Tag: GTA 4

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The Top Tier of Grand Theft Auto Villainy: The Most Evil Characters in the Iconic Series

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Although the legendary Grand Theft Auto game series is mostly about illegal acts such as stealing cars and killing people, we can safely say that some characters are more evil than others. GTA started its legacy way back in 1997, and since then, it has evolved tremendously when it comes to both the graphics and the gameplay itself.

GTA 6 is on its way, and it will finally make its long-awaiting debut in 2025. While there is still a lot more to learn about the upcoming game, which is also the most anticipated game in history, if we look at the insane number of views for its official trailer, we still have to learn a thing or two about the history of the series.

Let’s speak a bit about some of the most evil characters in the history of GTA, shall we?

S-Tier:

Catalina (GTA III, GTA San Andreas)
Trevor Philips (GTA V)
Sonny Forelli (GTA Vice City)
Devin Weston (GTA V)
Dmitri Rascalov (GTA IV)

Catalina is a woman who falls in love with CJ from GTA San Andreas and proves to be the embodiment of evil. She is always willing to run into trouble and break the law in order to have her own way. She dumps CJ at some point and gets Claude from GTA III as her new lover.

Trevor Philips is easily one of the most evil characters in GTA history. He is the kind of guy who would kill someone in their sleep or eat him alive just for fun.

Devin Weston from GTA V represents the epitome of corporate greed and manipulation. He is a billionaire businessman who has a vast network of influence and resources, and thus he is one of the most powerful men in Los Santos.

Dmitri Rascalov from GTA IV has a cunning and duplicitous nature. He is the primary antagonist in the 2008 game, and his betrayal and manipulation set off a chain of events that culminate in terrible trouble for Niko Bellic and his comrades.

A-Tier:

Big Smoke (GTA San Andreas)
Frank Tenpenny (GTA San Andreas)
Billy Grey (GTA IV: The Lost and Damned)
Steve Haines (GTA V)
Michael DeSanta (GTA V)

GTA San Andreas has been the source of some of the most interesting characters in the whole series. Big Smoke was a close friend of Carl Johnson, the main protagonist of the game. Big Smoke later betrayed him because he started to be tempted by money, fortune, and fame. In the last mission, CJ has to confront Big Smoke in an epic boss battle.

Frank Tenpenny, also from GTA SA, a character who was voiced by the famous actor Samuel L. Jackson, is a corrupt police officer. He is the epitome of abuse of power and authority, and he is also the puppet master who pulls the strings behind the scenes with his manipulative tactics and disregard for the law.

Michael DeSanta is one of the three protagonist characters in GTA V. He is a retired bank robber who tries to have a normal life, but the sins of his past won’t leave him alone. He doesn’t hesitate to kill and destroy if he has to. Furthermore, his difficult character makes him a horrible husband and father.

B-Tier:

Ryder (GTA San Andreas)
Ricardo Diaz (GTA Vice City)
Vladimir Glebov (GTA IV)
Jimmy Pegorino (GTA IV)

Ryder from GTA SA was also one of CJ’s close friends in the hood, but he later betrayed by going into the team of the Ballas. CJ even has to kill Ryder during one of the game’s missions.

Jimmy Pegorino, one of the characters of GTA IV, plays a major role as one of the antagonists. He is the boss of the Pegorino crime family, which is a relatively small-time mafia organization that operates in Liberty City.

C-Tier:

Salvatore Leone (GTA Liberty City Stories, GTA III)
Stretch (GTA V)
Franklin (GTA V)
Elizabeta Torres (GTA IV, GTA Chinatown Wars)

Franklin, one of the three protagonists of GTA V, is more like the kind of guy who kills when he considers absolutely necessary. Otherwise, he is not actually the kind of fellow who enjoys mayhem and killing, although he still wants to climb through the ranks of the gangsta lifestyle.

Salvatore Leone, who is a pivotal character in the Grand Theft Auto series, has been prominently featured in games such as GTA Liberty City Stories and GTA III. He is the Don of the Leone crime family, and he exudes power and authority whenever he gets the chance, commanding respect and fear throughout Liberty City. However, he is an intelligent guy and one who prefers to act cunningly and strategically in difficult situations.

Stretch, who is also known as Harold Joseph, is a member of the Ballas gang in GTA V. He is one of the high-ranking members of the gang, and he is known for his ruthless demeanor and willingness to resort to violence to maintain control over his turf in Los Santos.

Making such a top-tier list and also being objective may be impossible, as each and every character in the GTA series has their own personality and level of “evilness.” Therefore, feel free to leave your own opinion in the comment section!

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GTA 6 is Coming, But Which is the Best Game in the Series So Far?

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After a long wait, we finally know for sure what GTA 6 looks like, as well as when it will launch, due to a recent official trailer from Rockstar Games itself. There’s a lot more information to find out, that’s true, but it’s still joyful that we finally have some official info about the highly-anticipated title. The trailer has been viewed a record number of times in just a few days after its launch.

