Grand Theft Auto 6: A Wishlist

Grand Theft Auto: Is there an argument against it being one of gaming’s greatest dynasties? A constantly evolving work of digital art that has grown from a simple yet perfect run-and-chase mechanic into a narrative-driven cinematic masterpiece and a money-spinning multi-player monolith, all in the face of massive moral outrage and political opposition; GTA might just be the most storied franchise in gaming history.


I love GTA in a way that I can't quite explain, although to give you an idea, when San Andreas was released I stayed up playing it for close to three days straight. When I finally drifted off to sleep amidst a pile of pizza boxes and empty cans like gaming's real life negative stereotype, my dreams occurred with GTA-style visuals, so it was all worth it. At the time it was the greatest thing I'd ever played, but that was 13 years ago and incredibly Rockstar are still pushing the boundaries of console hardware performance, character creation and narrative to this day.

With a sixth generation of the series on the very distant horizon, here's my wishlist for GTA 6.

Location, location, location!

For long time fans of the series, or even those who’ve trawled its back catalog via current gen digital downloads, the choice for Grand Theft’s next stop on its grand tour is an obvious one: Vice City. While GTA 3 broke new ground in terms of mechanics and visuals, 2002's Vice City injected the series with its now signature sense of style and biting satire.

Neon lights, cheap suits, hard drugs and wild rides: Vice City embodied 80's excess

The first entry with a named protagonist (GTA 3’s lead is never referred to by name; the moniker ‘Claude’ was found in data files years later), Vice City pulled threads from classic gangster flicks and shlocky 80s TV without a shred of shame. The locale reeked of cheap sleaze and when coupled with the game’s pumping soundtrack, gave birth to a cartoonish, cocaine and booze-fueled allegory of 1980’s Miami. Quite simply it was the first GTA city to feel like a character in and of itself.

Las Venturas: Grand Theft's very own Sin City would look incredible with current gen tech

It’s not like Rockstar to play it safe though. While 2013's visit to a revised Los Santos and its surrounding townships in GTA 5 was so good, we’ve all but forgotten about the great state of San Andreas’ two other major cities; San Fierro (based on San Francisco) and Las Venturas (Las Vegas). And if GTA 6 were to take place in the same state as GTA 5, who’s to say that a few familiar faces wouldn’t pop by to say hello…?

Old faces, new friends

Over the years GTA’s calling card has always been its colourful cast of characters. Whether it was a genuine Hollywood legend like Samuel L Jackson lending his considerable presence to corrupt cop Officer Tenpenny, gangster movie royalty Ray Liotta fleshing out mob archetype Tommy Versetti or the practically unknown Steven Ogg’s instant classic portrayal of unhinged hill-billy psychopath Trevor Phillips, an ensemble of carefully crafted antagonists and protagonists always got us invested in GTA games as though they were silver-screen epics or Netflix’ latest gritty crime serial.

Sam Jackson's Officer Tenpenny: Sick of these goddamn gangs on this mother-fuckin' street

Even the supporting characters were great. GTA 4’s bull-shark testosterone-fuelled alpha male Brucie Kibbutz delivered some much needed comic relief, Vice City’s Ken Rosenberg (played by the great William Fitchner) is one of the series’ great sidekicks and San Andreas features too many excellent bit players to mention.

Bombing around Liberty City in Yusuf's gold-plated whip to the tune of Busta Rhymes' 'Arab Money' was a welcome change of pace in 'The Ballad of Gay Tony'

The problem with crafting such great characters is that people fall in love with them or, in the case of the supporting cast, crave that little bit extra time in their presence. So what are some of our old friends up to these days?

Pop culture is enamoured with the concept of the shared universe and while GTA games have crossed over in the past, it has never been in a meaningful way. Niko Bellic was referenced a couple of times in GTA 5 while Packie McReary showed up in person, albeit briefly. Catalina, the catalyst for GTA 3’s plot, cameoed with silent protagonist ‘Claude’ in San Andreas. San Andreas also saw you take a quick trip to Liberty City for a bloody restaurant shoot-out mission.

There aren’t any direct storyline links from the GTA 3-era games to the current gen, but that makes sense from a narrative point of view; the 80’s/early 90’s are a long time gone. But what about an ageing Gay Tony trying to set up a new nightclub empire in modern-day Vice City? Or the founding chapter of The Lost Motorcycle Club heading cross country to hunt down the man who wiped out Johnny and their Blaine County crew?

Just picture the fun of a bunch of side missions where Roman tries to find someone to go bowling with him. 

Rockstar have always been keen on completing their main characters' story arcs within each title in order to keep things fresh, but the passage of time and the scope of the GTA-verse means we could well meet old favorites at considerably different points in their lives. Imagine having to deal with Niko Bellic, now an unrepentant Eastern European crime lord, completely bereft of humanity following his brother's murder? How about hearing the news that Trevor Phillips Industries is muscling in on your turf, it's CEO now clean-shaven and off the drugs, struggling to maintain his new found sobriety without Michael and Franklin to keep him in check? 

