Xboxist

The 5 Best Places to Locate Grand Theft Auto V

Grand Theft Auto games live or die by their location. From the sun-drenched beaches of Vice City to the picture-perfect recreation of New York Liberty City, the setting of each game has been a character as memorable as the main hero himself. We must say, however, that we are getting a bit burned out on playing the same gritty, American streets with every new installment. We think that it is time to mix things up a little bit, so we have chosen five new places that we think would make an excellent setting for the next GTA game. The next installment is already heavily rumored to be in production, but we have heard nothing yet about its location. So, if there are any Rockstar employees reading, please take into consideration the following:

1. Moscow

More than any other place we can think of, the Russian capital is notoriously dodgy. Government officials routinely disappear, only to have their body parts turn up in an unmarked cardboard box in front of city hall. The Russian mafia runs everything, backed by its connections to the old KGB and central state apparatus. The kind of character we imagine playing is no softie like Niko Bellic. He is hard to the core, like the new Daniel Craig characterization of James Bond. Asked to do increasingly sick and demented things for his mafia overlords, the main character relishes in his masochistic fate and its well deserved “M” rating.

2. Tokyo

It is rumored that Rockstar designers have been throwing around Tokyo as a possible setting for the next game. The sprawling asian metropolis boasts lots of opportunities for street-level mayhem, as well as a full-fledged yakuza gang presence. Anyone who has played one of the PS2 Yakuza titles from Sega knows this to be true. The city is also home to thousands of kilometers of freeway, which at night can easily be turned into a drift racing playground for extra super bonus points.

3. Paris

The city of lights boasts more iconic landmarks per square inch than perhaps any other major metropolis. Plus, thanks to neglectful immigration policy and high unemployment, the city is renowned for its urban riots and crowded satellite ghettos, called banlieus. When we think of French criminals, our minds go straight to the Night Fox character from Oceans 12. That means plenty of opportunity for jewel heists, glitz and glamour when we aren’t slumming it out in the Cité. Also, French rap is cool. Bonus points for burning expensive cars!

4. Hawaii

Tropical foliage, semi-extinct volcanoes and loud shirts give Hawaii enough personality to make a memorable setting for a GTA game. Honolulu and the surrounding area provides more variation in terrain than we are used to seeing in a GTA title, with the exception of San Andreas. Local pursuits likes surfing, hang gliding and skateboarding provide ample opportunities for mini games. Plus, there is a whole untapped reservoir of old Hawaii Five-O episodes that the Housers can draw from to create an authentic atmosphere. Mahalo attitude with a dirty underbelly.

5. The Future

Cyberpunk is making a return in a big way, with a cinematic version of Neuromancer coming to screens in 2009 and a new installment of Deus Ex already in the works. We long to pull helpless drivers from their Dihatsu hover cars and go on a rampage wielding a lunar-war era laser pistol. With a degenerative cybernetic virus on the loose, our character will have to use all her wits to navigate the treacherous underworld of neo-Liberty, while at the same time keeping a lookout for corporate shock troopers and mercenary assassins. Ocular implants and wetware upgrades increase our character’s ability to scale buildings and spot enemies behind walls.

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