Grand Theft Auto IV [X360]

Looking back at the series now, it's so easy to treat Grand Theft Auto as a major revolution that exploded onto the scene. But in truth there was a slow ramp up to the game as we know it now. To someone who starts playing with GTA IV, the earliest release would be all but unrecognizable.

And yet from the start, GTA both introduced new gameplay ideas and masterfully reinvented old ones. Not only that, but each game since GTA debuted in 1997 has courted violent controversy in a bid for the attention of both gamers and the media.

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Grand Theft Auto

The Innovation: Go anywhere, steal anything grafted onto classic top-down racing

Don't make the mistake of thinking that controversy over the series started with the first 3D game. Take-Two and DMA Design (before they were Rockstar) courted media and judicial attention from the very beginning. The original GTA, with a rather crude top-down perspective and rudimentary violence, was still a shocking thing at the time, since you were awarded points for causing mayhem. (In that respect, the first two games more deserve some of the criticisms leveled at later installments, which saw the point system mooted.) But it was the sense of freedom that attracted us. You could answer a phone to take a mission, steal and sell cars, or just cause wanton destruction. It's true that the game didn't do much to emphasize non-aggressive gameplay, but there was no other game with the same freely adrenaline-fueled system.

Grand Theft Auto 2

The Innovation: Gang rivalries that affect the flow of gameplay, and an interactive populace.

DMA Design didn't waste a lot of time before diving into Grand Theft Auto 2. Much like the pattern we've seen with the second half of the series, GTA2 wasn't a massive jump forward from the first game, though it did introduce a few key new ideas. Most notable was the set of competing gangs; do enough jobs for one and you'd be persona non grata in the turf of another. With a better graphics engine that only highlighted the (for the time) visceral combat, that meant even more reason to get your in-game work done. The living world we know from GTA3 was also born here, as ambulances would retrieve fallen pedestrians, and other thieves roamed the streets at random. There's nothing like getting carjacked the first time - suddenly you know just what everyone else in the game feels like.