When was Grand Theft Auto the video game first released?

Grand Theft Auto is an action-adventure video game developed by DMA Design and published by BMG Interactive. It was first released in Europe and North America in October 1997 for MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows. It was later re-released on 12 December 1997 in Europe and 30 June 1998 in North America for the PlayStation. It is the first instalment of the "Grand Theft Auto" series, to be followed by 1999's "Grand Theft Auto 2". The series, which has led to five main entries and several special edition games over 16 years, has sold more than 150 million units as of September 2013. The story follows a group of criminals in three fictionalised versions of US cities as they perform bank robberies, assassinations, and other illegal activities for their respective crime syndicates.

Grand Theft Auto (video game)

The game was originally intended to be named "Race'n'Chase" and to be developed for the Commodore Amiga, starting in 1996. However, it was nearly cancelled due to production issues.

Its successor, "Grand Theft Auto 2", was released in October 1999.

"Grand Theft Auto" is made up of six levels split between the three main cities. In each level, the player's ultimate objective is to reach a target number of points, which is typically achieved by performing tasks for the city's local crime syndicate. Each level is initiated at a telephone box and has its own unique set of tasks. Successful completion of a mission rewards the player with points and opens the opportunity to attempt harder missions for higher rewards, while failure awards fewer points and may permanently seal off opportunities for more tasks. Completing missions also increases the player's "multiplier", which increases the points the player gets for doing other tasks. When the player amasses the target score (which starts at $1,000,000, but becomes higher in the later levels), the next chapter is unlocked.

There are eight playable characters in the game, four male and four female: Travis, Troy, Bubba, Kivlov, Ulrika, Katie, Divine, and Mikki (the PlayStation version only includes the four male characters, however). In actual gameplay, there is no real difference, since all player-characters wear the identical yellow jumper, although they do wear different coloured trousers and hair colours to each other and have the correct skin colours. Players may also name their character which, with the correct name, acts like a cheat code and alters gameplay.

The player is free to do whatever they want, but have limited lives upon doing so. The player can gain points by causing death and destruction amid the traffic in the city, or steal and sell cars for profit. To get to the large target money required to complete a level, players will usually opt to complete at least some missions to build up their multiplier. Some criminal acts have an inherent multiplier; for example, using a police car for running over people doubles the number of points received. If the player is arrested then their multiplier is halved. Unlike in later games in the series, the player can be killed, or "wasted", in one hit without body armour. If the player is wasted then they lose a life. In both cases the player loses their current equipment. If the player is wasted too many times, they must restart the level.

Even during missions there is still some freedom as most of the time the player is free to choose the route to take, but the destination is usually fixed. It was this level of freedom which set "Grand Theft Auto" apart from other action based computer games at the time. The PC releases of the game allowed networked multiplayer gameplay using the IPX protocol. Some places in the game have to be unlocked by completing missions.

"Grand Theft Auto" takes place in 1997 in three primary settings, all of which are modelled on real locales: Liberty City is based on New York City, Vice City is based on Miami, and San Andreas is based on San Francisco. All three suffer from rampant crime and corruption, with constant feuding between the local crime syndicates, random acts of violence from street gangs, organised thievery and murder, and corrupt city officials and police officers.

While "", "" and "Grand Theft Auto 2" would use different locations, these three cities have been individually revisited as the settings in later Grand Theft Auto games, with differing layouts - for example, Liberty City was the sole city in "Grand Theft Auto III", "Grand Theft Auto Advance", "", and "Grand Theft Auto IV", Vice City was the city in "" and "", and San Andreas, becoming a state based on regions of California and Nevada, was the setting for "" and "Grand Theft Auto V".

The development of "Grand Theft Auto" began on 4 April 1995 at DMA Design in Dundee. It originally had a protracted four-year development, which included a title change and numerous attempts to halt development.

The game was originally titled "Race'n'Chase". It was originally planned to be released on MS-DOS, Windows 95, PlayStation, Sega Saturn and the Nintendo 64. However, it was never released for the two latter consoles. During the development of "Grand Theft Auto", many people overseeing the game's progress attempted to halt the development, which led the crew at DMA Design to have to convince them to allow them to continue.

There were specific milestones planned for "Grand Theft Auto", none of which were met:

An original design document, dated 22 March 1995, was posted online by Mike Dailly on 22 March 2011. The author of the document credited is K.R. Hamilton, and the released version is 1.05. It contained information about elements of the game discussed in various meetings held from 23 January 1995 to the writing of the document which also contains many similarities to the 1986 Commodore 64 "Miami Vice".
According to the original design document, the introduction to "Grand Theft Auto" is a pre-drawn/rendered animation. The Windows 95 version was developed using Visual C++ v2.0. The DOS version was developed using Watcom C/C++ v10, Microsoft MASM 6.1 and Rational Systems DOS extender (DOS4GW) v 1.97.
The program used to make "Grand Theft Auto" was said to produce "a 3D array which can [be] used by both the perspective and the isometric engines". It was said to consist of "a grid editor which is used to place blocks on a grid, with a [separate] grid for each level", and "allow any block to be placed at any level". It was said that the world may have had to be 256×256×6 blocks.

The original concept of "Grand Theft Auto" was "to produce a fun, addictive and fast multi-player car racing and crashing game which uses a novel graphics method".

David Jones, the game's producer, cited "Pac-Man" as an influence. He noted that the player runs over pedestrians and gets chased by police in a similar manner to "Pac-Man".

Gary Penn, creative director of DMA at the time, cited "Elite" as a major influence, "But I'd been working on Frontier, which is very different and there were definitely other people on the team who had things like Syndicate, Mercenary and Elite very much in their minds as well. That combination definitely led to the more open plan structure there is now. The game as it stands now is basically "Elite" in a city, but without quite the same sense of taking on the jobs. You take on the jobs in a slightly different way, but incredibly similar structurally. It's just a much more acceptable real world setting. The game was cops and robbers and then that evolved fairly quickly -- nobody wants to be the cop, it's more fun to be bad. And then that evolved into "Grand Theft Auto"".

In an early 1997 interview, project leader Keith Hamilton commented, ""GTA" was harder than we thought. We're rewriting the handling of the cars at the moment. We've got the time as we're changing the graphics to 24-bit."

The original "Grand Theft Auto" was developed for MS-DOS, but then later ported to Microsoft Windows (using SciTech MGL), PlayStation (developed by Visual Sciences using their "ViSOS" framework), and Game Boy Color. The Game Boy Color version was technologically unabridged, which was quite a technical achievement due to the sheer size of the cities, converted tile-for-tile from the PC original, making them many times larger than most Game Boy Color game worlds were because of the handheld's limited hardware. To cater for the target younger generation, however, the game was heavily censored, with gore and swearing removed.

