.png)
Sign in to your XDA account
Every time a new open-world game is announced, it's almost always labeled a "GTA killer" — as if that's the only benchmark that matters. However, over the years, some of the GTA-clones we've seen have done more than just follow in Rockstar's tire tracks. They've managed to carve their own path, build their own open-world playgrounds, and introduced players to mechanics that no GTA game had.
Each one of these games fashioned its own distinct identity, and they may not have killed Grand Theft Auto, but they sure gave it a black eye — which made them even more fun because of it.
Related
The 5 biggest video game leaks that shook the industry
These five major video game leaks almost ruined their games, disrupted launches, exposed content, and ruined entire storylines
8 The Getaway felt like a Guy Ritchie game
GTA, but make it London and fog-soaked
2002 was a fantastic year for open-world crime sims, wasn't it? We had Vice City, Mafia, and even The Getaway, which was the first game I ever played on a friend's PS2. My time with The Getaway was shorter than an hour, but boy did it leave a mark. Set in London, The Getaway was Sony's answer to GTA — a British crime drama that was as cinematic as it was fog-soaked. The game recreated the streets of London with astonishing attention-to-detail, and tied it all together with a revenge story for the ages.
I'm sure I wasn't alone in discovering that the healing mechanic in the game required you to lean against a wall like you'd been shot in a Guy Ritchie film. The Getaway didn't give you a HUD or a mini-map, and as you drove to the missions, it was just the car's indicators that told you where to go. Were the controls stiff? Yes. Was the game janky? Also yes. And yet, The Getaway remains one of the best GTA-like games you could ever play from the PS2 era. Plus, it had something that Grand Theft Auto has never had — real car brands.
The Getaway
Systems
Released January 19, 2003
ESRB m
Publisher(s) Sony Computer Entertainment
Engine Kinetica
7 Scarface: The World Is Yours
One of the rare times a movie-based video game excels
It's no secret that earlier GTA games did take classic gangster and mafia movies into account. Now, what happens when said movies decide to spawn off a game of their own? We get Scarface: The World is Yours. Right off the bat, let me tell you that I hold this game in higher regard than Vice City when it comes to being a third-person shooter, because when you go from Vice City's terrible shooting mechanics to Scarface, the difference is night and day. Then comes the whole extortion mechanic where you earn money, which was such an inspired choice for its time.
While it's tough to overlook the fact that it took me several mods and patches to run the game decently on PC, Scarface: The World is Yours is a genuinely great game. It entered GTA's territory to do what it did best, and damn near succeeded at it. An 8.5 Metacritic user score for a GTA clone is no small deal, after all.
Scarface: The World Is Yours
Released July 25, 2006
ESRB m
Developer(s) Radical Entertainment
Publisher(s) Vivendi Universal
Engine RenderWare
Related
The 5 best open-world games to play while waiting for GTA 6
While you're waiting for GTA 6 to release, here are some open-world games that you should play to pass the time!
6 Saints Row: The Third was far more creative than anything GTA ever did
Say what you will about the franchise, but it was one of the most ridiculous games you could play
Now, I might prefer Saints Row II over The Third, but I can't deny that the third entry in the franchise is the most expansive and impressive title in the famed series. Now, Saints Row games have always been very out there, and feature the kind of plots that you might find once or twice in an unforgettable side quest while playing Grand Theft Auto. The series definitely started off as a GTA-clone, but soon took on an identity of its own, offering players the freedom and opportunity to engage in such wildly ridiculous side-activities and missions that it even eclipsed GTA for a while there.
With the third entry in 2011, the Saints Row franchise was at its peak. The game (and the franchise) was never about being the most polished choice out there, but definitely the most fun. You had gang wars, mind-controlling octopi, tiger baby-sitting, and so much more in Saints Row: The Third. I'll go so far as to say that while every GTA game can get extremely repetitive owing to the series' outdated core gameplay loop, Saints Row: The Third never had a dull moment. Even today, if you revisit the game, it throws everything under the kitchen sink at you, from VTOL jets and licensed music, to Lucha Libre and insurance fraud.
