For over twenty years, Rockstar’s Grand
Theft Auto series has been taking us to the mean streets of organized crime, mayhem, and
of course, stealing cars. Being as it’s one of our most suggested
videos ever, we here at Suggestive Gaming figured it would be a good idea to take a
look back at the story of the various “Universes” the Grand Theft Auto series has visited. Given that we have so much to cover, we’re
going to split this video into two parts. Today we’re going to cover the “3D Universe”,
consisting of all of the titles after Grand Theft Auto 2, but before Grand Theft Auto
4. Then in part two, we’ll cover the rest. Now without further ado, this is What You
Need to Know about Grand Theft Auto… Part 1. Our story begins in Vice City in the year
1984 where we meet U.S. Army corporal Victor Vance, working to provide for his brothers,
Pete (who suffers from asthma), and Lance (who is a lazy underachiever). Vic’s supervisor, Sergeant Jerry Martinez,
works on the side smuggling drugs, and uses his influence with Vic to recruit him into
the business, which Vic morally objects to but reluctantly joins. Through the drug business, Vic meets Phil
Cassidy, a self-proclaimed war veteran and manic arms dealer. After a drug deal gone wrong, Martinez grows
frustrated with Vic, and sends him to retrieve a girl named Mary from a party nearby. After returning with her, Vic is met by a
Master Sergeant who confronts him about a stash of Marijuana found under his bed, as
well as the woman he has brought to the base, who is revealed to be a prostitute. Set up by Martinez, these events cause Vic
to be dishonorably discharged from the Army and thrown out on the streets. Shortly after, Vic once again hears from Phil,
who offers him some work and a place to stay. After some jobs together, Phil introduces
Vic to his brother-in-law, Marty Jay Williams, who runs the “Trailer Park Mafia”, a small
crime ring. After witnessing Marty’s abusive behavior
towards his wife, Louise, Vic develops a relationship with her, sending Marty into a jealous rage. Marty kidnaps his wife, but Vic is able to
track them down and kill Marty, taking over the Trailer Park Mafia in turn, which he renames
the “Vance Crime Family”. After hearing the news, Vic’s brother Lance
flies into the city and quickly begins working to eliminate and overtake the competing crime
organizations. During this endeavor, Vic and Lance discover
that a local drug dealer, Bryan Forbes, is actually an undercover DEA agent who runs
away with their money. They are able to catch and capture him, but
after he leads them into several traps and an attempted escape, Vic is forced to kill
him. Later, the Vance brothers attempt to steal
a drug shipment believed to be under Martinez’s supervision, but are kidnapped by Armando
and Diego Mendez, two brothers in charge of a powerful cartel that actually owned the
shipment. Lance lies and convinces them that it was
Martinez, actually a DEA agent, that stole the drugs. To provide “proof”, Vic takes photos of
Martinez with a DEA agent, and combines Forbes’ file with Martinez’s. Now having their trust, the Mendez brothers
give Vic and Lance some work, including jobs for filmmaker Reni Wassulmaier, manager Barry
Mickelthwaite, and even pop star Phil Collins. Through Reni, Vic meets Ricardo Diaz, drug
baron and competitor to the Mendez brothers. After Martinez tips off the Mendez Cartel
of this betrayal, Lance and Vic are kidnapped and narrowly escape from captivity before
planning their revenge. With Diaz’s help, Vic destroys the Mendez’s
safe, eliminating their bank roll and sending them into bankruptcy. As revenge, the Mendez Cartel kidnap Louise. Lance is also captured, and Vic is forced
to go to their mansion, where he fights and eventually kills Armando. He is able to find Lance and Louise, but Louise
dies from the beating she was given. Diaz once again helps Vic track Diego and
Martinez, and after stealing a chopper from his former station, he storms the Mendez’s
fortress and lands on the roof to face Martinez and Diego, and after another battle, Vic is
able to kill them. Shortly after, Lance arrives to retrieve Vic,
and the brothers agree to stay out of the drug business before leaving Vice City to
return to Pete with money for his asthma medication. Two years later, in 1986, Tommy Vercetti is
released from prison after a fifteen-year sentence in Liberty City. Tommy, who was sentenced for life, was sprung
after his boss, Sonny Forelli, pulled some favors. Impressed by his loyalty throughout his sentence,
