Grand Theft Auto Classic

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.
And the Moral Guardians did weep...

Ah yes, the game that began what is now one of the most successful and most critically acclaimed series in all of videogame history. In 1997 a studio named DMA Design (now Rockstar North), previously responsible for Lemmings, gave Grand Theft Auto to the world. In an era of violent "controversial" games like Doom and Mortal Kombat, GTA had waltzed in and stole the immoral crown.

The player was a career criminal, stole cars, killed anyone in the way, and worse still was free to go about this as he or she pleased. Predictably, the cries of moral outrage drew curious gamers in like moths to a flame and GTA literally sold on its reputation alone. A reputation that DMA had deliberately fueled -- they hired notorious British publicist Max Clifford to drum up controversy for the game.

The game itself is played from an overheard perspective of the city with the objective of earning cash. Earn enough money to progress to the next level, and new cities will be unlocked. How the player goes about this is up to them, since points were earned by stealing cars, murder and general mayhem. The story-based missions aren't required to progress, but they do provide the largest source of income. Basically a watchdogs nightmare.

Despite being praised for its open environments, player freedom and clever sound design the game was not greeted with critical success. But of course with the combination of hindsight and its legion of nostalgic fans, Grand Theft Auto eventually became regarded as a classic, albeit a flawed one.

In 1999, Rockstar released their first (and last) "Mission Pack" for the game -- basically an Expansion Pack that requires inserting the original GTA disc in order to boot up -- dubbed GTA London: 1969. As it turned out, this was Rockstar's last foray into developing expansions for their little Playstation gem, despite copies of GTA London boldly sporting the "Mission Pack #1" subtitle to this day. This was probably for the best, as the newer missions are shorter, less challenging, and all take place on the same map.

There does exist a second expansion (London 1961: Mission Pack #2), though it would be more accurate to call it an expansion of an expansion, since it will not work without the London 1969 disc. This version is PC-only, and even shorter than the first one. More disappointingly, it's Obviously Beta.

Tropes used in Grand Theft Auto Classic include:
  • Adam Smith Hates Your Guts: At the end of the game, the cost of repairing/respraying vehicles is ridiculously exorbitant.
  • All Gays Are Promiscuous: El Burro.
  • Bad Boss / Dirty Cop: Samuel Deever, to the point of being Crazy Awesome.
  • Bald of Evil: Your first boss's main rival, Sonetti, is noted for his baldness. He later sends a bald henchmen to threaten you.
  • Bi the Way: Bubby's wife, Skye, flirts with the player regardless if you choose a male or female character.
  • Bizarrchitecture: Vice City's street network is an exhibit of this, and as a result the city is notoriously difficult to navigate.
  • But Thou Must!: In Vice City's second chapter, "Rasta Blasta", the Rastas give the player a choice to work either for the authorities or for them. If you choose to work for "Babylon", attempting the next mission will make you blow up one of their limos, and you'll have to work for the Rastas.
  • The Chew Toy: You, arguably. No matter how well you perform for your current boss, you'll always get run out of town for some reason or another.
  • Disproportionate Retribution: The citizens of Vice City won't settle for any ordinary car alarm, no no...
  • Expository Theme Tune: "Gangster Friday" (more commonly known as "Joyride", as named in GTA III), a pastiche of gangsta rap composed by DMA Design's in-house Craig Conner does a good job explaining the game's premise.
  • Foreshadowing: The final level's first mission has a time limit, albeit a very manageable one. The following missions in this level have time limits that challenge even experienced players.
  • Game Breaking Bug: Police cruisers sometimes become stuck to the player's car during a pursuit, racking up a high collision count and exploding, killing you and them instantly.
  • Gayngster / Meaningful Name: El Burro.
  • Hand Wave: According to the manual, the player's actions are being filmed live from a helicopter, thus the top-down perspective.
  • I Have Your Dog: The extortionist who kidnaps Bubby's beloved pooch.
  • Invisible Block: Leading to a tank in San Andreas.
  • The Man: The Rastafari gang refers to all authority figures as "Babylon".
  • Mob War: Bubby vs. Sonetti.
  • Moral Guardians: DMA basically sat down and decided to make a game that would infuriate Media Watchdogs and parent groups alike. And make a fortune off it.
  • Murder Is the Best Solution: Deever's answer to everything.
  • Nintendo Hard: The final level, "Rasta Blasta", is notoriously difficult. The entire game is quite a lot harder than its sequels - the character is a One-Hit-Point Wonder, the powerful weapons are rare and can be lost easily, and of course, no saving during levels.
  • Punny Name: Too many to list. Most are fake Asian surnames.
  • Rated "M" for Money
  • Recycled Soundtrack: Head Radio's countdown theme is recycled from, of all things, the music for the Tyne Tees Station Ident at the time.
  • Refuge in Audacity
  • Rewarding Vandalism: And every other crime for that matter...
  • Unwitting Pawn: DMA Studios hired publicist Max Clifford to stir up controversy in the media. The moral elite responded as they desired, giving the game all the publicity it could ever need. Many people bought the game solely because of the media outcry surrounding it. The Moral Guardians were simply pawns.
  • What Could Have Been: The game was originally intended to be about dinosaurs rampaging through a city, an idea obviously inspired by The Lost World. Somewhere down the line the devs decided that Hot Wheels were an easier childhood pastime to translate to a video game than dinosaurs, and GTA as we know it was born.

Grand Theft Auto: London 1969/1961 provides examples of:

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