Step back in time to an era of top-down chaos and pixelated pandemonium, where the rules of the road were merely suggestions and mayhem was the main objective. In 10 insane things you could only do in early GTA games, we explore the uniquely anarchic fun that defined the classic Grand Theft Auto titles from 1997 to 1999.
Before cinematic heists and sprawling narratives, these games thrived on a brand of pure, unfiltered chaos. The top-down perspective made every police chase feel twice as fast and ten times more reckless. There were no cover systems or careful aiming mechanics, just you, a stolen car, and the glorious unpredictability of a city that was a maniacally unpredictable playground.
This look back celebrates the features that made these games legendary, from absurdly overpowered weaponized vehicles to the sheer, unadulterated joy of “Rampage” missions where the only goal was to cause as much havoc as possible. We’ll delve into the hilarious glitches and exploits that became the stuff of playground legend, like wall-clipping and flying cars, and the ridiculous cheat codes that let you turn the world into your personal sandbox of destruction.
Ready for a nostalgia-fueled thrill ride? Buckle up (or better yet, hijack that rocket-equipped truck) and discover why the early Grand Theft Auto titles remain the gold standard for pixelated pandemonium—and why those bonkers antics still have fans coming back for more.
10. The Top-Down Perspective Chaos (The 2D Era)
Imagine running from the cops not through winding alleys but across an overhead maze of tiny pixel streets. The original GTA games (1997–1999) used a top-down perspective that made everything feel twice as fast and ten times as reckless. There were no careful aiming mechanics, no cover systems — just you, a stolen car, and a whole lot of “oops, sorry, didn’t mean to run over that dozen pedestrians.”
Early GTA games thrived on chaotic unpredictability. The limited camera view meant you often couldn’t see threats (or opportunities) until you were practically on top of them. Police cars would come screaming from off-screen, civilians would randomly leap into traffic, and explosions — oh, the explosions — could chain together in spectacular, screen-shaking fashion. One wrong move, and you’d have a 5-star wanted level and no good way to escape except running on foot into more chaos.
The 2D games didn’t simulate a living city. They made a living, maniacally unpredictable playground, where law and order were just suggestions and every street corner could either make you rich or get you vaporized. It was brutal, hilarious, and gloriously unfair — and that’s exactly why we loved it.
9. The “Anything Goes” Mission Design
In early GTA games, the mission designers basically threw the rulebook out the window and shouted, “Have at it!” There was zero hand-holding—no waypoint arrows, no cutscenes explaining every step, and certainly no “fail-safe” mechanics. You chose a mission from a cryptic list, hit “Start,” and voilà: chaos ensued. From the moment you pressed Fire or Drive, the world was your unregulated playground. And hey, what crazy things could you do when even the simplest “get in the car, drive there, and blow something up” objectives had a fifty-fifty chance of turning into a four-star police chase?
Randomized Objectives: One minute you’re hijacking a taxi to tail a target, the next you’re commandeering a tank to mow down rival gangs. The unpredictability meant every mission replay felt fresh—and often absolutely bonkers.
Ludicrous Failure States: You could fail by simply… walking back into the mission start point too slowly. Or by accidentally running over your own getaway car. (Yes, it happened. More than once.)
No Mission Markers: Want to find the secret warehouse? Good luck! The sparse map data meant you were often winging it—and stumbling into half the city’s mobsters along the way.
Weapon Overkill: Missions armed you with rocket launchers, miniguns, or endless grenades—sometimes all at once. Why use a pistol when you can obliterate a convoy with a single blast?
This “anything goes” ethos meant every assignment became a micro-adventure in mayhem. There was no shame in turning a simple delivery run into an all-out war with the police—or accidentally discovering hidden motorcycles by sheer, glorious accident. Early GTA’s mission design was a daring experiment in player freedom: sometimes you succeeded, sometimes you failed spectacularly, and always you walked away with a wild story.
8. Discovering Unintended Glitches and Exploits
Nothing says “good times” like accidentally falling THROUGH the map or launching your taxi into orbit—welcome to the world of glitches and exploits in early GTA. Back when the code was as wild as the gameplay, players stumbled upon countless bugs that turned routine missions into laugh-out-loud spectacles.
The “Flying Car” Bug: Hit a ramp or a tiny curb just right, and your vehicle would sprout invisible wings. Suddenly you’re coast-to-coast across the city skyline—proof that even the devs hadn’t planned for this much altitude.
