Taking a look back at what Rockstar Games has become…
With the release of LA Noire and with no announced Rockstar release on the horizon, Sean Cleaver takes a look back down memory lane at some of the studios greatest hits and just how influential Rockstar have been in the course of video game history.
From gameplay mechanics right through to cultural acceptance of playing the bad guy Rockstar's 13 year reign as ambassadors for gaming has been massively influential and is still going strong, it doesn't look like Rockstar are going to be stopping any time soon.
Grand Theft Auto – 1997
Grand Theft Auto was one of those games that changed your impressions on gaming forever. With the exception of TIE Fighter, this was the only game at the time where you don’t necessarily play the good guy.
This role reversal concept changed gaming forever and the anti-hero was adopted into the video game vernacular forever more. We’ve seen this role grow over the last fourteen years and now a commonplace feature in video games is decision-making bound to a karma system. Star Wars games often feature the light and dark side decisions, the latest releases in the Fallout series judge how evil you are by your actions as does the Mass Effect series. It’s fair to say that by introducing us to the anti-hero, Grand Theft Auto cemented itself in gaming history.
A certain aspect of GTA is often overlooked among the games main components and strengths, and that is that it was incredibly simple - not just to play, but as a concept. A top down view of cars has been around since Championship Sprint and with a game that needed a robust environment, a bird’s eye view literally opened up a whole new world to explore. On top of that, not one person has ever looked at Hari Krishna’s in the same way since this game.
Max Payne - 2001
Anti-Hero by this point is in full swing. Not just in games but in other media as well. Max Payne comes at just the right time for the gamers who were amazed by The Matrix and delved deep into comic book fandom. Obviously inspired by The Punisher, Max developed something that games have taken for granted now. The ability to slow time down or Bullet-time as it was called. You’ve seen it used in games even up to Call Of Duty: Black Ops.
A simple dramatic gaming device but it is effective and darn cool to look at. Bullet-time brought a whole new aspect of gameplay to the table for Max Payne, sticky situations could be resolved by a slow-mo dive that gave you time to aim a good few headshots to clear the room. This new dimension has been picked up and reused for the last ten years by the majority of major game developers and it’s very hard to get wrong.
Tripwire Interactive’s Killing Floor rewards a team of zombie hunters with a few precious seconds of bullet-time in which they can clear an area or concentrate shots on a boss but slow motion is seen outside of shooters; the later games in Neversoft’s Tony Hawk series have a feature that slows down time to enable you to nail a trick perfectly, or to make that perfect line. Max Payne was a milestone for gaming, bullet-time was now well and truly noticed. The future of gaming had been altered once more.
Manhunt – 2003
Manhunt again added something that we now take for granted in other Rockstar titles. This was the first game to introduce stealth and opponent health into the familiar GTA environment, this can be seen further in GTA: San Andreas and beyond. Amid the controversy of supposedly making people murder each other however, this game is criminally overlooked for being a dark horror opus.
Shades of The Running Man (the book that is, not the movie) and various other dystopian futures run through this game and whilst it doesn’t hold up graphically any more, it’s originality and the enshrouding controversy secures its place in video game history. It could even be argued that Manhunt’s art style and gameplay had an inspirational effect on games such as the Saw series, Alan Wake and Heavy Rain.
Grand Theft Auto IV – 2008
I loved Vice City. Its cinematic style, great narrative, beautiful scenery and iconic soundtrack always bested San Andreas for me. San Andreas had far too much to do in it. The sheer size and concentration of San Andreas made it more of a life simulation, with the story and aim slightly taking the backseat. Then GTA IV happened. The best of both worlds collided creating some brand spanking new world and a great story giving us one of the most well-rounded sandbox games of all time.
GTA IV is fully immersive and wonderful to drive around to just look at, let alone play the game, and this is what had made Grand Theft Auto IV so special within the industry. The perfect balance of creating a wonderful world coupled with a great narrative and gameplay will be replicated for years to come, it’ll be a real struggle to best this but I look forward to watching others try.
Red Dead Redemption - 2010
Sat on my shelf is the only Western game I ever liked, next to my Sergio Leone DVD’s. My need for a great Western game has never really been fulfilled. Outlaws, the Lucasarts FPS from 1997 had a great soundtrack but poor graphics, even for then and left a bitter taste in the mouth of many a dreamer, until RDR appeared thirteen years later that is.
It was only after playing RDR that I realised my need for a complete game hadn’t been fulfilled until then. GTAIV was brilliant but the gripping story and absolutely beautiful environments, lighting, soundtracks and weaponry were too much temptation. I completely gave myself to this game and it took me on a ride through the town of Armadillo to hell and back with John Marston. The environments, lighting and dynamic weather add something that no other game has ever been able to produce. That being a fully convincing virtual world that astounds throughout.
Even if you’ve been playing for several hours you will always find a wooden ruin or a hill that you can stand on while the sun goes down or the rain falls and still be as amazed as the first time. The ending was fantastic and the game still gives me the shivers for one of the most brilliant placement of music in history. When you cross into Mexico and the Jose Gonzalez song comes on whilst you ride into the foreign frontier. Majestic. RDR is without a doubt one of the most complete games ever to be released.
To conclude...
Looking back at the history of Rockstar we can see a long line of games that will stand the test of time, and with the simply astonishing L.A. Noire just released, it doesn’t seem like they are going to be breaking that streak just yet.
Rockstar is one of the most well known companies in the industry. We know it for being a gaming giant and people outside of our community know it for all the wrong reasons as they are fed poorly researched articles blaming Grand Theft Auto and Manhunt for violent behaviour. This industry thrives because of studios like Rockstar, constantly throwing AAA titles out the doors, we can’t let the mainstream media demonise a main contributor to the heartbeat of video gaming. Remember how much Rockstar have done for you, their games you’ve loved and features they practically invented you’ve enjoyed in other games and do something for them; keep buying, keep playing, keep loving.
