of each of them, Claude will quarrel with one of the gangs, whose representatives will now always be aggressive. There are also “Fury” tasks, in which it is proposed to destroy bandits or cars using the proposed weapons. And if you get into a van with the sign “Serious Toys,” a mission begins using small radio-controlled cars filled with explosives, with which you need to blow up gang cars. And in several cars it is proposed to overcome uneven terrain, collecting checkpoints. It's a risky business, because Claude could fall into the sea, and, by the way, he doesn't know how to swim. There are 20 jumps around the city, where you can make “unique jumps” - when time slows down and the jump is shown from a cinematic camera. In the last area of the city you can find a garage into which you need to drive certain types of cars. The reward is money (the more intact the car, the more), as well as the opportunity to order here any of the previously stolen cars. Well, of course, it remains to remember the “professional” missions - they can be activated by getting into a taxi, ambulance (now it’s clear how they recruit drivers without a license), fire and police. The last of them, “Vigilante,” can also be played on some other vehicles, such as army vehicles, and even on a tank!
If you think that GTA is played for the sake of completing some tasks, then you are mistaken. The main distinguishing feature of this game is the living city. Here passers-by walk the streets, cars drive along the roads, bandits shoot at each other, and the police patrol the city. And they all follow the rules of the road: do not exceed the speed limit, stop at intersections. This idyll can last forever. Until someone, namely the player, decides to intervene. One shot is enough (if you are just walking down the street with a Kalash at the ready, it doesn’t bother anyone) for a chain reaction to begin: passers-by start screaming and rush away, armed bandits may start shooting back, and the police attempt to arrest the offender. But the player doesn’t stop there: you can shoot at fleeing civilians, killing them and shooting off their limbs, from which blood gushes out like a fountain. Grand Theft Auto III is not called a violent game for nothing. An ambulance immediately arrives at the scene, and doctors try to revive the victims. If successful, they can get back on their feet and immediately try to take revenge by attacking Claude! But if the doctors don’t have time (they are mortals too), then the bodies on the ground disappear, and in their place chalk markings appear, as if the police had visited the crime scene and taken the body.
But such crimes do not go unpunished. The police are ready to decisively attack the criminal, calling for backup as necessary. There are 6 levels of search in total: at the beginning it is only the police themselves, from the third level a helicopter is added to their aid, then special forces, the FBI and the US Army with soldiers and tanks. To lower your wanted level, you can hide from view, find a star icon, or repaint your car. However, the fight itself with the forces of law and order can be very interesting! Cops can be killed, cars can be blown up, helicopters can be shot down, and tanks can be destroyed with a grenade launcher. How long will you stay alive at the sixth wanted level? It must be said that instead of death, Claude ended up in a hospital, where all his weapons and some money for treatment were taken away from him. And in case of arrest - the same, adjusted for the police station and the bribe. There was no talk of any end to the game. And then, no one forbids you to simply download the game so as not to look for all these weapons again.
There were 50 cars in the game, as well as 3 boats and 1 Dodo plane. The most famous Easter egg of GTA III is connected with the latter: the fact is that on Dodo you can fly to the “ghost island” - the area with the bank from the opening video. Unfortunately, there were no motorcycles at all. But, to be honest, there were quite enough cars. Among them there are family clunkers, simple coupes, pickups, minivans, buses, trucks, limousines, sports cars and so on. All of them are fictitious. The physical model is far from perfect, even by the standards of that time. Damage is only visual and does not affect driving performance. When the hit points run out, the car catches fire and explodes. The same thing happens after a rollover onto the roof.
The weapons in the third part were the following: your own fists, a baseball bat (can always be found near the safe house), a pistol, an Uzi, a shotgun, a Kalashnikov assault rifle, M16, a sniper rifle, an RPG-7, a flamethrower, a lemon grenade, a Molotov cocktail and detonator for a car bomb. All of these weapons could be carried with you, and the ammo limit was set at 9999. It was also possible to find armor that gave the character an additional 100 points of damage, which he could withstand until disabled. All this stuff can be found on the street, bought in stores, or received for free if you collect hidden packages. For every ten packages found, a new weapon appears near each of Claude's apartments. There are a hundred packages in total, and to collect them it is better to use a map that can be easily found on the Internet.
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
- Developer: Rockstar North
- Publisher: Rockstar Games
- Localizer: 1C-SoftClub (2009)
Platforms and release dates:
- PC: 09 May 2003
- PlayStation 2: October 28, 2002
- Xbox: October 31, 2003
- iPhone: December 06, 2012
- Android: December 06, 2012
If you remember Vice City- also called the second city from the first part Grand Theft Auto. The game starts with a splash screen stylized as a computer command line Commodore 64. And soon after the launch, you realize that you find yourself in the past - in Miami 1986. In the game, however, the city is called by a fictitious name - Vice City, but there can be no doubt about which city served as the model. Vice City strikingly different from Liberty City: It's a little bigger and only divided into two districts, and a lot more colorful. Half-naked girls walk along the streets, palm trees sway in the wind, yachts are docked, rich people play golf, and the main character, Tommy Vercetti, judging by his clothes, he was just going on vacation. Everything here is saturated with the “Eighties”: music and conversations on radio stations, cars on the streets, clothes on random passers-by.
It is secretly believed that the main inspiration for the creators of the game was the movie " Face with a scar» ( Scarface). So, on the radio that you can listen to in the car, you can hear songs from this film. It also took place in Miami. On the airship in the sky you can see the film's slogan: The World is yours. After purchasing the strip club, Tommy can wear the costume of the main character of the film - Tony Montana. The Malibu club is a copy of the Babylon club, Diaz's estate is very similar to Tony Montana's estate, and the office is actually a copy of it, and the drug lord himself Ricardo Diaz, in its impulsive nature, it resembles the main character of the film. Needless to say, the final mission is reminiscent of the ending of Scarface?
The basic mechanics haven't changed much over the year, but the authors have focused on expanding the player's capabilities. So, it has now become possible to purchase real estate. Part of it is intended to create additional save points, and the other brings profit. In the second half of the game, the player is tasked with acquiring particularly important enterprises: a taxi company, an ice cream factory (a front for drug dealers), a Malibu club, a car dealership, and even a porn studio. They also give out assignments related to production and distribution matters. So that the player does not get lost in this huge city, in addition to the radar, a full-fledged map was finally built into the game.
Unlike Claude, Tommy is not averse to changing his wardrobe from time to time, although standard Hawaiian shirts and jeans suit him very well. Many costumes become available after certain missions. Dressing up also reduces the police's wanted rate.
Perhaps not the most important, but still quite an interesting innovation, can be considered a change in the hotel room in which Tommy stays. After some story missions, he brings a “trophy” to the room - for example, a mask from a bank robbery. And, of course, here you can find "infinite" weapons - which continue to appear as hidden things are found - this time figurines, inside which drugs were transported. And for completing the game 100%, a T-shirt appears in the issue with the inscription “I completed GTA 100%, and all I got was this stupid T-shirt.”
