GTA clone
Encyclopedia
Action-adventure game
An action-adventure game is a video game that combines elements of the adventure game genre with various action game elements. It is perhaps the broadest and most diverse genre in gaming, and can include many games which might better be categorized under narrow genres...
video games characterized by their likeness to the Grand Theft Auto series
Grand Theft Auto (series)
Grand Theft Auto is a multi-award-winning British video game series created in the United Kingdom by Dave Jones, then later by brothers Dan Houser and Sam Houser, and game designer Zachary Clarke. It is primarily developed by Edinburgh based Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games...
, in which players may find and use a variety of vehicles and weapons while roaming freely in an open world
Open world
An open world is a type of video game level design where a player can roam freely through a virtual world and is given considerable freedom in choosing how to approach objectives...
setting. The objective of such games is to complete a sequence of core missions involving driving and shooting, but often side-missions and minigame
Minigame
A minigame is a short video game often contained within another video game. A minigame is always smaller or more simplistic than the game in which it is contained. Minigames are sometimes also offered separately for free to promote the main game...
s are added to improve replay value
Replay value
Replay value or replayability is a term found in combination with video games, but it may be also used to describe other kinds of games, movies, music, or theater plays. In video games, the term replay value is used to describe the entertainment value of playing a game more than once...
. The storylines of games in this genre typically have strong themes of crime and violence.
The genre has its origins in open-world action adventure games popularized in Europe (and particularly the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
) throughout the 1980s and '90s. The release of the Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
-developed Grand Theft Auto
Grand Theft Auto (video game)
Grand Theft Auto is a 1997 action-adventure video game created by British games developer DMA Design and published by BMG Interactive. The game allows the player to take on the role of a criminal who can roam freely around a big city. Various missions are set for completion, such as bank...
(1997) marked a major commercial success for open-ended game design in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, and featured a more marketable crime theme. But it was the popularity of Grand Theft Auto III
Grand Theft Auto III
Grand Theft Auto III is a 2001 open world action computer and video game developed by DMA Design in the United Kingdom, and published by Rockstar Games. It is the first 3D title in the Grand Theft Auto series. It was released in October 2001 for the PlayStation 2, May 2002 for Microsoft Windows,...
in 2001 that led to the widespread propagation of a more specific set of gameplay conventions consistent with a genre. The genre now includes many games from different developers all over the world where the player can control wide ranges of vehicles and weapons. The genre has evolved with greater levels of environmental detail and more realistic behaviors.
Since calling a game a "clone" has a negative connotation, reviewers have come up with other names for the genre. Names such as "sandbox games", however, are applied to a wider range of games that do not share key features of the Grand Theft Auto series.
Definition
A Grand Theft Auto clone is a video game that falls within the genre popularized by the 2001 title Grand Theft Auto IIIGrand Theft Auto III
Grand Theft Auto III is a 2001 open world action computer and video game developed by DMA Design in the United Kingdom, and published by Rockstar Games. It is the first 3D title in the Grand Theft Auto series. It was released in October 2001 for the PlayStation 2, May 2002 for Microsoft Windows,...
, where players are given the ability to drive any vehicle or fire any weapon as they explore an open world
Open world
An open world is a type of video game level design where a player can roam freely through a virtual world and is given considerable freedom in choosing how to approach objectives...
. These games are sometimes treated as a 3D
3D computer graphics
3D computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data that is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images...
action-adventure game
Action-adventure game
An action-adventure game is a video game that combines elements of the adventure game genre with various action game elements. It is perhaps the broadest and most diverse genre in gaming, and can include many games which might better be categorized under narrow genres...
, or third-person shooter
Third-person shooter
Third-person shooter is a genre of 3D action games in which the player character is visible on-screen, and the gameplay consists primarily of shooting.-Definition:...
. They are noted for frequently bearing strong violent or criminal themes, though exceptions like American McGee Presents: Scrapland
Scrapland
American McGee Presents: Scrapland is a game developed by Mercury Steam Entertainment, with American McGee as a producer and published by Enlight Software.-Plot:...
have copied its gameplay and structure with a Teen rating.
