Grand Theft Auto is a game series. It is rather popular, so you might have heard of it. With five main-line entries and a slew of spin-offs, Rockstar Games' franchise is not only lucrative but a critical darling. Checking Metacritic 's top rated games of all time, Grand Theft Auto appears seven times in the top 20. Ignoring that four of those are just different iterations of Grand Theft Auto V, the last three numbered entries all scored an aggregate score of 97. Whether someone loves this series or not, that is an impressive accomplishment for any developer.
Why is GTA so popular? Since Rockstar took the franchise from 2D to 3D, the game design has prioritized player freedom, creating a fun sandbox experience. The gameplay mechanics might not be the best - although GTA V showed a decent improvement - but few other titles can match the franchise's sheer scope of insanity. A sandbox is only as enjoyable as it's playground, something Rockstar understand quite well. Even if the story is not everyone's cup of tea, they can still drop dozens of hours just running around in San Andreas or Liberty City. More might not always be better, but Grand Theft Auto tends to make it work.
Creating fully functioning cities means there is always something to do. With so many moving parts, eventually, there is going to be a glitch in the matrix. Here are our picks for 25 crazy mistakes you never noticed in Grand Theft Auto.
25 San Andreas Keeps On Confusing 1992 With 1993
Playing just the numbered entries in GTA is not recommended, as Rockstar tend to knock it out of the park whenever they venture off the beaten path. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is set in 1992 and helped tide people over until the launch of Grand Theft Auto IV. It earned great reviews and stands as one of the best entries in the series, with a brilliant soundtrack featuring Stone Temple Pilots, Faith No More, and Public Enemy. There are eight radio stations, each specializing in a different type of music. Unfortunately, the dates do not always add up, as some songs were yet to be released as singles during that time. For example, Stone Temple Pilots did launch their debut album in 1992, but Plush - with is included on the soundtrack - was released as a single in the following year.
24 Steve Haines Has Wolverine's Healing Factor
Grand Theft Auto V sees Michael working for the corrupt FIB operative Steve Haines, leading to the three protagonists doing a string of unsanctioned missions for the Bureau. Obviously, things start to escalate, leading to Michael, Franklin, and Trevor needing to steal a chemical weapon to protect the world or something. During this mission, Haines shoots himself in the foot so the security guards would not realize he is part of the heist. Cleaning Out The Bureau is the next mission with Haines, who walks perfectly fine despite recently adding a hole to his leg. Man, the doctors are the real stars of GTA.
23 The U.S. Military Do Not Do This
The U.S. military does not play a huge part in Grand Theft Auto V, as they are mostly restricted to Fort Zancudo. If a player happens to trespass, the soldiers would engage in combat, but they are otherwise easy to avoid. The few occasions the military does show-up, they tend to be driving a Crusader, which is an SUV inspired by the Jeep Wrangler. The military has a long history with jeeps, as they were first used during World War II and the Vietnam War before being replaced by the Humvee. Recently there were talks of bringing the jeep back, but they have not been used for more than 20 years.
22 A Bug Triggered By Grotesque Torture
Trevor is a psychopath. Michael and Franklin might be willing to do some pretty insane crimes, but the bald-headed Mr. Philips seems to genuinely enjoy causing mayhem and pain. While some people might find his character too much, Trevor's sections in GTA V are often really entertaining, as they tend to include the most outrageous stunts. A standout moment arises after players switch back to Philips, only to find him torturing a random due under the pier. How far things go from here is up to the gamer, as they are given the option to soak the captive man in gasoline and set him on fire. If this is done, a glitch happens were the burning man starts to run around despite the ropes never being untied. This act probably triggers the default "on fire" animation, which circumvents the situation.
21 Hot Coffee Is Brought Back From The Dead
Rockstar Games love to push the envelope of what is acceptable, allowing players to mow down pedestrians or partake in a torture scene. GTA does not need these insane moments to achieve greatness, but they suit the tone established within this universe. Surprisingly, even Rockstar has limits, as they cut a mini-game from San Andreas for being too much. Hot Coffee allows CJ - the game's protagonist - to go the distance with his girlfriend, after she invites him into her home for coffee. The developer blocked access to the minigame but did not remove it completely. Modders found the data and unlocked the content for anyone who wanted to give it a try. Unsurprisingly, the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) increased San Andreas' rating to AO.