The PC version comes in several different executables for DOS and MS-Windows, which use single set of data files (except for the 8-bit colour DOS version which uses different but similar graphics). It was previously available as a free download as part of the Rockstar Classics (alongside "Wild Metal" and "Grand Theft Auto 2"), however the free download service is currently unavailable.

"Grand Theft Auto" was to be released on the Sega Saturn, but due to the console's rapid decline in popularity before development was finished, the project was halted and the game was never released. After the PlayStation's successful release, development began on "Grand Theft Auto 64", a port of the game for the Nintendo 64, rumoured to have graphical enhancements and new missions. However, development was cancelled without ever having a public appearance.

The cover art for "Grand Theft Auto" is a photograph of a New York Police Department 1980s Plymouth Gran Fury rushing through the intersection of Fifth Avenue and 56th Street, with Trump Tower in the background of the picture. The same cover art was also an alternative cover for "Grand Theft Auto 2" in selected markets.
There was also a cover featuring a yellow Buick GSX. There are other covers, but the one shown above is the most common.

"Grand Theft Auto" has seven "radio stations", plus a police band track, which can be heard once the player enters a car; however, each vehicle can only receive a limited number of these radio stations. In the PlayStation port each car only had two stations.

PC players can remove the CD once the game is loaded and replace it with an audio CD. The next time the character enters a vehicle, a song from the CD will randomly play. This can also be done in the PlayStation port.

The game's main theme is "Gangster Friday" by Craig Conner, credited to the fictitious band Slumpussy, and is played on N-CT FM. With the exception of Head Radio FM, the names of songs or the radio station names are never mentioned in-game. However, the soundtrack is listed in the booklet which comes with the game.

The Collector's Edition of the PC version included the soundtrack on a separate CD. The track-listing gives the names of the fictional radio stations, bands and their tracks, and for some of them the fictional album that they are from.

The game was a best-seller in the UK. By November 1998, global shipments to retailers of "Grand Theft Auto" computer and PlayStation versions had surpassed 1 million units combined. At the 1999 Milia festival in Cannes, it took home a "Gold" prize for revenues above €17 million in the European Union during 1998. The game was a commercial success, though it received mixed reviews upon release.

"GameSpot" 1998 review for "Grand Theft Auto" said that, although the graphics may look "a little plain", the music and sound effects are the opposite, praising the radio stations and the sound effects used to open and close vehicles. They also praised the freedom of the game, favouring it over other games that make the player follow a specific rule set and complete specific missions in a specific order.

"IGN" were critical of the graphics which were said to be "really quite shoddy" and dated. They were also unimpressed by the "fast-food programming and careless design", including the controls. Overall the game was considered to be fun but with problems which could have been fixed.

Grand Theft Auto 2 is an action-adventure video game developed by DMA Design and published by Rockstar Games. It was released on 22 October 1999 for Microsoft Windows and the PlayStation, followed by Dreamcast and Game Boy Color releases in 2000. It is the sequel to 1997's "Grand Theft Auto", part of the "Grand Theft Auto" series. The open world design lets players freely roam Anywhere City, the setting of the game.

Grand Theft Auto 2

The game is played from a top-down perspective and its world is navigated on foot or by vehicle. The game was made available on Steam on 4 January 2008 as part of a collection. Its successor, "Grand Theft Auto III", was released in October 2001.

"Grand Theft Auto 2" is set in an unspecified time in a retrofuturistic metropolis referred to only as "Anywhere, USA", but the game's manual and website use the phrase "three weeks into the future"; fictional journal entries on the "Grand Theft Auto 2" website suggest the year to be 2013, but rather the in-game references suggest the game to be set in 1999.

The city is split into three levels, or "districts". The first level, Downtown, is a hub of business activity as well as the site of a large mental institution and university. The second area, the Residential District, contains the city's prison, a trailer park with an Elvis Presley-themed bar dubbed "Disgracelands", a reference to Presley's mansion Graceland, a shopping mall, and a giant hydroelectric power plant. The third and final area is the Industrial District; it holds a large seaport, a meat packing plant, a Nuclear Power Plant and a Krishna temple.

There are a total of seven fictional criminal gangs, some named after real life gangs or groups, in the game: the Zaibatsu, a corrupt corporation, is present in all three areas. The Downtown area is also home to the Loonies, a gang of mentally ill people who have taken over the city asylum, and the Yakuza. In the Residential area, the gangs include SRS Scientists and the Rednecks, who live in a trailer park and drive around in pick-ups with large Confederate flags. The Industrial area contains the Russian Mafia and the Hare Krishna. Each gang has their own special characteristics, car, and behaviour.

The game can be played in two modes (only in the PC version), noon or dusk. On the noon setting the lighting is bright making the game clear to see (also lowering the graphics overhead on low-end hardware because of the fewer lighting effects). On the dusk setting the game is darker, with multiple dynamic lights from explosions and car headlights. The Dreamcast version of the game can only be played in the dusk setting, while the PlayStation version of the game can only be played in the noon setting. This feature was expanded further in "Grand Theft Auto III" where the daylight changes with the time of day in the game.

"Grand Theft Auto 2" retained the overhead viewpoint of "Grand Theft Auto", as well as the car-stealing/telephone-answering formula of the original. Claude Speed, the player character and protagonist, has the ability to explore cities on foot or in various vehicles. The aim is to achieve a certain score. On achieving this goal the player then can proceed to the next level. Doing missions awards the player more points than any other method but are not essential for completion of the game.

A new feature introduced in "Grand Theft Auto 2" was doing missions for separate gangs, of which there are two new gangs for each of the three levels of the game, and one faction which is present in all levels. Being employed by one gang can cause distrust from others (working for gang No. 1 will incur the wrath of gang No. 2, working for gang No. 2 will cause enmity with gang No. 3, etc.). In the original "Grand Theft Auto", only the local police pursued the player. In "Grand Theft Auto 2", SWAT teams (4 Copheads) are introduced in the Downtown District, while Special Agents (5 Copheads) and the army (6 Copheads) are introduced in the Residential and Industrial Districts. These additional types of law enforcement begin chasing the player as his or her wanted level increases. The wanted level is represented by images of a cop's head, and vary between the Windows and PlayStation versions.

"Grand Theft Auto 2" introduced an improved saving technique, unlike the original game, which saved only when finishing a city. If the player entered a church with $50,000, a voice announced "Hallelujah! Another soul saved!". This notified the player that the game had been saved. If the player did not have enough money, the voice would say "Damnation! No donation, no salvation!". These messages are not heard on the PlayStation version.

