Rockstar Games managed to reconcile the conflict between technological advancements and glitches in the elements present in its games within the GTA world it created in a genius way, as seen in the first 3D game in the GTA series, GTA 3.
GTA 3 clearly lacked motorcycles, which were almost impossible to introduce in the game due to the limited capabilities of the devices available at that time and other technical restrictions. It is worth noting that Rockstar may have had some ideas to add them to the game, as indicated by a deep investigation into the game files conducted by The Cutting Room website, some symbols hinting at the existence of motorcycle-related elements were found, but they were not sufficient to include them in the game at that time as mentioned.
However, motorcycles later became an essential means of transportation in all subsequent games. Yet, what is controversial is that a few years later, Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories was released, serving as a prelude to the events of the same Liberty City and unfolding its story years before the start of GTA III. This game featured motorcycles everywhere. How then did Rockstar justify how “Tony Cipriani” could ride a motorcycle, while the protagonist of the third part, Claude Speed, was unable to find any motorcycles to ride after 3 years from the events of Liberty City Stories?
Rockstar’s answer to this potential plot hole that may surprise many fans of the series was extremely clever. They included in the game box of the mentioned Liberty City Stories for PSP a booklet of instructions claiming to be from the fictional Liberty Tree newspaper in Liberty City.
Within the booklet, there is an article supposedly authored by the fictional journalist Gaylord Morrisen, referring to a group of protesters calling themselves A.R.S.E. “American Road Safety Emissaries,” who demand the banning of motorcycles in an article titled “Motorcycles Kill Kids and Must Be Stopped.”
The article also mentions that this group will actually begin to ban motorcycle riding on the streets of Liberty City, with motorcycles and their riders becoming their next target. This indicates the time frame in which the events of Grand Theft Auto 3 will take place almost.
The group raises a slogan saying, “People who ride motorcycles are trying to kill us all, so we in A.R.S.E. have decided that it is time to respond and prevent motorcycles from roaming the city.” In this ingenious way, Rockstar, which always excels in meticulous details in its games, managed to justify the absence of motorcycles in Grand Theft Auto 3 despite their presence in an earlier time period in its next game, Liberty City Stories on the PSP.
