As far as GTA V fan videos go, making one about the evolution of the franchise is hardly a novel idea. However, of the countless videos which deal with this topic, few are of a high quality. The franchise has a long history, with the first game to bear the name Grand Theft Auto having been released way back before the turn of the century, in 1997.
Since then, the series has come an extremely long way, having gone through three "eras", all characterized by different levels of visual realism. It has had its share of controversies, more so than any other franchise in the history of gaming. It has told tales to last the ages, over and over again.
GTA is an ever-changing game. New settings, new characters, new stories. It keeps a constant core of themes and game mechanics, while keeping things ever fresh. From fake New York City through fake Los Angeles all the way to fake Miami, we are shown countless cities by Rockstar.
From gangs, through corrupt police to mobsters, we're faced by countless enemies. The GTA series has also allowed players to take control of a wide cast of protagonists from all kinds of backgrounds. From the several choosable characters of the original game through the more fleshed out 3D era protagonists all the way to the terrible trio of GTA V.
Skyzer is a budding YouTuber seeming focusing his channel on videos detailing the evolution of long running game series. The video features gameplay footage from all of the GTA games along with a fun fact, such as every GTA game since 3 having been delayed for whatever reason and that there are only 2 child characters in the whole franchise.
Forgiving the occasional spelling mistake, the video is quite entertaining. It is well edited, it doesn't outstay its welcome and it shows off each game pretty well. The leaps in visual quality are more than apparent, as well as the changes in tone and atmosphere over the course of the series' evolution.
Obviously, the biggest transition was from top down 2D to third-person 3D gameplay, while the jump to HD was merely an upgrade in graphical fidelity. However, Rockstar's skill at atmosphere comed through, as the difference between GTA IV and V is apparent despite looking pretty similar in terms of graphics.
Which era and which installment of GTA games is your all time favorite?
