Last month Grand Theft Auto III It turned 20 years old. Although today it seems godlessly outdated, once this game became the basis for several continuations and a countless army of imitators. It is only a pity that the general nostalgia about the anniversary of GTA III quickly gave way to not just disappointment, but a loud scandal. The audience was already in absentia against reprinting Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition: This was provided by the “war” declared by the Modders, and a strange graphics, as if inspired Fortnite, and removal of original versions of the trilogy from stores.
But the real devil, as it turned out after the release, covered in a software code: outsourcing command Grove Street Games not only did not eradicate many bugs of the past, but also literally drowned the updated trilogy in dozens, or even hundreds of new. Apotheosis became problems with the launch of the game in the launcher Rockstar Games – The righteous anger of users simply had no bounds. And it seems that we will not see this limit for at least a month: the entire Internet is already laughing at the trilogy, spreading gifs and videos with the most egregious bugs. And some breakdowns are completely reigned by enthusiasts themselves, without waiting for patches from the creators.
However, with the old GTA times PS2 An important segment of the history of video games is connected. In fact, this is a whole layer of culture: if the third part allowed Rockstar Games to truly loudly declare themselves, then the continuation literally made their creators the most rocks of the industry, which are still equal to many developers. Therefore, we suggest at least for a short time to forget about the disappointments that the Definitive Edition brought, and recall how Rockstar once developed its ideas and gave other developers the opportunity to compete in the creation of “my GTA”.
It was in the 80s
Despite the fact that the practice of the release of addons and did not closely fix the consoles in the early 2000s, Vice City Initially conceived as a set of missions for GTA III. It would seem that there is already a engine and the main foundation of the mechanic – why especially wise? However, the enthusiasm of the team at some point grew to great ambitions. Moreover, Rockstar, which by that time absorbed DMA Design , could afford a lot. Including licensing a huge phonotext that would perfectly emphasize the spirit of the 80s. The entire fund of the golden classics of that era from Ozzi Osborne, Motley Crue, Michael Jackson, Laura Branigan and before Hall & were used OATES. It is not surprising that fans took the absence of a number of landmarks in a remaster in hostility.
We leave one at a time!
If the third part showed the gloomy, rainy and almost noir pseudo-nu-york, then Vice City is a cheeky Miami. With endless booze, stolen in the streets and, of course, a rampant crime. Approximately such Miami that the audience remembered him "Faces with scars" , but still beaten in an ironic vein.
The reigning and in the previous parts the fruits only intensified in Vice City. In many ways, this was also facilitated by a new approach to the scenario: if Claude in GTA III silently nodded in response to any remarks, then voiced by Ray Luott Tommy Versetti chatted, swearing and in general was the same antihero, who still wanted to empathize. The plot in Vice City, of course, will lose the same fifth part with a bang, but by the standards of those years it was an excellent scenario work.
However, games in the open world at that time still seemed innovative, so the hilarious dialogues of the heroes interested the players much less than the gameplay himself, who took a significant step forward. The opportunity to begin the plot mission at any time and hardcore clashes with the police created many unique situations. You never know in advance what scenario the next shootout or pursuit will proceed, if you can always hide the nearest car and escape in any direction.
Ray Lutta (photo – Variety)
Now this, of course, seems funny, but then the addition of a full -fledged map of the city has greatly changed the usual gameplay. GTA never nursed with the players, now and then bringing to white heat with her sudden leaps in complexity: a memorable “mission with a helicopter” will not allow to lie. But there were a number of tasks for a time where it was extremely important to see the end point on the map and lay the route to it is not at random (and not on an uncomfortable paper map).
And the appearance of two -wheeled vehicles greatly simplified many shootings: if earlier it was possible to attack the enemies on the go only during side shooting, now no one forbade the enemy car to sit behind and famously release a couple of clips into it. Tactical advantages in battle also gave the opportunity to shoot tires, punch the windshield and destroy the opponents long before they deign to get out of the car. The pleasant trifles should also include a chance to change default clothes to a fashionable suit, as well as start a business: first you need to perform a number of instructions, and then reap the fruits of your labors, collecting regularly updated "bribes" at certain points.