Saints Row: The Third Remastered
Released May 22, 2020
ESRB M For Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Sexual Content, Partial Nudity, Drug Reference, Strong Language, Intense Violence
Developer(s) Volition, Sperasoft
Publisher(s) Deep Silver
Engine Havok
Multiplayer Online Co-Op, Online Multiplayer
5 Mafia II had the best open-world in the franchise
The fantastic franchise peaked with the second entry
If Mafia was catching lightning in a bottle, Mafia II was lightning caught twice. Only this time, 2K ended up shattering the bottle. By 2010, GTA IV was already beginning to show its age, and the open-world, crime-sandbox genre was free for Mafia to come and overthrow GTA once again, like its predecessor did in 2000, and boy did Mafia II do everything right. The snow-coated opening chapters in Empire Bay were extremely cinematic, and presented such a fantastic atmosphere for players that it was impossible not to be blown away by the game.
As much as I love GTA IV's story, Mafia II had a more gripping and tightly-written narrative, and one that was definitely more emotionally resonant. This was prestige TV, playable through our controllers. While GTA IV gave players the freedom to do as they pleased, Mafia II was all about a heavier experience — both in story and feel. The guns were louder, the cars were thunkier, and with each chapter, you went deeper into an American nightmare. Sadly, Mafia II's undoing was its lack of a sprawling map or interesting side-activities — these had become non-negotiable inclusions in the open-world genre at that point.
Still, Mafia II had heart, mood, and a style that nobody could match — not even Rockstar. I can't wait for the next entry in the franchise, which is certainly going to set a new standard for next-gen games.
Mafia 2: Definitive Edition
Released May 19, 2020
ESRB M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood, Intense Violence, Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Use of Drugs and Alcohol
Developer(s) Hangar 13
Publisher(s) 2K Games
Engine Illusion Engine
Franchise Mafia
Related
10 Most Insane PC Mods For Grand Theft Auto 5
There are a myriad of incredible mods for GTA V, but here's a list of the ones that significantly changed the way I cruised the streets of Los Santos.
4 Watch Dogs 2 came closer to killing GTA than most
The sequel to the bland Watch Dogs had far more life and confidence
The original Watch Dogs remains one of the greatest cases of wasted potential we've ever seen in gaming. The first Watch Dogs was the game that sparked off the infamous downgrade trend for Ubisoft, and it never had too much personality, either. Then came Watch Dogs 2, and it was determined to change the franchise's direction and the people's opinion on it. Watch Dogs 2 cranked up the color, the charm, and the chaos, and it was better for it. While we all expected the first Watch Dogs to be the GTA-killer, it was actually the sequel that came very close.
The gorgeous city of San Francisco is beautifully realized in Watch Dogs 2 is an unforgettable playground. You could hack, parkour, meme, and prank-call your way through the elite echelons of the tech-bro cults. Marcus was a far more likable protagonist than the gruff Aiden Pierce. However, what made Watch Dogs 2 such a remarkable GTA competitor was how alive the open world felt. The game never took itself seriously, much like the Grand Theft Auto franchise, and it spoiled you for choice when it came to the tools you could use to cause mayhem all around. For just a brief moment, Watch Dogs 2 made GTA look and feel old.
Watch Dogs 2
Released November 15, 2016
ESRB M for Mature: Blood, Intense Violence, Nudity, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Use of Drugs
Developer(s) Ubisoft Montreal
Publisher(s) Ubisoft
Engine havok
Multiplayer Online Multiplayer, Local Multiplayer
3 Yakuza 0 was more GTA than Grand Theft Auto itself
Yakuza 0 drowned players in interesting activities and side-missions
If GTA is a love letter to the chaos that is America, Yakuza 0 is a symphony of uncontrolled mayhem in the Japanese criminal underworld. Somehow, Yakuza 0 does what nobody thought could be done — it becomes more GTA than GTA. There's crime, drama, betrayal, open-world exploration, and brutal combat (something GTA has never been good at). However, on top of all of that, Yakuza 0 also gives you karaoke, cabaret club management, and a story that will wreck you emotionally.