And speaking of the unexpected... 

Plot twist!

The GTA series has always been a slave to its name. By it’s very nature criminality will always be at the franchise’s core and that’s left the writers in a fundamentally awkward position; weaving tales where the good guys are bad guys and vice-versa. Things often blur into a confusing shade of grey, where fan favorites like CJ and Trevor and even lovable anti-heroes Michael and Franklin are essentially murdering psychopaths by virtue of their storylines and the series' gameplay mechanics.

So what about something different? Something shocking and genre-busting? Imagine playing the first three hours of GTA 6, getting familiar with the three new protagonists and their motivations and then BOOM, plot twist!

The main character is a cop.

PC players have already modded GTA 5 to play as the cops, the impatient bunch

This being GTA, the character being a straight-laced 'by-the-books' beat officer simply wouldn't work. But with a Dirty Harry-style maverick or an undercover detective in deep with the criminal fraternity you'd still get to join in all the dirty deeds and wanton chaos, but the fun real would come from choosing how far over the line you'd be willing to step, all while balancing your choices with the actions of your other, criminal player characters. It'd also make for some huge moral and emotional decisions throughout the game; it's one thing stealing drugs from other drug dealers or slapping around petty crooks, but would you be willing to go completely rogue to side with characters you have become invested in during 40 hours of story?  

Previous games have given you a (very) limited choice of endings, but imagine a final few hours of game play that unfold in a completely unique way depending on your previous actions. Played it straight and remained on task? You and your crew have access to all your cop info and resources for the final few hours of the game. Strayed too far towards the dark side? Now you need to worry about your former colleagues arresting, or even worse, exposing you as a rat to your outlaw accomplices.   

To push the idea even further, a GTA where you have to finish final hour of the story as a cop, a criminal or an anti-hero, with no going back or switching characters, would not only make your choices through the game mean more than the usual "Kill this guy or that guy" paths, it would add an incredible amount of replay-value to the single player campaign.

Leading heavily armed SWAT raids into civilian neighborhoods? What could possibly go wrong? 

It'd wouldn't just break new ground from a narrative point of view either. Gathering intelligence while undercover, then using that information to pre-plan SWAT raids would be a cool expansion of GTA's fun-but-flawed heist missions. It'd work both ways too; as a cop you'd have access to police evidence, computers and files that could be used to help plan big jobs, prison breaks or against other criminals. 

Paid DLC

Ah, DLC... three letters in the modern gaming lexicon that make you want to put your boot to developers like a gang initiation. More often than not it's marketing speak for a cash grab; a way to charge extra for features that should have been on the disc in the first place or a bit of leeway in terms of ‘episodic content’ for developers who haven’t quite got everything done in time for their release deadline.

GTA 5, the first series entry in the truly connected era of console gaming, somewhat broke the mould in that it didn’t offer a season pass or large amounts of episodic paid DLC. Even with the leap to the PS4/360, GTA Online, essentially an entirely separate game, remained free and although it isn’t a fully-fledged ‘pay-to-enjoy’ title, micro-transactions are prevalent.

GTA Online has offered players years' worth of themed updates, including game modes, vehicles and weapons

Still, I’ve yet to meet a GTA player who hasn’t felt a little empty at the conclusion of each iteration's epic single-player story. GTA 4 was perhaps the guiltiest party for this; with a tale that focused on death, misery and chasing impossible dreams, it was never destined for a happy ending. Then along came ‘The Lost And Damned’, a piece of DLC that shifted the tone of the game from Niko’s miserable Baltic immigrant slog to that of gritty outlaw biker-gang warfare, tapping into the genre just as TV’s ‘Sons of Anarchy’ hit its stride. Next came ‘The Ballad of Gay Tony’, a glitzy clubland romp that ditched grit and misery in favour of glitzy camp and excess. Both imbued the grim original release with a different, more enjoyable mood and aesthetic and sold so well that they were later given their own stand-alone physical media release.

Outlaws 'till the end

While commonplace for today's gamer, DLC is still not an easy sell. Many premium titles now run to £85 when factoring in their season pass; twice the price of a standard game. Still, players are willing to hand over their cash if the quality is there and few can name a Rockstar title that hasn’t provided bang for their buck. If the studio want to maximise revenue from what may be their only current-gen outing for GTA, why not combine a micro-transaction funded GTA 6 Online with season passes for the meat and potatoes one-player narrative?

10 hours of Trevor Phillips assaulting street performers in Las Venturas = Fine by me

Whether it's a largely new protagonist and story arc like TLAD or TBOGT (whose leads were only introduced briefly in GTA 4), or playing as a popular side character with the chance to tackle some of the main game's big jobs from a different perspective...the possibilities are endless. Hell, depending on the timeline who wouldn’t pay twenty notes for 10 hours of gameplay as a 'classic' GTA character like Trevor or CJ, assuming they could be written into the narrative in a way that didn't feel cheap or tagged on?