Other terminology
Calling a game a "Grand Theft Auto clone" is sometimes considered unfair or insulting. This is because reviewers sometimes use this term to suggest that the "clone" is a mere imitation, designed for the sole purpose of capitalizing on the success of the Grand Theft Auto seriesGrand Theft Auto (series)
Grand Theft Auto is a multi-award-winning British video game series created in the United Kingdom by Dave Jones, then later by brothers Dan Houser and Sam Houser, and game designer Zachary Clarke. It is primarily developed by Edinburgh based Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games...
. However, this term can also be used as a neutral description of a game, which can range from good to bad. Reviewers have used "Grand Theft Auto clone" to describe games that rest on their own merits, and do not necessarily dismiss the entire class of games as mere imitators.
Games of this type are sometimes defined under the broader terminology "open world games" or "sandbox games". However, many games that predate Grand Theft Auto III, such as Metroid
Metroid
is an action-adventure video game, and the first entry in the Metroid series. It was co-developed by Nintendo's Research and Development 1 division and Intelligent Systems, and was released in Japan in August 1986, in North America in August 1987, and in Europe in January 1988...
from 1986, are also called open world games. ii. Conflictingly, games such as Grand Theft Auto III and Body Harvest
Body Harvest
Body Harvest is a video game for the Nintendo 64 video game console, developed by DMA Design . It was originally intended to be an Nintendo 64 launch title, but was delayed due to its original publisher, Nintendo's issues with the game's violent themes, and eventual dropping of the title, leaving...
are credited with inventing this genre more than a decade later. ii. Furthermore, reviewers have stated that this genre does not include every game with a freely explorable world and that this genre is much more specific, thus excluding the free-roaming titles Spider-Man 2
Spider-Man 2 (video game)
Spider-Man 2 is the name of several computer and video games based on the Spider-Man universe and particularly the Spider-Man 2 film. It is a follow up to the game Spider-Man: The Movie and was followed by Spider-Man 3 to promote the release of the third film in 2007...
and The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction
The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction
The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction is a video game developed by Radical Entertainment and based on Marvel Comics' Hulk. The game was released on August 24, 2005 in the United States and in September 2005 in Europe.-Gameplay:...
from this class of games. The terminology is inconsistent, sometimes including any game with open level design, while other times focusing on a specific genre created at the turn of the century.
Without clear classifications to describe the genre popularized by Grand Theft Auto, reviewers have created a number of alternate names for this genre. Some reviewers have focused on the pervasive criminal themes and content in the genre, using terminology such as "crime games", "crime-based action games", and what CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
called the "gangsta genre". Other journalists have emphasized gameplay by describing the genre as "free roaming action adventure games", "driving-and-shooting games", and "driving action hybrids".
Driving and shooting
Grand Theft Auto clones offer players the ability to steal and drive a number of vehicles. Games have included all kinds of vehicles, such as cars, helicopters, boats, jet-skis, fixed-wing aircraft, and military vehicles. Reviewers have compared these games based on the number of vehicles they offer, with greater choice resulting in better reviews. Players can also use vehicles as weapons, either by driving into enemies, or by damaging the vehicle until it explodes. Some games allow vehicles to perform stunts. Games in the genre thus incorporate elements of driving simulation gamesVehicle simulation game
Vehicle simulation games are a genre of video games which attempt to provide the player with a realistic interpretation of operating various kinds of vehicles. This includes automobiles, aircraft, watercraft, spacecraft, military vehicles, and a variety of other vehicles...
. Some games even allow players to customize their vehicles.
Players can engage in combat using range of weapons depending on the game setting, such as assault weapons, sniper rifles, explosives, rocket launchers, and close-range melee weapons. As such, several reviewers have stated that games in this genre are partially third person shooters. i.
ii. Players can find weapons scattered throughout the game world, and may buy weapons in shops or take them from dead enemies. Virtually anyone in the game world can be attacked by the player. In many games, excessive violent behavior will provoke a reaction by police authorities, who the player may then choose to fight or evade. Players must also keep track of their health and ammunition in order to succeed in combat.