Other improvements pertain to city activity. Passing vehicles and pedestrians are no longer cosmetic parts of the environment, but actually play a role in gameplay. Sometimes pedestrians would occasionally enter and ride in taxis or buses. The game is noted for the behaviour of its non-player characters. Pedestrians, gang members and the police would occasionally engage in fights, and there are other carjackers (Green sweater) and muggers (Red sweater with white arms) in the city.

This game introduces'side missions' such as being a taxi driver, bus driver, and a semi-truck driver along with retrieving 'hidden' packages ('GTA2' Badges) or Wang Cars (play on 'wankers'), and a health meter. Being a taxidriver would earn roughly 1 dollar per second. When standing still, passengers could get out if they want to, and the earnings will stop. Wang Cars only appeared in the second district. They were well hidden and usually required the player to take a severe amount of highspeed jumps to reach the cars, some of them parked on top of buildings. When the car was entered, the player spawned at the Wang Cars garage, with the garagedoor of the collected car lighting up. Collecting all cars resulted in 8 bonus vehicles parked outside the garage. Among these were cars prepped with oilslicks, integrated machineguns and a firetruck, living up its name as its watercannon was replaced with a flamethrower.

Some weapons in "Grand Theft Auto 2" feature a "Kill Frenzy" mission when picked up, where a player has a limited amount of time to kill a certain number of people with a particular weapon loaded. Bonuses are rewarded if the mission is successful. Also if a player finds a tank and gets in it a "Kill Frenzy" mission also starts, and finally in random parts of the city are parked special cars, and if the player gets on one he has to either kill people by running them over or kill them with any extra weapon that the car has. There is a glitch involving the Kill Frenzy as it is possible to save when having it. When the game is then reloaded, the Kill Frenzy ends, but the almost unlimited ammunition remains until that same weapon is picked up or a more than usually allowed amount of ammunition is wasted.

The PlayStation version of "Grand Theft Auto 2" is toned down from the PC version, with lower quotas for the number of kills needed in rampage style missions, and containing no voice acting in the saving interface. The port also includes a feature where the player car will explode after the player kills a large number of gang members. One mission was also changed. Instead of the player tricking civilians into entering a bus to drive them to a meat processing plant to be cannibalised, the victims are Hare Krishna gang members.

As is the case with the original "Grand Theft Auto" and "", the player receives bonuses for running his car over certain people without stopping or braking. A string of Elvis impersonators are sometimes spotted walking the streets. If a player can kill them in a short amount of time, they are awarded with a large money bonus, followed by the bold words "Elvis has left the building".

"Grand Theft Auto 2" features four multiplayer modes: Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Tag and Race.

There are trains in the PC version, which the players can ride on.

The opening cutscene of the game was pieced together using live-action footage taken from an eight-minute short film created for the purpose of advertising the game, known as GTA 2 – The Movie. This film has since been made available to the public and is downloadable from Rockstar's website. Claude Speed is played by Scott Maslen in the film.

The short film shows Claude being murdered (shot by "The Cleaner" a Zaibatsu assassin played by Ian McQue) while trying to break into a sports car. It was shot in 1999 New York City with the World Trade Center in clear view, instead of the game's anonymous city of the future (it should be noted, however, that two fictional locations were mentioned in the film: "Chernobyl Docks" and "Disgraceland", the latter being the name of a district featured in "Grand Theft Auto 2"). The film depicts a blue-and-white NYPD 1991–1992 Chevrolet Caprice police car as a pursuit vehicle, as well as a black BMW 5 Series (E39) driven by Claude, which is later repainted white.

Each area features five radio stations from a pool of eleven, one of which is heard as the player drives most vehicles in game. Changing radio stations for preference is possible. "Head Radio" was present in the original "Grand Theft Auto", "Grand Theft Auto III" and "Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories". Each gang has its own radio station that transmits within a limited area. Police vehicles, ambulances, fire trucks and tanks had no ability to listen to the radio channels. Instead, the player would hear the radio transmitter of the emergency services.

All the music and the ads included in the game are exclusive, following the tradition of previous games. People in charge of the musical content were Craig Conner, Stuart Ross, Paul Scargill, Colin Anderson, Bert Reid and Moving Shadow. Some of these producers would keep their work on subsequent GTA releases.

The Game Boy Color version uses some real songs, one of which is a sped up version of Back in Black by AC/DC. The Character Selection theme is an old Brazilian song titled "Chega de Saudade".

"Grand Theft Auto 2"s computer version received a "Silver" sales award from the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA), indicating sales of at least 100,000 copies in the United Kingdom. The game's PlayStation version received a "Platinum" sales award (300,000 or more units in the United Kingdom) from ELSPA.

"Grand Theft Auto 2" was released to mixed reviews. The game's graphics received mixed reactions from critics, who noted that they had barely any difference to the graphics in the original game. IGN's Tal Blevins called them "average at best", and that the scenery is "hard to appreciate". Jeff Gerstmann of GameSpot said that the "graphics look a bit plain." The game's soundtrack received positive feedback, with Jeff Gerstmann calling it a "great soundtrack", and that it "closely [mirrors] the station-style of the original game. Tal Blevins of IGN called it "one of the best features" of the game.

"Grand Theft Auto 2"s gameplay elements received mixed reactions. IGN's Jeremy Dunham said that the gameplay is "where the game really takes a punch to the stomach", and that it "could've been a lot better." Tal Blevins called it "simple, but effective." Jeff Gerstmann said that "even though the gameplay is largely the same as in the previous "GTA", it's still a lot of fun." "Edge" highlighted the game's story development and inventive missions, stating that "Grand Theft Auto 2" "manages to draw you deep into the complexities of its world".

"Grand Theft Auto", the first game in the series, was released for Microsoft Windows and MS-DOS in October 1997, ported to the PlayStation in 1998 and the Game Boy Color in 1999. "Grand Theft Auto 2" was released in 1999 for Microsoft Windows, later receiving ports on the PlayStation, Dreamcast and Game Boy Color.

Grand Theft Auto

Grand Theft Auto (GTA) is an action-adventure video game series created by David Jones and Mike Dailly; the later titles of which were created by brothers Dan and Sam Houser, Leslie Benzies and Aaron Garbut. It is primarily developed by Rockstar North (formerly DMA Design), and published by Rockstar Games. The name of the series references the term used in the US for motor vehicle theft.

