Grand Theft Auto is one of the most successful game franchises of all time, and in order to hold its place at the top for over two decades, it’s had to reinvent itself numerous times. Each new installment in the series has raised the bar, surprising players with ideas and possibilities that had previously seemed unimaginable.

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But not every change in the GTA series has been an addition or expansion. For better or worse, some features that were once staples of the franchise have been abandoned in the series’ “HD era”. The original Grand Theft Auto and Grand Theft Auto V might share the same name, but they’re barely recognizable as the same game.

10 Dismemberment

Tommy Vercetti, Phil Cassidy and a bomb in GTA Vice City

Every GTA game is violent, but in the older games in the series, that violence is way, way gorier. Driving into a crowd of pedestrians in the 2D GTA games would leave a trail of corpses and a sidewalk painted red. And in the 3D era, hours of fun could be had while popping heads and limbs of innocent civilians using the sniper rifle.

Dismemberment even plays a central role in a mission in GTA: Vice City, namely “Boomshine Saigon”, in which Phil Cassidy accidentally blows his own arm off. However, the more realistic visuals and more serious tone of GTA’s HD era have led to a toning down in the gore.

9 The Katana

CJ running on the beach with a katana in GTA San Andreas

The weapons in GTA’s HD era are a lot more sensible than in the past, particularly when it comes to melee combat. The katana is a particular fan favorite and is as ridiculous as it is deadly. It has high attack speed and damage, and the player can run with it equipped, allowing for samurai-style killing frenzies. There is a katana asset in GTA 5’s game code, but no way to actually use it in the game without a lot of modding.

8 The 6-Star Wanted Level

CJ driving a go kart towards a tank in GTA San Andreas

One of the greatest pleasures in the classic GTA era was that of gradually escalating the Wanted level for the sheer fun of it. And the climax of this experience was the arrival of the army on the scene.

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There can be no higher badge of honor for a psychopathic criminal than being the sole target of a city-wide military campaign. This is why it’s a shame that the stars only go up to 5 in GTA 5 and that, short of going to the army base and provoking them, there’s no way for a GTA V player to incur the wrath of the army.

7 Period Settings

Kent Paul introducing Love Fist to Tommy in GTA Vice City

The 2D era of GTA got two expansion packs with retro settings (GTA: London 1961 and GTA: London 1969) and the 3D era got three full games (GTA: Vice City, GTA: San Andreas, and GTA: Vice City Stories). For the HD era though, not a sniff of anything outside of the 21st century.

This is odd given that both Vice City and San Andreas are very much beloved for their 80s and 90s settings. Rumors have suggested that GTA 6 will be set in Vice City but not in the 80s, but only time will tell if this is true.

6 Major Hollywood Voice Talent

Tommy Vercetti on the phone in GTA Vice City

When Rockstar cast Ray Liotta as Tommy Vercetti in GTA: Vice City, this was a big deal for gamers. Here was a guy who starred in one of the greatest gangster movies of all time, Goodfellas, starring in a game. This was highly unusual for the time.

Liotta did a great job too, as did other Hollywood stars who lent their voices to GTA in the 3D era. Michael Madsen, Kyle MacLachlan, Burt Reynolds, Dennis Hopper, Samuel L. Jackson, Ice-T, to name but a few. But the relatively modest casts of GTA’s HD era have done nothing to dampen the franchise’s success, so don’t expect any big names in GTA 6 either.

5 Multiple Cities

flying over Los Santos in GTA San Andreas

Most GTA games feature just one city, but two major installments of the series have boasted three full-sized cities: Grand Theft Auto and GTA: San Andreas. In the original game, the three cities were not part of a single open world, but in San Andreas they were, and the player could move seamlessly between them without loading screens.

This was nothing short of a miracle on the PS2. While GTA 5 does allow the player to explore a large area of Blaine County outside of Los Santos, this still doesn’t feel quite as expansive as San Andreas’ huge, statewide map.

4 Fun Side Activities

Vigilante mission on a police bike in GTA San Andreas

Every GTA game, except the very first one, offers side activities of some description, the most worthwhile ones are mostly found in the classic 2D and 3D eras. The relative seriousness and realism of the HD-era games result in activities that are generally a little on the humdrum side.

Perhaps the most classic side gig of the 3D era was the Vigilante mission. Chasing down criminals when the player themself has an escalating Wanted level produces some of the most anarchic experiences the series has ever seen, all of them totally unscripted.

3 The Chainsaw

Tommy Vercetti arriving at Gonzalez's penthouse with a chainsaw in GTA Vice City

“Eh! He’s got a blade!” This is the somewhat understated reaction of Vice City's Gonzalez upon seeing Tommy Vercetti step out onto his rooftop terrace wielding an enormous chainsaw. It’s not a practical weapon by any means, but it is very funny in a violent, schlocky, splattery, old-school-GTA kind of way.

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It’s hard to see how a chainsaw could have fitted into the HD era’s less bloodthirsty, if nonetheless violent, ethos, so it’s no surprise it was nowhere to be found in GTA 4 or GTA 5. But maybe there’ll be a “Lumberjack” side mission in GTA 6?

2 Gang Warfare

the Grove Street gang in GTA San Andreas

One characteristic feature of GTA’s 3D era was the way your actions throughout the game’s story would affect the way gangs behaved towards you. In GTA 3 and GTA: Vice City, any gang the player crossed would attack aggressively whenever their turf was trespassed on. This could be really annoying, but it certainly added to the anarchic vibe of the whole experience.

San Andreas expanded this idea in a big way by adding a kind of strategy-lite turf war mechanic, which felt like it had a lot of potential but apparently didn’t work well enough to be developed further in the HD era.

1 Hilarious Cheats

using the CJ phone home cheat in GTA San Andreas

GTA 4 and GTA 5 have a lot of cheats – no doubt about that – but compared to the classic GTA games, they don't have that many. And most of the ones they do have are just… cheats. They give you an unfair advantage, and that’s it.

GTA 5 has a handful of funny cheats, like the Drunk Cheat and Director Mode, but San Andreas had such an enormous range of just-for-fun cheat codes that experimenting with them was pretty much a full-time game in itself.

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