The weapons have also been seriously reworked. Firstly, there is now much more of it. In this regard, not everything can be carried with you - weapons are divided into several types: brass knuckles (instead of fists), melee (bat, knife, chainsaw, as well as an assortment of tool stores), pistols (9mm pistol and revolver), shotguns and guns (shotgun, shotgun, automatic shotgun), machine guns (M4, Ingram, Tes 9, Kruger, MP5), as well as heavy weapons (M60, Sniper rifle, PSG-1. Gatling, Flamethrower, Grenade launcher). Taking another weapon from the same cell would throw the old weapon out of it.
In addition to hundreds of car models, in Weiss you can find six types of motorcycles, seven aircraft (mostly helicopters) and five boats. Tommy, like Claude, cannot swim, but he flies perfectly. It must be said that the transport has become more similar to its real prototypes.
Most of the side missions have been carried over from previous parts. First of all, these are “professional” missions in city service vehicles. Added to these was the task of delivering pizza, which lasted an insane amount of time - more than an hour. You can also steal cars using the list; now it is in the car dealership. Fury missions have not changed. There are only more races, as well as various tasks with overcoming obstacles. The game even has a stadium where stunt competitions take place. To earn extra money, you could rob store cash registers, after which you had to hide from the police, since the siren went off in the store. Instead of exploding toy cars, helicopters and airplanes, as well as “neutralized” racing cars, are now in fashion. Racing them is still fun. At one time, many players struggled with a story-driven mission in which they had to place explosives using small but deadly radio-controlled helicopters inside a building under construction.
There were more modifications for Vice City than for GTA III. It also includes a myriad of new vehicles, clothing, weapons, buildings, and even locations. The most famous is perhaps Deluxe- it contains a replacement for all (!!!) vehicles in the game, with real, highly detailed models. Among them: Mercedes SLR Cabrio, Aston Martin Vantage, BMW X5, Audi RS6, Ferrari 360 Modena, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII, Subaru WRX STI, Nissan Skyline and others! Also, the new transport was assigned new physical characteristics. In addition, Deluxe redraws many buildings in the city. And what's more: it adds several new areas, including motorcycle parks for stunts. And finally, it makes more than a hundred small changes. Naturally, playing through the game will not be very comfortable. But for free play (which, in my opinion, is the most important thing in the Grand Theft Auto series) - just what you need!
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
- Developer: Rockstar North
- Publisher: Rockstar Games
- Publisher in Russia: 1C-SoftClub
Platforms and release dates:
- PC: June 07, 2005
- PlayStation 2: October 26, 2004
- PlayStation 3: December 11, 2012
- Xbox: June 07, 2005
Not long ago, the founder of the studio Rockstar Dan Houser, said: “the best games of a generation come out at sunset, not at dawn” - commenting on the fact that Grand Theft Auto V will be released on consoles Xbox 360 And PS3, just before the release of a new generation of consoles. These words have a weighty argument behind them, in the form of what is still the largest and most scandalous game in the series, released at the end of PlayStation 2.
The Russian version appeared quite recently - only in February 2010, almost five years after the game was released. Traditionally, only subtitles were translated. However, fans had already managed to translate the game very well on their own. True, this does not apply to the very first machine translation, which produced phrases like “spent”, “the cackling rooster is not ready yet”, “signs thrown out”, etc.
The game attracted a big public scandal: among the game's resources, an erotic mini-game cut from it was discovered. It was cut so badly that folk craftsmen instantly returned it to functionality - just throw a few files into a folder and press the launch combination in the game, after which you can go on a date with one of the girls. After a successful date, the girl could invite C.J.“for a cup of hot coffee” (for which this episode received the name Hot Coffee). Without modification, the girl’s house will simply be shown, from which unambiguous sounds are heard, while the camera staggers in different directions. With the modification, everything is much cooler: we can watch an erotic scene inside the house. During it, the girl completely undresses (although Karl for some reason remains in clothes), after which a mini-game begins by pressing the keys quickly and frequently, the goal of which is to satisfy the girl. The outcome, by the way, influenced the final result of the date.
After the discovery of content on the game discs, a big scandal broke out, because the game was sold with an age rating Mature in the USA (17+), which does not include such explicit scenes. The game's rating quickly changed to Adults Only(18+, that is, you just had to wait a year...), under which many stores were forced to move the game to the pornography section, or even return all copies to the publisher. Later, a new edition was released with the same Mature rating, which no longer contained controversial content. For the PC version, along with patch 1.1, which contained some fixes for game bugs, the functionality of the Hot Coffee modification was also disabled, due to which the patch is also known as “No More Hot Coffee”.
Rockstar explained this content only as an experiment by its employees, which it decided to abandon in favor of a lower age rating. In fairness, it should be noted that without the intervention of hackers in the game archives, this content would never have become available to the player. To activate it, you need to download a modification called Hot Coffee from the Internet and drop the files into the game folder. But is the process very different from installing numerous erotic modifications for many other games? In both cases, the user was aware of what exactly he was installing and what changes would occur in the game.
The Hot Coffee scandal soon added a new one: in 2006, a famous prosecutor and lawyer Jack Thompson, who opposes violence in games, turned his attention to GTA. He accused the game of inciting violence in reality, encouraging people to take up guns and leave the house with them. Similar episodes really happened and still happen in the USA, but Jack Thompson was seriously convinced that games were to blame for everything. He has repeatedly demanded that the sale of the Grand Theft Auto series be banned. However, already in 2008, the Supreme Court of Florida stripped Thompson of his lawyer's license for misrepresentation of facts and insults, including to the judge, after another denial of his claim. This was the end of Jack Thompson's public career.
How did all this affect GTA: San Andreas and Rockstar? Oh, they have gained a unique reputation. And although the legal costs obviously cost the publisher dearly, their game received incomparable PR. Many people bought the game simply to see for themselves what was so cruel and terrible about it. If you believe Kotaku, then according to information as of September 2011, the game sold a total of 27.5 million copies. Perhaps comments are unnecessary.
GTA: San Andreas takes place in 1992 in a fictional state San Andreas. Presumably, it is named after the crustal fault of the same name in the state of California. If you thought that San Andreas, like the third city in the very first Grand Theft Auto game, was based on San Francisco, then you are somewhat mistaken. The fact is that the game no longer has one city, but three: Los Santos, San Fierro And Las Venturas. Moreover, in addition to each of them, there is also a rural area (in the case of Las Vernturas, desert), which for the most part in the game are used as tracks for illegal racing. Thus, the total area of the San Andreas game world is five times larger than in GTA III and at four than at GTA: Vice City. The cities and surrounding areas are separated from each other by a wide river, across which many bridges have been built. The railway runs between all three cities, where it has several stations. You can also quickly move between cities using airports.
Los Santos is based on Los Angeles. There are a lot of completely different areas in it. There are plenty of references to the real Los Angeles here. Just look at the Walk of Fame and the huge inscription “ Vinewood"on a hill, behind which there is also a district of the same name, consisting of rich villas of celebrities. But there is also a dysfunctional ghetto here, where dysfunctional families live, many of whom have been forced to steal since childhood in order to survive. Los Santos is torn apart by a confrontation between gangs consisting of blacks and Mexicans. The business center of the city is home to many skyscrapers, from the highest of which you can jump with a parachute. The stadium here hosts miniature Nascar car races. The countryside around Los Santos is not very remarkable. Just farms, a factory, and a few small villages.