Most games in the series are set in fictional locales modelled on cities, usually either Liberty City, Vice City or San Andreas, which are stand-ins for New York City, Miami and the state of California, respectively. The first game encompassed three fictional cities, while subsequent titles tend to emphasise a single setting. Gameplay focuses on an open world where the player can choose missions to progress an overall story, as well as engaging in side activities, all consisting of action-adventure, driving, third-person shooting, carjacking, occasional role-playing, stealth and racing elements. The series focuses on many different protagonists who attempt to rise through the ranks of the criminal underworld, although their motives for doing so vary in each game. The series also has elements of the earlier beat 'em up games from the 16-bit era. The antagonists are commonly characters who have betrayed the protagonist or his organisation, or characters who have the most impact impeding the protagonist's progress. Film and music veterans have voiced characters, including Ray Liotta, Burt Reynolds, Dennis Hopper, Samuel L. Jackson, James Woods, Debbie Harry, Phil Collins, Axl Rose and Peter Fonda.

British video game developer DMA Design began the series in., it has eleven stand-alone games and four expansion packs. The third chronological title, "Grand Theft Auto III", is considered a landmark title, as it brought the series to a 3D setting and more immersive experience. Subsequent titles have followed and built upon the concept established in "Grand Theft Auto III", and received significant acclaim. They have influenced many other open-world action games, and led to the label "Grand Theft Auto clone" on similar games.

The series has been critically acclaimed and commercially successful, having shipped more than 250 million units, making it the fourth-highest selling video game franchise of all time, behind Nintendo's "Mario" and "Pokémon" franchises, and "Tetris". In 2006, "Grand Theft Auto" was featured in a list of British design icons in the Great British Design Quest organised by the BBC and the Design Museum. In 2013, "The Telegraph" ranked "Grand Theft Auto" among Britain's most successful exports. The series has also been controversial for its adult nature and violent themes.

The "Grand Theft Auto" series is split into separate fictional universes, named after the primary level of graphics capability used in each era. The original "Grand Theft Auto", its expansions and its sequel are considered the "2D universe". "Grand Theft Auto III" and its sequels are considered the "3D universe". "Grand Theft Auto IV", its expansions and "Grand Theft Auto V" are considered the "HD universe". Each universe is considered separate with only brands, place names and background characters shared between them.

The PlayStation 2 also featured three instalments of the main series, all of which have been re-released on several platforms; a deal between Take-Two Interactive and Sony Computer Entertainment resulted in their timed exclusivity on the PlayStation 2, before receiving ports to Microsoft Windows and the Xbox. The 2001 title "Grand Theft Auto III" moved away from the two-dimension (2D) graphics used in the first two games to three-dimension (3D) computer graphics "" was published in 2002, and was the first to feature a speaking protagonist, voiced by Ray Liotta. "", released in 2004, introduced various new elements, including character customisation and a large map encompassing three cities and surrounding rural area.

Two main instalments were published for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The 2008 title "Grand Theft Auto IV" focused on realism and detail, removing various customisation features, while adding an online multiplayer mode. "Grand Theft Auto V", published in 2013, featured three playable protagonists. It was released to massive financial success, breaking multiple records. It was later re-released with various enhancements, in 2014 for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, and in 2015 for Microsoft Windows.

"Grand Theft Auto" has spawned numerous additional games and expansion packs. In 1999, the original game received two expansion packs: "" and "". "Grand Theft Auto Advance", released in 2004 for the Game Boy Advance, featured a top-down perspective. Three games were released for the PlayStation Portable. The 2005 game "" is a prequel to "Grand Theft Auto III", while the 2006 game "" is a prequel to "Vice City"; both games were later ported to the PlayStation 2. In 2009, "" was released for the Nintendo DS, and later ported to the PlayStation Portable. In 2009, "" and "" were released for the Xbox 360 as expansion packs to "Grand Theft Auto IV"; a "strategic alliance" between Rockstar and Microsoft resulted in the timed exclusivity. They were later released on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Microsoft Windows as part of a compilation, titled "Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City".

Numerous titles in the series have received ports to mobile devices. "Chinatown Wars" was released for iOS in 2010 and for Android and Fire OS in 2014. For their tenth anniversaries, "Grand Theft Auto III" and "Vice City" were both re-released for iOS and Android in 2011 and 2012, respectively. In 2013, "San Andreas" was ported to iOS, Android and Windows Phone and RT; the mobile port was later re-released for Xbox 360 in 2014, the year of the game's tenth anniversary, and the following year for PlayStation 3. In 2015 "Liberty City Stories" was ported to iOS, Android and Fire OS.

"Grand Theft Auto Double Pack" was released in 2003 for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox. It includes "Grand Theft Auto III" and "Vice City". "Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy" is a compilation of "III", "Vice City", and "San Andreas". The compilation was first released in 2005 for the Xbox. Later it was released for the PlayStation 2, Windows, Mac OS X, and PlayStation 4. "The Trilogy" also served as the revised package for "San Andreas", which had to be pulled from shelves due to the controversial "Hot Coffee" mod.

"Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City" is a standalone compilation of the episodes for "Grand Theft Auto IV". It contains both "The Lost and Damned" and "The Ballad of Gay Tony" on one disc. It was released on 29 October 2009 for the Xbox 360 and on 13 April 2010 for Microsoft Windows and PlayStation 3. Microsoft added "Episodes from Liberty City" to its backwards compatibility list for Xbox One platforms in February 2017.

The series has been expanded into various other formats. "Jacked: The Outlaw Story of Grand Theft Auto", a book written by David Kushner chronicling the development of the series, was published in 2012. In March 2015, BBC Two announced "The Gamechangers", a 90-minute docudrama based on the creation of "Grand Theft Auto", Directed by Owen Harris and written by James Wood, the drama stars Daniel Radcliffe as Rockstar president Sam Houser and Bill Paxton as disbarred attorney Jack Thompson. In May 2015, Rockstar filed a lawsuit against the BBC for trademark infringement, stating that they had no involvement with the development of the film and had unsuccessfully tried to contact the BBC to resolve the matter. It first aired on 15 September 2015 on BBC Two.

In 2006, McFarland & Company published "The Meaning and Culture of Grand Theft Auto". Compiled by Nate Garrelts, the 264-page book is a collection of essays regarding the "Grand Theft Auto" series, to help audiences better understand the games and to make a point about due diligence of game criticism. The book is divided into two parts: the first part discusses the controversies surrounding the series, while the second half takes a theoretical look at the games absent of the controversy.

A planned film adaptation of the series is unable to proceed because of a lawsuit by Roger Corman, who produced the 1977 film "Grand Theft Auto". In 2017, Corman said "I actually sued the video game manufacturer who flat-out stole the idea. We settled out of court and they gave me some money. I retain the right to remake it, but the way it was actually written in the contract is a little bit cloudy. My lawyers are actually studying that contract to make certain that I have a clear title to remake my picture, and I will remake "Grand Theft Auto"."

