Wrong wavelength

When the first drafts for Race’n’Chase, a kind of Pacman in a realistic city scenario, were put on the table on April 4, 1995, hardly anyone would have expected that it would become one of the most successful series in video game history. Grand Theft Auto (or GTA for short), as the game would eventually be called, was innovative: a mixture of black humor and fun gameplay that captivated players and critics alike for hours despite its simplicity.

With an age rating of 16, it was of course further away from my five-year-old fingers than Thomas Gottschalk was from the very last episode of Wetten, dass..? But to be honest, I don't think I would have had that much fun with the first GTA . At least from today's perspective, the gameplay seems more than antiquated, and back then I was more of a strategy/action-adventure type. And for racing I had Need for Speed and Ignition. It doesn't matter, after all, I don't want to talk about the content of this video game dinosaur, but its soundtrack.

Games from the Grand Theft Auto-series

Grand Theft Auto (1997)

Grand Theft Auto 2 (1999)

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (2002)

The first installment already established the series' characteristic design decision to rely on radio stations for the acoustic accompaniment, which should satisfy the various preferences of gamers with its wide-ranging repertoire. We shouldn't, however, expect a theme or even overarching compositions, as these should make their appearance only in the later installments.

The first Grand Theft Auto presents us with a selection of seven radio stations: N-CT FM (hip-hop, gangsta rap), Radio ’76 FM (funk), Head Radio (techno), The Fix FM (house, dance), It’s Unleashed FM (hard rock, alternative rock, trance), The Fergus Buckner Show FM (country) and Brooklyn Underground FM (drum & bass, techno). In contrast to the successors, however, only fake bands are at work here, similar to Cities: Skylines, for example. The only escapee is the track Gangster Friday by the equally fictitious band Slumpussy, which is not part of the official soundtrack and, according to the GTA-Wiki, serves as the title track and credit theme.

The pieces were composed by Colin Anderson, Craig Conner and Grant Middleton, who, apart from their involvement in the score for GTA 2 should not really be on your radar. The same applies to their compositions. They can probably best be described as utilitarian: The techno tracks in Brooklyn Underground FM klingen nach typischem 90er-Techno. Just Do It from the rock station It’s Unleashed FM better because of its distortions, while N-CT FM's 'gangsta' attitude, as with Vice Citys hip-hop station Wildstyle, turns me off.

In general, the score is nowhere near the quality of the later parts. However, it should not be underestimated that they have the advantage of featuring real-life songs. They don't necessarily make the whole thing better, but they do make it more authentic and, to a certain extent, more distinctive. Nevertheless, the music from GTA 1, although not badly done, falls well short of the rest of the series. Should you listen to it anyway? Unless you are nostalgia-driven, probably not. There may well be something for fans of the respective genre, but Spotify or similar providers will propably serve you better.