San Fierro is the name of the city based on San Francisco. Most of all, it is interesting for its hills - it’s very cool to jump down them in a fast car or on a motorcycle, but it can take quite a long time to climb. It also has its own tram system. The tram cannot be destroyed or slowed down. There is a ship at the docks that buys stolen cars from lists. San Fierro is the automotive capital of the state. There is an extreme driving school here, after which CJ is invited to take part in illegal races. As for the legal ones, a derby is held at the stadium here. The city is ruled by triad families, as well as pimps and bandits who have connections with the gangs of Los Santos. The countryside is interesting only for the presence of a real mountain - Chiliad, from the top of which the most difficult championship is held - downhill mountain biking.
Las Venturas, as you might guess from the name, is a local Las Vegas. The main and only attraction, like the famous prototype, is the very long main street, occupied by casinos and hotels. In the casino, by the way, you can play some gambling games, winning or losing up to a million dollars at a time. These same casinos are run by three families of the Italian mafia, Leone, Forelli and Sindacco, as well as triads familiar from San Fierro. There is also a stadium where two disciplines are held at once, depending on the day of the week: motocross and extreme motorcycle stunts. Not far from the city there is a huge mining quarry where you can earn extra money driving a dump truck (relevant if you just lost a couple of million in a casino). But the most interesting thing begins further, in the hot desert. There is an abandoned airport turned into an airplane graveyard, a highly classified military base called Area 69, and a huge hydroelectric power plant on a dam.
The main character in GTA: San Andreas is Carl Johnson, or just C.J. ( C.J.). He is black and grew up in a dysfunctional family in the Los Santos ghetto. The game begins with C.J. flying in from Liberty City, where he had lived for the past five years, for his mother's funeral. Upon arrival, he is immediately attacked by corrupt cops, accused of murdering an officer (which he committed himself), and abandoned on the streets of a hostile gang. Late for the funeral, Karl, however, finds his brother Sweet and sister Kendle, as well as childhood acquaintances Ryder and Big Smoke, at the cemetery. From them he learns about the plight of the Grove Street gang, after which he decides to stay to help fix things. Then several shocks await him, an escape from his hometown into the rural wilderness, and then through all three cities of San Andreas.
The plot may not have enough stars in the sky, but how else could it be possible to bring so many unique and different characters onto the stage! There is an old hippie who sees government conspiracies everywhere, as well as a government agent who knows about a lot of things and has impressive connections. There is a strict boss of a Chinese triad, two black feuding rappers, a 27-year-old genius who creates very dangerous toys, a casino croupier who changes her formal suit to latex at night... I could go on and on.
The game also has a lot of references to previous parts of the series. In fact, GTA III, Vice City and San Andreas are often called a trilogy because they take place in the same universe and their events often overlap. So, hot Mexican Catalina meets Karl to commit a couple of robberies, after which she leaves him for an illegal racer Claude, who takes her to Liberty City. We know how this romance ended from GTA III. One of the owners of the casino in Las Venturas will also go to the “City of Freedom” in the future, his name is Salvatore Leone, and in front of C.J. in the Caligula casino, he meets a waitress Maria Latore, to whom he is married during GTA III. Salvatore also arranges for C.J. to visit Marco's Bistro in Liberty City. And straight from Vice City A lawyer arrives in Las Venturas Ken Rosenberg and record producer Kent Paul. And that's not all the references.
For the first time since GTA 2, the ability to interact with the gang has returned to the series. Los Santos is divided into four largest ones: “ Groove Street"(this is the gang of CJ and his family), " Varrio Los Aztecas" (friendly), " Ballas" And " Los Santos Vagos" It is with the last two that there is a war ahead: Los Santos is divided into sectors, the colors of which are marked on the map depending on the gang that owns them. The ultimate goal is to completely green the entire map. You'll have to start with a small piece, including the streets around CJ's home. To conquer at least one new piece, you need to start a war with a gang on it: kill several of its members, and then withstand three attacks from this gang, one more powerful than the other.
You can take several comrades from the Grove Street gang to help you - the higher the authority (increased by capturing territories), the more fighters you can take. They can also climb into a car with Karl, or sit on the back seat of a motorcycle. After capturing the territory, members of the Grove Street gang begin to patrol it. Also, near Karl's house, it will be possible to take profits received from the held areas. But not everything is so simple: enemy gangs often try to recapture their territories - you need to go and suppress the rebellion, otherwise the territory will be lost. But when the entire map turns green, the riots will immediately end, and there will be no more Ballas and Vagos in Los Santos.
Interestingly, strip clubs have appeared in the game, which Karl can visit, and where he can even order a private erotic dance. Prostitutes, who can be “picked” while in the car, are also not canceled.
But what's even more interesting is that Karl can now have girlfriends. They are found in both cities and rural areas. Two of them are found during the storyline, but the rest must be found on your own. Naturally, none of them suspects the existence of the others. The benefits of good relationships with girls can be obtained even without modification of Hot Coffee. So, a girl from San Fierro has connections in a medical institution, thanks to which Karl’s weapons will no longer be taken away if he ends up in the hospital. The same goes for a girl from a desert village near Las Venturas, she has similar connections with the police. In addition, each of the girls can allow Karl to take her car, and can also give him a unique costume. CJ looks great in a police suit, next to the corrupt cops Tenpenny and Pulaski, and in a village suit he only rides on a tractor and rides.
But in order to receive these bonuses, you will have to work hard. Each girl requires personal attention: you need to go on dates with her (for example, to a bar, restaurant, eatery, or to a nightclub, where you have to go through a mini-game with dancing), give gifts and ride in expensive cars at a certain speed. All girls have different tastes and morals.
There are a lot more side missions than before, even though the rage missions have been lost. But the “professional” tasks have not gone away: ambulances, taxis, police, and firefighters are still waiting for their hero. They were also joined by pimps (distributing prostitutes to clients, as well as their security) and even local train drivers (they can be hijacked!). In addition, you can work as a burglar, a truck driver, a courier, a parking attendant, a mining dump truck driver, and a motorcycle racer at stadiums. There are also amazing activities such as triathlons (swimming, cycling and running), high-powered motorcycle jumping on the docks and BMX bike jumping on the construction site, and mountain biking down Mount Chilliad. Plus to all this - several dozen racing tracks, including flights on various aircraft.
The game also added more mini-games. So, when you go to a bar, you can play billiards for money. Using the arcade machine, or home console, in CJ's house, you can play several ancient video games. Entering the basketball court, you can pick up the ball and try to set a record of hits from different points on the court. You can dance in clubs, and some cars can be equipped with hydraulic suspension, after which you can participate in low-rider competitions.
Gambling can be mentioned in a separate line. Already in Los Santos, you can find machines that accept bets on horse races. But the most interesting thing awaits Karl at the Las Venturas casino. Here you can play roulette, blackjack, poker, wheel of fortune and numerous “one-armed bandits”. At the beginning, Karl is not allowed at the high stakes tables. First, you need to win or lose a lot of money, thereby gaining a reputation, after which you can bet millions. Of course, the risk of losing is very high, but no one has canceled the ability to load saves until fortune smiles on you.