Each game in this series allows the player to take on the role of a criminal in the big city, typically an individual who plans to rise through the ranks of organised crime through the course of the game. The player is given various missions by kingpins and major idols in the city underworld which must be completed to progress through the storyline. Assassinations and other violent crimes are featured regularly. Occasionally taxi driving, firefighting, street racing, bus driving, or learning to fly helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft are also involved in the game.

In later titles, notably those released after "Grand Theft Auto 2", the player is given a more developed storyline in which they are forced to overcome an unfortunate event (e.g., being betrayed and left for dead), which serves as motivation for the character to advance up the criminal ladder and ultimately leads to the triumph of the character by the end of the storyline.

The "Grand Theft Auto" series belongs to a genre of free-roaming role-playing video games called open world games, and grants a large amount of freedom to the player. Traditional action games are structured as a single track series of levels with linear gameplay, but in "Grand Theft Auto" the player can determine the missions that they want to undertake, and their relationship with various characters are changed based on these choices. Influenced by the earlier game "Turbo Esprit", the cities of the games can be roamed freely at any point in the game, and are examples of open world video game environments which offer accessible buildings with minor missions in addition to the main storyline. There are exceptions: missions follow a linear, overarching plot. These missions are required to complete in order to unlock new areas in the game.

"Grand Theft Auto III" and subsequent games have more voice acting and radio stations, which simulate driving to music with disc jockeys, radio personalities, commercials, talk radio, pop music, and American culture.

The use of vehicles in an explorable urban environment provides a basic simulation of a working city, complete with pedestrians who generally obey traffic signals. Further details are used to flesh out an open-ended atmosphere that has been used in several other games, such as "", which has less emphasis on crime or violence, and "Lego City Undercover", which reverses the roles of police officer and criminal, although the player goes undercover in gangs for a portion of the game.
Criminal activities in "Grand Theft Auto" games do not go unnoticed by the police. As the player engages in these in-game illegal activities, they may gain a "wanted level", represented by a maximum of five or six stars. A small crime, such as running over a non-player character, may create a one star wanted level situation, while shooting an officer may earn more stars. As the number of stars increase, the amount and strength of the response will increase; a single star might have a few police cars chase after the player, while at 5 or 6 stars, tanks and attack helicopters will chase down the player. Many in-game missions will automatically give the player a wanted level after completing a certain event which they must then get rid of before the mission is complete. Often, trying to keep away from the police while wanted will cause the player to gain even higher wanted levels. The player can remove their character's wanted level by avoiding detection or spending in-game money at specific locations to elude the police (such as a mod shop to repaint their car). Alternatively, if the player-character dies, they will respawn at a hospital and the wanted level will be removed, though the player may lose money, guns, and other benefits they had before being chased. The "wanted level" gameplay concept has become common in other "GTA" Clones and similar open world games.

The "Grand Theft Auto" series is set in a fictional version of the world, in a number of different time periods. The original "Grand Theft Auto" introduced three main cities: Liberty City, based upon New York City, Vice City, based upon Miami, and San Andreas, based upon mostly parts of California. In the first "Grand Theft Auto" game, San Andreas was based on San Francisco and parts of Las Vegas. Expansion packs later set the game in London.

The second entry in the franchise, "Grand Theft Auto 2", set the game in the future in a locale named "Anywhere City".

Subsequent games in the series have re-imagined and expanded upon the original locales. "Grand Theft Auto III" is set in a different rendition of Liberty City only loosely based on New York City. A revised Vice City and San Andreas are depicted in "" and "", respectively, the latter of which takes the form of an entire state, instead of a single city. The state of San Andreas is based on the states of California and Nevada, and consists of three major cities: Los Santos (Los Angeles), San Fierro (San Francisco), and Las Venturas (Las Vegas). Surrounding towns and areas of desert, water, woodland, and countryside lie between the three cities. The "GTA III" rendition of Liberty City is also briefly featured during one mission.

"" and "", originally released for PlayStation Portable handheld console and later re-issued for other consoles, are set few years before their previous depictions of their respective eponymous cities. The maps for the two cities remain the same, with some differences in terms of buildings and geography to reflect the different time periods.

"Grand Theft Auto IV" and its subsequent expansion packs "" and "" are set in a third revision of Liberty City, set in 2008, which is a closer analogue to New York City and its boroughs than the "GTA III" version. "" is also set in this version of Liberty City, although the Alderney portion of the map is not present.

"Grand Theft Auto V", released in 2013, is set in a revised depiction of southern San Andreas that only features Los Santos (Los Angeles) to the south and the rural Blaine County to the north. It includes revised landmarks such as the "Vinewood" sign (instead of Hollywood), Rockford Hills (instead of Beverly Hills), Del Perro Pier (instead of Santa Monica Pier), Los Santos International Airport (LSX) (instead of LAX), Los Santos Golf Club (instead of Los Angeles Country Club.), and Galileo Observatory (instead of Griffith Observatory). The game also features the town of Ludendorff in the fictional state of North Yankton. Los Angeles was extensively researched for "Grand Theft Auto V". The team organised field research trips with tour guides and architectural historians and captured around 250,000 photos and hours of video footage during these visits. Since the release of the game, hundreds of in-game buildings have been identified as being based on real-world landmarks. "The New Yorker"s Sam Sweet notes that, with sales of game reaching thirteen million copies, "there will be more people living in the imaginary state of Los Santos than in the real city on which it was modelled."

In both "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas" and "Grand Theft Auto V", Los Santos and the state of San Andreas are depicted as being on an island an undetermined distance from the US mainland. In both games it is possible to circumnavigate the state by boat. Similarly, the versions of Liberty City and Alderney in "Grand Theft Auto IV" and expansion packs are also completely located on islands, as is Vice City. The "GTA III" rendition of Liberty City however, while mostly island, is connected to mainland on its Northwest corner (a region the player cannot navigate).

Only the expansion packs for the original "Grand Theft Auto", "" and "", set in London, have featured a location outside the United States and used a real-life location.

The series has included a wide variety of voice actors. The original "Grand Theft Auto", its and its sequel, as well as "Grand Theft Auto Advance" and "" did not feature any voice credited to specific roles. The first game in the series to do so was "Grand Theft Auto III" which, despite a limited budget and the series' low profile at the time, featured several notable actors from film and television. These included Frank Vincent, Michael Madsen and Kyle MacLachlan, who all had prominent roles. At the time it was rare for a video game to use such high-profile actors, and "Grand Theft Auto III" is considered a pioneer in doing so. The next game, "", featured more film actors, including Ray Liotta as the player character. Although the following title, "", also featured many notable film actors—such as Samuel L. Jackson, Peter Fonda and James Woods—it had been decided that the use of such actors should be reduced, particularly for leading roles. As a result, many of the prominent roles in "San Andreas" were voiced by lower profile actors or rappers.