The sad aspect is that GTA 6 will be a console-exclusive game, at least for its first months. Later on, we can expect that the game will be adapted for PC as well, in a similar way as it happened with GTA 5, the previous game of the legendary series.

It’s time to try to find out which is the best GTA game so far. Although we can realistically expect that GTA 6 will be the best, it’s time to consider only the titles that have already been released:

GTA 5

GTA 5, the game that came out in 2013, is easily one of the best games of the Grand Theft Auto series, if not the best of all time. This game has pretty much everything you need if you’re a fan of open-world and RPG games. You can take on a lot of dangerous missions, use your weapons to give everyone a hard time, steal cars, and a lot more. The possibilities are just endless in this game.

GTA 5 is also known for its online multiplayer mode, which is commonly known as GTA Online. Despite being over a decade old, GTA 5 has aged like good wine, as it’s being played even today by numerous gamers.

GTA San Andreas

GTA San Andreas has its 20th anniversary this year, and it’s one of the best games of all time if we just consider the gameplay itself. This game is highly-immersive even today if you are not bothered by the obsolete graphics, as you can get CJ (aka Carl Johnson, the protagonist) in pretty much any role you want: doctor, taxi driver, cop, burglar, pimp, and so on.

There’s no wonder why many folks consider GTA San Andreas the best game of the Grand Theft Auto series. This game has everything, and as a player, you get to do a lot of fun stuff even after you finish the story mode, as you can be regularly involved in gang wars to defend your territories,  get your hands on numerous collectibles, and so on.

GTA Vice City

GTA 3 was a legend, as it was the first game of the Grand Theft Auto series that made the shift to a 3D environment. But it was GTA Vice City, a game that came out in 2002, that brought the whole thing to a different level. Vice City has some impressive graphics for its time, and it was set in Miami, the same location that the upcoming GTA 6 will embrace. GTA Vice City also impressed due to its gameplay and entertaining missions, as the game rapidly became one of the most influential ones in the history of gaming.

Let’s face it: no gamer in his 30s hasn’t been using cheat codes in GTA Vice City at least once in order to wreak havoc on the streets of fictional Miami.

GTA IV

GTA 4 was a revolutionary game for its time. This game, which came out in 2008, brought the graphics to an unprecedented level for the Grand Theft Auto series. Niko Bellic, the protagonist, is a veteran of the Yugoslavian War who came to the US to have a better life. However, he rapidly became entangled in a dangerous game from which he needed to be slick and deadly enough to escape. The gameplay of GTA 4 was also at a whole new level, as it introduced new realistic mechanics.

It’s pretty much impossible to say which one of these games is the best GTA title, but probably GTA 5 fits in that role the best.

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How the GTA 4 Story Impacted the Grand Theft Auto Series

Credit: Rockstar Games

GTA 4 came out way back in 2008, and it immediately impressed everyone through both its gameplay and graphics. The game was the bee’s knees at its time, even though most GTA fans are more impressed by what GTA 5 has to offer and are more busy waiting for news about the long-awaited GTA 6.

GTA 4 features Niko Bellic in the role of the game’s protagonist, as he’s a war veteran who ran away from the Yugoslavian War in Europe and traversed the ocean with high hopes for a better life. Once Niko arrives in Liberty City (fictional New York) and is eager to start making money with his cousin Roman, the protagonist discovers that life as a free man can be just as difficult as on the battlefield. While Niko is also not all peaches and cream, he can get into trouble very easily.

Each and every GTA fan can agree that the story of GTA 4 is extremely dark and full of dark humor. While violence and killing are usual elements of the Grand Theft Auto series, Rockstar took it to a whole new level in GTA 4. This game easily remains the darkest GTA game ever made and for good reasons. But apart from the ‘dark’ aspect, there’s more to the GTA story. Let’s get into detail a bit:

Emotional impact:

The story of Niko Belllic and the ways he interacts with other characters, such as his cousin Roman and a potential girlfriend, added emotional depth to the game. Furthermore, the choices players made during the storyline had consequences, affecting the game’s multiple possible endings. That was extremely interesting to see back in 2008 when the game came out, as it was a premiere for many gamers to see such an approach.

Narrative depth:

Compared to predecessor games, GTA 4 has brought a more nuanced and character-driven narrative. While, as we said, Niko Bellic, the protagonist, was a complex character who had a troubled past, we also shouldn’t forget that the story delved into themes such as family, immigration, and the pursuit of the so-called American Dream.

Earlier GTA games featured more caricatured characters, and GTA 4 has the merit of departing from them and setting a new standard for storytelling in the insanely popular Grand Theft Auto series.

Realism and serious topics

We also need to admit that GTA 4 shifted towards a more realistic portrayal of the game world and gaming characters. The storyline features serious topics such as betrayal, organized crime, as well as the consequences of violence. Such a departure from the satirical and over-the-top tone that dominated previous games proved the capacity of the series for more mature storytelling.

