Can You Match These Grand Theft Auto Characters To Their Games?
- by Chris Langton
- – on
- in The Geek Corner
With the advances in technology that have led to video games becoming a more sophisticated art form, the quality of everything has improved. What was once a pixelated 2D experience now looks fairly close to real life, and while characters used to be simple and straightforward we now have thrilling, conflicted protagonists, intriguing secondary characters and increasingly sinister bad guys against whom to battle.
Development studios have hired gifted creative minds to come up with stories and scripts that have made video games in today's market far more immersive than they have been in the past. Few gaming franchises bring the kind of immersive experience of the Grand Theft Auto Series. The earliest games had a top-down 2D view of the gaming world, but still offered entertaining gameplay. With the third main series game, which came out in 2001, we all got to experience Liberty City as a 3D open world; and the genre of open world gaming was changed forever.
Much like the improvement in graphical quality, character development has flourished in gaming such as Grand Theft Auto, where gamers get treated to new and intriguing people ranging from criminals to dirty cops to politicians. Now up to fifteen games, including main series, spin-offs and expansions, along with handheld and console titles, the series has managed to create a hilarious and devious set of universes in which nobody seems innocent, but rather everyone is just a different level of guilty. With that in mind, the series has produced some very memorable main characters, along with unforgettable people with smaller roles. This quiz will test your memory of several of these characters. Can you remember who was featured in what game?
Which game featured an antagonist voiced by Samuel L. Jackson?
One of the most prolific actors out there is Samuel L. Jackson. Whether you remember him from Pulp Fiction, the Star Wars prequel films, Patriot Games, Rules of Engagement or any of the other amazing (and indeed, plenty of terrible) movies in which he has acted, he always does a great job. Aside from film work, he has also provided his voice for several video games, one of which is a Grand Theft Auto title. Do you remember which game it was in which he voiced a corrupt cop?
In which game does the player encounter Lacey Jonas?
This character almost got Rockstar in some trouble. After this game was released, Lindsay Lohan filed a lawsuit that can only be referred to as frivolous, claiming that Rockstar had used her likeness to make this character. Lacey Jonas is a major celebrity in the game, and while she looks somewhat like a Lindsay Lohan knockoff, her behavior seems to more closely emulate that of a Kardashian or possibly even Paris Hilton. She is encountered only briefly but it is memorable.
Which game involved breaking a professor out of prison at the request of a character only known by a number?
The mission is all about breaking Professor Maxim Rashkovsky out of prison. He's a brilliant scientist with multiple advanced degree, but was accused of espionage and spent some time before this game rotting in a prison cell awaiting trial. While this scientist admitted to his guilt, he is far more useful outside of prison than on the inside of a cell, so a covert group within the American government have him busted out from behind bars so that they can use his unique talents.
"Chunky" Lee Chong was featured in which of the following games?
This character played a very small role in a Grand Theft Auto game. He spoke no English in the game and could only be heard speaking in Cantonese. While he primarily works as a vendor at a noodle stand, he had connections to organized crime and the drug trade that got him targeted by the game's protagonist. He was only featured in one mission and the goal of that mission is to kill this character before he is able to flee.
In what game was Lance Vance a protagonist?
Lance Vance is one of those characters who appears in more than one game, but plays a very different role in them. This one should kind of be a dead giveaway, as he was a fairly prominent character that any fan of this series should know. He had two brothers, Victor and Pete. Victor was a major character in one game, but players never got to meet Pete. A charismatic and entertaining character with his own signature moves (the Lance Vance Dance), he played a solid protagonist and also a sinister antagonist.
In which game was the first non-adult character featured?
The only infant character in the Grand Theft Auto series is Mary-Beth Williams. The franchise does not feature many children, and this is likely due to the subject matter. As we said earlier, there are no innocent people in the world of GTA, and as such, given the violence, drug abuse, and downright dark nature of the games, Rockstar has generally kept kids out of them. Mary-Beth Williams is a notable exception, and was a very minor character. Her parents both die in the game in which she is featured and her fate remains unknown.
In which game did we first meet Israeli-American entrepreneur Mori Kibbutz?
