Rockstar Games has one of the best reputations in the video game industry, with decades of high quality releases mainly coming from its flagship franchise, Grand Theft Auto. The GTA franchise took the gaming industry by storm when it found its groove in the 2000s, and has gone from strength to strength ever since, becoming a significant pop culture icon known by those who have never touched a video game controller.
However, Rockstar Games is far from just about GTAbecause the American company was not afraid to branch out with new IP addresses in the 2000s, with GTA formulate in new directions or delve into completely different genres. Many of the company's games have stood the test of time and can today be described as masterpieces.
Max Payne
Early 2000s action at its best
The Max Payne the trilogy is a great example of Rockstar Games proving that it's not a one-trick pony and can release high-quality games outside of the open-world sandbox genre. All three matches in Max Payne the trilogy offers fun action-packed experiences, with well-realized stories to complement Matrix-inspired gameplay that, like many Rockstar games, favors fun over realism, with players diving in slow motion to avoid bullets while wielding dual-swing guns.
It is the first game in the trilogy, from 2001 Max Paynewhich gets the nod for this list, as it laid the foundation for the neo-noir franchise and while the second and third games made various improvements, the original game, developed by Remedy Entertainment, remains remarkably cohesive and confident; a stand-alone masterpiece whose impact and atmosphere have not weakened with age.
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
The first of many GTA masterpieces
Grand Theft Auto 3 is the game that changed everything for Rockstar by implementing the open world sandbox style of gaming that the IP is so synonymous with today, but it's Grand Theft Auto: Vice City which can be called a masterpiece because it built on the foundation which GTA 3 filled with layers of life, personality and more varied gameplay such as letting players get behind the wheel of many more vehicle types and earn money by buying properties or businesses.
Like the other older games on this list, there's no doubt about it Grand Theft Auto: Vice City is showing its age, but the mark of a masterpiece is a game that's so much fun for a player that the quality shines through the cracks like a famous old painting, and that's certainly the case here.
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
A pioneer in Open-World Sandbox Games
Rockstar Games caught lightning in a bottle twice when they released Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas just two years after the aforementioned Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.
San Andreas flipped the script on the bustling 1980s Miami setting Vice cityfeaturing gritty 1990s gang warfare set in three locations based on Los Angeles, Las Vegas and San Francisco. Unlike previous games, however, the game wasn't just set in cities, as it allowed players to venture into small towns, the countryside, and deserts. San Andreas is also notable for having light RPG mechanics, with the playable character, CJ, having stats like Stamina, Fat, and Muscle that can change best based on how often players run, eat, and exercise.
Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition Remix
Street racing perfection
Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition Remix is the only game on this list that isn't a third-person shooter or third-person action-adventure game. Instead, Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition Remix is one of many street racing games of the 2000s – a genre that was huge at the time but has struggled to reach the same heights ever since. Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition Remix stood out among the once crowded genre with its amazing driving controls, amazing visuals for the time, open world maps based on real cities that GTA games and a memorable soundtrack that is a nostalgic listen for millions of players.
Dub Edition Remix is an extended version of Midnight Club 3: Dub Editionwith many new cars, licensed songs and an improved version of the Tokyo map from Midnight Club 2.
Bully
“GTA at school” is still a unique experience
Bully
- Released
-
October 17, 2006
Bully took GTA formula and took it back to school, with the protagonist, Jimmy Hopkins, enrolled at Bullworth Academy boarding school. As GTA game, Bully takes a sideways, satirical look at society. IN Bullys case, this is done predominantly by dividing children into stereotypes like Nerds, Bullies, and Jocks, giving the world great personality and humor.
As for the game, Bully functions a GTA-similar mission structure, but also allows players to participate in classes in the form of mini-games; interact with, bully, befriend or enter into romantic relationships with fellow students; and explore the small but well-designed open world that is packed with charm and charisma. There may never be another game like it Bully again, which has helped to preserve it as a unique.
Red Dead Redemption
The GTA formula travels back to 1911 with huge success
Bully took GTA formula back to school, and Red Dead Redemption took it all the way back to the Wild West at the time of its decline. It wasn't the first Red Dead game, like Red Dead Revolver released six years earlier to a lackluster reception by Rockstar Games standards, but while Revolver was a linear game without an open world or many other Rockstar staples, Red Dead Redemption embraced GTA style and showed that it could work in a completely different time period and setting.
The grounded story, open world map that begs to be explored, combat and side activities like poker and duels helped earn Red Dead Redemption a place in Rockstar's hall of fame.
Grand Theft Auto 4
Rockstar's aged but still sparkling crown jewel
Grand Theft Auto 4 was released four years after the previous main series GTA release, which, believe it or not, was considered a long time ago. As such, there was a significant weight of expectation on its shoulders, and it did not disappoint.
When GTA 5 however, the perception of GTA 4 greatly reduced over a period of time. GTA 5 was simply seen as a much bigger and better game than its predecessor, and some people even began to question whether GTA 4 had been overrated. However, the game would see a renaissance in the years that followed, thanks to how different it is from the rest of the series, with its gritty, grounded story of an Eastern European war veteran trying to make his way in the US, only to be drawn into the criminal underworld. It may lack in the visual, world design, and side-activity departments compared to others GTA game, but when treated as a single-player story-driven experience, it's among the best in the entire series.
LA Noire
An imperfect but masterful detective adventure
LA Noire is a great example of how a game can be rough around the edges yet still a masterpiece, like some golden artifact unearthed underground.
LA Noire features some of the Rockstar staples from games like GTA and Red Dead RedemptionBut at its core, it's a detective game where players must find clues, question suspects and read their facial expressions to determine whether they're lying or telling the truth. These facial expressions sum it up LA Noire in some ways, as they are sometimes not perfect and borderline bizarre, but they generally work well and offer such unique gameplay dynamics as LA Noire has a unique feel of Bully which earns it a spot on this list.
Grand Theft Auto 5
The game that changed the industry forever
Gamers knew something special was coming when they saw the first trailer for Grand Theft Auto 5. Golf, jet skis, heists, rock climbing and a fantastic world that looked alive even in a minute and a half trailer.
The game promised the incredible and over-delivered, earning Rockstar Games eye-popping amounts of money proving once and for all, if there was still any doubt, that the gaming industry was an entertainment powerhouse comparable to the film and music industries. There isn't much left to say GTA 5 it hasn't been talked about already, and even if the game can age ten years in ten days when GTA 6 releases, it has already secured its legacy as a masterpiece that forever changed the industry and raised the bar for AAA gaming.
Red Dead Redemption 2
Rockstar's standards show no sign of falling
Red Dead Redemption 2 was the first full game released by Rockstar Games after the groundbreaking Grand Theft Auto 5. As such, expectations were high before the first trailer had even been released. As with GTA 5However, Rockstar didn't crumble under the pressure or settle for a safe sequel; instead, Red Dead Redemption 2 went above and beyond with its bounty system, immersive shootouts, a gorgeous world that is a joy to explore at leisure and truly feels alive, and a story that is today recognized as one of AAA games' best of all time thanks to the fantastic writing and acting.
Red Dead Redemption 2 proved once again that Rockstar is best in class when it comes to taking players and pulling them into an incredibly well-realized world that surpasses anything that came before it.
