The Grand Theft Auto series put the V in violence in video games even before it was a trend. Granted, this led to several controversies and many enraged parents, but the gaming series quickly became one of the biggest franchises in the industry thanks in part to its graphic portrayal of crime.
The GTA games have been gaining cult status over the last few years, leading to games like San Andreas and Vice City receiving remastered versions (albeit, largely disappointing ones). However, there are more than a few things that the studio did right, including making memorable cover art for its games.
7 Grand Theft Auto
The first installment in the series was released in 1997 and offered a top-down gameplay experience. The idea of the player controlling a criminal for the main character took the masses like fire to cotton and was an instant hit.
However, the cover art barely made any heads turn. It featured a fisheye view of Trump's tower in New York City, with the game's logo embossed over it in yellow. It also had taxi cabs, pedestrians, and an NYPD car to fill in the ambiance on the streets.
6 GTA 2
Grand Theft Auto 2 is a direct sequel to the original game and the second installment in the GTA franchise. The game did not feature any significant changes. Instead, it offered up the same gameplay mechanics and shenanigans - working for three mob bosses and completing all jobs available.
The cover art features a sniper's view of a taxicab being hijacked. This is a gentle nod to the player's ability to seize vehicles in the game. Among the blurry sniper POV, a bank van, fleeing pedestrians, and other cars add to the ambiance of the busy roads. Grand Theft Auto is now GTA, and the number 2 is in Matte-Red.
5 Grand Theft Auto 3
GTA 3 brought with it the most significant change in gameplay mechanics and visual presentation. The game transitioned from the tried and tested birds-eye view POV and adopted a more generic third-person style. However, the game was more bloody, more violent, and had more things to do, which stirred up numerous controversies upon its release.
With changes to the gameplay aspects, the cover art also showcased the changes through its approach. The third installment in the series was the first to employ a comic book tile art style showcasing the characters with a callback to some of Frank Miller's work. The characters portrayed included Joey Leone, Misty, Miguel, Salvatore Leone, El Burro, and Ray Machowski. It also featured the Rockstar logo, and the number 3 in the game's logo was conveyed through a Roman numeral.
4 Grand Theft Auto 4
GTA 4 was the sixth installment of the franchise and was released in 2008. After the spectacular success of the last three games, much was riding on GTA 4 to fulfill the hype and expectations. Instead, however, the game took a more grounded approach - almost like a Martin Scorcese story directed by Zack Snyder. Although the game was a hit, fans were a little disappointed that the game lacked the over-the-top action and violence that the series was known for, and the desaturated tone didn't seem to work well for the franchise.
The game's cover art followed the same theme as its predecessors but with thinner borders and more intricate artwork. In addition, the comic tiles featured in-game characters like Niko Bellic, Lola Del Rio, Mikhail Faustin, and Little Jacob, along with a few other shots that portray the drama in the game.
3 Grand Theft Auto 5
The biggest, meanest blockbuster of the franchise that took the video game industry by storm, GTA 5 was released in 2013 and the game has been holding its own since then. The sales numbers were off the charts, with fans and critics rating it as the near-perfect game in the franchise. Many of the mistakes from GTA 4 were addressed, and the game was back to being over the top and more colorful.
Grand Theft Auto V's cover art takes the same tile art comic strip theme but is more colorful than GTA 4. The cover features the main characters in the game, such as Franklin, Michael, Trevor, and Franklin's Rottweiler, Chop. The poster also fills in on the game's ambiance with several NPCs and captures high octane drama in the remaining tiles. In addition, the game's logo now includes '5' in green Roman numerals and letters in a very tattoo-like style.
2 Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
San Andreas was literally every 90s childhood. Released in 2004, the game follows CJ, aka Carl Johnson, who is back in his neighborhood after five years. Back to his hood, CJ lands himself in a city that is tearing itself apart due to drugs, violence, and the iron grip of gangsters. The game is highly regarded by fans and is considered a universal classic.
When it comes to the game's cover, designers stuck to the series' tile art comic style, portraying a few shots of the settings and the main characters. The main characters shown are Rochell'le, CJ himself, Sweet Johnson, Big Smoke, Rayder, and Cesar Vialpando.
1 Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
GTA Vice City built on the rage of its predecessors and took the game into a strong narrative-oriented experience. However, the game still had everything the franchise was renowned for and made it even better with the script and characters. The game was set in a fictional version of Miami and follows the lead character Sonny fighting his way through gangsters.
The Vice City cover art is arguably the pick of the bunch, and it is widely accepted by fans worldwide as being such. This was the first cover that combined the tile art concept and brought in more vibrant colors instead of the earlier duotone style. It features Sonny, Ricardo Diaz, Lace, and a few city shots and in-game contents.