Wall-Clipping Mayhem: Drive at a corner just so, and voilà—you’re inside buildings, traversing walls like a rogue poltergeist. Perfect for getting “lost” in mob hideouts or popping up behind targets for an instant mission win.
Infinite Ammo Exploit: Found by tiptoeing through menu quirks, this cheat gave players endless firepower—guaranteeing that every street encounter became an all-out fireworks show.
Pedestrian Launchers: Accidentally run at full speed into a row of NPCs, and the ragdoll physics would send them flying like cannon fodder. The resulting mid-air pirouettes were so ridiculous, you’d forget you were technically breaking the game.
Between discovery threads on early internet forums and word-of-mouth whispers at LAN parties, these bugs became legendary. They helped define the unique insane gameplay early Grand Theft Auto games were famous for—moments when the line between developer oversight and player creativity vanished in a puff of pixel dust.
Whether you exploited a clever shortcut, rode a glitch to victory, or simply laughed as the game collapsed under its own code, these unintended quirks added an extra layer of unpredictability.
7. The Sheer Density of Pedestrians
Strolling through early GTA’s streets felt like navigating a buzzing festival—every corner teemed with so many pixelated pedestrians that you practically invited chaos. You could barrel a stolen taxi through a crowded market, launch civilians sky-high with a perfect handbrake turn, or create a chain reaction of ragdoll mayhem, all without the game throttling your fun. Things modern GTA games don’t let you do that early ones did—like gleefully bombing a crosswalk of twenty NPCs in one explosive pass—because today’s titles prioritize polished AI reactions and stable performance over unbridled anarchy.
Back then, there was no polite crowd-avoidance code or rubber-banding safety net. That raw pedestrian density turned every rampage into a ridiculous ballet of flailing arms and airborne hats, making each stunt feel fresh, unpredictable, and utterly hilarious. Early GTA didn’t just let you play in the city—it dared you to destroy it in the most spectacular fashion.
6. Weaponized Vehicles Being Truly Overpowered
If there’s one thing early GTA taught us, it’s that a car isn’t just transportation—it’s a weapon of mass destruction. From the moment you slipped into that first tank in GTA 2, you knew you’d stumbled onto something absurdly powerful.
Armed with a cannon that could vaporize entire blocks and armor that shrugged off every bullet, the tank wasn’t just “useful” — it was the ultimate exploit. And let’s not forget the rocket-equipped trucks, the minigun turrets on police vans, or the secret helicopter spawns that turned you into a one-person air force. These were the overpowered weapons in classic GTA games that made even the most innocuous joyride feel like gearing up for all-out war.
Unlike modern titles—where special vehicles come with cooldowns, restricted ammo, or pricey unlock requirements—early GTA simply dumped these beasts into the city and dared you to cause mayhem. You could roll up to a mission in a rocket truck, barrel through enemy lines, and still have enough firepower left over to start a sidewalk demolition derby. If you ever wondered how it felt to play god in a pixelated crime spree, weaponized vehicles in those classic GTA titles delivered the answer with explosive flair.
5. The “Rampage” Missions
Few things capture the spirit of early GTA quite like the aptly named “Rampage” missions. Instead of chauffeuring gangsters or playing courier, you were handed a high-powered weapon and a simple directive: “Cause as much havoc as humanly possible in X seconds.” Your score was measured by how many pedestrians you could send flying, cars you could obliterate, and cops you could cheese into an early retirement. There was zero shame in turning the city into your personal demolition derby—and that scoreboard at the end was the perfect badge of chaotic honor.
These missions pushed the game’s physics engine (and your serotonin levels) to the max. Firing a minigun from the rooftop of a skyscraper or unleashing rocket salvos at an unsuspecting traffic jam was as addictive as it sounds. Every corner of the map suddenly felt like a potential grenade launchsite, and even a quick fuel-stop could escalate into an all-out firefight worthy of a Hollywood blockbuster. The ticking timer added just enough pressure to make each explosive moment absolutely electric.
Rampage missions weren’t about nuanced storytelling or stealthy takedowns—they were about pure, unfiltered mayhem. They let you experiment with any weapon you’d scavenged, from Uzis to hand grenades, and test the city’s walls for clip-through potential. In a way, these timed onslaughts were the perfect microcosm of what made early GTA so beloved: borderline nuts objectives, entirely player-driven craziness, and the kind of replay value that modern titles can only dream of.
