The problem? The game felt like GTA stuck in molasses. The visuals were great (when static) and the voice acting and budget for the game were impressive. It took all the ideas and mechanics, and flew them over the pond to the U.K for a bit of a different feel. It wanted to be GTA if Guy Ritchie directed it. The Getaway may have failed a bit in execution, but not at all in ambition. Expect a lot of pics like this on the list. Also, please note Saints Row is not on the list because that game refuses to let anyone forget about it via purple dildos (and being pretty kickass).

Also, keep in mind, just because they are on the list does not mean they are bad games. Here are five GTA clones you may have forgotten about. Though there are many of these types of games now that are actually pretty good (Sleeping Dogs being a great example, which I bring up later), that was not always the case.

The side effect of our instant adoration for the GTA series was the fact that the video game market got flooded with a slew of GTA clones that were NEVER as refined or as polished as the game they were trying to emulate. The idea that we could play the same game, but may have played it differently then one another was a cool hook for us gamers. A sort of zest and passion for gaming again. Most of us hadn’t played in a sandbox of any kind in years, so it brought something out in us. A world that was our (hate this overused term, but.) sandbox. Suddenly, with games like Grand Theft Auto 3, we were placed inside an open, living, breathing world.

No longer were all video games flat, 2D worlds when you ran from right to left or left to right. It is pretty much the IT game anytime it drops, and it opened up the way gamers (and game companies) looked at gaming. Grand Theft Auto has surpassed the video game medium and become a sort of pop culture icon in itself.

Gears of war clone