It is worth noting that CJ can do much more than the heroes of previous games. Much was borrowed from the previous Rockstar game (in San Andreas, by the way, there is one location from this game). The crosshair no longer constantly hangs in the center of the screen - it only appears when you hold down the right mouse button. Karl knows how to move stealthily while crouched, and by sneaking up from behind with a knife, he can kill an enemy by cutting his throat. Can jump and climb over obstacles, such as numerous fences. Karl can learn one of three types of martial arts from masters in the gyms. He is also not afraid to fly on a jetpack, jump with a parachute and even... knows how to swim and dive!
Carl can expand his wardrobe by shopping at the many clothing stores in San Andreas. Purchased clothes are immediately duplicated in the closets of all (well, almost) houses that can be purchased in the game. What’s even more interesting: it’s not suits that are bought, but individual elements: tops, bottoms, shoes, hats, glasses, watches and chains. They can be worn in any order, so Karl can look like a clown, a cowboy, or a gentleman. Or completely ridiculous - in shorts with hearts, cowboy boots, a hockey mask and with a chainsaw in his hands...
There are two more ways to make your CJ unique (or just make fun of him) - a trip to the hairdresser, where for a modest fee you can choose one of many hairstyles, and also a tattoo salon, where you can cover most of Karl's body with different tattoos.
Well, since houses were mentioned. CJ prefers to purchase residential buildings for himself, for himself. Both luxury and cheap village apartments. You can save in all of them. Yes, you can still get housing during the story. But it is also very advisable to buy a new one: it is convenient, because the game world has grown a lot, and dragging through the entire city to the only save point is long and often dangerous.
Perhaps one of the most surprising innovations in GTA: San Andreas was the parameters of the main character. CJ has the following indicators: fat, endurance, respect, lung capacity, appearance, muscles, driver skills, pilot skills, motorcyclist skills, cyclist skills, as well as gambling experience and the ability to shoot each type of weapon separately!
If you suddenly imagine throwing away skill points when you level up, like in some role-playing game, then forget it right away. To build muscle and become more resilient, you need to go to the gym and do exercises that involve pressing one or more keys very often. At this time, Karl is on the screen lifting dumbbells, or riding an exercise bike, losing fat. To keep the fat from running out (it will drag down your health indicator), you need to go to an eatery and binge on junk food. This is done long and tediously, but the results are visible: Karl becomes muscular. And if you just get drunk, he will become fat, like Big Smoke. The rest of the parameters are similar. Some of the side missions gave bonuses to characteristics: the ambulance mission increased health, the burglar - endless running, and to improve vehicle driving skills, you need to attend special schools.
CJ's arsenal is almost no different from what it was in GTA: Vice City. However, explosives now include things like a gas grenade and C4 with a remote detonator. Some useful things appeared: a fire extinguisher, a can of spray paint and a film camera. In connection with the appearance of girls, you can find gifts for them: a bouquet of flowers, a cane, a dildo and a vibrator. Just for fun, they can be used in battle. And lastly: a night vision device with a thermal imager, as well as a parachute (disposable).
As mentioned earlier, there is a separate skill scale for each type of firearm. The higher the skill, the more accurately the weapon shoots, and at the maximum level of one-handed guns (9mm pistols, sawed-off shotguns, micro-Uzi and TEC-9) - you can take them one in each hand! The fastest way to improve your skills is at the shooting range, in the Ammu-Nation network of traditional weapons stores.
Instead of the usual hundred hidden things, there were many unique collectibles in San Andreas. So, in Los Santos it is proposed to paint over 100 graffiti of enemy gangs, for which four types of weapons will appear in CJ’s house. There are 50 photo angles in San Fierro - icons that are only visible through the camera lens - and they also spawn four weapons near the garage workshop in Doherty. 50 lucky horseshoes were scattered in Las Venturas, for which four types of weapons appear near the Four Dragons casino, and also increases luck in gambling. There were also 50 shells scattered throughout the state (you need to dive for them, and the reward is increased lung capacity and attractiveness) and 70 unique jumps, for which you pay with money.
If you suddenly thought that the previous games in the series had too few vehicles, then the same definitely cannot be said about San Andreas. And we’re not even talking about the banal addition of new cars and motorcycles, although the game is fine with this too. The main thing is that whole new categories have appeared: these are two bicycles, many planes (including a huge passenger airliner, a smaller passenger plane, a corn truck, an airplane and a military fighter armed with homing missiles), trailers with trailers that detach and attach, a tow truck with a controlled crane, a combine harvester, an ATV, a go-kart and even a train, even if you can only ride it on rails. And there is also a wonderful thing called a jetpack. Having put it on, you can fly and even shoot, aiming as if you were outside of a vehicle. Just so you understand, there are a total of about two hundred vehicles in San Andreas!
All transport is conditionally divided into the following categories: cars, motorcycles, bicycles and aircraft. Each category is responsible for a separate skill. The more you ride, the better Carl gets at it. This is most noticeable on bicycles, and in the case of cars and motorcycles, high skill is the key to entering stadiums. There is, however, one more category - swimming equipment, but there is no skill for them.
Starting from San Fierro, it will be possible to find special schools for extreme driving of cars, boats, motorcycles and aircraft. By completing tasks in them, CJ improves his skills. In each school you can get medals: bronze, silver and gold. If there is at least one bronze among them, then there will always be one ruined building near the school. If there is no bronze, but there is silver, then something better will be added to the wreck. And for gold you can get really cool vehicles. So, for gold in driving school, you can get a single game copy " Hotknife", based on Ford Model A(1920-30s), of which there are only a few units left in the real world. And at the flight school you can get a military helicopter at your disposal.
In addition to the usual painting station, you can visit a workshop where most cars can be “pumped up” to the fullest. Body parts, rims, spoilers can be replaced, a roof can be installed on convertibles, a hydraulic suspension can be installed on some cars, nitro acceleration can be installed, you can separately choose the color for the interior and exterior paint, and even choose a vinyl pattern!
Karl’s relationship with the police is not much different from his “colleagues” from previous games. Unless now, to free yourself from pursuit, you don’t have to look for stars - you can hide from sight, and then they will quickly go out on their own. Cops also no longer use spike strips. But, generally speaking, thanks to the scale and expanse of San Andreas, the war with the forces of law and order here is acute and interesting as nowhere else!
If there were just a lot of modifications for the previous games in the series, then for San Andreas there are just an insane amount of them! More than several thousand. And they are still coming out! Among them there are not only numerous replacements for cars, textures of everything, but even new locations with their own stories! Of course, the vast majority of them are of very low quality, but still. There are many mods based on other games and universes, such as numerous lightsabers. And the most interesting and original, in the author’s opinion, are modifications containing Russian content - Soviet and Russian cars, clothes, and so on.
In a separate line I would like to mention a well-known addition called ENBSeries. This is a graphical improvement that adds many new graphical effects to the game, such as shaders version 3.0 (in the game, only version 2.0 is used) and many others.
However, the main achievement of folk craftsmen can be safely called modifications that add multiplayer modes to the game. The most famous of them: Multi Theft Auto And San Andreas Multiplayer, which are also used on website (GTA.ru) and support up to hundreds (!!!) of players at the same time! Fortunately, the scale of San Andreas allows this.
