Rockstar Games’ Grand Theft Auto series has built a reputation by defining the open-world genre. When players first stepped foot in Liberty City in 2001’s Grand Theft Auto 3, few could have anticipated it would only be the beginning of a series that continues to push the boundaries of immersion, scale, and player freedom. As a developer, Rockstar has never been keen on rehashing work from previous titles, instead choosing to create new mechanics and refine its best ideas for every release. Grand Theft Auto 6 is currently in production and will likely push the envelope further.

However, through Rockstar’s continual evolution of the Grand Theft Auto franchise, many features have been left in the rearview mirror that are worth exploring again. The original Grand Theft Auto trilogy and GTA 4 were classics for a good reason. As Grand Theft Auto 6 looms on the horizon, Rockstar Games should look back at its catalog and note some of the best features that have fallen by the wayside.

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Dynamic Character Models

grand theft auto san andreas cj feature

A unique feature from Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas was the ability to alter CJ’s body composition around dynamically changing stats. Should players choose to sculpt CJ into “a gangster’s physique,” they would have to spend numerous days at gyms across San Andreas completing bodybuilding minigames or running on a treadmill. If they preferred to spend their time like Big Smoke ordering everything on the menu at Cluckin Bell, it would create a heavy-set CJ who tires faster and has less stamina. As CJ’s stats changed, so did CJ’s body, which is a concept hardly explored in other games.

GTA 5 would reintroduce single-player character stats, gradually increasing accuracy and stamina the more players used guns and sprinted across Los Santos. Still, they never visually represented any change in the character. With GTA 6, it would be a great idea to bring back dynamic player models that reflect current stat allocations.

Diverse Fighting Styles

Grand Theft Auto San Andreas Fighting Styles

Before players can get their hands on fully automatic rifles, RPGs, and whatever other crazy weapons Rockstar has in store, they begin their journey with only their fists. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas’ street gang story understood the need for in-depth melee mechanics, and still stands out as the best hand-to-hand combat across the franchise. CJ can meet trainers at each gym who teach him to become an expert in multiple fighting disciplines, including Boxing, Muay Thai, or Tae Kwon Do. Recent GTA titles have left melee combat behind in exchange for more weapons and better shooting mechanics, but Rockstar should make an effort to have better melee in GTA 6.

Games like For Honor and Guilty Gear prove that fighting games with in-deep mechanics are more popular than ever. It would make sense to give players a melee system with more freedom of choice, especially considering the technically impressive level of animation that Rockstar has showcased. What’s more, fans of GTA Online would likely jump at the opportunity to create fighting tournaments if melee combat was more robust and varied.

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Euphoria Physics

gta 4 car

When gamers first saw GTA 4 in 2008, it was unlike anything they had seen before thanks to Rockstar’s Euphoria Engine. Part of what makes Grand Theft Auto so impressive is how players interact with the world and how it dynamically responds to them. GTA 4’s Euphoria physics took this concept to the next level. Nico would fly through windshields after a high-speed crash, or curl up into a ball as he fell down a flight of stairs, realistically mimicking the effects of inertia and gravity.

Grand Theft Auto 5 and Red Dead Redemption 2 would retain Rockstar’s Euphoria physics, but these newer titles would cut it down. Players can no longer tumble down a flight of stairs, and car crashes end in abrupt stops. Rockstar would be wise to reinstate GTA 4’s unpredictable physics systems in Grand Theft Auto 6 to further craft a realistic and dynamic world.

Purchasable Assets & Properties

Vice City Purchased Asset

The real estate and asset acquisition industry has always been a part of Grand Theft Auto, sticking to its rags-to-riches storylines. Notably, GTA Online’s player-created empires are some of the most expansive in the series. However, GTA’s single-player has never tapped into the same level of depth as Vice City did in 2002. Vice City’s unique take on real estate would see Tommy purchasing a property to collect income, and each newly purchased business would feature whole storylines where Tommy would gradually build his empire.

If GTA 6 sets out to create another rags-to-riches narrative with a heavy focus on story that Rockstar Games is known for, following Vice City’s footsteps would be a good move. GTA 6 should return to the property investment game, but this time taking it a step deeper by exploring the characters working under the protagonist. Moreover, Rockstar’s recent games have come under criticism for its linearity as players jump from main story mission to main story mission, relegating side missions to random encounters. By crafting new and exciting missions like Grand Theft Auto: Vice City does with its business-centric side stories, Rockstar Games could break up a lot of the linear flow from recent GTA titles.

Multiple Cities

GTA san andreas san fierro (1)

Grand Theft Auto games have grown larger in scale throughout the years. GTA 5’s beautiful rendition of Los Santos dwarfs every other game in the series, and is a true technical achievement. However, recent GTA titles lack the variety of cities and grand scale that San Andreas accomplished in the PS2 era. For the time, San Andreas was a colossal map marketed as the fully explorable state of San Andreas. GTA: San Andreas featured fully realized cities, including Los Santos, San Fierro, and Las Venturas, along with countrysides, mountain ranges, and a desert. For GTA 6, Rockstar Games should follow this blueprint.

Rockstar Games proved it could make a vast, varied world with Red Dead Redemption 2, going as far as adding Red Dead 1’s map to Red Dead 2’s already sizable world. With GTA 6, Rockstar games have the opportunity to take its expansive worlds and put multiple sprawling cities across them, creating another genre-defining open world as San Andreas did so many years ago.

Grand Theft Auto 6 is currently in development.

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