Grand Theft Auto: London, 1969

Grand Theft Auto: London, 1969
Developer(s)
Publisher(s) Rockstar Games
Distributor(s) Take-Two Interactive
Writer(s) Dan Houser
Series Grand Theft Auto
Platform(s) MS-DOS, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation
Release date(s)

MS-DOS, Microsoft Windows

  • NA 31 March 1999
  • EU 31 March 1999

PlayStation

  • NA 30 April 1999
  • EU 1999
Genre(s) Action-adventure
Mode(s) Single-player

Grand Theft Auto: London, 1969 is a mission pack for Grand Theft Auto. London, 1969 was released on 31 March 1999 for Microsoft Windows and on 30 April 1999 for PlayStation. The game uses the same game engine as Grand Theft Auto, thus having similar graphics and gameplay. Like Grand Theft Auto, the mission pack is divided into sub-sections with short cut scenes between. London, 1969 was the first expansion pack released for PlayStation.[1]

Gameplay

The player names their character (the default is Sid Vacant, a parody of Sid Vicious and the Sex Pistols song "Pretty Vacant") and chooses a picture to represent them. The picture is only seen upon completion/failure of a mission and doesn't affect the appearance or personality in any way. The player must work for The Crisp Twins, a parody of The Kray Twins.

The expansion introduces 30 new vehicles, 39 new missions, and instead of fictional locations based on real-life cities, as in Grand Theft Auto (Liberty City, San Andreas, Vice City or any of the later entries to the game), the game takes place in London in 1969. The player again plays the role of a criminal involved in organised crime.

The temporal setting has been exploited through cultural and historical references, including the appearance of a James Bond-like character and use of stereotypical Cockney slang. In-game dialogue includes such lines as "Oi! Stop right there!", "You're nicked!" (under arrest, in place of the standard "Busted" message) and "You're brown bread!" (i.e. "You're dead", replacing "Wasted").

Similar to the bonuses in Grand Theft Auto and Grand Theft Auto 2, the player receives a large cash reward for running over a group of English "Mods" with a car without braking. Successfully performing the trick displays the message "KEEP LONDON TIDY!" or "QUADROPHENIA" and awards a cash bonus. This is a reference to an album by the English band The Who.

Soundtrack

The game disc was also an audio CD with the first track containing the game's data, requiring the user to skip to track 2 for the music. This isn't possible on the later 2004 "Classics Collection" re-release, as the data was rearranged to use a different audio format.

Track listing
No. Title Length
1. "Bush Sounds"   04:43
2. "Title Music"   01:31
3. "Heavy Heavy Monster Sound"   05:45
4. "Blow Upradio"   01:55
5. "Kaleidoscope"   03:12
6. "Sound of Soho"   05:00
7. "Radio Penelope"   07:01
8. "Radio Andorra"   02:22
9. "Westminster Wireless"   07:18
10. "Radio 7"   05:48
11. "Police Radio Track"   03:10
12. "GTA Pomp"   02:46
13. "GTA Spy Theme"   03:00
14. "Austin Allegro Chase"   03:14
15. "Ambient"   01:09

Reception

Grand Theft Auto: London, 1969 was awarded the 1999 BAFTA Interactive Entertainment Award for sound.[2]

The pack was a best-seller in the UK.[3]

Grand Theft Auto: London, 1961

Grand Theft Auto: London, 1961 is a freely distributed mission pack to Grand Theft Auto and Grand Theft Auto: London, 1969 released on 1 June 1999.[4] It is the third game in the series. Like London, 1969, it uses the same game engine as Grand Theft Auto. As the name implies, the game takes place in London in 1961, eight years before the events that took place in London, 1969. The 1961 setting makes this mission pack the earliest Grand Theft Auto game chronologically.

Unlike London, 1969, London, 1961 is only available for PC, as it is downloadable freeware. At 7 MB, London, 1961 requires London, 1969, which, in turn, requires Grand Theft Auto. It can also only be played with the original London, 1969 disc; it does not work with the version included in the Grand Theft Auto: The Classics Collection pack.

Several independent authors developed third party software tools which allowed the original PC GTA game to be modified by users and fans. One such tool was GTACars. These tools helped spark a user community which in turn created a large number of unique vehicles and levels of their own.[5] Other tools included M1 and Junction 25 for the editing tiles and maps. The mission packs were created by DMA Designs using several of these tools licensed for commercial use.[6]

References

  1. ↑ Sam Kennedy, Gamespot (30 April 1999). "Take-Two Ships GTA: London 1969". Retrieved 28 April 2007.
  2. ↑ "Interactive - Sound in 1999". bafta.org. British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Archived from the original on 2015-09-27. Retrieved 2015-09-27.
  3. ↑ UK Playstation sales chart, August 1999, published in Official UK PlayStation Magazine issue 48
  4. ↑ "Grand Theft Auto: London 1961 release details". Retrieved 28 April 2007.
  5. ↑ "Grand Theft Auto: Users cars". Retrieved 31 August 2009.
  6. ↑ "GTACars Utility". Retrieved 31 August 2009.

External links

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