In the desert near Las Venturas, near a row of huge satellite dishes, not far from Area 69, you can find Lil' Prob's. A flying saucer is spinning on a pillar next to her, hinting at the contents of the tavern. Inside, the walls are decorated with numerous photographs of UFOs, and in the back room there is a certain apparatus for detecting UFOs, as well as a map of San Andreas with points marked on it.
It must be something like this that gave birth to the idea that there really should be a UFO somewhere in GTA: San Andreas! Or something otherworldly, like Bigfoot and Nessie. Many players simply began to invent that they had seen this or that strange event in the game, forcing other players to waste time checking these ridiculous legends. But take my word for it: there are NO UFOs in San Andreas! This is all just fiction. Yes, and there is no “Area 69” either, and there cannot be. This is true, otherwise the government would not hide such information from its taxpayers.
Grand Theft Auto Advance
- Developer: Digital Eclipse
- Publisher: Rockstar Games
- Platform and release date: Game Boy Advance: October 25, 2004
The action takes place in Liberty City from GTA III, with minor changes such as the absence of ramps, tunnels and subways. This is because the game was two-dimensional, with a top-down view, like GTA And GTA 2. Well, what did you expect from the Game Boy Advance? Nevertheless, the game should be of interest to fans of the third part. GTA Advance takes place a year before GTA III. Among the characters there are old acquaintances, "Eight Ball" and King Courtney, as well as previously poorly disclosed Yardie gangs and the Colombian cartel, and others. You will play as a petty criminal, Mike, who, with his friend Vinny, was trying to earn money to get out of Liberty City. The last thing was supposed to be work for the mafia Salvatore Lione, but Vinny was killed, and Mike decides to take revenge on the killers. The game still featured flashes of rage, hidden packages, and trampolines that were moved. And there were also professional missions - police, ambulance and others. As well as an expanded set of weapons.
Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories
- Developers: Rockstar Leeds
- Publisher: Rockstar Games
Platforms and release dates:
- PSP: October 25, 2005
- PlayStation 2: June 06, 2006
The action takes place in Liberty City 1998, the game is a prequel to GTA III. The main character is Tony Cipriani, already familiar to GTA III players. There, in the future (relatively LCS), he occupied a high position under Don Lyon and gave Claude tasks against the triad. He was also a real mama's boy: his elderly mother scolded him even in front of her subordinates. Interestingly, he seemed quite full, although he had not been this way in the LCS yet. Apparently, my mother fattened me up.
But let's get back to Liberty City Stories. Here Tony just arrives in the city, where he enters the service of Don Salvatore Lion and other mafia bosses. Generally speaking, the story campaign is quite long - 70 missions. In addition to Salvatore, there are other old acquaintances: Donald Love, Phil Cassidy, Maria Latore, « Eight ball" And Miguel(Colombian, future ally Catalina).
Interestingly, Liberty City here is not the same as we see him in GTA III. Still, the difference is three years. Much to our horror, the city's districts are still isolated from each other, but the tunnels and subway will never be completed during this game. Like the Callahan Bridge, which can only be crossed by jumps. It turns out that the islands were strongly isolated from each other and from the mainland for quite a long time. In addition, many buildings and establishments that at different times belonged to different owners underwent changes.
The LCS had the following side missions: garbage truck driver (delivery of bodies to a landfill), “Karmageddon” (Karmageddon, probably a reference to the famous game -) - you need to create riots on a fire truck, delivering pizza, selling cars (namely selling, not stealing ), sale of motorcycles, guide to Liberty City, “angel of vengeance” - a costumed mission to catch troublemakers, shooting from the seat of a motorcycle at the specified cars. In addition, old acquaintances have also been preserved: professional missions, outbursts of rage, races, telephone missions, hijacking, unique jumps, collecting secret packages.
Generally speaking, it's surprising that there are motorcycles in the LCS! Later, their absence in GTA III is also explained - the public insisted on a ban on motorcycles. Arsenal was practically copied from GTA: San Andreas.
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
- Developer: Rockstar Leeds
- Publisher: Rockstar Games
Platforms and release dates:
- PSP: October 31, 2006
- PS2: March 6, 2007
But that will happen later, and in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories- Victor Vance is an honest guy entering military service at Fort Baxter, under the command of a sergeant Martinez. Unlike Victor, Martinez has first-hand knowledge of the underworld of Vice City. He even hires Victor to do some dirty work. At the end of the last task, Martinez frames Victor, for which he is fired from the army. After which he has no choice but to continue to join the criminal world of Vice City. At a certain point, he begins to build his own criminal empire together with his brother Lance. They are involved in many activities together, including racketeering, loan sharking, robbery, drug trafficking, pimping and smuggling.
To the traditional missions of a policeman, ambulance, taxi and fireman, new ones have been added: a medical helicopter, a helicopter for extinguishing fires, and the work of a beach patrolman. You also had to deliver vehicles according to lists, as well as collect 99 balloons to get free weapons, complete fury missions and unique jumps.
The city in VCS is slightly different from the original one. Some buildings can be found unfinished or not existing at all. There was an opportunity to ride a Ferris wheel and visit a trailer park. A floating restaurant has appeared in the port.
Grand Theft Auto IV
- Developer: Rockstar North
- Developer: Rockstar Games
- Localizer: 1C-SoftClub
Platforms and release dates:
- Xbox 360: April 29, 2008
- PlayStation 3: April 29, 2008
- PC: December 19, 2008
The first thing that catches your eye when looking at it is the graphics. At the time of release, the game was very technological and demanding on hardware. So, having recently bought a system unit for a thousand dollars, you had to put up with the fact that you couldn’t see the maximum graphics settings. However, soon a lot of patches appeared for the game and the brakes, for the most part, disappeared, and the dynamic shadows only became more beautiful.
Which is surprising, because before, games in the series have always seriously lagged behind others in terms of technology, scale and gameplay. This was primarily due to the weakness of the console PlayStation 2, and the scale was incomparable with other games. Now there were no such restrictions, PlayStation 3 And Xbox 360 allowed us to create a much more detailed and technologically advanced game world. The game used a new proprietary engine: RAGE (Rockstar Advanced Game Engine). He supported the technology DirectX 9 and used it to the fullest. The game also had an outstanding physical model of the behavior of vehicles, and even some destructible objects. For the first time in GTA you could feel the suspension working, and the cars received very realistic external damage.
In addition, the game used innovative technology Euphoria, on which the character animation was made. For example, now in a head-on collision at high speed, you can fly through the windshield, constantly hitting objects, gradually losing speed and health. What can we say about realistically hit pedestrians? Also, the reaction to wounds from firearms was implemented very well.
The game takes place again in Liberty City. Not the one that was in GTA III. IN GTA IV a new “era” starts: the game no longer intersects with the events of the previous parts. There are no old characters in it, not even mentions of them. Although the game retained many previously invented parodies of brands. Mostly these include the names of vehicles, which are now unambiguously similar to some real models. There are also fashion brands that sell clothes, eatery names like Burger Shot or Cluckin Bell, beverages Sprunk And eCola, and much more.