As a result, Vice City not only greatly improved and diversified the gameplay of her predecessor, but also became an excellent time machine for those who missed the eighties or, on the contrary, wanted to get acquainted with that era. In Vice City, everything turned out to be a single picture: feed, visual aesthetics and, of course, the soundtrack. And in the same vein was sustained and the following two years later San Andreas.
AH Shit, Here We Go Again
Jokes about the word on the letter N, the criminal romance of the ghetto, the abundance of swearing … Dan Hauser, of course, did not pour out the very frank gags of the level of cult "Do not threaten the southern central" , but still did not deny himself the pleasure of walking literally on all stereotypes about the dark -skinned population of the United States. The most repulsed and caricature characters, first -class voice acting (unknown to anyone at that time, the rapper and not even actor Christopher YouLay was given special comic. The "spent" translation. But, as in the case of past parts, the gameplay as was and remained a central element that kept the attention of gamers around the world. And then Rockstar has already taken not just a big step forward, but a jump through the abyss.
Well, you understand
Truly the record size of the game world left far behind everything that came out in the genre before. Moreover, not only volumes were struck, but also the transition from one city to another. And it was better (at least at first) to get from one to another by land: in this case, the player opened endless rural spaces that had not previously met in GTA. If we talk about the scale in general, then the games have never been so reliably recreated by the feeling of stay in a real metropolis. With all due respect to Shenmue 2 With her impressive Hong Kong at that time and the opportunity to chat with each passerby, it was still relatively chamber and focused on scripts of the game. And in the world of San Andreas, even despite the presence of a card, in the first hours it was easy to get lost.
And such scale was given to him not at all for beauty – Rockstar enriched the new GTA so much content that other JRPG would envy. Attention to the little things was incredible: San Andreas brought the possibility of customization of the car (not Need for Speed Underground, Of course, but also with nitro and neon backlight), changes in the appearance of the hero (not only costumes, but also pumping, leading to improving characteristics, and haircuts) and an infinite number of side tasks. If the person who sat for San Andreas for the first time set out to go through the game 100%, then most likely he would not have enough hours. Without taking into account the failed missions.
In addition, there was an opportunity to start a romantic relationship: in breaks between shootings and other adventures, one could go on a date with a girl. Moreover, if you neglect the wishes of the lady or – God forbid! – Apply it with a bouquet of flowers, then this negatively affected the relationship. If the bar of mutual sympathy fell too low, this was followed. But what is funny: it would seem that the erotic mini-game laid down in San Andreas, which was not very necessary in San Andreas, has not been connected, the access to which was deleted in the release version, but the files themselves were left. Therefore, the modders quickly restored it, after which another loud scandal happened almost worse than accusations of propaganda of violence. After all, the presence of sexual intercourse automatically meant the award of the San Andreas more “adult” rating 18+, due to which the game could be removed from the sale.
Young Maylay, who gave a voice to Si-Ju
However, neither the next hype in the press, nor the judicial costs affected the reputation and financial condition of Rockstar. Sales of the game surpassed all expectations: only in the first week in North America more than 2 million copies were realized, but San Andreas remained an exclusive PS2 for more than six months. On this positive note, we (for now) will close the theme of the original GTA and move on to an equally interesting conversation about its followers.
Mr. Salieri walks hello to you
The first loudly shot the legendary Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven From Czech Illusion SoftWorks , previously noted by a tactical shooter Hidden & Dangerous. According to the initial idea, the "mafia" was supposed to become a purely racing analogue Driver In the USA Non-Emergency Setting of the 1930s. And, most likely, such a format would bring the game only fleeting popularity, as happened with the other imitators of the “carrier”, which were enough at the junction of two centuries. But, fortunately, Daniel Vavra, overwhelmed by enthusiasm, intervened in enthusiasm.
