Games · 2D era
Grand Theft Auto
Three cities. One beginning.
The original top-down GTA established the series’ mix of urban exploration, driving and open-ended criminal missions across Liberty City, San Andreas and Vice City.
Place in the series
A useful starting point for understanding how the series grew from compact overhead city maps into larger 3D worlds. The names of its cities return later, but those later settings are reimaginings.
Sources & further reading
Original GTAZen introductions, with references for deeper reading. Source review date: .