Sonny entrusts Tommy with expanding their drug trade to Vice City. Once he arrives in the city, Tommy and his
bodyguards are met by Ken Rosenberg, a crooked lawyer who is tasked with driving them to
the docks to perform a cocaine deal with the Vance brothers, now back in the drug business. Once they arrive at the docks, however, the
deal is ambushed, and Victor is killed, along with Tommy’s bodyguards. The drugs and money are stolen as well. Tommy and Rosenberg are able to escape, and
Tommy informs Sonny of the failed deal. Sonny, upset with Tommy, threatens him but
ultimately gives him a chance to correct the situation. Rosenberg then introduces Tommy to retired
colonel, Juan Cortez, who helped set up the deal. Feeling sympathy, Cortez agrees to help Tommy,
and through Cortez, he meets several figures in the Vice City drug trade, namely Ricardo
Diaz, the largest kingpin. Tommy eventually finds Leo Teal, one of the
hired arms involved in the ambush, and kills him after a confrontation. Lance Vance, who also survived the ambush,
then confronts Tommy, but the two reach a common ground and form an alliance to get
their money and drugs back. After Lance and Tommy watch over a deal between
Diaz’s gang and the Cubans, they are ambushed by a gang of Haitians trying to intercept
the deal. After Lance and Tommy thwart their attempt,
they gain Diaz’s trust, who hires them on for permanent protection. During their work, however, Lance discovers
that it was in fact Diaz who set up the ambush and stole their drugs. Tommy decides that the pair should work to
further gain Diaz’s trust before they strike, but Lance, too eager to avenge his brother’s
death, attempts to kill him on his own. He fails, however, and is captured by Diaz’s
men. Tommy races and rescues Lance, and with their
cover now blown, the two drive to Diaz’s mansion where they engage in a standoff with
his men. After defeating all of them, the pair finally
confront and kill Ricardo Diaz, taking over his business in the aftermath. Tommy then works to control more areas of
the Vice City crime underbelly, building up his crime empire to even higher levels. Sonny catches wind of this, and becomes enraged
at Tommy going independent and betraying him. He sends some of his men to collect from Tommy’s
assets, but Tommy kills them and decides to leave the family. After counterfeiting some money to give to
Sonny to get him off his back, Tommy waits at his mansion where Sonny arrives. Tommy attempts to give him the money, but
Sonny reveals that it was he who actually set Tommy up to get arrested fifteen years
prior. Lance also reveals that he was the one who
tipped Sonny off after feeling under appreciated by Tommy. Tommy chases Lance and kills him for his betrayal,
then fights his way through Sonny’s men, eventually killing him once and for all. In the wake of the violence, a shocked Rosenberg
arrives. Tommy appoints Ken his right hand man, and
the two prepare to rule Vice City unopposed. Six years later, in 1992, Carl “CJ” Johnson
receives a phone call in Liberty City from his brother and former fellow gang member,
Sean, also known as “Sweet”. Sweet, the leader of the Grove Street Families
gang, was the victim of an attempted drive-by assassination by a rival gang, the Ballas. However, the assassination failed, and instead
of hitting Sweet, they hit their mother Beverly instead, mortally wounding her. Carl flies back to Los Santos, his hometown
in the West Coast state of San Andreas, and takes a taxi back to his mother’s house. However, on the way, he arrested by officers
Frank Tenpenny, Eddie Pulaski, and Jimmy Hernandez of a corrupt gang-stomping police unit. Tenpenny informs Carl of the murder of another
officer, Ralph Pendelbury, and threatens to frame him with the murder weapon if he doesn’t
cooperate with them when they need him. After being released by Tenpenny, CJ makes
his way to his mother’s funeral to reunite with Sweet and their sister Kendl. After a heated discussion about CJ abandoning
Los Santos and the gang, CJ agrees to stay and help rebuild the Grove Street Families
and get their revenge on the Ballas. The Johnson brothers, along with their friends
and gang mates, Big Smoke, Ryder, and OG Loc work to reunite the gang and reclaim their
turf from their rivals. CJ also meets with Kendl’s boyfriend Cesar
Vialpando, leader of the Hispanic gang Varrios Los Aztecas, and despite CJ and Sweet’s
initial disapproval, the two become friends and allies. Throughout CJ’s work to rebuild the Families,
Tenpenny frequently reappears to task CJ with various corrupt activities on behalf of the
police. After building up Grove Street, Sweet plans
