Ideas for Another Grand Theft Auto...

[Big Orange]

What should a semi-sequel based on the GTA IV engine be like? While GTA: San Andreas' gang-banging was not to everybody's taste, I loved the open countryside with it's highways and remote nooks n' crannies, and I would like to see that back in the next GTA game.

My idea would be a PS3 update of Vice City, in addition to the fictional version of Florida and Cuba, with several large towns, the Florida Keys, numerous other medium sized islands, and Havana. The main character could be an security agent in service of the Cuba's Communist regime, but a sudden coup launched by a rival sends him into exile to Vice City where he has to work his way to the top again and find a way to get even. Vice City would be updated, with the fictional Florida having the swampy Everglades, dense forests and arid scrublands. The islands would either have holiday resorts on them or be seemingly empty (but would have easter eggs to be found there), with one island being a equivalent to Area 69 since it has a supervillain's secret lair located there (with jumpsuited minions and a superweapon found in a hollowed out volcano).

The fictional Cuba would have a mountain range, shanty towns, a fictional Havana (where you start and end the storylines), and a dense jungle. You could take a boat to Cuba, but earlier on in the game you'd trigger a Six Star rating and the Cuban Army would be waiting for you, although the Six Star rating would be cancelled if you head back to America.

These are the initial ideas off the top of my head, and I may even draw a rough map.

[DesertFly]

That's an interesting idea, especially if it's set earlier in the century, like the 60s.

As a separate idea from yours, I think the 70s, with disco, afros, and Polyester suits would be the way to go.

[Bounty]

What? Supervillain lair? I thought Rockstar tried the silly missions (you know, stealing Harriers, what urban thugs are want to do) and decided to go back to being halfway realistic.

[Big Orange]

I'd like to set in 1997, although parts of it would have elements of 70s/80s retro junk.

[Mr Bean]

Lets see what have we had

GTA 1 and 2 were middle 90's, could do with a redo of that era (Generic Citiesbergs)
GTA 2 London was 60's London
GTA-3 was late 90s in Liberty City(AKA NY)
GTA-3 Vice City was Florida alike middle 80's, Eight track tapes and Cults gallore
GTa-3 San Andreas was early 90's in California
GTa-4 was modern day in Liberty City again(AKA NY)

Lets see where should we go? The 70's are a strong possibility, as are the early 80's, but I think the middle to late 60's would be great too, Rock is King, Elvis is just finishing up his movie days, The Beatles are starting to do their first America tour. And the sixties are also famous for drug use.

I can just picture your hero as a heavy drug using rebel without a clue. Why not make him a Mexican fleeing a drug deal gone south to Chicago or San Fransico, or Boston.

Hell I'd think Chicago would be frigging perfect, a former drug dealing Mexican doing business with the then still strong mob, Street gangs, rockers and hippies in their prime. I'd love to see a Young Truth in there if we can fit it.

[Zixinus]

Why not set the game in another country or hemisphere altogether? Germany, Australia, various Eastern European countries after the fall of the Soviet Union, some African countries, hell why not Hong Kong or India?

Sure, they wouldn't speak native English, but some of these countries have good enough reasons for them to be able to speak English. Then there is the fact that these countries would be able to support a big enough criminal element for it to be interesting.

Personally, I think sandbox games like GTA should go a bit like what Mercenaries 2 did (although, M2 failed). No pussyfooting around with avoiding cops, just drop us in the middle of a warzone and let us cause destruction galore!

Also, why not go and let it be at the 40's. Yes, Mafia and Godfather did it but only at the level of urban city (well, Godfather did, don't know about Mafia). A rural gangster makes it more interesting than a big-city slick.

I like the idea of a supervillain lair. Cartoonish humour and environments fit well in video games.

[Bounty]

(well, Godfather did, don't know about Mafia)

Mafia had one level where you drove out into the boonies to hold up a gas station, but that's pretty much it. Mind you, I never got to the end, that was a seriously poor game.

I admit I'd like to see a game set in early-eighties Germany. The music! The outifts! It'd be too close to Vice City to work, but a man can dream.

That, or a remake of one of the '60s games in 3D. Minis!

[Oskuro]

Why not make him a Mexican fleeing a drug deal gone south to Chicago or San Fransico, or Boston.

Oooooh! Know what would be awesome? THIS would be awesome!

[Mr Bean]

I was speaking of American mobsters with the GTA games, a GTA-4 Toyko with a half Vietnamese or Korean American wild child moving to Japan and taking up with the Yakuza. Or maybe the Triads in China.
That would be an ultra modern game set in 2009 with as many bright shiny lights and Japananimation knock-offs than you could shake a stick at.

[weemadando]

GTA 2 wasn't 60's London. That was GTA: London 1969. GTA2 was the awesome, pseudo-future/retro art-deco masterpiece.

[weemadando]

Oh and my idea? Either put us in 70s London (Transit vans!) or go balls to the fucking wall and make us a Cyber-punk styled GTA.

[Tanasinn]

I definitely don't like the idea of a return to all-encompassing moron humor. GTA IV's story will never be called perfectly realistic, and satire practically drips from it, but it had at least movie plausibility and could definitely draw you into the characters and their fates. For me, at least, that was a GTA first.

In all honesty, I'd like to see more eastern european crime syndicates.

[Enigma]

Why not have have a character that doesn't start out as a crook, made man or some other criminal but an upstanding citizen? You start out as a young kid or teen and something bad happens to either you or your family\relatives and for a while are just an ordinary joe blow until you decide to be either a cop, soldier, someone in the medical field, or some form of criminal and then the main missions would be tailored to the career path you choose.