The new Liberty City is much more similar to the real one NY, than ever. It is traditionally divided into three parts: Broker (based in Brooklyn), Algonquin (Manhattan) and Alderney (New Jersey). In addition to them, there are also “islands”, like Bohan (Bronx), the largest of them, as well as an island with “ Statue of Happiness"(parody of Statue of Liberty- in the game she has a face Hilary Clinton, and holds a glass of coffee in his hand). All together they are connected by numerous bridges, tunnels and a high railway. In addition, for the first time in the series, it was possible to take a taxi, which could take you to any object marked on the map (including player markers anywhere on the map). The main character got into the car, chose a route and speed (faster - more expensive), after which the taxi began to drive, and the player could look at the streets around him throughout the trip. You can also book a bird's-eye tour of Liberty City at the helicopter station. Well, or steal one and inspect everything yourself.
The following problem became the subject of jokes and indignation among players: only taxis could drive in the city. This happened when there was a lack of RAM, the diversity of traffic directly depended on the number of gigabytes. However, this is how Liberty City became more like New York - there are also a lot of taxis there.
The main character in Grand Theft Auto IV was an emigrant from Eastern Europe - a Serb named Niko Bellic(in fact, the Serbian surname Bellic is pronounced Belic, but Bellic is better to the English ear). He sails on a ship to the “Land of Great Opportunities” to start life from scratch. In the past, he had the opportunity to fight in a real war, where he saw enough of everything, after which he began to see the world very cynically. And upon returning to his homeland, Niko could not find an honest job - no one wanted to hire a soldier. Then he had to engage in criminal matters - in particular smuggling, transporting illegal goods, and even... slaves. But one of the enterprises failed, the ship sank along with all the goods. Niko miraculously managed to escape, but his boss, named Ray Bulgarin, felt that Niko owed him money. And then he had to go to Liberty City, where his cousin had been living in a luxurious mansion, surrounded by supermodels, and with many sports cars in the garage for ten years. Roman Bellic. At least, that’s how he himself described everything in his letters.
Stepping off the ship onto solid ground in the port of Liberty City, Niko discovers Roman, dirty, drunk and driving a taxi. Instead of a mansion, he lives in a dirty one-room apartment, and the only cars he has are taxis from his small taxi fleet. And even he still only miraculously stays afloat: Roman owes money to a loan shark, and besides, he often loses money at cards. It’s not hard to guess that now Niko will have to take care not only of himself, but also of his unlucky cousin. The plan to start a new life quickly turns into the same blue dream as Roman’s mansion. He will have to work for the loan shark, then for his boss, and then for the drug dealers, the mafia... or anyone who has money.
Rockstar loves to explore topics that are often glossed over. This time they turned to immigrants from Eastern Europe and Russia. The south of Bokhan, the first of the game's regions, is completely given over to the Russians. There are such establishments as the Perestroika cabaret and the Comrades bar. Here, passers-by on the street often talk in Russian, with Niko or simply on the phone. And in the first clothing store you can buy different types of sweatpants, and even a hat with earflaps with a hammer and sickle on the forehead. As Niko notes, “these clothes look like they came from our homeland.” A very nice feature of the game was the radio station Vladivostok FM, on which only domestic songs are played! Ukrainian singer performed as DJ Ruslana, and the rapper Seryoga recorded an exclusive track for the game called “Invasion”.
GTA IV took up quite a few gigabytes. To fit it, it took two double-layer DVD discs. In fact, the lion's share went to music for radio and... television. In his apartment, Niko can simply sit in a chair or on the sofa and start watching TV. It had several channels and TV shows, including historical chronicles, cartoon series, glamor TV shows and more. All this was performed on the game engine and voiced by actors. Like everything else in the game, the TV programs were filled with satire, parodies and just plain hilarious humor.
Two more important innovations are the mobile phone and the Internet. If earlier you could only receive calls on your phone (and Claude only had a pager), now there are many more functions. Firstly, you can now call all the characters you know yourself. So you can invite a girl on a date, or a friend to a drinking party. The phone also has a camera, pictures of which can be saved. Using a mobile phone, you could enter the video editor and multiplayer game mode. Well, also enter cheat codes.
If GTA: San Andreas and previous games only brought new missions to the series, then GTA IV lost most of them. The only professional tasks left were police and taxi tasks (for Roman's taxi fleet). There are still numerous (although not as unique as in San Andreas) races and car theft missions. The latter have now changed somewhat: Niko’s phone receives a photo of the car and the name of the street where it is parked. So the player had to first identify the place and the car, and then drive it to the garage. From the well-forgotten old days, missions received through a telephone booth, which consisted of committing contract killings, returned. That's all. Unless, there are unique jumps and hidden things, which this time are played by 200 pigeons (“flying rats” - in the English version), cooing when approaching, and which need to be shot. To our great surprise, there is no bonus in the form of free weapons after exterminating the pigeons.
But not everything is so bad: many side quests with a plot appeared. There are many characters dotted around the streets who need Niko Bellic's help. As a rule, the tasks are monosyllabic - give a ride, or kill someone. What’s more interesting: during the main storyline, it is possible to keep the “ordered” characters alive. In this case, you can find these characters somewhere in the city and receive a task from them.
In addition to the dates from the last part, hangouts with friends have also been added. Niko can meet friends during the course of the story. But you will have to look for girls on a dating site. Both of them are practically the same, in fact, with the exception of the beginning (each girl has different tastes in terms of clothes and Niko’s car) and the ending - Niko does not come home to his friends for a cup of coffee. The goal of these events is to win favor, in numerical terms. When it becomes high, the characters begin to provide Niko with services: they arrange a well-paid job, bring and sell weapons at a discount (therefore now there is practically no point in looking for them on the streets), load a bomb into a car, ward off the police, organize a discount in a fashion store, etc. in that spirit.
To organize a meeting, you need to call the character and indicate the place where you intend to take him (her). You need to meet different characters at different times, because everyone has a different life schedule, and if you wake them up, they will be offended. They can also call and invite Niko to hang out. Dates and meetings can take place in the same places. In a diner, in a club, in a bar, in a cabaret where they show a show, and even in a strip club where you need to order a private dance. There were also mini-games: bowling, billiards and darts. During one meeting or date, you can visit several places, after which you need to take the character home.
The most beneficial thing, in terms of improving relationships, is going to a bar. There, Niko and his boyfriend or girlfriend get drunk and start telling what they really think. Very interesting at times. And on the way out, both are so drunk that they start walking backwards and constantly fall. It is very difficult to drive a car in this condition - the camera sways, the car itself turns wherever it wants, and the police also start a chase if they see it.
Because of this feature, another small scandal erupted around GTA IV. Some people saw this as promoting drunk driving. Allegedly, the game teaches people how to drive a car while intoxicated. A video even appeared on the Internet: a man played GTA IV for two weeks, where Niko drove a car drunk. After which he drank himself and tried to drive a car in the game. Result: the game does not teach any drunk driving skills at all.
In terms of customization of the main character, GTA IV is much inferior to San Andreas. There are no longer hair salons or tattoo parlors in Liberty City. And the range of clothing stores is not amazing. However, the trip to them is more interesting: you can go up to any product and try it on. All clothes are still available in the wardrobe in Niko's apartment.
