5 reasons why Liberty City is a great location in the GTA series

Liberty City is one of the GTA series' most iconic locations for several reasons.

"The worst place in America" is home to many memories for GTA fans. It has shown up in every generation, with several differences across the numerous games it shows up in. However, the main constant that stays the same is that New York inspires Liberty City.

As a result, that's one reason that GTA fans enjoy the location. Other side effects, such as a lack of an obstructive countryside, also make Liberty City stand out as an amazing location within the GTA series.

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Five reasons why Liberty City is awesome in the GTA series

5) First location within the 3D universe

There are a lot of memories to be had here (Image via LibertyCity.Ru)

GTA 3 was a revolutionary game. It was the first 3D game in the series, and it was a remarkable transition from the 2D era to the 3D era. Many video game franchises failed the transition, but GTA excelled in it.

Interestingly, Liberty City was the main location. Hence, it hosts many old-school fans' first memories of playing GTA. The game was popular, and the 3D world felt alive for the time.

4) It's also the first location within the HD universe

Liberty City was also the first location players saw in the HD universe. It showed up in GTA 4, and was completely different from the previous incarnation. The graphics were better, and the physics were entirely different.

It also helped that GTA 4 introduced plenty of enterable interiors, which made exploring Liberty City feel more exciting.

3) Has shown up the most often in the GTA series as far as locations go

Liberty City, as it appears in GTA Advance (Image via GTA Wiki)

It's a minor reason, but it also means that GTA fans get to see Liberty City far more often than any other location in the series. It has appeared in nine games, an astonishingly high amount for a location within the GTA series.

As a result, there are a few different depictions of the famous city throughout the games it shows up in. For example, GTA San Andreas depicts it with snow, whereas GTA 4's Liberty City is wildly different from the 3D universe's variation.

2) New York vibes

Some parts of Liberty City are more obviously inspired by New York than others (Image via GTA Wiki)

If people love New York, then they might love Liberty City. There are plenty of similarities between the two locations, especially since Rockstar Games did their research on the matter.

On a similar note, Liberty City looks completely different from San Andreas and Vice City. The different geography helps make Liberty City feel more unique, which ties in heavily to the next entry.

1) Liberty City doesn't have pointless countryside areas

Notice how much of GTA 5's map is just the countryside (Image via GTAWeb.eu)

Given Liberty City's design, it's easy to point out how the vast majority of it is urban. GTA 5 has a bigger map, but a great deal of that map is the countryside, where not much of note takes place.

If a player gets lost in the countryside, it's a long way from finding a vehicle. Thankfully, this was never an issue in the GTA games with Liberty City, as there is always a vehicle parked nearby.

Note: This article reflects the writer's personal views.