They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. If that’s the case, then Rockstar’s open-world crime action game series Grand Theft Auto is one of the most complimented video game franchises of all time. That’s little surprise given how groundbreaking and successful Grand Theft Auto III was when it first came out, with each new installment in the series improving upon the original formula. Each new GTA game gives players what they come to expect from the series: new vehicles, new weapons, new and larger areas to explore, memorable characters, engrossing mini-games and side quests and, of course, new and creative ways to kill women of the night.
Of course, not every imitator of the Grand Theft Auto series met that same level of universal love and success among gamers. For every outstanding original idea, there are about nine others looking to cash in on that success, and GTA is no exception. Here’s a list of several games that tried and failed to copy and paste Rockstar’s winning recipe, each failing for a variety of reasons. Some ended up being too controversial for their own good, some were just too blatant in their imitation of the GTA games, and others were just too broken and rushed to be remembered as anything other than complete failures.
At the other end of the spectrum, we will also be looking at those games that took that winning formula and succeeded, usually by changing some aspects and giving the GTA formula their own original twist.
15 Causing Havoc In The Big Apple (WORST)
True Crime: New York City is the second and final installment of the True Crime series, a GTA clone series that separated itself from the others by allowing players to see things from the perspective of the police. It tells the story of Marcus Reed, a former gangster turned police detective. Though it was notable for recreating Manhattan with GPS accuracy, the game was plagued by technical and graphical glitches, with many reviewers suspecting that the game had been rushed. It also ended up being a commercial failure, selling considerably less than Streets of LA, the previous game in the series. All this contributed to Activision abandoning the True Crime series and scrapping the intended sequel that would have continued Marcus’ story. In 2014, Activision dropped the True Crime trademark completely, killing any hope for a possible revival of the series.
14 Doing Things, Just ‘Cause (BEST)
While most people may attribute the success of the first Just Cause game to being the best alternative for gamers while they waited for Grand Theft Auto IV to come out, Just Cause 2 stands on its own by taking the first game’s love of outrageous stunts and turning it up to eleven. Players take control of Rico Rodriguez, an operative sent to overthrow the dictator of a fictional Southeast Asian island. The name of the game is to destroy everything in sight, as the Chaos System encourages players to channel their inner Michael Bay and explode as much government property as possible to progress through the game. Along with the usual firearms, players get a grappling hook able to hook buildings, vehicles, explosive barrels and even other people. It may not be 100% physically accurate, but who cares when you’re having this much fun?
13 On The Other Side Of The Law (WORST)
Narc was originally an 80s ultra-violent run and gun arcade game that put players in the roles of cops who arrest and (frequently) kill dealers and addicts, taking the “Winners Don’t Do Drugs” philosophy of the time to a scary extreme and inciting anger from moral watchdogs. It seems only fitting, then, that the 2005 re-launch of the franchise gets marred by controversy as well. 2005’s NARC has gamers play as a narcotics officer and DEA agent who team up to investigate a new drug called Liquid Soul. Most of the controversy surrounding the game stems from the players having the option to use the drugs they confiscate, a stark contrast to the original arcade game’s strong anti-drug message. Though the developers emphasized that NARC was intended for older audiences, it still ended up getting targeted by politicians and banned from Australia.
12 Brick By Brick (WORST)
Here’s another kid-friendly alternative to the GTA series, and this time it’s Lego City Undercover. People were admittedly puzzled when this title was first announced. A Lego game not based on a previously established franchise? Who would ever want to play that? Plenty of people, it turns out, as the game became the number one selling title for the Wii U during its debut month. Players step into the blocky shoes of the aptly named undercover cop Chase McCain. Along with all of the classic gameplay people have come to know and love from the Lego series, players can perform parkour such as wall jumping. As an undercover cop, Chase can also don various disguises, with each one granting him different abilities needed to progress through the game. Combine that with a story that parodies the standard cop movie perfectly, and you’ve got a great game.