Born in Israel, Mori was a member of the Israel Defense Force before coming to the United States to further his education, taking a Master of Business Administration, attending an elite but unnamed school. He isn't the most pleasant person in the series, and mistreats most people in his life. He's a successful businessman, having earned vast wealth in real estate and business, but with his success came a big ego. He's also a fitness enthusiast and mocks several other characters who are less muscular.
In which game does a main character fall in love with a crazed fitness enthusiast?
We've said it before and we'll say it again, the amount of lunatics, maniacs, and downright weird and shady people one can encounter in any GTA game is downright impressive. It may be the only game in which there are actually zero well-adjusted, marginally normal people. Here is a perfect case in point, of the manic fitness enthusiast whose dedication to physical well-being is admirable, but who really should be on some kind of medication other than endorphins. Do you remember the game in which a character fell in love with her after seeing her shrieking at another man who was breaking up with her.
What is the name of this woman who was used for promotional art but never actually found within GTA IV?
One of the most iconic images associated with GTA IV prior to it's release was this image, known by many fans as lollipop girl. She was painted on the side of a building prior to the game's release, but many fans never actually learned her name. She can be found within the police database in the game, and it even tells the player where to find her, she is never seen in the game, despite being used in promo art and on the box of the game.
Which character, who was featured in several games, was voiced by eccentric actor Gary Busey?
We'll switch things up on this question and give you the games, and ask if you recall which character corresponds. Many characters within the multiple GTA universes appear in more than one game. Whether they are a celebrity, a criminal leader, or just some other unremarkable character, plenty have made more than one appearance. Gary Busey provided the voice for one such character. Busey is one of the most interesting men in show business, and many people owe his ridiculous personality to a motorcycle accident and a cocaine issue many years ago. Which of the following characters did he voice?
Anna is a prostitute found in which of the following games?
There aren't many games in which players encounter as many different and unique characters as those in the GTA series. Anna's lot in life when we met her was working under direction from a gang to operate a brothel. The player character is sent by a quest-giver to rescue her from these conditions. Like many other people we meet throughout these games, she is seen once and then never again, and both her backstory and post-appearance future are left unknown.
In what game did Melanie Mallard appear?
Melanie, more commonly just called "Mel", was a quest giving character in the single game in which she appeared. In her youth she became interested in film-making, and but ultimately, she didn't have much success in that field and eventually ended up making documentaries. By the time of the events of her game, her documentary interests had her studying the criminal underworld of her city. The player-character in this game is tasked with driving her around while she films. Ultimately, Mel is betrayed and killed.
Which early GTA game featured protagonists named Eddie, Gretchen and Paolo?
Much has changed since the early days of Grand Theft Auto. Those early games, amazing as they were, are nothing compared to the newer titles, and the abandonment of the top-down viewpoint was an amazing aspect of GTA III. But back to the early games, there were multiple protagonists in each of them. For the most part, the player was allowed to pick who they wanted to play as and each character was slightly unique, although not as varied in skill as Trevor, Michael, and Franklin from GTA V.
In which game did a construction foreman get buried alive?
There does not sound like many worse ways to die than being buried alive. While this fate sounds pretty awful if one is in a casket, we imagine there's a ton of agony involved with being buried alive in a portable toilet in concrete. Obviously it would be fairly quick, but a truly repulsive way to go nonetheless. Well, you can do just about anything in Grand Theft Auto games, including what we just described above. After a rough exchange with a construction crew, the player character decided to just destroy their entire operation and kill the guy in charge.
In which game did Lazlow Jones' radio career begin?
Most dedicated fans know this, but radio DJ Lazlow, who has been featured in several games now, is loosely based on a real person of the same name, who has written and produced several of the games and has his own radio presence in real life. While the real life version is a funny, and relatively normal guy, the game character is a drug-using, alcoholic, sexually perverted mess. He's an icon across the GTA world, but many fans forget the game in which his radio career actually started.
Which game featured actor Kevin McKidd providing the voice for a popular musician?
A long time ago, Kevin McKidd was one of the main characters in one of the most troubling but still funny films of the 90s, Trainspotting. These days, if you see him on TV, chances are it is on Grey's Anatomy. He now voice acts as well, and along with a part on Star Wars: Rebels, he also holds the distinction of having played Soap MacTavish in the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare trilogy. Another of his voice roles was as a Scottish musician in a Grand Theft Auto game.