20 Bad Traffic Cops
Ever found yourself enjoying a leisurely drive through a rural area just outside Los Santos when suddenly a traffic cop tries to play hero and begins a high-speed chase. Sure, maybe our car was stolen, but the officer is clearly overreacting. This might be hard to notice unless specifically searching for it, but instead of using their bike, the cop commandeers a civilian's car to give chase. Unless they are already seated on their two-wheeler, the officer reacts to seeing the protagonist in a stolen car by nicking one of their own. Maybe they are trying to understand a criminal's mindset.
19 No Dwayne Left Behind
Spend enough time hanging out with former kingpin Dwayne Forge and he starts sharing personal information with GTA IV's Niko Bellic. Growing up in a rough neighborhood and an abusive father, Dwayne aspired to be a police officer but a rejection led to a life of crime. After a stint behind bars, he enlists Niko to try and take down his former protege. After they became good friends, Dwayne reveals he cannot read or write well. This comes as somewhat of a shock since the former kingpin's messages and emails had good grammar and spelling. At the end, this felt like an additional piece of information which did not really suit what we knew about Dwayne.
18 Accidental Police Discrimination
Cops can be annoying as hell in Grand Theft Auto. It is almost like they know the exact location of the player at all times, and are willing to chase us down to the ends of the world. If only they consistently showed that type of dedication in GTA III. Nowadays, Rockstar's first venture into 3D feels somewhat archaic, as the developer still had a few kinks to work out. The in-game police are particularly annoying since they only ever reacted to the player's actions. If a gang starts a shootout, the cops will not do anything until Claude retaliates. They can mow down civilians all day long without a care in the world, so long as the player does not fire a gun.
17 Michael Has A Brain Fart
Despite Grand Theft Auto V's Michael being an accomplished criminal with a long and extensive history of successfully completing high-stakes heists, he seems to be getting rather careless. Friend Request is the first mission the middle-aged thief completes for Lester Crest, who gives him a backpack with an explosive to plant near a prototype of a mobile device. Although Michael pulls it off without much trouble, as security is scarce at the Lifeinvader HQ, he leaves the backpack at the scene of the crime. We are far from expert thieves, but that seems like a terrible idea! One has to assume the investigating detective will analyze the strange bag for clues.
16 Blown Off Limbs Are Interchangeable
Phil Cassidy appears in four different GTA games, although his main contributions are in Vice City. Introduced as an arms dealer, players turn to the alcoholic if their arsenal is needing of an upgrade. Phil's love of alcohol is so huge that he distills and sells his own beverage, known as "boomshine," which is potent enough to get someone their due just from its fumes. During Vice City, Phil ends up caught in one of his own bombs, resulting in the loss of an arm. The arms dealer is clearly shown losing his right-sided limb in the cut-scene, while his left arm is the one missing after that point.
15 Gracie Takes A Bite Out Of Gordon...How?
Gracie is the daughter of crime boss Giovanni Ancelotti, who spends most of Grand Theft Auto IV tied up and in the trank of Niko's car. She is first kidnapped so the Irish mob can extort her father, before being handed over to Gay Tony for a sack of diamonds. It is safe to say that Gracie has a pretty hard go of it during the campaign, although she does manage to get some revenge by biting the Irish mob's Gordon as he stuffs her into Niko's car. Okay, this might not seem like a particularly impressive act, but please remember she was tied and gagged at the time. Harry Houdini's got nothing on Gracie.
14 GTA III Spoils Itself
Maria cannot keep her mouth shut. Don Salvatore Leone's wife plays a minor role in Grand Theft Auto III, with Claude having to babysit her for a night. Her defining characteristics involve an addiction and just being the worst. At one point, Maria goes on the radio to talk about a huge betrayal that happens in the story. While publicly coming clean about the mafia's dirty laundry seems like a recipe for disaster, the annoying part is this audio occasionally plays before the plot twist actually happens. Foreshadowing might be a thing in movies and games, but at least include a spoiler warning.
13 A Train Makes A Special Stop Because The Plot Needs It
Grand Theft Auto always tries to one-up itself by including new ways to travel. GTA IV allows Niko to access the Subway system, with multiple stops made available. This is introduced during the mission "Clean Getaway," which starts with the protagonist catching the train from "Hove Beach" station to "Dukes Boulevard" station. The cut-scene does not show the train arriving at its destination, preferring to cut directly to Niko already at the deserted platform. Why are we bringing this up? Well, "Dukes Boulevard" is closed for maintenance throughout GTA IV, so a train would not stop there.