From "" through to "Grand Theft Auto V", the series has continued using lesser known actors to voice main characters, but still uses celebrities and real-life radio personalities to voice the DJs of the many radio stations featured in each game. Some games also feature celebrities portraying themselves, such as Lazlow Jones, Phil Collins, Ricky Gervais and Katt Williams.

According to "The Guinness World Records" 2008 and 2009 Gamer's Edition, it is the most controversial video game series in history, with over 4,000 articles published about it, which include accusations of glamorising violence, corrupting gamers, and connection to real life crimes.

The game was controversial from the very first incarnation of the series. "Grand Theft Auto" was condemned in Britain, Germany, and France due to its "extreme violence", and Brazil banned it outright. Publicist Max Clifford planted sensational stories in tabloids in order to help sell the first game.

The controversies flared up again with "Grand Theft Auto III", since the 3D graphics made the violence more realistic, and players could pay for the services of prostitutes to restore their health, and if they wished, kill them to get some of their money back.

There is also criticism from the focus on illegal activities in comparison with traditional "heroic" roles that other games offer. The main character can commit a wide variety of crimes and violent acts while dealing with only temporary consequences, including the killing of policemen and military personnel.

The sixth game in the series, "", also came under criticism. One mission in particular, in which the player must instigate a gang war between Haitian and Cuban gangs, has been controversial. Haitian and Cuban anti-defamation groups criticised the game.

Jean-Robert Lafortune of the Haitian American Grassroots Coalition is quoted as saying that "The game shouldn't be designed to destroy human life, it shouldn't be designed to destroy an ethnic group," for this and similar scenarios, including lines in the game's script such as "kill the Haitian dickheads" said by character "Diaz" during an altercation between the player and a Haitian gang. After the threat of a lawsuit by the Haitian-American Grassroots Coalition, Rockstar removed the word "Haitians" from this phrase in the game's subtitles.

"San Andreas" was criticised initially due to its "gangster" elements, which include drugs, prostitution, and murder. Later it received additional criticism after the discovery of an interactive sex minigame, nicknamed Hot Coffee; initially cut from the game, it remained in the game code, and was discovered in both the console and Windows versions of the game.

After the release of "", modders managed to find the unused code in the game and released unofficial patches for the Windows and Xbox (with a modchip) versions as well as a PlayStation 2 version through the use of an Action Replay code enabling the player to engage in these sexual mini-games (dubbed "Hot Coffee" in reference to a euphemism for sex used in the game). These mini-games were left partially intact in the game's code. This prompted application of an AO (Adults Only) ESRB rating to the version of the game containing the leftover code. Take-Two Interactive was forced to re-release the game in order to restore the M (Mature) rating. A class action lawsuit against Take-Two was also filed as a result of the "Hot Coffee" code.

One of the controversies involved with this game was Mothers Against Drunk Driving's (MADD) criticism of the ability to drink and drive as a new feature. MADD had even requested ESRB to change the rating of the game from "M" for ages seventeen and up to "AO", for adults only, because they felt it was inappropriate for children, even at the age of seventeen, to experience drunk driving in such a manner. In the final game, drunk driving is a playable event, but it is a crime that automatically generates a wanted rating and main playable character Niko Bellic loudly (and drunkenly) proclaims that it is a "bad idea" and that he "should know better".

Notably, it is impossible to drive while drunk in the "GTA IV" expansions, "The Lost and Damned" and "The Ballad of Gay Tony". These were released after the criticism. It is, however, possible to drive drunk again in the successor, "Grand Theft Auto V".

"" expansion pack for "Grand Theft Auto IV" was condemned by US parents group Common Sense Media who issued a public warning against the pack's content due to a full-frontal nudity scene during one of the cutscenes. They claimed the game was "more controversial than its predecessors" because it featured "full frontal male nudity".

There has been some controversy over a drug dealing minigame along with comments that some Nintendo games are being aimed at children (despite the fact that the game was rated Mature). The drug dealing mini-game allows players to peddle six types of drugs around the city, but the profit the player makes depends on market conditions, which will be based on the area in which they deal, and the level of regular service this area receives from them.

A segment in the latest instalment caused controversy for scenes containing player initiated torture. The mission "By the Book" features graphic depictions of kneecapping, electrocution, dental extraction and waterboarding, and the player is required to perform the acts in order to progress in the game.

UK-based charity Freedom from Torture publicly condemned the use of torture scenes in "Grand Theft Auto V". The organisation, who works to rehabilitate survivors of torture, joined other human rights charities who were outraged at a torture scene in the game in which the players have to pull teeth and electrocute an unarmed man in order to extract information. The charity's CEO Keith Best stated: “Rockstar North has crossed a line by effectively forcing people to take on the role of a torturer and perform a series of unspeakable acts if they want to achieve success in the game."

The game has also been accused of sexism. The "Los Angeles Times" considered the game's satirical portrayals of women uncreative, and added that violent and sexist themes hurt the game experience. "Edge" noted that while "every female in the game exists solely to be sneered, leered or laughed at", it treated its all-male lead characters in a similar vein through their stereotyped tendencies towards violence. Sam Houser, Rockstar Games co-founder, felt that the development team sometimes overlooked their portrayal of women in "Grand Theft Auto" games, but that the weight towards male characters "fit with the story we wanted to tell".

Several celebrities have sued Rockstar Games and/or Take-Two Interactive for purportedly violating their intellectual property or personality rights, including hip-hop artist Daz Dillinger, Karen Gravano of "Mob Wives", and actress Lindsay Lohan.

Former lawyer Jack Thompson has been involved in a number of attempts to get families of murder victims to hold the "Grand Theft Auto" series accountable for the death of their loved ones. Due to his conduct in this and related cases, Thompson was disbarred in 2008 and was fined more than $100,000 by the Florida Bar Association.

On 20 October 2003, the families of Aaron Hamel and Kimberly Bede, two young people shot by teens William and Josh Buckner (who in statements to investigators claimed their actions were inspired by "Grand Theft Auto III") filed a US$246 million lawsuit against publishers Rockstar Games, Take-Two Interactive Software, retailer Walmart, and PlayStation 2 manufacturer Sony Computer Entertainment America. Rockstar and its parent company, Take-Two, filed for dismissal of the lawsuit, stating in US District Court on 29 October 2003 that the "ideas and concepts as well as the 'purported psychological effects' on the Buckners are protected by the First Amendment's free-speech clause". The lawyer of the victims, Jack Thompson, denied that, but failed in his attempt to move the lawsuit into a state court and under Tennessee's consumer protection act. Two days later, the plaintiffs filed a Notice of Voluntary Dismissal, and the case was closed.

