1. Rio Di Janeiro, Brazil
All eyes across the world are on Brazil right now. It has just hosted the World Cup and will next year follow it up with the Olympic Games, whilst its rapidly-growing market is gradually making it a significant player in global economic affairs. This has drawn considerable attention to its social landscape, which is in upheaval in places as the masses demonstrate against perceived corruption and inequalities. Rio De Janeiro isnt the capital city of Brazil (that being Brasilia), nor is it the largest (that being Sao Paulo). It is perhaps the most well-known, however, owing to events such as its Carnival and landmarks such as the Copacabana, the Sugarloaf Mountain Cable Car and the huge statue of Jesus, Christ the Redeemer, that stands above the city. It is home to the worlds largest urban rainforest, the Tijuca, and its population incorporates both the extremely affluent and the impoverished, the latter of whom predominantly dwell in slums known as favelas. A GTA game set in the city could take inspiration from one of the greatest films of the modern era (and indeed all time), City Of God, which focused on life within the Cidade de Deus favela, marred by drug-related violence, through the eyes of an aspiring photographer. It could also pay homage to Elite Squad, which focused on BOPE, the urban warfare specialists of the Military Police of Rio de Janeiro that oppose the gangs facilitating said violence, often in a brutal and extrajudicial fashion. Rockstar have utilised Brazil as a setting quite recently for Max Payne 3, but most of Rio and its unique array of landmarks and neighbourhoods have yet to be exploited as a game setting for reasons unknown. A game set there wouldnt have to stop at the city limits either the Amazon is a three-to-five hour plane journey away, but its stunning natural beauty could easily be placed much closer within the confines of a virtual world, allowing players to escape from the hustle and bustle of urban life to hang out with jaguars in one of the worlds most beautiful locations instead.