These games have employed a variety of aiming mechanisms, such as free look
Free look
Free look describes the ability to move the mouse to rotate the player character's view in video games. It is almost always used for 3D game engines, and has been included on role-playing games, real-time strategy games, third-person shooters, first-person shooters, racing games, and flight...
aiming or a "lock-on" button. Several games have been criticized for difficult or burdensome controls when it comes to shooting, and thus game design
Game design
Game design, a subset of game development, is the process of designing the content and rules of a game in the pre-production stage and design of gameplay, environment, storyline, and characters during production stage. The term is also used to describe both the game design embodied in a game as...
ers have tried refine the aiming and shooting controls in these games.
Open world and missions
Grand Theft Auto clones allow players to freely explore the game world, which is typically on the scale of an entire city. Some games base their level designLevel design
Level design, environment design or game mapping is a discipline of game development involving creation of video game levels—locales, stages, or missions. This is commonly done using level editor, a game development software designed for building levels; however some games feature built-in...
on real world cities, such as London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, and Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. Players are usually able to navigate by vehicle or on foot. Some games put greater emphasis on leaping, climbing, and even swimming. Exploring the world is not just necessary to complete objectives, but also to gain valuable items, weapons, and vehicles. Different parts of the game world may be controlled by different enemy factions, who will attempt to stop the player in a variety of ways. However, more recent games in this genre allow players to acquire their own territory. The freedom of navigating a huge game world may be overwhelming or confusing for new players. Game designers have come up with a variety of navigational aids to solve this problem. A mini-map
Mini-map
A mini-map is a miniature map, often placed in a corner of the screen in computer games and video games to aid in reorientation. Mini-maps usually display traversable terrain, allies, enemies, and important locations or items.-Usage of GPS:...
feature is common, while Saints Row
Saints Row
Saints Row is an open world action-adventure video game developed by Volition, Inc. and published by THQ. It is the first title in the Saints Row series and is succeeded by Saints Row 2. A PlayStation 3 port was cancelled after protracted development time...
and Grand Theft Auto IV
Grand Theft Auto IV
Grand Theft Auto IV is a 2008 open world action video game published by Rockstar Games, and developed by British games developer Rockstar North. It has been released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 video game consoles, and for the Windows operating system...
go so far as to offer a GPS service
Automotive navigation system
An automotive navigation system is a satellite navigation system designed for use in automobiles. It typically uses a GPS navigation device to acquire position data to locate the user on a road in the unit's map database. Using the road database, the unit can give directions to other locations...
. Games without these navigation tools are sometimes criticized as confusing.
The player's freedom to explore may be limited until they complete certain objectives and advance the game plot. Players must visit specific locations and complete specific missions in order to win the game, ii.
iii. such as racing, tailing, couriering, robbing, stealing, shooting, assassinating, and driving to specific checkpoints. There may be multiple ways to complete these missions as the game environment is designed to facilitate shortcuts, experimentation, and creative ways to kill enemies. Completing a core mission will unlock further missions and advance the storyline, and if the player fails a mission they will be able to resume the game from before the mission began. In addition, these games usually offer optional side missions, which allow players to gain other rewards. These side missions improve the game's replay value
Replay value
Replay value or replayability is a term found in combination with video games, but it may be also used to describe other kinds of games, movies, music, or theater plays. In video games, the term replay value is used to describe the entertainment value of playing a game more than once...
. These games are also known for incorporating numerous minigame
Minigame
A minigame is a short video game often contained within another video game. A minigame is always smaller or more simplistic than the game in which it is contained. Minigames are sometimes also offered separately for free to promote the main game...
s into the game world, such as circuit races. Ultimately, this allows the player to follow or ignore the game's storyline as they see fit.
