Grand Theft Auto 6 might be the most eagerly anticipated videogame in history. Yes, we’re keen for a new Elder Scrolls, the return of XCOM, and – dare we dream? – Half-Life 3, but with the return to Vice City confirmed by the first GTA 6 trailer and Rockstar turning its attention to the sequel now in earnest, despite all the memories, we’re ready to leave Grand Theft Auto 5 and Los Santos behind and depart for sunnier sandbox climes. In the meantime however, if you want another great open-world crime game, one that’s flown a little under the radar, then for just $2 you can get a great, retro-style GTA-like which also has a super-promising semi sequel in the works. It’s not Grand Theft Auto 6, but it scratches the itch for now.
I think GTA 3, Vice City, and Grand Theft Auto 4 are especially great, but to this day, some 27 years later, my heart still belongs to the very first, top-down version of Rockstar’s crime caper, released back in 1997. The original Grand Theft Auto felt crude, underground, and dangerous, a low-budget clot of counterculture with pure nihilistic energy running through its world. The GTA 6 release date has me just as buzzed as everyone else, but I miss the lo-fi, bird’s-eye aesthetic of the very first game. It’s what draws me to American Fugitive, a surprisingly expansive sandbox game developed by Fallen Tree.
Though it’s fully 3D, American Fugitive is played from an isometric perspective, in soft homage to the original GTA. You are Will Riley, just escaped from prison after being wrongly accused of murdering your own father. Far from the urban hives of Liberty City or Los Santos, American Fugitive takes place in the rural backwater of Redrock County. It might look pretty, but there’s a writhing criminal underworld here – and you’re going to take it over.
Robberies, shootouts, car chases – despite its somewhat simpler visuals, American Fugitive is just as deep, if not more so, than the classic GTA games. Environments are highly destructible, and if you want to break into houses or crack safes, there’s an entire minigame, giving every action a little more complexity and weight. What I also like is American Fugitive’s focus on small, petty crime. Though it gets bigger as it goes along, in the opening hours, you’re not pulling diamond heists or breaking bullion out of armored vans. You’re pulling liquor store hold-ups and stealing cars for the chop shop.
Given American Fugitive’s success, Fallen Tree is already working on a sequel, the supremely promising The Precinct, which flips the script and casts you as a beat cop pounding the pavement in a fictional take on ‘70s New York. While we wait for that to land, and GTA, you can get American Fugitive right now for just $1.99 / £1.79. Just head right here.
Otherwise, get a load of some other great crime games, or maybe try the best open-world games on PC.
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