When the first Grand Theft Auto game debuted in 1997, no one could have predicted that they were witnessing the beginning of such a massive gaming franchise. After more than two decades and almost two dozen games, fans have been treated to some incredible stories led by some truly awful people.
As a general rule, all of the protagonists in GTA are hardened criminals with dubious pasts. Surviving in a criminal world is kind of the point of the franchise. Keeping that in mind, some of the acts those characters committed in the games were much worse than others. And surprisingly, those terrible acts weren't all perpetrated by GTA V's Trevor.
GTA: Chinatown Wars -- Huang Kills His Uncle, Takes Over The Triads
Finding a GTA game on any Nintendo system is a virtual impossibility. In fact, it happened once and only once with the release of Chinatown Wars on the Nintendo DS. But releasing a game about committing criminal acts on a family-friendly system definitely rubbed some people the wrong way.
Chinatown Wars was set in Liberty City in roughly the same era as GTA IV. Huang Lee, the main character, gets heavily involved in dealing drugs. He eventually even kills his own treacherous uncle, making him the kingpin of all drug activity in Liberty City.
GTA V -- Michael Betrays Trevor And Their Gang
Grand Theft Auto V remains the second best-selling game of all time as well as one of the best-reviewed. Having three separate releases on PS3 and Xbox 360, then PS4 and Xbox One, and finally on PCs certainly didn't hurt that situation.
In the early stages of the game, Michael, Trevor, and their old friend Brad screw up a heist in North Yankton. The incident leaves Brad dead and Trevor on the run. Michael uses the opportunity to cut an under-the-table deal with the FIB and get out of the criminal life, screwing Trevor over.
GTA IV: The Ballad Of Gay Tony -- Luis Ambushes Niko And Johnny
GTA IV had two DLC story packs, which is exactly two more than GTA V has had. The Ballad of Gay Tony focused on Luis Fernando Lopez as he and his business partner Tony Prince tried to build a nightclub empire in Liberty City.
One scene goes down from three different perspectives in GTA IV, The Ballad of Gay Tony, and The Lost and Damned. Luis ambushes a diamond exchange involving Niko Bellic and Johnny Klebitz, setting in motion a series of events that cause problems for everyone.
GTA IV -- Niko Kills Vlad
Niko Bellic was an Eastern European man who left home for Liberty City based on the stories of his cousin Roman. While Roman had played up his success, the reality could not have been further from the truth.
Roman owed a lot of money to loan sharks like Vlad Glebov. Niko would go on to kill Vlad, but not so much because of his loan sharking. It was more because Vlad had slept with Roman's girlfriend, which was a pretty extreme response to the situation.
GTA IV: The Lost And The Damned -- Johnny Executes Billy
The Lost and Damned DLC happened at the same time as GTA IV and The Ballad of Gay Tony. In it, the vise president of the motorcycle club known as The Lost, Johnny Klebitz, tried to help manage their nefarious dealings while sorting out the plans of the club's president, Billy Grey.
After getting out of rehab, Billy instigated a massive turf war as part of a plot to build his own fortunes. Billy then decided to work with the cops as a means of getting out, so Johnny raided the prison Billy was being held in and straight-up executed him.
GTA: San Andreas -- CJ Gets Revenge On Big Smoke
After being in Liberty City for five years, Carl "CJ" Johnson returned to Los Santos for his mother's funeral after she was murdered. He was almost immediately drawn into the business dealings of his old gang, the Grove Street Families.
While trying to help his old gang regain their former status, CJ discovered that one of its own members betrayed the Families to their rivals. CJ eventually tracked Big Smoke down and killed him as an act of revenge.
GTA: Vice City -- Tommy Vercetti, Drug Kingpin
Mobster Tommy Vercetti spent 15 years in prison. Upon his release, he was sent to Vice City to establish a presence in the drug trade there for his employers. As it turned out, things went way too well for Tommy.
He ended up becoming the main drug lord in the entire city. As impressive as that was, it's still quite illegal. He also did it without cutting in the mob he worked for, which created a whole new set of problems for him.
GTA V -- Franklin Had A Choice To Make
How bad a crime this turned out to be depended entirely on a choice made by the player. While GTA V had a well-executed three protagonist system, the finale of the game came down to Frank Clinton. The young man ultimately had to make an incredibly difficult choice.
The decision presented to him was to kill Michael, kill Trevor, or try to save them both. While not killing either Michael or Trevor seemed like the more loyal and moral choice, it did lead to the trio going on a giant-killing spree where they wiped out all of their enemies.
GTA III -- Claude Murders Maria
While it wasn't the first game in the franchise, GTA III was the game that launched the series into the stratosphere of success. It focused on Claude, a silent criminal who escaped from a prison transport in Liberty City with a man named 8-Ball.
Claude ended up working with Maria, a mob boss' wife who was simultaneously his best and worst influence. As the game ended, the closing moments heavily implied that Claude killed Maria as a gunshot was heard and Maria suddenly went silent.
GTA V -- Trevor Kicks A Man To Death
If there's one thing that Trevor Phillips was great at in GTA V, it was making and maintaining friendships. After the events in North Yankton, Trevor believed that Michael was dead and Brad was in prison. That was all a lie formulated by Michael to facilitate his escape to Los Santos.
When Trevor found out the truth, he snapped and ended up stomping Johnny Klebitz from The Lost and Damned to death. It was a gruesome, ignominious end for the protagonist of a different GTA game.