Origin
Rockstar North
Rockstar North is a British video game developer based in Edinburgh, Scotland, best known for creating the Grand Theft Auto and Lemmings franchises in its earlier guise as DMA....
. Mercenary
Mercenary (computer game)
Mercenary is the first in a series of computer games, published on a number of 8-bit and 16-bit platforms from the mid 1980s to the early 1990s, by Novagen Software...
(1985) has been described as a major ancestor to the Grand Theft Auto series, because it featured an open-world in which the player could steal vehicles, shoot, and explore freely. The Terminator, released in 1990, was a free-form, open-world game that set its action in a modern-day city that extended for miles, and included the ability to fire at civilians and steal cars. This game was also among the first American-developed games to feature these elements.
Hunter
Hunter (computer game)
Hunter is a 3D action-adventure game in which the player navigates around a series of islands. Hunter was developed by Paul Holmes and Martin Walker , and it was released by Activision for the Amiga and Atari ST home computers in 1991...
(1991) has been described as the first sandbox game featuring full 3D, third-person graphics, thus making it an important precursor to the Grand Theft Auto series. The game consisted of a large, open world in which there were numerous possibilities to complete different missions. The character could travel on foot, or steal different vehicles such as cars, tanks, or even bicycles, boats, helicopters and hovercrafts. Moreover, Hunter also had many unique features such as day and night lighting, fuel modelling, a log book, aerial observation units, tank traps, land mines and computer-controlled rocket batteries and tracer guns. It was also possible to ride a bicycle, swim, windsurf or even make a parachute jump from a helicopter.
DMA Design began pursuing open-world game design with the first Grand Theft Auto
Grand Theft Auto (video game)
Grand Theft Auto is a 1997 action-adventure video game created by British games developer DMA Design and published by BMG Interactive. The game allows the player to take on the role of a criminal who can roam freely around a big city. Various missions are set for completion, such as bank...
, which allowed players to commandeer various automobiles and shoot various weapons within a mission-based structure. Unlike later games in the series, and indeed many earlier influences, the first two GTA games were 2D. In 1998, DMA moved many of these design concepts into a 3D world, with Body Harvest
Body Harvest
Body Harvest is a video game for the Nintendo 64 video game console, developed by DMA Design . It was originally intended to be an Nintendo 64 launch title, but was delayed due to its original publisher, Nintendo's issues with the game's violent themes, and eventual dropping of the title, leaving...
, a Nintendo 64
Nintendo 64
The , often referred to as N64, was Nintendo′s third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit CPU, it was released in June 1996 in Japan, September 1996 in North America, March 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1997 in France and December 1997 in Brazil...
game developed by DMA Design (which eventually became Rockstar North when it was acquired by Rockstar Games
Rockstar Games
Rockstar Games is a major video game developer and publisher based in New York City, owned by Take-Two Interactive following its purchase of UK video game publisher BMG Interactive. The brand is mostly known for Grand Theft Auto, Max Payne, L.A...
). This title featured an open world with nonlinear missions and side-quests, as well as the ability to commandeer and drive a variety of vehicles. As such, it has been retroactively called "GTA in space", and is credited with making Grand Theft Auto III possible. Another important influence came from the Driver series
Driver (series)
Driver is a series of mission-based driving video games developed by Reflections Interactive , and originally published by GT Interactive and later by Atari. The gameplay consists of a mixture of action, driving, and third-person shooting in open world environments...
, which was created in 1999, with its open city environments and being cited as the first game to allow the player to go anywhere in the map.
Grand Theft Auto III took the gameplay foundation of the first two Grand Theft Auto games and expanded it into a 3D world, and offered an unprecedented variety of minigame
Minigame
A minigame is a short video game often contained within another video game. A minigame is always smaller or more simplistic than the game in which it is contained. Minigames are sometimes also offered separately for free to promote the main game...
s and side-missions. The title was a much greater commercial success than its direct precursors, and its influence was profound. As such, Grand Theft Auto III is credited with popularizing this genre, let alone inventing it. Its release is sometimes treated as a revolutionary event in the history of video games
History of video games
The history of video games goes as far back as the 1940s, when in 1947 Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. and Estle Ray Mann filed a United States patent request for an invention they described as a "cathode ray tube amusement device." Video gaming would not reach mainstream popularity until the 1970s and...
