All video games to have been wheeled out of the hallowed gates of the various Rockstar studios around the world have had a single core tenant at the deepest level of their beings. It's a tenant we all accept, and that - at a subconscious level - we have all acknowledged many years ago as younger gamers. Our beloved stories, experiences, characters, memories and even whole games are essentially a lie. As vacuous and as paper thin as the unconvincing rendition of the mikado you saw that one time you were hungover in blackpool, video games - like most stories - are entirely fictional. Normally, that wouldn't be a problem. Most stories are fictional, and we love them just the same. But it is an often conceded point and well established story telling trope that when a lie is told, it can only snowball until we are dwelling in nothing more than a thin shell of lies surrounding a mechanic or two. The problem begins when the game, thoroughly used to lying by omission and lying by type, begins to lie to you in an outright fashion. Simply telling you things that cannot possibly be true, either in order to lead you as a player, or to built experiences which can then be juxtaposed with trite and common normalities. The oldest of the video game franchises are often the worst for this, having so much convoluted history, ethics, differing teams, creative visions and vastly different budgets to contend with - paring all down into a recognisable and continual spectrum of "sequel". One of the oldest, and most consistent offenders is Grand Theft Auto. The crime 'em up has been raging since 1997, and to keep us coming back for me, they've told a little white lie or two across the years. Some of them are quite egregious. Here are the top 10 times that GTA has set its own pants on fire and deceived us.