In terms of arsenal, the fourth part is again inferior to San Andreas in quantity - there are only 15 weapons. Gifts and almost all types of cold and heavy weapons completely disappeared from the arsenal. See for yourself what's left: a knife, a baseball bat, Glock 22 and Desert Eagle pistols, an Uzi and SMG, a pump-action and combat shotgun, an AK-47 and an M4, two sniper rifles, an RPG-7, a Molotov cocktail and a fragmentation grenade.
But the combat system has undergone significant changes. First of all, this concerns the introduction of the increasingly popular system of shelters from. Niko and his enemies can attack almost any obstacle, including cars. Shootings have become much more realistic and tactical, although they have lost some of the excitement and dynamics. However, in your free time from missions, no one will stop you from taking an RPG and going to blow up all oncoming cars and helicopters, although Niko will not live long in this case. However, it is no longer necessary to get out of the car to open targeted fire. Niko can break glass and stick out light weapons (pistol or submachine gun), as well as throw grenades and incendiary mixtures. But as for shooting: when you hold the button, a sight now appears on the screen, allowing you to shoot 360 degrees, although previously you could only shoot left and right.
There are also fewer vehicles in GTA IV. All controllable airplanes, bicycles, an amphibious hovercraft, a parachute, a jetpack and even the holy of holies - the Tank - have disappeared from the game! However, we still have: cars, motorcycles, boats and helicopters. In GTA IV, they are more similar than ever to their real prototypes. It became quite obvious whether it was a Mercedes, a Lamborghini or a Ferrari. The physics model has also become much more realistic, the suspension is well felt, and crashes have never looked so realistic. And yet, tuning has disappeared from the game. But the paint shop has now added a car wash. Well, will it really replace tuning and customization? Interesting features of transport in GTA IV include the appearance of GPS in cars. During missions, the radar marks the shortest path to the target. You can also put your own mark on the map. In expensive cars, GPS is even voiced; it can warn about turns in advance.
Along with the tank, the military forces also disappeared from the fourth part. However, the police are still assisted by FIB agents (the game equivalent of the FBI) and special forces. And the search system itself has undergone serious changes. During a chase, you can see a circle on the radar that marks the search area. The higher the wanted level, the larger the territory. To evade the police, you need to hide from view, leave the marked area and not be seen by law enforcement for some time. If Niko is spotted, the search area moves and centers on him. The police stars are gone, but the car can still be repainted. This action will now fast forward time six hours.
Rockstar finally listened to common sense and now they themselves have developed a multiplayer mode for the game. It includes 15 interesting modes that support up to 32 players. These modes include deathmatches, racing, completing mafia missions, bandits against cops, bandits against special forces, capturing control points, hunting for “goods,” industrial hijacking, planting a bomb on a ship, and, finally, the good old “Free Mode”.
The system was used as a platform for multiplayer Microsoft Games for Windows Live. It was also mandatory to register with an incomprehensible service. Rockstar Games Social Club. As copy protection - SecuROM. The game also had built-in additional protection against NoDVD, nicknamed by players as “a drunken camera and a brick on the gas pedal.” It was as follows: if the game decided that you were using NoDVD, then when you got into the car, you soon found it smoking and with the brakes off, while the camera wobbled just like after drinking alcohol! To be fair, all owners of licensed copies avoided a similar fate; in addition, they could download an alternative launch file that allowed them to run the game without a disc, while maintaining multiplayer. Registration of the game remained mandatory.
It's no secret that the most frequently released fan additions have always been new cars. You can see many of them here in the screenshots. And if those already in the game were very similar to real ones, then what can we say about fan-made transport models, whose creators were not bound by any legal restrictions. For example, now, at the will of the player, the Benshee car could become not just like Dodge Viper, she literally became her, as if it were so.
You can also remember the real tuning created by craftsmen, with blackjack, vinyl and neon lighting! Well, the most important thing is a huge number of graphic modifications. Often, looking at their screenshots, you seriously doubt whether this is a photograph?
Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City
- Developer: Rockstar North
- Developer: Rockstar Games
- Localizer: 1C-SoftClub
Platforms and release dates:
- Xbox 360: October 29, 2009
- PlayStation 3: April 13, 2010
- PC: April 13, 2010
The Episodes take place in the same Liberty City, as GTA IV. The city is almost identical, except for some important places. The add-ons contain their own main characters, new characters and story missions. The connecting link is the line about the diamonds belonging to Ray Bulgarin. They slip out of his hands, after which each of the heroes tries to take possession of them - Niko Bellic from GTA IV, Johnny Klebitz from TLAD And Luis Lopez from TBOGT, for their own reasons. In addition, all three heroes are also connected with a large shipment of drugs, which are closely monitored by the police. Together, the three plots form one, shedding light on many blind spots in each other's plots. In terms of the length of the storylines, each addition is approximately equal to 1/3 of the GTA IV plot.
In addition, they add some new features to the game, such as mini-games, additional tasks, new weapons and vehicles. As well as new sites on the Internet, new programs on TV and new tracks on the radio, including several new radio stations. Interestingly, in Episodes all areas of the city are open initially and available for exploration, unlike GTA IV.
According to the author, Episodes from Liberty City is a great addition that neutralized most of the complaints about the original. It greatly expanded its capabilities, diversifying its arsenal and fleet of vehicles. In addition, GTA IV, together with the episodes, forms an overall plot. Each of the heroes has their own point of view on Liberty City. Niko Bellic is an immigrant who is trying to settle down in an unfamiliar world, having no friends and family here, with the exception of his cousin, and not having a peaceful profession. Johnny Klebitz is a biker for whom the motorcycle and the well-being of his gang, the Lost Ones, are his raison d'être. The atmosphere in TLAD is so thick that you begin to get used to the role - a stern biker who despises four-wheelers and Japanese knockoffs, and Liberty Rock Radio must be playing on the radio. Luis Lopez, in turn, sees Liberty City as one big glamorous hangout full of majors, fagots and whores. Playing as him, you start stealing only sports cars and dressing in expensive suits. The great thing about Ballad is that it brought the Tank back into the game!
It came as a surprise to many that Rockstar originally released the first episode, The Lost and Damned, exclusively for the Xbox 360. It was only many months later that a port to PC and PS3 was only announced. History repeated itself with the second expansion, The Ballad of Gay Tony. Two editions of the Episodes were released in Russian: Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City - it contains two workable episodes, without the original GTA IV, and also as part of the “Complete Edition”, which contained both the Episodes and the original GTA IV. However, 1C again translated only the text, and, moreover, not in the best way; you can find much better fan translations on the Internet.
Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned
The plot of "" starts at a time when Niko Bellic begins working for Mikhail Faustin. This is evidenced by the story of one of the bikers that he is dating the daughter of some Russian, who is Mr. Faustin.
The game's protagonist, Johnny Klebitz (yes, he's Jewish), is the vice president of the biker club The Lost. "The Lost" is a real gang of armed thugs who prefer chopper motorcycles. They are armed not with some kind of clubs, but with real firearms. It is needed for protection from other gangs, or for attacking them, as it turns out. The gang has its own club, The Lost Liberty, with drinks, strippers, a pool table and other attributes of a biker club. Johnny sleeps right here, on a mattress in the utility room, where the computer and TV are also located.