, much like the release of Doom nearly a decade
Decade
A decade is a period of 10 years. The word is derived from the Ancient Greek dekas which means ten. This etymology is sometime confused with the Latin decas and dies , which is not correct....
earlier. GamePro
GamePro
GamePro Media was a United States gaming media company publishing online and print content on the video game industry, video game hardware, and video game software developed for a video game console , a computer, and/or a mobile device . GamePro Media properties include GamePro magazine and...
called it the most important game of all time, and claimed that every genre was influenced to rethink their conventional level design
Level design
Level design, environment design or game mapping is a discipline of game development involving creation of video game levels—locales, stages, or missions. This is commonly done using level editor, a game development software designed for building levels; however some games feature built-in...
. IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
similarly praised it as one of the top ten most influential games of all time. Subsequent games that follow this formula of driving and shooting in a free-roaming level have been called Grand Theft Auto clones.
Other critics, however, likened Grand Theft Auto III to The Legend of Zelda
The Legend of Zelda
The Legend of Zelda, originally released as in Japan, is a video game developed and published by Nintendo, and designed by Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka. Set in the fantasy land of Hyrule, the plot centers on a boy named Link, the playable protagonist, who aims to collect the eight fragments...
and Metroid, as well as Shenmue
Shenmue
is a 1999 open-world adventure video game developed by Sega AM2 and published by Sega for the Dreamcast, produced and directed by Yu Suzuki. Suzuki coined a genre title, "FREE" , for the game, based on the interactivity and freedom he wanted to give to the player...
, and noted how GTA III had combined elements from previous games and fused them together into a new immersive experience. For instance, radio stations had been implemented earlier in games such as Sega's Out Run
Out Run
is an arcade game released by Sega in 1986. It was designed by Yu Suzuki and Sega-AM2. The game was a critical and commercial success. It is notable for its innovative hardware , pioneering graphics and music, a choice in both soundtrack and route, and its strong theme of luxury and relaxation...
(1986) and Maxis
Maxis
Maxis is an American company founded as an independent video game developer in 1987. It is currently a subsidiary of Electronic Arts . Maxis is the creator of one of the best-selling computer games of all time, The Sims and its first sequel, The Sims 2...
' SimCopter
SimCopter
SimCopter is a 1996 computer game from Maxis. This game is a 3D offshoot from Maxis's normal fare, putting the player into a 3D city. Like Streets of SimCity, SimCopter lets the user import SimCity 2000 maps into the game.- Objective :...
(1996), open-ended missions based on operating a taxi cab in a sandbox environment were the basis for Sega's Crazy Taxi
Crazy Taxi
Crazy Taxi is a sandbox racing video game developed by Hitmaker and published by Sega. It is the first game in the Crazy Taxi series. The game was first released in arcades in 1999 and was ported to the Dreamcast in 2000. Subsequently, it was ported to the PlayStation 2 and Nintendo GameCube by...
(1999), the ability to kill non-player character
Non-player character
A non-player character , sometimes known as a non-person character or non-playable character, in a game is any fictional character not controlled by a player. In electronic games, this usually means a character controlled by the computer through artificial intelligence...
s dated back to action role-playing game
Action role-playing game
Action role-playing games form a loosely defined sub-genre of role-playing video games that incorporate elements of action or action-adventure games, emphasizing real-time action where the player has direct control over characters, instead of turn-based or menu-based combat...
s like Hydlide II (1985) and Final Fantasy Adventure
Final Fantasy Adventure
Final Fantasy Adventure, known as Mystic Quest in Europe and as in Japan, is a Final Fantasy spinoff and the first game in the Mana series. Published by Square in 1991 on the original Game Boy, it later saw a North American re-release by Sunsoft in April 1998...
