TV Series vs Film Series - Which One Does GTA Resembles More?

[OneManCrimeWave]

The title is self explanatory really. Do you think GTA resembles a film series or a tv series. If you ask me, I'd say that GTA resembles an HBO series if anything. To me, I believe that GTA, (and pretty much every rated M open world game) is long enough to be an HBO series where each game is the start of a new season. I also believe that every GTA story is way too long to be told in a movie duration.

 

As always, lets discuss and enjoy!

[PreciousWall]

i find GTA IV and EFLC felt like tv series, while GTA V felt like michael bay movie

[wiizardii]

i find GTA IV and EFLC felt like tv series, while GTA V felt like michael bay movie

Oh god, not the ''GTA V is just like a michael bay movie' Bandwagoner.

 

Have you even watched a Michael Bay movie? It annoys me everytime a dumbass says ''GTA V IS JUST LIKE A MICHAEL BAY MOVIEEEE'' when they proabably haven't watched sh*t of Michael Bay movies.

[Algonquin Assassin]

I think the 3D era GTAs would work better as films whilst GTA IV/EFLC as a tv series. GTA V would probably work better as a film though.

[HOW'S ANNIE?]

To me IV and EFLC felt like Pulp Fiction, in the way that you play each one at a seperate point in time and see how exactly in fits into the stories you've already seen.

 

To me though I think that if you find a way to make the story for V more interesting it could support multiple seasons on TV.

Season 1 would be everything until Mr Phillips.

Season 2 could introduce Trevor and go right up until he kidnaps Madrazo's wife.

Season 3 could be the exiles arc for the first half, Trevor finds out Michael is responsible for Brad's death, kills Haines and unsuccesfully Norton. Franklin and Michael then put an end to Trevor, ending the season like ending A in V.

Season 4 would be the Devin stuff, and in the end Michael himself kills Devin before Franklin kills him in an ending B-esque scenario.

 

Whine all you want "wah wah, ending C is canon, you just hate Michael and Trevor", because you're an idiot. In this day and age if you were to end it like ending C, as opposed to something dark and depressing like ending B, it would feel wrongly out of place.

[fgenk27485]

Definitely film IMO.

[GTA-Biker]

I think it seems like either a movie series or a multiple TV series,with 3 being the original for 3D universe and VC,SA,LCS,VCS and Advance being spin offs and 4 being the original for HD universe and TLAD,TBOGT and CW being spin offs(GTA 5 could either be a spin off of HD universe or a mix of both universes because it has elements of both,like some characters from HD universe(Johnny,Rocco,Brucie...)and some gangs(Families,Ballas,Vagos,Aztecas)and locations(Vinewood,Mount Chilliad)from 3D universe)

[Payne Killer]

IV as a TV series.

V as a Movie.

[universetwisters]

The IV trillogy reminds me of a telelvision show, a miniseries if you will. Like one of those high budget ones that focus on the criminal underworld and stuff considering the intertwining plots and stuff. The rest, though, they're kinda like movies.

[The Harwood Bitcher]

This made think how awesome a gta series could be, animated like his artworks, going from vice city to los santos....

Jesus, i got a warm fuzzy feeling just thinking in that

[Naughtius Maximus]

Like mentioned above, IV and the episodes felt like Pulp Fiction, in that way the perspectives were wide but through a little number of characters. I'm talking about the main perspectives being Niko, Johnny and Luis. However, at the same time, IV and EFLC manage to take people into a fiction resembling Guy Ritchie's. One way you look at it, Boccino sends Johnny K to hit Gay Tony for diamonds worth a couple of mils, later Niko retrieves the diamonds with Luca and the guys on Ray's orders... Johnny and Niko go to Libertonian to carry out a deal with two Jewish diamond dealers, but the deal is crashed by Luis. At the same time, there are too much characters turning around the plot... that's what makes the fiction similar to the one of Guy Ritchie movies.