In February 2005, a lawsuit was brought upon the makers and distributors of the "Grand Theft Auto" series claiming the games caused a teenager to shoot and kill three members of the Alabama police force. The shooting took place in June 2003 when Devin Moore, 17 years old at the time, was taken in for questioning by police in Fayette, Alabama regarding a stolen vehicle. Moore then grabbed a pistol from one of the police officers and shot and killed him along with another officer and dispatcher before fleeing in a police car. One of Moore's attorneys, Jack Thompson, claimed it was "Grand Theft Auto"s graphic nature—with his constant playing time—that caused Moore to commit the murders, and Moore's family agrees. Damages were being sought from branches of GameStop and Wal-Mart in Jasper, Alabama, the stores from which "Grand Theft Auto III" and "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City", respectively, were purchased and also from the games' publisher Take-Two Interactive, and the PlayStation 2 manufacturer Sony Computer Entertainment. On 29 March 2006 the case was dismissed and permission to appeal was denied.

In May 2005, Jack Thompson appeared via satellite on the "Glenn Beck" program on CNN's Headline News. Thompson mentioned Devin Moore and said regarding "Grand Theft Auto III" and "" "There's no doubt in my mind [...] that but for Devin Moore's training on this cop killing simulator, he would not have been able to kill three cops in Fayette, Alabama who are now dead and in the ground. We are suing Take-Two, Sony, Wal-Mart, and GameStop for having trained Devin Moore to kill. He had no history of violence. No criminal record."

In September 2006, Thompson brought another lawsuit, claiming that Cody Posey played the game obsessively before murdering his father Delbert Paul Posey, stepmother Tryone Schmid, and stepsister Marilea Schmid on a ranch in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The suit was filed on behalf of the victims' families. The suit alleged that were it not for his obsessive playing of "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City", the murders would not have taken place. Named in the suit were Cody Posey, Rockstar Games, Take-Two Interactive, and Sony. The suit asked for US$600 million in damages. During the criminal trial, Posey's defence team argued he was abused by his father, and tormented by his stepmother. Posey was also taking Zoloft at the time of the killings. The lawsuit was dismissed in December 2007.

Ever since the release of "Grand Theft Auto III" in 2001, the "Grand Theft Auto" series has been a major success, both critically and financially. It has generated perfect or near perfect reviews and scores on almost all of the games; by September 2013, the series sold over 150 million copies worldwide, and, "Grand Theft Auto" shipped over 220 million units worldwide. "The Times Online" reported that "Grand Theft Auto IV" recorded 609,000 copies in the UK on its first day of release. In its first week, "Grand Theft Auto IV" sold approximately 6 million copies worldwide and grossed over $500 million.

In 2006, "Grand Theft Auto" was voted one of Britain's top 10 designs in the Great British Design Quest organised by the BBC and the Design Museum. The game appeared in a list of British design icons which included Concorde, Jaguar E-Type, Aston Martin DB5, Mini, World Wide Web, "Tomb Raider", K2 telephone box, London tube map, AEC Routemaster bus and the Supermarine Spitfire.

The series has broken several records, resulting in Guinness World Records awarding the series 10 world records in the "Gamer's Edition 2008". These records include Most Guest Stars in a Video Game Series, Largest Voice Cast in a Video Game ("Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas"), Largest In-Game Soundtrack ("Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas") as well as Most Successful Entertainment Launch of All Time ("Grand Theft Auto V"). Guinness World Records also ranked "Grand Theft Auto" in third place on their list of top 50 console games of all time based on initial impact and lasting legacy. "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas" is listed as the most successful game on the PlayStation 2 according to "The Guinness World Records 2009 Gamer's Edition".

"Grand Theft Auto III", "San Andreas" and "Vice City" currently lie at the 2nd, 5th and 6th highest rated PlayStation 2 games on Metacritic, respectively, while "Chinatown Wars" is rated the best game on the Nintendo DS and the second best on the PlayStation Portable, and "Grand Theft Auto IV" is currently rated the second best game ever, with a score of 98, only trailing behind "". Also, "Vice City", "Grand Theft Auto III", "San Andreas", "Grand Theft Auto IV" and "Grand Theft Auto V" lie at 11th, 24th, 27th, 93rd and 2nd best PC games of all time, on Metacritic. Along with this, "The Lost and Damned" and "The Ballad of Gay Tony" are currently placed 35th and 59th in the top Xbox 360 games.

The release of "Grand Theft Auto III" is treated as a major event in the history of video games, much like the release of "Doom" nearly a decade earlier.

During interviews to mark the 10th anniversary of the release of "Grand Theft Auto III", producer of the Street Fighter series, Yoshinori Ono, said "It would be no exaggeration to say that "Grand Theft Auto III" changed the industry, and we can basically separate the time before and after its emergence as distinct eras." In the same article Bethesda studios director, Todd Howard, said "The mark of a truly great game is how many people try to recapture or emulate it and fail. There's a long line behind this one."

Subsequent games that follow this formula of driving and shooting have been called ""Grand Theft Auto" clones". Some reviewers even extended this label to the "Driver" series, even though this series began years before the release of "Grand Theft Auto III".
"Grand Theft Auto" clones are a type of 3D action-adventure game, where players are given the ability to drive any vehicle or fire any weapon as they explore an open world. These games often incorporate violent and criminal themes. Notable games that are comparable to "Grand Theft Auto" are "Saints Row", "", "", "Watch Dogs", "Sleeping Dogs", "Just Cause", "" and "".


When was the AED invented?

The portable version of the defibrillator was invented in the mid-1960s by Frank Pantridge in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Automated external defibrillator

An automated external defibrillator (AED) is a portable electronic device that automatically diagnoses the life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias of ventricular fibrillation and pulseless ventricular tachycardia, and is able to treat them through defibrillation, the application of electricity which stops the arrhythmia, allowing the heart to reestablish an effective rhythm.

With simple audio and visual commands, AEDs are designed to be simple to use for the layperson, and the use of AEDs is taught in many first aid, certified first responder, and basic life support (BLS) level cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) classes.

An automated external defibrillator is used in cases of life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias which lead to sudden cardiac arrest, which is not the same as a heart attack. The rhythms that the device will treat are usually limited to:

In each of these two types of shockable cardiac arrhythmia, the heart is electrically active, but in a dysfunctional pattern that does not allow it to pump and circulate blood. In ventricular tachycardia, the heart beats too fast to effectively pump blood. Ultimately, ventricular tachycardia leads to ventricular fibrillation. In ventricular fibrillation, the electrical activity of the heart becomes chaotic, preventing the ventricle from effectively pumping blood. The fibrillation in the heart decreases over time, and will eventually reach asystole.