(1991), and the way in which players run over pedestrians and get chased by police has been compared to Pac-Man
Pac-Man
is an arcade game developed by Namco and licensed for distribution in the United States by Midway, first released in Japan on May 22, 1980. Immensely popular from its original release to the present day, Pac-Man is considered one of the classics of the medium, virtually synonymous with video games,...
(1980).
Recent history
Rockstar North developed Grand Theft Auto: Vice CityGrand Theft Auto: Vice City
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City is a 2002 open world action computer and video game developed by British games developer Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the second 3D game in the Grand Theft Auto video game franchise and sixth original title overall...
in 2002, which expanded on the open world concept by letting players explore the interior of more than sixty buildings. The game also featured an expanded soundtrack and the voice talent of several Hollywood actors, including Ray Liotta
Ray Liotta
[File:Ray Liotta is an American actor, best known for his portrayal of Henry Hill in the crime-drama Goodfellas, directed by Martin Scorsese and his role as Shoeless Joe Jackson in Field of Dreams...
. This set a new standard for the genre, making studio talent a pre-requisite for success. Other game developers also entered the field that year, with releases such as The Getaway
The Getaway (video game)
The Getaway is a video game series focused on gang life and the police in the city of London. The series was created by Brendan McNamara and is developed by Team Soho for the PlayStation 2...
. The Simpsons Hit & Run
The Simpsons Hit & Run
The Simpsons Hit & Run is an action-adventure video game based on the animated sitcom The Simpsons. It was released for the GameCube, Xbox, PlayStation 2, and Windows in North America on September 16, 2003, In Europe and Australia on October 31, 2003 and in Japan on December 25, 2003...
in 2003 applied the concept to a cartoon world, while True Crime: Streets of LA
True Crime: Streets of LA
True Crime: Streets of LA is an action-adventure video game developed by Luxoflux and published by Activision for the Xbox, PlayStation 2 and GameCube in November 2003 and the first game in the True Crime series...
reversed the Grand Theft Auto formula by putting the player in the role of a police officer. Even the Driver series
Driver (series)
Driver is a series of mission-based driving video games developed by Reflections Interactive , and originally published by GT Interactive and later by Atari. The gameplay consists of a mixture of action, driving, and third-person shooting in open world environments...
, which influenced Grand Theft Auto III, began to follow this formula by combining driving and shooting in Driv3r
Driv3r
Driv3r, more commonly known as Driver 3 , is a racing, shooting, and adventure video game. It is the third installment in the popular Driver series and was developed by Reflections Interactive and published by Atari. Driv3r was released in North America for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox on June 21, 2004...
. Some reviewers began warning parents of the growing number of games in this genre, due to the violent themes intended for mature audiences.
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is a 2004 open world action video game developed by British games developer Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the third 3D game in the Grand Theft Auto video game franchise, the fifth original console release and eighth game overall...
in 2004, which featured an open world on the scale of three distinct cities. The game also allowed players to customize their avatar and vehicles, as well as compete for turf by fighting with rival gangs. The continued success of the Grand Theft Auto series led to successful spin-offs, including Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories
Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories
Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories is a 2005 sandbox-style action video game developed by Rockstar North and Rockstar Leeds. It is the ninth game in the Grand Theft Auto series...
in 2005, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories is a 2006 sandbox-style action video game developed by Rockstar Leeds in association with Rockstar North. It was published by Rockstar Games for the PlayStation Portable in late 2006 and later for the PlayStation 2 in March 2007. The game is the eighth...
in 2006, and the 2D
2D computer graphics
2D computer graphics is the computer-based generation of digital images—mostly from two-dimensional models and by techniques specific to them...