a final battle with the Ballas. Before the fight, CJ is contacted by Cesar,
and the two see Tenpenny and the Ballas working to hide the car used in his mother’s death. To CJ’s surprise, also helping them are
Big Smoke and Ryder, who sold out to the Ballas and Tenpenny and arranged the shooting. Before CJ can warn Sweet, however, the Ballas
ambush him and leave him incapacitated. Shortly after, Tenpenny arrives and arrests
the Johnson brothers. With the Grove Street Families’ leadership
dismantled, Big Smoke, Ryder, and the Ballas then take over Los Santos, under Tenpenny’s
supervision and protection, flooding it with Crack. Still seeing some use in CJ, Tenpenny releases
him and takes him to Whetsone county, warning him not to seek vengeance on his former gang
mates, or else Sweet will suffer the consequences in prison. While working for Tenpenny, CJ meets a new
cast of characters, including a hippie marijuana grower named The Truth, a Triad Leader named
Wu Zi Mu, and Cesar’s cousin Catalina, who CJ commits several small-scale heists with. After CJ beats Catalina’s new boyfriend,
Claude, in a street race, he obtains a deed to a garage in San Fierro. Upset about the loss, Claude and Catalina
leave San Andreas to make their way to Liberty City. After Carl and The Truth are forced to torch
his Marijuana field after the police find it, they take the remaining crop to CJ’s
new garage. To CJ’s disdain, the garage is actually
in need of several repairs, and with Kendl’s help, the three are able to rebuild the garage
into an operating chop shop. While in San Fierro, CJ and Cesar discover
that Ryder is working with the Loco Syndicate, the crime organization providing the Ballas
with their drugs. CJ infiltrates the organization to gain their
trust before killing their leaders, along with Ryder, with the help of Cesar and Woozie. After destroying the Loco’s Crack Factory
with a car bomb, CJ receives a call from an unknown caller informing him to meet him at
his ranch for information on Sweet. CJ meets the caller to find that it is Mike
Toreno, an undercover government agent who was posing as one of the leaders of the Loco
Syndicate, whom CJ mistakenly thought he killed. Toreno informs CJ that Sweet is safe in a
prison upstate, and reveals to CJ that the officer killed when CJ arrived in San Andreas,
Ralph Pendlebury, was actually murdered at the hands of Tenpenny. He also tells CJ that if he helps him, he
will see that Sweet is released from prison. Shortly after, CJ gets a call from Woozie,
who informs him that he now owns a casino in Las Venturas, which CJ goes to visit. There, Woozie enlists him to help rob his
rival casino, Caligula’s, which is run by the Italian Mob. Once again planning to infiltrate, CJ gains
the trust of mob boss Salvatore Leone, while he and Woozie plan the robbery. After an elaborate set up and execution, CJ
and Woozie successfully rob Caligula’s putting it out of business and sending Salvatore back
to Liberty City. During this time, CJ also meets a rapper named
Madd Dogg, after he steals a book of his rhymes for OG Loc. After this, Madd Dogg resorts to an attempted
suicide, which CJ saves him from, sparking a friendship and business partnership between
the two. Meanwhile, Tenpenny discovers that Hernandez
had turned on them and gone informant, and he tasks his other officer, Pulaski, with
killing him along with CJ to prevent Tenpenny’s arrest. During a meeting with CJ, Tenpenny attacks
Hernandez with a shovel, knocking him out, before leaving Pulaski with the two. Pulaski tells CJ to dig his own grave, but
meanwhile, Hernandez regains consciousness and attacks Pulaski, but he is able to resist
and shoot Hernandez, killing him. Pulaski then tries to run, but CJ gives chase,
catches him, and kills him. Toreno then asks for one final favor from
CJ, and afterwards, he sticks to his word and releases Sweet. Sweet is not happy with CJ forgetting about
Grove Street, however, and the two fight to take back their territory to re-establish
the Families. Afterwards, Tenpenny is arrested and tried
for his crimes, but all charges are ultimately dropped due to lack of evidence. This prompts unrest and eventually full-out
riots in the city. CJ helps Cesar regain his gang’s territory,
and now at full strength, they follow a tip Sweet received to Big Smoke’s whereabouts
at a crack house in the city. There, CJ fights to the top floor of the building,
where he confronts and eventually engages Smoke in a gunfight. Afterwards, Smoke confesses his betrayal,