The introduction of expansions

Besides the main storyline, GTA 4 also introduced story expansions (more commonly known as DLCs nowadays) in the form of “The Ballad of Gay Tony” and “The Lost and Damned.” Such expansions provided players with different perspectives on the events that took place in GTA 4 and further deepened the narrative even more. Such an approach influenced the design of future Rockstar games, such as “Red Dead Redemption 2,” which had multiple interconnected narratives.

GTA 4 is the last game of the Grand Theft Auto series that had a single protagonist. GTA 5 has three: Trevor, Franklin, and Michael. As for the upcoming GTA 6, it will also have three protagonist characters, and one of them is a woman.

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Top Games That Had Amazing Graphics for Their Time

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While gaming in 2023 is indeed at an unprecedented level when it comes to graphics, as it’s pretty difficult to find a game that doesn’t have an environment that looks as realistic as the world we interact with every day, the situation wasn’t always like this. During its first stages, gaming looked absolutely horrible compared to the most popular titles of today, as you could literally count the pixels on the screen.

Gaming evolved gradually into how we mostly know it today, although we don’t have to forget that there are a lot of retro games out there nowadays that feature ‘ancient’ graphics. That’s precisely why people like them anyway, as not everybody is up for highly realistic games such as Red Dead Redemption 2 or EA SPORTS FC 24, for instance.

Some of the video games that are the subject of this article were released at a time when the graphics of video games, in general, looked very poor and obsolete compared to what exists today. GTA San Andreas, for instance, is a fabulous game if we consider the gameplay itself, but the graphics looked absolutely horrible compared to the industry’s current standards. Let’s cut to the chase:

Crysis (2007)

The mind-blowing graphics of Crysis cannot be stressed enough. This is the first game in its series, and it’s basically a multiplayer shooter game where the player steps in the shoes of a guy who’s stranded in the jungle. Who knows what great dangers might lurk at every corner? That’s why playing this game never gets old, and you could compare it to the Egyptian Pyramids in some way. While it’s still uncertain today how it was possible for someone to build those pyramids thousands of years ago, making such a highly realistic game, such as Crysis in 2007, is also puzzling. Maybe aliens built the Egyptian Pyramids and also gave Crysis to us as a bonus, who can tell for sure?

GTA Vice City (2002)

Launched more than two decades ago, in 2002, GTA Vice City is one of the most popular and highly influential video games, and it still holds the flag high even today. This game represents a big open-world environment and some very nice graphics for its time. Back in 2002, when GTA Vice City broke out, it rapidly became a hit.

GTA Vice City follows the adventures of Tommy Vercetti, who’s not exactly the kind of guy you would like to play Call of Duty with. He likes to play Call of Duty in the ‘real’ world of GTA Vice City, actually.

Counter-Strike 1.6 (2003)

You probably know the drill when it comes to Counter-Strike games, as the legendary 1.6 is no exception: you are part of a team of terrorists or counter-terrorists, and you need to defeat the other enemy along with your partners. The first team that loses all of its members loses. On the other hand, if you plant the bomb as a terrorist and it explodes, you win. If you deactivate the bomb planted by your terrorist opponents, you win. If the others do these actions against you, you lose.

Counter-Strike 1.6 was launched in 2003, and it became one of the most played video games worldwide. While the graphics weren’t too impressive for their time, the sound effects were fabulous for their time and even for today’s gaming standards.

GTA 4 (2008)

At its release back in 2008, GTA 4 represented a huge upgrade compared to its predecessor, GTA 3, in every possible way. While the gameplay is extremely interesting and dark, along with the similar dialogues, the graphics in GTA 4 were simply amazing and probably even unprecedented for their time. Rockstar created a very addictive open world where Niko Bellic, a Bosnian war veteran, was the main protagonist, and he had to visit his cousin Roman in Liberty City (a parody of New York City).

Once arrived in Liberty City, Niko gets into all sorts of trouble along with his cousin, and they have no choice but to kill or be killed. GTA 4 was extremely well received by the fans of Grand Theft Auto games, and some believe up to this day that this 2008 game is even better than its successor, GTA 5.

Mafia 2 (2010)

Easily one of the best gangster games of all time, Mafia 2, which came out 13 years ago, easily takes the cake in our view. This game is an absolute classic, and there’s no wonder why some people say that it’s the best game ever made. The attention to detail that the developers had for this game is amazing, and the graphics were out of this world for the period when Mafia 2 was released. Even the facial expressions of the characters were extremely well done. The windows break very realistically if the protagonists shoot at them. Those are just two of the best examples that come to mind to explain the amazing graphics of this game.

In Mafia 2, the player will be in the shoes of Vito Schaletta, an Italian soldier who participated in WWII in Europe. Visiting his buddy Joe in the Empire Bay (parody of New York) of the ’40s, Joe will have to face challenges that are at least as difficult as the war. The world of mobsters where he became trapped doesn’t have any mercy on anyone, and Vito rapidly figured out the hard way that he has no choice but to play by its dirty rules.

How about your own favorite games that feature amazing graphics for their time? Feel free to leave your thoughts and opinions in a comment below!

 

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