Now well -known (including sharp statements) Daniel Vavra (photo – WCCFTECH)
Inspired "Soprano clan" The game designer decided to get away from the original concept towards the plot adventure. And such radical changes, of course, required additional time to develop, so instead of the planned 2000, Mafia was released two years later. By that time, gamers, just waiting for the GTA III port on the PC, had not yet managed to play it to it, so Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven, although it was enthusiastically accepted, was not sold as great as the super -popular brainchild of DMA Design.
Since GTA III was then in the spotlight, both reviewers and players automatically called her a clone any game, where there was an open world, car chases and shootings. In fact, there was not so much in common between her and Mafia: different aesthetics, a different approach to gameplay (most of the missions took place on separate locations, and the city was mainly used only for trips) and, most importantly, to the plot. Vaurus did not turn everything jokingly – on the contrary, sat down the story of a serious drama, and put human values in the center of attention. By the standards of cinema, it was a rather mundane sketch on the topic of a person who, by the will of fate, joined the mafia family, but at the same time trying not to become a finished bastard. Not a couple of all the same silent Claude from GTA III, ready to do any dirty work without the slightest fluctuations. But by the standards of the games of that time, it was an outstanding scenario work, which was emphasized by no less outstanding technical performance.
Mafia graphics: The City of Lost Heaven against the backdrop of the cartoon GTA III seemed to the same “photorealism”, which the press was especially actively trumpeted in the first half of the zero
It was possible to find fault with unreasonably high complexity in a couple of places: then the enemies shot a protagonist from Thompsons from a hundred meters with the accuracy of seasoned snipers, then users demanded to go through a ruthless race – and this is in the game, which in their final form had an extremely indirect attitude to the ride. On the other hand, GTA III suffered in difficulties, and in general it was a time when hardcore has not yet gone out of fashion.
Interethnic color
True Crime: Streets of La From the authors of the cult dilogy Vigilante 8 I also brought a lot of new things so that it was not stamped by the next GTA clone (although it was possible for reporters to reporters). Firstly, the main character was made here, which, however, was also not embarrassed to steal other people's cars, destroy the city and kill innocent citizens. However, such a cheeky passage style led to a decrease in reputation and, as a result, another ending. Also, the path of a bad cop ended in aggression by passers -by and the persecution of special forces for the protagonist.
Another important element is the lack of gameplay integrity familiar to GTA. And here it is just right to recall one of the very first games in realistically executed cities: Shenmue And Omikron: The Nomad Soul. Moving around the city and chase in True Crime were made in the manner of GTA, but hand -to -hand combat became actually a separate game. It contained a rather deep combat system with several types of attacks and combo, and the camera during the fights changed the perspective on the side, as in fighting.
Dilogy True Crime
The shootings could occur with the view of both the third and first persons, in addition, the shelter system was implemented in them, which was not yet in GTA or Mafia. And since the player was given the opportunity to play the role of law -abiding order, the color of the sight made it possible to monitor whether the injury would be death.
If we talk about the game as a whole, then True Crime: Streets of La, like a “mafia”, nevertheless made a bet not free in the open world, but plot missions and narrative. And if everything turned out with dignity with the first, then with the second, alas, did not work out. Even the acting of Gary Oldman did not help the script “in the best traditions” of the Hong Kong-Mui-his antagonist turned out to be not quite faceless, but certainly not even bright characters Vice City.
Nevertheless, True Crime: Streets of LA became commercially successful, so two years later the second part came out, where the action moved to New York, and the African American protagonist was replaced by a former criminal who decided to re-qualify for Kopa. And then the situation with the game literally turned 180 degrees. If many elements of her predecessor were new in 2003, then get almost the same in 2005-after San Andreas with its variety of content-it was not so fun. Dislike sales put a cross on the continuation, which was supposed to be released on the consoles of the next generation and transferred the action to the Hong Kong. Instead, in 2012 came out Sleeping Dogs, partially based on the developments postponed in a long box.