Which GTA game involved a nerdy character voiced by actor David Cross?
One of the most consistently funny men in show business is David Cross. Most fans will be most familiar with his work on Arrested Development, where he played Tobias. Outside of that show however, he has a career including TV roles, films, plenty of stand-up comedy, that goes back to the early 1990's. His video game acting experience includes playing a nameless Marine in Halo 2 and providing a voice for a Grand Theft Auto character who owned an electronics store.
Which GTA game featured a character based loosely on Steven Spielberg?
The list of real people who get ruthlessly lampooned throughout the GTA series is as long as it is hilarious. Recent games have poked fun at numerous celebrities, politicians and other famous types, but ridicule has long been a staple of this amazing series. Steven Spielberg is one of the greatest icons in the history of film, having directed gems including "Schindler's List", "Saving Private Ryan", among so many others but nobody is safe from Rockstar. Which game featured a film director who had an obsession with putting giant sharks in movies?
Which game required the player to recruit Mitch Baker for a security job?
Pictured here is Mitch Baker. Baker is somewhat of an outlaw, and claims to have extensive military service. He served in the Vietnam War and after his postwar experience, which involved mistreatment by police and society as a whole, started his own biker gang. He gives the player character a few missions in order to determine whether he is worthy of the gang's respect. One of those missions involved aimlessly riding around on a motorcycle causing as much destruction and mayhem as possible.
In which game did the former mayor of a city get assassinated?
There are plenty of assassination missions that we remember fondly throughout the GTA series. Businessmen, criminals, gang bosses, celebrities, you name it, and the franchise wouldn't be complete without a dead politician here and there. In this case, it was politician and former mayor Roger Hole. During his time as mayor of his city, he was corrupt, spent money poorly, and was generally unlikable, but managed to get reelected once. In this game the player-character is instructed to kill Hole during his morning run through a park.
Which game featured a British talent manager with the nickname "Miss Management"?
With the amount of celebrities we meet in every GTA game, it is no wonder that player characters often get tangled up in their management, whether it be legal difficulties or just general management woes. One of the managers with whom players had to work was an interesting gent from England with an interesting list of current and former clients including Puddles the talking dog. Do to his own negligence and ignoring some personal debt, one of his valued clients is in danger and the player has to rush to make an emergency rescue from some gunmen.
In which game can we meet three Jamaican drug dealers named Winston, Bone, and Jamal?
In just about every game that features a Liberty City setting (which helps narrowing this one down quite a bit), players encounter the Yardies. They are a Jamaican gang that is about as stereotypical as one would imagine. They wear Jamaican colors, have thick Jamaican accents, and use seldom comprehensible colloquialisms. They also have missions that generally involve marijuana and many members among their ranks are drug dealers. While there are some notable leaders of this group and many unnamed members, do you remember which game featured three named dealers who worked under the Yardie banner?
Which game had a mission in which a protagonist kidnapped the niece of a Yakuza leader?
The Yakuza are a Japanese crime syndicate that have been prominent in several Grand Theft Auto titles. Their depiction in these games presents the group as highly polite, often dressed in business attire and driving nice cars, but also incredibly ruthless and loyal. Their activities include but are not limited to gambling operations, human trafficking and slavery, and of course money laundering and counterfeiting. In one game, the main character is asked to kidnap a young relative of a Yakuza boss.
In which game did the player character buy guns from Emmet?
When it comes to weapons acquisition throughout the Grand Theft Auto series, most of us probably think of a character like Phil Cassidy (mentioned earlier and in multiple games) or the nameless clerk characters in Ammu-Nation stores. In one game however, there was a rather urgent need for some firepower, and the player character opted to go to an independent gun dealer named Emmet for some target practice along with a piece, rather than the Ammu-Nation chain. In which game did players encounter this character?
In which game is Wayne Fotheringay, a biker gang leader, killed by his girlfriend's other lover?
While most of the drama and disagreement between characters in Grand Theft Auto games has to do with gang activities and business deals gone wrong. In the case of the incident we're describing here however, there was a love triangle. Biker leader Cedric "Wayne" Fotheringay thought that he had a relatively solid relationship, but struck his girlfriend when she revealed she was seeing someone else. In the mission that would ensue, the biker gang head was chased down and killed.