and his motivation for power and money, before succumbing to his wounds and dying. Suddenly Tenpenny arrives, and steals Smoke’s
money with the intention of using it to flee from San Andreas. He escapes in a fire truck, but CJ and Sweet
follow him and eventually run him off a bridge onto the center of Grove Street. There, Tenpenny exits the truck and claims
he finally “cleaned up the streets” before dying from his injuries. Afterwards, CJ, Sweet, Cesar, and Kendl meet
at the Johnson household to celebrate their victory and discuss their futures. Shortly after, Madd Dogg arrives with his
new lawyer, Ken Rosenberg, and displays his gold record. Outside, the riots end in Los Santos due to
Tenpenny’s death, and justice is finally fulfilled in San Andreas. Two years later, in 1998, we once again find
Salvatore Leone running the mob, now back in Liberty City. His employee, Toni Cipriani, arrives from
Italy, where he was forced to flee to after an assassination ordered by Sal. Toni is introduced to another member of the
family, Vinny Cilli, who rose up the ranks during his absence. Vinny is assigned to get Toni set up with
an apartment and a job, but Toni soon realizes that Vinny set up the job to get Toni caught
by the police. Vinny later apologizes for this, and asks
him to meet up with him. This turns out to be another trap, however,
as Vinny hopes to get Toni’s place in the Leone family. Toni thwarts the ambush and kills Vinny, returning
to work for Sal. Sal tasks Toni with killing the Mayor, who
is planning on taking him down. Toni does this and becomes a made man in the
Leone family. Toni then begins working with Donald Love,
a new mayoral candidate the Leone’s have in their pocket. Love loses, however, due to his obvious ties
to the mob. Shortly after, Paulie Sindacco, leader of
a rival family, has the new mayor, Mike O’Donovan, arrest Sal, leading Toni to kill Paulie. Sal is released on bail, and he and Toni realize
that Massimo Torini, a high ranking member of the Sicilian Mafia, was orchestrating a
war between the various crime families. Toni and Sal also find out that Torini has
kidnapped the new mayor to ensure he doesn’t drop the charges on Sal. Sal and Toni head to Torini and kill him,
rescuing the mayor and putting him in the Leone’s debt. Sal demands protection from the new mayor,
who reluctantly agrees thanks to some intimidation from Toni. Afterwards, we see Sal’s Uncle, who is revealed
to be behind Torino’s attempt to take over Liberty City. However, he admits defeat, and leaves to return
to Sicily in peace, leaving Salvatore with simply a warning that “every dog has his
day”. Two years later, at the turn of the new millenium,
we find a small-time criminal named Mike, working with his partner Vinnie for the Mafia,
to gain funds to leave Liberty City. Just before they gain enough money to leave,
however, Vinnie is killed in a car bomb explosion, burning up with all of their money. Mike decides to stay in the city to enact
revenge, and sets out to find who killed his partner. Mike starts with local explosion-maker 8-Ball,
who eventually leads him to a criminally connected bartender named Jonnie. After doing a couple jobs for Jonnie, Mike
returns to his bar to find him gunned down. Mike follows the assailants, members of the
Uptown Yardies gang, to Staunton Island. There, Mike finds the Yardie’s leader, King
Courtney, who denies any involvement in the shooting, instead claiming that he has an
interest in the actually perpetrators, since Jonnie owed them money. Courtney tells Mike that the mastermind behind
everything is Colombian Cartel leader, Cisco. However, when Mike confonts Cisco, it becomes
quickly apparent that Courtney was simply using him. Cisco promises to find out who is actually
behind everything, and Mike works for him before catching the attention of Asuka Kasen
of the Yakuza, who sends Mike to rescue her niece Yuma, who was actually kidnapped by
Mike, unbeknownst to her, during his work for Cisco. After returning, Asuka vows to help Mike as
well, leading him to work for the two rival gangs simultaneously. Eventually, however, Mike finds that Cisco
has been assassinated, and he gives chase to the escaping killer. Mike runs the assailant’s car off the road,
and to his surprise, the person who exits it is none other than Vinnie, still very much
alive. Vinnie reveals that he staged his own death
in order to take his share of their money, but ended up following him around the city
afterwards to ensure he never learned the truth. A shootout with Mike, Vinnie, and his bodyguards
ensues, but Mike emerges victorious. Vinnie pleas for his life, and warns Mike