The president of the club and gang is Billy, who is just leaving prison after completing a rehabilitation course. Before his return, Johnny was doing a good job as a manager: he negotiated peace with another powerful gang, the Angels of Death, and also kept the business afloat. But now, after Bill’s return, he again takes the reins of power, first of all declaring war on the “Angels of Death”. He also forces Johnny to do menial jobs for the Jewish mafia. Thus, the game pays a lot of attention to the confrontation between Johnny and Bill. Other gang members also have their own attitude towards both leaders.
The first and most important innovation in TLAD is the appearance of your own gang, ready to come to the rescue at the first call. These are not faceless clones, like in GTA: San Andreas. You will know the name of each of them, and even... the level. Levels are gained by surviving raids on enemy gangs, which were also added to TLAD. The deceased comrade is replaced by a newcomer, leaving behind a photograph on the wall in the club of the Lost gang.
If the gang leaves, then Johnny's accompanying people will try to follow him in strict combat order. Also, in some missions, Johnny himself needs to ride behind Billy, in this case he will restore health and armor, and will also be able to talk with other bikers riding nearby.
In addition to his “comrades,” Johnny also has friends with whom he can spend time. They can also provide services from the very beginning - customizing motorcycles and weapons.
Air hockey was added to the entertainment and competitions. In addition, in the club you can play a card game “over-under” and compete in arm wrestling. And in the city you can take part in biker races, in which you can also use a baton. Interestingly, Johnny does not visit stores. It is impossible to change his club leather jacket, and why? It would be ridiculous. The interface has also undergone changes; it has “aged” and acquired more details. In addition, the palette of the city has changed greatly: it is now completely yellowish-gray, and there is little that disturbs it. And instead of pigeons, now you need to kill 50 seagulls, and the Innovation motorcycle will become available as a reward.
The TLAD add-on is primarily dedicated to motorcycles. Therefore, it is not surprising that the most of them were added - as many as 17 pieces. Near the club, Johnny is always waiting for his faithful chopper - “Hexer”. In addition, 4 trucks and 2 cars were added.
Johnny's signature and first available weapon was a sawn-off double-barreled shotgun, which was not in the original GTA IV. In addition to it, they also added: a billiard cue, a new semi-automatic pistol, an assault shotgun that fires bursts, a real grenade launcher that fires 40mm projectiles flying in a parabola, and homemade explosives.
The addition also affected the multiplayer mode, adding five new types of competitions at once: chasing a motorcycle with an armed helicopter (in the English version there is a play on words - Chopper vs. Chopper), a number of tasks for the club, “wolf hunt” - when all players try to kill one biker , a gang war for territory, and the latest - the battle of the Lost against the police special forces.
Grand Theft Auto IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony
"" begins at the moment when Niko Bellic, along with the McReary family, robbed the Liberty City bank.
“Ballad” is entirely dedicated to everything glamorous and dirty. Gay Tony, aka Blue Tony, aka Anthony Prince, is the owner of two nightclubs in Liberty City, one for gays and one for straights. But, fortunately, we play not for him, but for his bodyguard and partner Luis Lopez, a traditional Latino. Louis helps Tony by working as a bouncer in clubs and doing many illegal things on his orders. The fact is that Tony owes a lot of money here and there, and if he doesn’t pay it off, he may lose his business. In addition, Louis has to take care of his family and friends, who constantly get into trouble.
A distinctive feature of “Ballad” is its deviation away from realism. Unlike GTA IV and TLAD, it doesn't try to be serious anymore. TBOGT in this regard is much more reminiscent of Vice City and San Andreas. She is bright, colorful and very cheerful. Finally, she returned the Tank! Almost. An armored personnel carrier is an armored personnel carrier with a turret with a large-caliber gun mounted on it. It is much faster than any tank, and also has a high rate of fire, so it is simply perfect for making noise in Liberty City.
In The Ballad, Rockstar continued to actively make up for the lack of side missions in the original. So, “drug wars” were added - tasks for transporting drugs, for completing every ten pieces in which a weapon was delivered to Louis’s apartment. In Louis's hometown, there are hand-to-hand fights without rules, in which you can participate for money. There was an opportunity to play real golf. And the “triathlon” here is not the same as in San Andreas: first Luis jumps with a parachute, then gets into a boat and floats on it to the car in which he finishes. Yes, yes, the parachute is back. New tasks are also associated with it - you need to fly through “crowns” marked in the air, and then land at a specified location, or even on a moving truck. Also worth mentioning is working in a nightclub. Louis can take over duty as a bouncer. There is also a mini-game with drinking champagne, as well as dancing (again, waving the San Andreas pen), where you can pick up a girl.
The weapon that Louis initially carries with him is a very powerful .44 caliber pistol. Also added: a shotgun with explosive bullets, an assault submachine gun, a golden (!!!) Uzi, a light machine gun, a new improved sniper rifle and sticky bombs. In addition to weapons, the game also added dozens of vehicles, music tracks, and made several changes to the multiplayer mode.
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars
- Developer: Rockstar Leeds
- Publisher: Rockstar Games
- Nintendo DS: March 17, 2009
- PlayStation Portable: October 20, 2009
- iPhone and iPod Touch: January 18, 2010
- iPad: September 10, 2010
The legendary GTA series of games has always been distinguished by a variety of mods, add-ons and a wide variety of goodies. If you are a fan of playing different mods or addons, then in GTA 4 you will definitely encounter the problem of determining the version of the game. Indeed, if in older parts the user did not need to know anything in order to install any add-on to the game, then in this game you will have to patch it to a more current (and necessary) version. So, GTA 4 -
Disk
If you purchased the game in a store, you can see the GTA 4 version on the back of the disc box. It’s worth noting right away that this is only possible on licensed releases, and even then not on all of them. Therefore, if nothing is written on the box, move on to the next point in considering the question “GTA 4 - how to find out the version?”
Internet
The second method is suitable for those who downloaded their game from the Internet. It doesn’t matter whether you bought it officially on Steam or downloaded it pirated on a torrent. Solve the question "GTA 4 - how to find out the version?" simple enough.
- On Steam, sometimes a version is added to the information for the game.
- Torrent trackers almost always indicate the version of the game files.
Thus, you just need to go to the page from which you downloaded GTA 4 and look at the version there.
A game
Depending on the settings of your toy and computer, there is another answer to the question “GTA 4 - how to find out the version?” To do this, launch the game. You will have several options.
- When loading, pay attention to the lower right corner of the screen. Sometimes the current version of the game appears in this place.
- Go to the application settings. Usually, several numbers are written in the same place as in the previous case. This will also be a version.
- If the previous methods did not help, run developer credits. Either at the end of the text, or again in the lower right corner, the current version will be indicated.
Files
The last and most reliable answer to the question "GTA 4 - how to find out the version?" To do this, right-click on the game shortcut and go to “Properties”. After that, click on “File location”. A folder with the location of the "executable" will open. Right-click on it again and select “Properties”.
Go to the "Details" tab. Find the line "Product version". This will be the data you are interested in. In general, there should be no problems with determining the version. Despite the fact that there are two lines in the properties, they repeat each other almost entirely. And it is the repeating part that will be the version of the game you need.