11 From A Racing Game To A Clone (WORST)
Driver 3 (also known as DRIV3R) is the third installment in the racing simulator game series. Originally intended to just feature racing and car chases, as in the previous two games in the series, the popularity of Grand Theft Auto III and Vice City swayed Atari to turn the game into a crime-based open-world third-person shooter. Despite this switch to a more popular genre, Driver 3 was heavily criticized, with the PC port receiving the worst reviews. One critic called the controls and animation “unresponsive and stiff.“ About the most interesting thing in the game is the hidden challenge to find and kill 10 characters called “Timmy Vermicelli" a very thinly veiled jab at Vice City’s protagonist Tommy Vercetti. Unfortunately for Atari, Rockstar wasn’t nearly as easy to defeat.
10 Don’t Mess With The Mafia (BEST)
The first two Mafia games are some of the better Grand Theft Auto clones around. Separating itself from other games in the genre by focusing on classic, Al Capone era gangsters in the 1930s to 1950s, the Mafia games featured all the style, language, and violence associated with them. Mafia II improved on the original game in several ways. Firstly, the “wanted” system was changed to allow the player to bribe the authorities, letting them get away from various offenses scot free. Though the game may not be as “open world" as others in its genre, the classic mobster story in which a World War II veteran climbs his way up the ranks of the Mafia crime families more than makes up for it. Perfect for fans of classic gangster movies.
9 The Sequel Was Better (WORSE)
Watch Dogs was one of the most anticipated games of 2014. Gamers everywhere were excited at the chance to run around a virtual Chicago, hacking every phone, ATM, traffic light and security system they could find. Then the game came out, and people were polarized as to its quality. On the one hand, hacking was fun and there were a variety of different missions to challenge your skills. Other than that, though, the game felt like a bland GTA clone with an uninteresting plot and boring protagonist, not to mention several technical issues that got in the way of gameplay. Though it sold well enough to not technically be a failure, the open-world hacker game wouldn’t really be improved upon until the 2016 sequel, Watch Dogs 2.
8 Like GTA, But With Karaoke (BEST)
Sleeping Dogs, one of the big hit games of 2012, almost didn’t happen. Originally announced in 2009 as part of Activision’s True Crime series, the game was eventually cancelled due to budget issues. Fortunately, Square Enix soon picked up the project, and True Crime: Hong Kong became Sleeping Dogs. Like the original True Crime games, players step into the shoes of an undercover cop, this time infiltrating a Triad organization. Unlike the other games, though, players could parkour their way around Hong Kong. Along with the usual activities of driving, racing, fighting and shooting, players could engage in a number of legal activities as well, including karaoke and even dating, which actually unlocks bonus content and collectibles. Add to that some really awesome Arkham Asylum-style close combat mechanics, and you get the second best Asian-set GTA clone.
7 We Expected Better From This One (WORST)
The Godfather is not only one of the greatest movies ever made, but it’s also quite possibly the greatest crime drama of all time. It only made sense, then, for Electronic Arts to make a Grand Theft Auto clone in 2006 based on the classic mafia epic. The game did fairly well with critics and made enough money to warrant a sequel, The Godfather II, based on the second movie. Much like the previous game, The Godfather II follows a previously unheard of character as he goes on missions for the Corleone family that conveniently take place behind the scenes of the official movies. Unlike the previous game, though, it was filled with graphical glitches, deviated too much from the original tone of the film and was just too short and easy. Poor reception and sales led to EA whacking their plans for a game based on the third film.
6 The Best Asian GTA (BEST)
The award for best Asian-set Grand Theft Auto clone goes to Sega’s Yakuza series, specifically the newest installment, Yakuza 0. The series mainly follows Kazuma Kiryu as he fights enemies and does jobs for the Tojo clan, with 0 being a prequel taking players back to 1988 Tokyo. While there’s not a whole of gunplay in the game, the over-the-top close combat fighting more than makes up for it. Not many games let you slam a motorcycle into some guy’s face repeatedly. Along with the engrossing story missions, there’s plenty of virtual exploration and side activities to distract you, including joining fight clubs, playing classic Sega arcade games, karaoke, fine dining, whiskey tasting, bowling, and investing in real estate. It might not be the best game in the series, but any game that lets you make a chicken the manager of your bowling team automatically makes my list.