4. Unrealistic Vehicle Handling
Just when you thought you’d mastered the streets, early GTA threw you a curve—literally. Cars in the 2D era didn’t obey any laws of traction or momentum; they slid around corners like hovercraft on ice. The unrealistic car physics early Grand Theft Auto games featured meant that slamming a slick pixel sedan into a ninety-degree turn could send it fishtailing wildly across the map, sometimes wrapping itself around lampposts or flipping end-over-end in glorious slow motion.
This unhinged handling wasn’t a flaw so much as a feature. It turned every high-speed chase into a hair-raising ordeal where survival depended on predicting a vehicle with a mind of its own. Tap the brakes a split-second too late and your ride pirouetted into oncoming traffic; nail the throttle too hard and you’d launch off ramps you didn’t even see coming.
In that riotous playground, mastering corner slides and nailing mid-air landings became just as vital as lining up the perfect headshot. Without those skills, evading the relentless pixel cops or smashing through a Rampage in record time was practically impossible—one more testament to the gloriously chaotic charm of early GTA.
3. Exploiting Ragdoll Physics (or Lack Thereof)
Early GTA’s approach to ragdoll physics was… minimal, at best. Instead of sophisticated body simulations, you got a hilarious blend of stiff animations and pixelated collapse routines that variously sent pedestrians skittering across the pavement or tumbling through walls. Savvy players quickly realized they could turn these quirks into an art form—exploiting glitches in old GTA games for crazy results became its own sub-hobby, with forums devoted to the most outrageous launch angles and crash bounces.
Run a motorbike into a group of NPCs at full tilt and watch them rocket into the stratosphere, or back a van into a lamppost just right so civilians slide under the chassis before popping out the other side. Because the collision detection was so rudimentary, you could trap pedestrians inside vehicles and freight-train them through the city, creating a surreal parade of flailing limbs that defied any real-world logic. It wasn’t about realistic physics; it was about pure, unfiltered spectacle.
These ragdoll exploits added an unexpected layer of replayability. Every mission, chase, or simple joyride could be interrupted by a perfectly-placed bump that sent someone spinning into orbit or lodged them in a tree. Today’s GTA titles boast polished animations and carefully tuned physics engines that rein in chaos—sure, they look smoother, but they can’t match the gleeful absurdity of pixel people bouncing off everything in sight, courtesy of early GTA’s glorious physics shortcomings.
2. Absurd Cheat Codes
Remember punching in a secret combination and watching your getaway car sprout rockets or your character grow inexplicably large? Early Grand Theft Auto games came loaded with the most ridiculous cheat codes in early GTA, and they turned the city into a ludicrous playground. Whether you wanted unlimited weapons, instant 6-star wanted levels, or to transform every civilian into a flaming maniac, there was a cheat for that—and entering it felt like cracking open a vault of pure chaos.
These cheats weren’t hidden behind menus or DLC packs—they were scrawled in the game manual or whispered in gaming magazines. Tap “GUNSGUNSGUNS” and you’d spawn a cache of every weapon; key in “BIGDADDY” and your character ballooned to twice their size, knocking cars aside like a walking wrecking ball. Feel like testing gravity? There was a code to make everyone bounce twice as high, turning the streets into a pogo-stick massacre. All it took was a few taps, and suddenly you were piloting the world’s most comically overpowered crime spree.
Best of all, these absurd cheat codes in early GTA weren’t just novelties—they were invitations to experiment. Want to see how many tanks you could stack on a single bridge? Cheat. Curious what happens if every car in the city drives on the sidewalk? Cheat. Early GTA didn’t just let you bend the rules—it dared you to smash them entirely, one cheeky code at a time.
1. The Sheer Anarchy with Limited Consequences
Nothing captured the spirit of GTA quite like the knowledge that you could wreak havoc on an entire city block, rack up a five-star wanted level, and still reload from your last save with barely a scratch. You could obliterate storefronts, flatten traffic jams, and incinerate scores of NPCs—things only possible in old school GTA games—all without facing permanent repercussions. A quick restart, a respawn at the nearest hospital, and you were back behind the wheel, ready to push the envelope even further.
That blissful cycle of mayhem and reset turned the game into a sandbox of pure, consequence-free destruction. Modern titles might offer sprawling narratives and realistic fallout for every action, but nothing tops the unbridled, guilt-free carnage of the 2D era. In those pixelated streets, every misfire, glitch, and cheat code was an open invitation to test the limits—and the only price you paid was a hearty laugh and the urge to hit “Load Game” one more time.
If you’re curious about the real-world cities that inspired all this madness, check out 10 Real-Life Inspirations Behind Grand Theft Auto’s Iconic Cities for a deeper dive into GTA’s roots.