That and a complete destructible environment in which everything can be destroyed and nothing and noone is spared. But whatever is destroyed can be rebuilt even if it isn't the same structure as before (Destroy a 5 story building and after a week game time a 10 story building is built over it).

I'd like to see a more comprehensive vehicle damage (being able to damage the suspension, transmission, cooling system, etc...)and various states of disrepair (vehicles from brand new to complete crap).

I want to see more businesses available to purchase or to own it through either by stock market or to work your way up. I'd love to be able to access every single building in the game (Walk in a bank\grocery store\hospital\etc... and watch people go about in their daily lives before ruining it

Actual buildings and not huge blocks with a painted on facade.

Be able to go to a radio station and be able to see the DJ\radio talk show host\etc... in action. Ditto with newspaper and T.V. stations. (Oh to be able to knock off a radio host while he\she's on the air. Ditto for a T.V. host, just for shits and giggles.)

There are many things I'd like to see in a GTA game but it would most likely be too unwieldy and I doubt that most computers today could handle such a game.

[Big Orange]

Grand Theft Auto has always been a dark action comedy, so you can't be too down to Earth and grim all of the time, it wouldn't hurt to have some missions based off of far-fetched movies like You Only Live Twice or The Matrix (and San Andreas was grounded enough the majority of the time, even though it got pretty crazy out in the desert).

The Cuban setting would be very similar to Just Cause (only good), with you being more like a freedom fighter than a criminal (but you could also help criminal gangs there who have people in Vice City).

And I prefer a game set in the 90s and 00s, since you'll have more toys and the radio stations would be more diverse. But a good retro setting would be 1970s San Andreas with maybe a younger Tenpenny as the protagonist (picture him in a Shaft style get up) and also a younger 'The Truth' as a contact. Bounty is on to something with a 70s/80s West Germany, with the possibility missions dealing with the Cold War (and by extension James Woods' secret agent character).

[Vendetta]

Either put us in 70s London (Transit vans!)

That'd be cool. Very much The Sweeney and Life on Mars, but as the (really) bad guys.

[Rye]

Since apparently the new Getaway has been canned, I'd go for a London one or one that is basically Syndicate but with GTA near-future aesthetics.

[Enigma]

I'd like to see a new True Crime game? Maybe a True Crime: Streets of London?

[JointStrikeFighter]

Sydney, with guns for...some reason.

[weemadando]

Sydney, with guns for...some reason.

GTA: Sydney... Awesome. Redfern, Cabramatta, the west... It makes itself...



If it lets me shoot the Atherton's in the face, that'd be awesome.

[Bounty]

I'd like to see a new True Crime game? Maybe a True Crime: Streets of London?

Why would you want a new True Crime game? Apart from the "we map real cities" gimmick? They're just poor GTA clones with bugs and completely ridiculous bosses (oh hay I'm fighting a Chinese crime syndicate, of course their leader is a fireball-shooting dragon! Realism ho!).

That'd be cool. Very much The Sweeney and Life on Mars, but as the (really) bad guys.

Sold. That's be awesome.

[Tolya]

Mafia had one level where you drove out into the boonies to hold up a gas station, but that's pretty much it. Mind you, I never got to the end, that was a seriously poor game.

Are you kidding me? Mafia is one of the best games ever released for PC. My friend, what exactly did you find "seriously poor" in that masterpiece? Graphics were great for the time, sounds are excellent, voice acting was exquisite (especially when it came to Paulie), missions were quite diverse (even if they revolved around driving and shooting or walking and shooting) and the best of all was the story. Also, the physics for driving cars was one of the best seen in an open city game like this (and I've driven some of those 20-30's cars in real life and I can tell you that they handle quite similarly).

I liked Mafia better than any GTA game, seriously. And it had many open area locations, not just that gas station early in the game.

Godfather on the other hand, sucked so badly that I thrown it out of my HDD after five minutes of playing. Good thing I borrowed it from a friend to see if it's worth anything.

[Bounty]

My friend, what exactly did you find "seriously poor" in that masterpiece?

It wasn't any fun? I can see the developers put a lot of effort in it, but it was just too buggy and disjointed to make me not uninstall it. The city was barren, car physics were good but collisions were cartoony, the racing level was pure evil, the health system was a joke and could make the game unwinnable, the AI was dumb as a sack of bricks, getting your car stuck in a ditch could end the game, hand-to-hand was a confusing mess with teamkills galore...

Maybe it got better after that mission where you attack some guys with baseball bats, but since I couldn't finish that one thanks to my suicidal sidekick, I'll never know.

[Tolya]

My friend, what exactly did you find "seriously poor" in that masterpiece?

It wasn't any fun? I can see the developers put a lot of effort in it, but it was just too buggy and disjointed to make me not uninstall it. The city was barren, car physics were good but collisions were cartoony, the racing level was pure evil, the health system was a joke and could make the game unwinnable, the AI was dumb as a sack of bricks, getting your car stuck in a ditch could end the game, hand-to-hand was a confusing mess with teamkills galore...

Maybe it got better after that mission where you attack some guys with baseball bats, but since I couldn't finish that one thanks to my suicidal sidekick, I'll never know.

I think we have played two different games. I had great fun with the game and I didn't notice any significant bugs. Certainly not any collision glitches.

The racing level was so damn easy that when I played the game for the third time, it was just boring.

When did you play it? I thought the graphics were quite good for a 2002 year game. If you played it when it was released on PS2 or Xbox in 2004 then I could see your point about cities being barren...

[Bounty]

I played it on PC a few years back. And the racing level, easy? What game did you play?

[weemadando]

Dude, I played the UNPATCHED racing level. That was hard. But not game-endingly so.

And at the time the finale in the Art Museum was the most beautifully done set piece in gaming. The graphics, story and gameplay all coming together to make something truly memorable and remarkable.