Drove with shot wheels
But with the aforementioned Driver, the incident happened. If the first two parts have largely prompted DMA Design to go to three dimensions, then Driver 3 (sorry, Driv3r) Created already with an eye on GTA times PS2. That's exactly what with an eye – and even then through a tiny hole in a shot wall. Reflections Interactive I could not in the irony or in a serious drama, giving out (for the third time in a row) the most fresh plot about the Cope under the cover. The gameplay did not offer the freedom of action and diversity of the missions that Vice City could boast of, and in general suffered from a strange physics, which only aggravated the excessive complexity of individual missions. In general, Driv3r took the worst from GTA and in return offered only three cities and better schedule, but this was not enough not only to compete with Grand Theft Auto, but even for the status of a good game as such.
By the way, a loud scandal is also associated with Driv3r-a kind of proto-gamergate on minimum worshipers. Although most of the media gave her low grades, publications PSM2 And Xbox World awarded the game as many as 9 points. Both magazines published a British company Future PLC , because of what readers began to suspect the Exclusive Casino publishing house in conspiracy with Atari , Paying positive reviews. On the forum Gamesradar (also belonging to Future) flared up a rather hot discussion with quite expected accusations of “corruption” – of course, all this was quickly removed by moderators.
Driv3r and Driver: Parallel Lines
And although the scandal with the Driv3R did not grow to the scale of the real gamergate, the sediment still remained. But since everyone has the right to make a mistake, the creators did not dwell on the achieved-and already in 2006, two years after the release of the third part, it was born Driver: Parallel Lines. Apparently, Reflections considered that their previous creation failed due to poor shooting mechanics-otherwise how to explain a step backward by the mechanic? The emphasis was again shifted towards driving, devoting to shootings much less attention. Against the background of San Andreas perfectly balanced in this regard, where shooting fascinated no less than chases, such a gameplay seemed outdated and as if stuck between Driver 2 and GTA III. But I must admit that Parallel Lines also had an important advantage: a sharp change in the setting in the framework of the campaign (jump from 1978 in 2006) looked fresh.
What remains behind the scenes
Finally, we will briefly remind you of other projects, designed in a similar manner and have become a good opportunity for fans of the genre to pass the time before the fourth GTA exit.
For example, The Godfather From future authors Dead Space It turned out a good successor of the traditions of Mafia – as, indeed, and Scarface: The World Is Yours. These were not quite linear action, but the open world in both games did not reach the level of freedom GTA. It is noteworthy that in the “godfather”, the plot was a free retelling of the original source, and even without voice and appearance Al Pacino: he preferred to sell the rights to his physiognomy to the creators of Scarface. She continued the plot of the film: according to the development of the developers, Tony Montana survived after the battle on the villa – the last, by the way, was perfectly spoiled in Vice City. But the chain of parodies does not end there: the irony that created Scarface Radical Entertainment Back in 2003, she released her own parody on the GTA called The Simpsons: Hit & Run -In a sense, the harbinger Lego City Undercover.
The Godfather, Scarface: The World Is Yours, The Simpsons: Hit & Run, Saints Row and Crackdown
Close to GTA in conceptual terms Saints Row And Crackdown. The first really looked like San Andreas and predictably lost to her – but, fortunately, the story did not end there, and by the third part the series found its face, reducing both the gameplay and the narrative to the level of a rampant trash. But Crackdown was less fortunate-by the way, it was developed by David Jones (thereby that he once took part in the creation of the first GTA) studio Realtime Worlds. The first part turned out to be a wonderful “GTA in the future with superpowers” - it is a pity that the sequels did not repeat its success.
The story of Grand Theft Auto did not think to end – on the contrary, prepared for the transition to a new generation of consoles in GTA IV. But this is a completely different era, to which we may return closer to the exit of the next reprint – they say that it is not far off.
- Played in Darkest Dungeon II – and still far from the dungeons?
- Played Dying Light 2 Stay Human – Avellon and does not smell
- What to see at home in November 2021: interesting films and series from gambling