Grand Theft Auto Portugal - GTApt

After a few months of absence Talking GTA is back with another interview, this time we talked with Jordan Liles, 23 years old and from Tennessee, USA. He runs PlanetGTA, one of the larger, leading official fan-sites for Grand Theft Auto. If you're a knowledge fan you probably read many news and articles from Jordan over the years. Keep reading to get to know how PlanetGTA was born, GTA Hood and more.

uni: When and why did you decided to open a GTA fan-site?
Jordan: I decided to open a GTA fan site after I saw that there were a lot of great mods for GTA III's PC version, but they were all spread out across forums.  They weren't organized into one place in 2002, so I organized them.

uni: Was PlanetGTA the first the name you used? If not, which others did popped into your head?
Jordan: The first name of my first site was GTA III Real Life Mods.  The mods that were hosted were skins for buildings that would make a dull building suddenly appear to be a Pizza Hut or a Burger King.  Hundreds of these mods were created.  It was a bit of a craze back in 2002.

uni: You already knew the first GTAs or just tried them after GTA3?
Jordan: I had played the first few GTA games on the PlayStation One.  When GTA III came out for the PC, I bought it and was awestruck.  It was really an amazing thing to play for the first time.  It was like a reintroduction of interactive entertainment.  I'll never forget it.

uni: From the GTA3 series which one is your favourite? GTA3? Or are you one of the tommy's fans?
Jordan: I liked GTA III.  It has a great old feelin' in a way.  It's hard to explain.  It was so amazing that it actually probably has a place in all GTA gamers hearts.  I know that sounds kind of...whatever...but it's true.  It was an amazing experience.

uni: What about San Andreas? Did you like it?
Jordan: San Andreas was a great game, but there was something small about it that kept it from being perfect.  It may have been the size, but I'm not sure.  Perhaps it was the lack of multiplayer.  I'll never know.

uni: Ever tried one of the multiplayers mods avaible? If you find a neat servers, especially roleplay modes, that will add a lot of gameplay hours to your game.
Jordan: I have tried MTA, SA-MP, GTAT and others.  They are all remarkable creations and it really shows how the community can come together to create something great.  MTA and SA-MP seem to have made big strides, and in the end they were fantastic.  My hats go off to the years of work they all spent.

uni: How about Advance and the stories, have you played them yet? Especially the stories.
Jordan: I played a little bit of LCS, but that was it.  I'm ready for next-gen Vice City, by the way

uni: Tell us more about your everyday work at PlanetGTA, do you receive a lot of e-mails, forum stuff, news hunting.
Jordan: I get a lot of e-mails every day from readers of PlanetGTA.  It's kind of funny sometimes.  I get a lot of badly translated "what for the vice city ps2" e-mails.  I don't know what that means, but I get that question often.  I have never taken for granted what I have.  I am very thankful that I am able to greet such a large fanbase.  Thanks to everyone that has supported me.

uni: You announced a few weeks ago GTA Hood. Explain us what is it about, how is it going. Did it met all the goals you were waiting for?
Jordan: GTA 'Hood had two main goals.  First, we wanted to get the interactive map going, and we have done just that.  Second, we wanted to get the wiki going, and it's going strong!  I am proud of its success, but there were many more involved than me.  It really has been a team effort.

uni: It's great that one of the largest Official fan-sites is supporting other ones, you don't see that much. Most of them
do not even allowed publicity to other sites. What expectations do you have for this project?
Jordan: I love helping out other websites.  I realize the privileged position I am in, being hosted by IGN, and I want to help other sites.

uni: About your trip to NY, how was it to play GTAIV ahead of time, well the trip itself and meeting the R* folks. (You can read Jordan's article about this trip over here.)
Jordan: It was an experience I will never forget.  The food was awesome, the view from the penthouse was once in a lifetime and the Rockstar people were very kind and generous. It was one of the best experiences of my life.  It was one of the only times I have ever felt like I could get cocky about a vacation and not feel bad for getting cocky.  I really never am very cocky, so when that side of me actually does come out, it's noticeable.

uni: GTAIV, what do you think about it? Just another great GTA or is it a valid candidate to replace one of the GTAIII's series?
Jordan: I love GTA IV even more now after just returning from NYC a second time within three months.  I noticed so many things in the game that are from the real city...small things like a Bumper Cars building at Firefly Island with a small ticket booth out front that truly was recreated wonderfully.  It's amazing the work that Rockstar Games did.

uni: Did you tried all the multiplayer modes in GTAIV already? Which one did you like the most?
Jordan: Yes, and I like GTA Race best.  There's nothing better than seeing who's first place on the list and, during the last lap, ruining their almost victory.

uni: What's your thoughts on the first episode that's coming?
Jordan: I hope one of the episodes enables the Screamer and other rides at the amusement park on Firefly Island to work.  I am disappointed that after all of these years, we still don't have a good and working amusement park in any of the GTA games.

Thank you for the time you took to take these questions Jordan, and to everyone who took a few minutes to read this. Keep watching PlanetGTA for Jordan's work and GTApt for more interviews, let's hope it doesn't take too long for the next one to come out.