12 Leasing Out The GTA License For One Game
The 2D games might be hard to revisit nowadays, but they helped put DMA Design - who would eventually become Rockstar North -on the map. In terms of tone and gameplay, Grand Theft Auto is quite consistent, due to the same developer working on most of the series. Sure, not all were handled by North, but it was always Rockstar. The one exception is Grand Theft Auto Advance, which was developed by Digital Eclipse. While not necessarily a terrible game, it sticks out like a sore thumb in the franchise. The music is pretty mediocre, and the gameplay leaves something to be desired, making Advance quite disappointing. With 15 different titles, Advance feels out of place as the only one not developed by Rockstar.
11 Spawning All Over The Place
Grand Theft Auto III was a marvel for the time, but it is easily the messiest of the 3D titles. San Andreas also suffers from similar shortcomings, leading to fans deciding on a phrase that summarizes one specific type of bug. The Spawn Glitch refers to objects or people that are not where they should be. Occasionally, pedestrians appear with their legs halfway into the sidewalk, or cars spawn on top of each other. They are not actually game-breaking stuff, so when a glitch occurs, it is best to just laugh it off. All massive open-worlds suffer from a handful of glitches, so Rockstar can be forgiven for not noticing these errors.
10 Those Are Some Efficient Henchmen
The police are far from the only pain in the backside for GTA players, as gang warfare tends to be a common occurrence. While shootouts can be triggered on the fly, there are story missions which see the main characters desperately trying to not get filled with lead. The mafia seems to have a never-ending supply of soldiers to send out whenever a goon needs to do a disappearing act. They are pretty darn efficient too, as can be seen in GTA V. After Michael turns Martin Madrazo's house into a fireworks factory, the cartel boss' flunkies are hot on the perpetrator's tail within minutes. Mind you, they have no idea what Michael looks like or what he is driving. The Storm Troopers could learn a thing or two from these guys.
9 Vice City Experiments With Traffic Lights
We have mostly left Grand Theft Auto: Vice City alone for this article, but the game deserves a mention. Following up GTA III, Vice City came out in 2003 and starred Tommy Vercetti, who recently completed a stint in prison. It is a fun title and established that the franchise was not going anywhere. So, there are a few glitches sprinkled throughout this majestic third-person free roaming experience. A few involve the locations of certain traffic and street lights, including the roof of a laundromat and the side of a road. To be fair, this could be a form of social commentary by Rockstar, perhaps about the metro system.
8 San Andreas And DVDs
As established way back in the first entry, San Andreas is set in the early 90s. This Los Santos exists around the time grunge was taking over the music scene, Reservoir Dogs was the hottest new movie, and VHS ruled the world. DVDs did not launch until 1995, with the first DVD player coming out years later. In other words, shops would definitely not be selling CDs in 1992. Apparently, an adult store in Los Santos did not get the memo, as their sign promotes a huge DVD collection. A small detail that does not impact the game whatsoever, but worth a mention anyway.
7 Trevor Just Likes To Steal Stuff
As already established, Trevor is a pretty bad dude. He does not need a reason to steal or kill, although having one does not hurt. Floyd Hebert is Wade's cousin, who happens to know Trevor, and a rare example of a genuinely good people within Rockstar's universe. Floyd believes in living an honest life, a reality that is promptly shattered once the bald psychopath makes an appearance. Quickly, the humble longshoreman finds himself entangled in criminal plots and an uncomfortable relationship with Wade's friend. During one particular mission, Trevor plans a heist at Pier 400 and steals uniforms for Wade and Floyd, despite the latter already working there.
6 That Supply Line Mission In Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
While parts of GTA are more enjoyable than others, it is rare to find an honestly terrible segment. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas manages to do just that with the optional Supply Lines... mission, which puts players in the control of a miniature plane. This quest is handed out by Zero, who is seeking revenge against Berkley. His master plan is to use a silly little toy to destroy his rival's delivery packages. In terms of how poorly it controls, no other vehicle compares to this flying terror. At times, the plane seems to have a mind of its own. Bagging on an optional side-mission might seem harsh, but anyone seeking 100% completion must finish it.