 

On the other hand, of some GTA games (almost all of them), you can easily separate the story into parts which makes you feel like you're watching grade-A TV series. Take IV again...

 

First Season: Niko comes to Liberty City, he works for his cousin's loanshark Vlad, kills him, ends up working for Vlad's hot-headed boss Faustin. He gets involved in a big clusterf*ck containing himself killing Lenny Petrovic, the son of the most powerful Russian kingpin, at least, in the city. So Niko kills Faustin as a part of Petrovic's deal with Faustin, to justify the fact that Niko's the gunman who killed Lenny. However, later Dimitri betrays Niko because he allegedly ripped off one of his close friends, Bulgarin and they both leave him to be killed.

 

Second Season: Starts with Niko making new contacts (Liz Torres, Manny Escuela) around Bohan. As an important point, Niko meets with Playboy X, a big player from Uptown Liberty while escorting a jinxed heroin deal, helping a badass biker to offload some smack. While working for X, Niko meets with X's mentor Dwayne, a fallen crack lord whose past resembles Niko's, both take a shine to each other. Eventually, Niko is left between the choice of killing Playboy X or Dwayne. Later, Niko is forced to do a dirty cop named Francis McReary's work because he threatens him with handing over a file on his feud with Russians and a number of murders showing him directly, but Niko acts smart, he manages to get money out of Frankie's pocket in exchange of wiping out some people who form threats to his progress of becoming commissioner. On the other hand, Niko's girlfriend Michelle gives Niko to some government agency after being caught by her with a bag of coke, revealing the fact that she's actually working for the government. Niko starts to work for that government foundation United Liberty Paper, as a part of a possible deal including that the ULP contact will give "that special someone". Shortly after, Niko gets in touch with Packie McReary whom he escorted during a drug deal on the orders of Torres. Niko and Packie (and occasionally his two associates Gordon and Michael) rob Chinese off their meds, steal mafia money. This season would end with Three Leaf Clover or Weekend at Florian's.

 

Third Season: Third season's focus would be Niko shooting his way inside Pegorinos, carrying out a screwed-up diamond deal for Ray; going after a payload of heroin, stealing a shipment of cocaine, killing a high-ranking Ancelotti mobster, running a heroin payload from the Feds for Phil; messing with Pavanos for Jimmy P. On the other hand, this season can involve the Gracie situation, just before the big final of this season. Eventually, Pegorino's beloved bodyguard Anthony is discovered as a snitch, so Niko pays him a brutal visit in his hospital room. The season would end up with Pest Control during which Jimmy P is over the top of his paranoia and he orders Niko to kill Ray because he doesn't trust him.

 

Fourth Season: The focus would be on Darko situation and the heroin deal. Niko does a few favours for hospitalized Don of notorious Gambetti Family, Jon Gravelli, so in the end he would get Darko in his hands. In the end, Niko is left with giving a crucial choice on if he should go deal with Dimitri or take his revenge.

 

Not just for IV, the other games feel like this way. San Andreas, you can take it Season One from the beginning and Carl's exile out of Los Santos, Season Two would end with Are You Going to San Fierro... as another example, for VCS, you can take the whole events from the beginning, Vic's discharge from the army to him and Lance stealing a shipment run by Martinez (later revealed to be Mendez's) as a season.

 

To me, the games both feel as TV series and movies... it's about perspective and how the situations during the game take shape. For example, repeating again, you can each of the diamond story (Snatch ), heroin story, cocaine story from IV and its episoded as a well-ficted Guy Ritchie movie. However, on the other hand, you can take IV trilogy as a TV series, make each game a season of a TV series, just say that each season represents different perspectives from the city, putting the whole trilogy into an atmosphere, a bit similar to The Wire's.

 

BTW, Niko Vercetti's separation of V's story seems awesome, it really makes V's story exciting... to a considerably good level.

Edited September 16, 2014 by TheUnholy