Set in Japan in the 1980s, Yakuza 0 came out two years after GTA V, and it went band-for-band with the Rockstar flagship. Both the protagonists had such compelling arcs in the game that you couldn't help but root for them both, and no matter what character you explored the gorgeous world with, it teemed with life and spoke to you.
Yakuza 0
Released January 24, 2017
ESRB M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood, Intense Violence, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Use of Alcohol
Developer(s) Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio
Publisher(s) Sega
Engine Dragon Engine
Franchise Yakuza
Related
Ranking all 12 GTA games from worst to best
Answering the question: "which GTA did it best?"
2 Just Cause 3 was a fresh take on the open-world format
If you're here for Michael Bay: the Game, step right up
There's chaos, and then there's Just Cause 3. The game that never gave me a single frame over 25fps on the PS4 slim, Just Cause 3 was everything you could ever want from a GTA-clone, as long as you didn't want any serious consequences or story and grounded gameplay, but still wanted rocket-riding, more mayhem than your console can handle, and a top-to-bottom humiliation of everything Newton stood for. If you want to know what Just Cause 3 is about, the answer is simple — it's about rocket-launching yourself into enemy helicopters and attaching barrels to goats with a rappel gun.
Set on a fictional Italian island, Just Cause 3 gives players a limitless toolset of destruction and chaos, and then tells you to do whatever you want with it. This was sandbox gameplay at its best, where almost everything you saw could be destroyed, blown to bits, or attached to a car, including the people in this open-world game. No, it doesn't have the narrative strength of other games on this list, but it more than makes up for it with sheer spectacle, scale, and carnage. GTA makes you feel like a criminal, but Just Cause 3 makes you feel like a natural disaster.
Just Cause 3
Released November 30, 2015
ESRB M For Mature 17+ // Blood, Intense Violence, Strong Language
Developer(s) Avalanche Studios
Publisher(s) Square Enix
Engine Avalanche Engine
Franchise Just Cause
1 Sleeping Dogs is a better open-world game than any GTA title
Hong Kong may have been a smaller playground, but it's still more unforgettable than any GTA
Nobody expected Sleeping Dogs to be the success it became when it came out in 2012. This game came with zero expectations and floored everyone with its magnificent rendition of Hong Kong, narrative depth, and brilliant gameplay. Then, there was the crown jewel — the combat. Sleeping Dogs gave players an amazing combat system that felt raw, brutal, and endlessly rewarding. Sure, the driving was tough to master, but everything else was damn near perfect. The open-world map of Hong Kong may not have been the biggest, but it was certainly one of the most unforgettable.
Wei Shen's undercover journey explored themes of duality, loyalty, and finding your identity. The game told a deep and memorable story, all while letting you jump from car to car, throw thugs into air-conditioning units, and fly through neon-soaked back alleys. With the polish and confidence that Sleeping Dogs showed right from the get-go, for a moment, it felt like the GTA formula had been mastered by someone else.
Released October 14, 2014
ESRB M
Publisher SQUARE ENIX CO. LTD.
Developer(s) United Front Games, Feral Interactive (Mac)
Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition brought a host of technical improvements to the classic crime adventure game set in Hong Kong. Known for its innovative melee combat and solid narrative, Sleeping Dogs is a game everyone should play at least once.
These games gave us experiences that we'll cherish forever
If it weren't for these games, Rockstar wouldn't have made GTA the juggernaut of quality it is today.
For all the talk of "killing" GTA, these open-world games reminded us that the open-world genre was big enough for more than one king. They gave us fresh mechanics, wild ideas, unforgettable characters and locales, and stories that stuck with us long after the credits rolled.
I'd argue that if it weren't for many of these games, Rockstar wouldn't have upped their game and made GTA the absolute juggernaut of quality that it is today. And hey, if none of them managed to topple the giant, they still made the world a hell of a lot more fun trying.
English (US) ·