Beyond the lunacy that has surrounded every Grand Theft Auto release in the franchise to date is a carefully woven story and a perfect ensemble of characters. And whether you know it or not it is these two reasons alone that have millions of people anticipating the next instalment with much sweatier palms than they would have with ‘Saints Row’ or any other similar sand box adventure.

It has been a lengthy 11 years since GTA III first hit shelves and you learnt how to murder colonies of civilians & Elvis impersonators all in 3D, so it is understandable if you have forgot some magic moments here and there. Here are 10 of the best characters from the series… and there was no shortage to choose from.

Toni Cipriani

A made man of the Leone family and also a playable character in GTA: Liberty City Stories. Often seen in his family run restaurant where he is constantly criticised by his mother for not being the man his father was, similar to the way Tony Soprano is often put down by his mother for not being a ‘saint’ like his late Father. This is just one of the many instances where Rockstar has brilliantly drawn influence from a wealth of pop culture. N.B Listen to Chatterbox FM to hear Toni phoning in to bitch about his old lady.

Claude Speed

Perhaps the most important protagonist of the series but also the quietest, naturally. In fact it wasn’t until San Andreas emerged that we learnt the mute from GTA III even had a name. It’s hard to imagine any other lead characters from the series being vocally incapable due to the brilliant performances they have all given, so it is mad that many games still have silent protagonists. In short, no one does it better than Rockstar North.

Lance Vance

The owner of The Lance Vance dance, and perhaps the coolest drug dealer in the history of fiction, behind only Tony Montana and Henry Hill. Both characters from films Vice City drew a lot of its inspiration and brilliance from, most notably Scarface.  His impulsive attitude and his dislike of being treated like a child by Tommy leads to his and Sonny Forelli’s demise acting as the climax to GTA: Vice City in a mission which again is a massive shout out to the aforementioned Scarface.

Brucie Kibbutz

A raving bloody idiot, but a fantastic one at that. The stereotypical jock from GTA IV, think Jersey Shore crossed with Barney Stinson of How I Met Your Mother. His frequent gay tendencies to remind Niko that he is not gay and that ‘Brucie loves pussy’ are all a bit, well, gay. Throughout ‘The Ballad of Gay Tony’ we find that Brucie’s insecurity and idiocy come from the constant overshadowing of his big Brother Mori who dominates his life. Below is some classic Brucie & Niko dialogue.

Kent Paul & Maccer

These two come as a pair (voiced by Danny Dyer and Shaun Ryder) because without one the other is largely un-interesting like the two Ronnies or Ant & Dec. These two clowns are found in the desert by CJ after Maccer spikes both of their drinks. After being offered a lift into town Maccer declines insisting he can’t cause ‘I’m a raspberry.’ The two are letter kidnapped but not before Danny Dyer manages to sneak in the word ‘cunt’, some wonderful British charm.

Niko Bellic

To some people he was a bit bland and boring, but his dry humour and no bullshit attitude towards ‘The American Dream’ is what made this ex war veteran the most realised protagonist in the series to date. His ‘do what your told but take no notice of anyone’ approach to life shone a light on how corrupt Rockstar North thinks the American way of life can be. Game daily included ‘NB’ in its list of ‘top 25 anti-heroes’ for his ‘heart of gold beneath a rough exterior.’

Ken Rosenberg

A fine example of the great 1980’s American business type problematic. Flash suits and cocaine problems. Rosenberg is one of the only characters to remain loyal to Tommy V through thick and thin although his crazed drug problem creates a ridge between the two later on. An example that despite Grand Theft Auto’s many social flaws in the eyes of some (Death, guns, robbery etc) it has never glorified drugs through the eyes of the central character.

Carl ‘CJ’ Johnson

Although maybe not as memorable as other central characters he was the first to appear with a conscience, the first that didn’t seem to enjoy killing copious amounts of people, not that it stopped him regardless but it was still a nice plight. His huge respect for family values and in-experienced naivety however leads to him being betrayed by his closest friends and scumbag Police man Frank Tenpenny (brilliantly voiced by Samuel L Jackson), but then no central character is perfect, what with them all being mass murderers and such.

Lazlow

The all-conquering, ill-mannered and terribly rude radio host may not have a face in game, but he has always been there throughout every title. But better than that, he is frivolously funny. He is socially hopeless up to the point that if he were a real person you would have to be his friend because no one else would be. What’s that? Oh yes Lazlow Jones is a real life radio talk-show host and a frequent helper to the GTA series, I’d say we all owe him a massive thank you.

Tommy Vercetti

The don Mafioso himself, the “man with the big cojones.” The convicted psychotic killer and drug dealer, who after 15 years in prison turns up in Vice City ’86 and is immediately flung into a neon light, beach shirt, smack filled shit storm with nemesis Sonny Forelli at the forefront. Vercetti was notably based on Scarface’s Tony Montana but unlike him he did not become hooked on his own business venture, cocaine. The inside of Vercetti’s estate is even based on Montana’s mansion. Vercetti is the ultimate mad man that Rockstar’s constant controversial attitude with society is based upon. But god he is cool.

Check out this article on GTA V that went viral across the world…

GTA 5: 5 Reasons It Will Blow Our Minds

Or these on GTA…

A History Of Grand Theft Auto

GTA V Trailer

Click here for more stories about video games

Click here for more Hardware stories

Click here to follow Sabotage Times on Twitter

Click here to follow Sabotage Times on Facebook