Grand Theft Auto Advance
Grand Theft Auto Advance
Grand Theft Auto: Advance is a handheld console game developed by Digital Eclipse, published by Rockstar Games, and released on October 25, 2004 for the Game Boy Advance. It is the first to not be developed by a Rockstar Games studio...
for the Game Boy Advance
Game Boy Advance
The is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
handheld game console
Handheld game console
A handheld game console is a lightweight, portable electronic device with a built-in screen, game controls and speakers. Handheld game consoles are run on machines of small size allowing people to carry them and play them at any time or place...
. A market analysis in early 2006 found that new games in this genre would have more difficulty than new first-person shooter
First-person shooter
First-person shooter is a video game genre that centers the gameplay on gun and projectile weapon-based combat through first-person perspective; i.e., the player experiences the action through the eyes of a protagonist. Generally speaking, the first-person shooter shares common traits with other...
s or racing game
Racing game
A racing video game is a genre of video games, either in the first-person or third-person perspective, in which the player partakes in a racing competition with any type of land, air, or sea vehicles. They may be based on anything from real-world racing leagues to entirely fantastical settings...
s, and noted that that overall revenue for this genre declines during periods without a new Grand Theft Auto game. By 2006, developers were producing fewer games in this space, estimated at half the number seen in 2005.
With the arrival of the seventh generation of video game consoles
History of video game consoles (seventh generation)
In the history of video games, the seventh generation of consoles is the current generation , and includes consoles released since late by Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony...
, the first "next-gen" Grand Theft Auto clones were released in 2006, beginning with Saints Row
Saints Row
Saints Row is an open world action-adventure video game developed by Volition, Inc. and published by THQ. It is the first title in the Saints Row series and is succeeded by Saints Row 2. A PlayStation 3 port was cancelled after protracted development time...
. Saints Row from 2006 and Crackdown
Crackdown
Crackdown is an open world, third-person shooter video game for the Xbox 360. It was released in North America on February 20, 2007, and worldwide by February 23, 2007. Crackdown was developed by Realtime Worlds, and distributed by Microsoft Game Studios. It was conceived by Realtime Worlds...
from 2007 both introduced online multiplayer to the genre, a feature that had been requested by many fans. Crackdown attracted attention for being created by David Jones, the developer of the original Grand Theft Auto
Grand Theft Auto (video game)
Grand Theft Auto is a 1997 action-adventure video game created by British games developer DMA Design and published by BMG Interactive. The game allows the player to take on the role of a criminal who can roam freely around a big city. Various missions are set for completion, such as bank...
, and featured the ability to develop the player character's superpowers in a semi-futuristic setting. Meanwhile, The Godfather: The Game
The Godfather: The Game
The Godfather: The Game is an action-adventure video game developed and published by Electronic Arts. It is the second video game in the Godfather series and based upon the 1972 film of the same name. Originally released in March 2006 for the PlayStation 2, Xbox and Microsoft Windows, The Godfather...
and Scarface: The World Is Yours
Scarface: The World is Yours
Scarface: The World Is Yours is a video game developed by Radical Entertainment and published by Vivendi Universal Games. The game is based on and is a quasi-sequel to the 1983 motion picture Scarface starring Al Pacino reprising his role as Tony Montana, with André Sogliuzzo providing Montana's...
entered the market in 2006, and attempted to apply the Grand Theft Auto formula to popular movie franchises
Media franchise
A media franchise is an intellectual property involving the characters, setting and trademarks of an original work of media , such as a film, a work of literature, a television program or a video game. Generally, a whole series is made in a particular medium, along with merchandising and endorsements...
. Still, reviewers continued to measure these games against the standard set by the Grand Theft Auto series. Grand Theft Auto IV
Grand Theft Auto IV
Grand Theft Auto IV is a 2008 open world action video game published by Rockstar Games, and developed by British games developer Rockstar North. It has been released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 video game consoles, and for the Windows operating system...
was released in April 2008 and featured a large, detailed environment, and even adopted the GPS navigation system seen in Saints Row. The game broke numerous sales records, including the record for the fastest selling game in its first 24 hours. Since its inception, this genre has evolved to include larger settings, more missions, and a wider range of vehicles.