that by killing him and taking the money, he’ll become a target of every criminal
in the city. Mike ignores this warning, however, and kills
Vinnie once and for all. Mike then meets back up with 8-Ball, but shortly
after, the Colombians arrive, presuming Mike had killed Cisco. Mike fends them off, but the police arrive
and arrest 8-Ball. Mike is able to escape, and finds Cisco’s
successor, informing him of the truth behind his predecessors death. Mike is then informed that King Courtney had
called out a hit on Mike to get his money, Mike, with help from Asuka and the Yakuza,
is able to make his way to the Yardies hideout and kill Courtney. The police arrive once again, but Mike is
able to escape to Cisco’s plane, where he departs from Liberty City, finally fulfilling
his goal. A year later, in 2001, we finally see Claude
and Catalina once again, robbing a bank in Liberty City. After the robbery, however, Catalina turns
on Claude, stating that she doesn’t need him anymore. She shoots Claude and their other partner,
then leaves with Miguel, their getaway driver. Claude survives the gunshot and is arrested,
but later, while he is being transported in a police convoy, the Colombian Cartel blows
up the bridge they’re traveling on. The Cartel kidnap an Old Asian Gentleman from
the convoy before leaving. Claude, along with fellow inmate 8-Ball are
able to escape captivity during the commotion. 8-Ball introduces Claude to the Leone family,
including Salvatore and Toni. Claude works to help the mafia fight the Colombians,
now led by Catalina and Miguel, but is eventually double-crossed by Sal, who attempts to kill
him before he is informed at the last second by Sal’s wife Maria. Claude meets with Maria, who informs him that
she told Sal they were having an affair in an attempt to make him jealous. She introduces him to her friend, Asuka Kasen. To gain the Yakuza’s trust, Claude is tasked
with assassinating Sal. Claude succeeds in killing Sal, sparking a
rivalry with the remaining Leone crime family. With his new connections, he meets Asuka’s
brother Kenji, and a crooked crop named Ray Machowski. Ray introduces Claude to Donald Love, now
a billionaire real estate and media mogul, and Claude begins to work for him. Claude rescues the Old Asian Gentleman the
Colombian Cartel kidnapped earlier and were holding for ransom and returns him to Love. Later, Love has Claude spark a gang war between
the Cartel and the Yakuza in order to lower the real estate value of the city. He does this by running over Kenji with a
Cartel car, killing him and enraging Asuka. Claude later finds Catalina and Miguel at
the Cartel’s construction site, and Miguel hands over a package for Love after feeling
cornered. Catalina shoots Miguel in the back and escapes
before Asuka arrives. Still believing the Cartel are responsible
for her brother’s death, she begins to torture Miguel for information as Claude leaves to
deliver the package to Love. After providing a distraction for him, Claude
returns to Love’s penthouse to discover that he and the elderly Asian man have disappeared,
seemingly leaving Liberty City for good. Claude returns to the construction site to
find Asuka and Miguel dead, with a note from Catalina stating she has kidnapped Maria for
a ransom that Claude must deliver to the Cartel’s mansion. Upon arriving at the mansion, however, Claude
is ambushed and Catalina takes Maria in a helicopter to a nearby dam. Claude survives the ambush and follows them
there, shooting down the helicopter and finally killing Catalina. Claude leaves the dam with Maria, and after
the screen fades, the last thing we hear is a gunshot, silencing Maria and finally bringing
a sudden end to our story. This is where we leave the GTA 3D universe,
as we look forward to a new generation of gaming, and Grand Theft Auto. Hey guys thank you so much for watching this
installment of What You Need to Know, and remember, we have a “Part 2” video coming
soon to cover all of the rest of the Grand Theft Auto games, so make sure you subscribe,
and hit the bell so YouTube will actually show it to you once we put it out. I’ll also be streaming all of my playthroughs
of the remaining games right here on YouTube, so you can join in and get involved. Also make sure you leave a like on this video
if you’ve made it this far, and leave a comment letting us know what other video game
storylines you’d like to see us cover. We also have all kinds of social media’s
that you can find links to in the description, so come check us out over there. Thanks so much again, and we’ll see you
next time!