5 Just Play San Andreas (WORST)
Since 25 to Life is technically a third-person shooter and not an open-world game, it could be argued that it’s not actually a GTA clone. But seeing as it borrows many aesthetic and stylistic choices from the successful, earlier released Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, I think it deserves a spot on this list. The story is a largely forgettable street gangster story; most people bought it for the online multiplayer mode, a feature that was still relatively new to console gaming. The soundtrack’s pretty good and the multiplayer was fairly decent for the time, but the sub-par graphics and messy controls meant it was quickly forgotten once newer, better online shooters came along.
4 Chaos In Springfield (BEST)
Growing up, everyone knew a kid whose parents wouldn’t let them play the new, hot, violent video game everyone else in class was raving about. Where was this poor sucker supposed to go to get their GTA fix? Fortunately, The Simpsons: Hit & Run came to the rescue in 2003. While it wouldn’t let you shoot cops or kill working women, kids could still get their auto theft on, as Homer and the rest of the Simpson clan could take any car they find, engage in races and time trials throughout Springfield, or just blow them up and beat up anyone they find on the street. Featuring a pretty funny plot from the original writers of the show, as well as all the same voice actors, Hit & Run proved to be a big hit with kids, Simpsons fans, and GTA players alike.
3 This One Is Just A Blatant Copy (WORST)
Of all the different Grand Theft Auto rip-offs, none is more misleading than the Gangsta Auto Thief series of smartphone apps. Developed by Oliver Saylor, the icons and title screens for these games are intentionally made to trick confused kids into thinking these are official GTA mobile games, or at least decent clones. The first title in the Gangsta Auto Thief series, Reckless Hustle in San Gangster City (yes, that’s actually what it’s called), is actually a top-down shoot ’em up featuring cars instead of spaceships. This clearly seems to be just a reskinned space shooter, as the player’s car actually shoots lasers at the oncoming police cars. The second game, Hijack Hustle in West-Coast City, is a 2D side-scrolling racer in the vein of Trials Evolution, except you can’t flip your car over. Or race anyone. Both games are just straight garbage.
2 A Ridiculous Romp (BEST)
And of course, the award for the best of the GTA clones goes to the Saints Row series, with special attention being given to Saints Row 2. While the first Saints Row game was pretty successful for its open world design, it was still seen by much of the gaming community as nothing more than just another GTA rip-off. Then came Saints Row 2, and this time developer Volition decided to go for a more comedic tone to set itself apart from the grim GTA IV. While it still featured gang warfare, it was pushing towards sillier territory with the ridiculous possibilities in character customization, as well as the mission that allows you to spray bodily waste at people. The series would eventually drop the street gangs and go full-out silly (see: President stops nuclear missile with bare hands), but Saints Row 2 maintains that perfect balance.
1 A Ride We Don’t Want To Take (WORST)
Apart from Grand Theft Auto’s expansion pack The Lost and Damned, not many games let you experience what it’s like to be part of a biker gang. Ride to Hell: Retribution aimed to fill in that neglected niche… and failed on every single level. Having been both announced and cancelled back in 2008, publisher Deep Silver brought this biker back from the dead in 2013 and seemingly decided to release it as is. Though it was originally planned to be an open-world game like GTA, the developers dropped that idea for the much simpler (though much less interesting) linear gameplay. The game suffers from poor controls, phoned in voice acting and embarrassing writing. Add to that the totally unnecessary and awkward scenes with fully clothed characters (maybe don’t watch this at work?), and this video game easily ranks as one of the worst of all time.
Any other great/horrible crime-based sandbox games we may have missed? Let us know in the comments!