AEDs, like all defibrillators, are not designed to shock asystole ('flat line' patterns) as this will not have a positive clinical outcome. The asystolic patient only has a chance of survival if, through a combination of CPR and cardiac stimulant drugs, one of the shockable rhythms can be established, which makes it imperative for CPR to be carried out prior to the arrival of a defibrillator.

Uncorrected, these cardiac conditions (ventricular tachycardia, ventricular fibrillation, asystole) rapidly lead to irreversible brain damage and death, once cardiac arrest takes place. After approximately three to five minutes in cardiac arrest, irreversible brain/tissue damage may begin to occur. For every minute that a person in cardiac arrest goes without being successfully treated (by defibrillation), the chance of survival decreases by 7 percent per minute in the first 3 minutes, and decreases by 10 percent per minute as time advances beyond ~3 minutes.

AEDs are designed to be used by laypersons who ideally should have received AED training. However, sixth-grade students have been reported to begin defibrillation within 90 seconds, as opposed to a trained operator beginning within 67 seconds. This is in contrast to more sophisticated manual and semi-automatic defibrillators used by health professionals, which can act as a pacemaker if the heart rate is too slow (bradycardia) and perform other functions which require a skilled operator able to read electrocardiograms.

Bras with a metal underwire and piercings on the torso must be removed before using the AED on someone to avoid interference. American television show "Mythbusters" found evidence that use of a defibrillator on a woman wearing an underwire bra can lead to arcing or fire but only in unusual and unlikely circumstances.

In a study analyzing the effects of having AEDs immediately present during Chicago's Heart Start program over a two-year period, of 22 individuals, 18 were in a cardiac arrhythmia which AEDs can treat. Of these 18, 11 survived. Of these 11 patients, 6 were treated by bystanders with absolutely no previous training in AED use.

Automated external defibrillators are generally either kept where health professionals and first responders can use them (health facilities and ambulances) as well as public access units which can be found in public places including corporate and government offices, shopping centres, restaurants, public transport, and any other location where people may congregate.

In order to make them highly visible, public access AEDs are often brightly coloured and are mounted in protective cases near the entrance of a building. When these protective cases are opened or the defibrillator is removed, some will sound a buzzer to alert nearby staff to their removal, though this does not necessarily summon emergency services; trained AED operators should know to phone for an ambulance when sending for or using an AED. In September 2008, the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation issued a 'universal AED sign' to be adopted throughout the world to indicate the presence of an AED, and this is shown on the right.

A trend that is developing is the purchase of AEDs to be used in the home, particularly by those with known existing heart conditions. The number of devices in the community has grown as prices have fallen to affordable levels. There has been some concern among medical professionals that these home users do not necessarily have appropriate training, and many advocate the more widespread use of community responders, who can be appropriately trained and managed.

Typically, an AED kit will contain a face shield for providing a barrier between patient and first aider during rescue breathing; a pair of nitrile rubber gloves; a pair of trauma shears for cutting through a patient's clothing to expose the chest; a small towel for wiping away any moisture on the chest, and a razor for shaving those with very hairy chests.

Most manufacturers recommend checking the AED before every period of duty or on a regular basis for fixed units. Some units need to be switched on in order to perform a self check; other models have a self check system built in with a visible indicator.

All manufacturers mark their electrode pads with an expiration date, and it is important to ensure that the pads are in date. This is usually marked on the outside of the pads. Some models are designed to make this date visible through a 'window', although others will require the opening of the case to find the date stamp.

It is also important to ensure that the AED unit's batteries have not expired. The AED manufacturer will specify how often the batteries should be replaced. Each AED has a different recommended maintenance schedule outlined in the user manual. Common checkpoints on every checklist, however, also include a monthly check of the battery power by checking the green indicator light when powered on, condition and cleanliness of all cables and the unit, and check for the adequate supplies

An AED is "automatic" because of the unit's ability to autonomously analyse the patient's condition. To assist this, the vast majority of units have spoken prompts, and some may also have visual displays to instruct the user.

"External" refers to the fact that the operator applies the electrode pads to the bare chest of the victim (as opposed to internal defibrillators, which have electrodes surgically implanted inside the body of a patient).

When turned on or opened, the AED will instruct the user to connect the electrodes (pads) to the patient. Once the pads are attached, everyone should avoid touching the patient so as to avoid false readings by the unit. The pads allow the AED to examine the electrical output from the heart and determine if the patient is in a shockable rhythm (either ventricular fibrillation or ventricular tachycardia). If the device determines that a shock is warranted, it will use the battery to charge its internal capacitor in preparation to deliver the shock. This system is not only safer (charging only when required), but also allows for a faster delivery of the electric current.

When charged, the device instructs the user to ensure no one is touching the patient and then to press a button to deliver the shock; human intervention is usually required to deliver the shock to the patient in order to avoid the possibility of accidental injury to another person (which can result from a responder or bystander touching the patient at the time of the shock). Depending on the manufacturer and particular model, after the shock is delivered most devices will analyze the patient and either instruct CPR to be performed, or prepare to administer another shock.

Many AED units have an 'event memory' which store the ECG of the patient along with details of the time the unit was activated and the number and strength of any shocks delivered. Some units also have voice recording abilities to monitor the actions taken by the personnel in order to ascertain if these had any impact on the survival outcome. All this recorded data can be either downloaded to a computer or printed out so that the providing organisation or responsible body is able to see the effectiveness of both CPR and defibrillation. Some AED units even provide feedback on the quality of the compressions provided by the rescuer.

The first commercially available AEDs were all of a monophasic type, which gave a high-energy shock, up to 360 to 400 joules depending on the model. This caused increased cardiac injury and in some cases second and third-degree burns around the shock pad sites. Newer AEDs (manufactured after late 2003) have tended to utilise biphasic algorithms which give two sequential lower-energy shocks of 120–200 joules, with each shock moving in an opposite polarity between the pads. This lower-energy waveform has proven more effective in clinical tests, as well as offering a reduced rate of complications and reduced recovery time.

A standard logo is clearly advertised. The location is indicated in OpenStreetMap by the "emergency=defibrillator" tag.

Unlike regular defibrillators, an automated external defibrillator requires minimal training to use. It automatically diagnoses the heart rhythm and determines if a shock is needed. Automatic models will administer the shock without the user's command. Semi-automatic models will tell the user that a shock is needed, but the user must tell the machine to do so, usually by pressing a button. In most circumstances, the user cannot override a "no shock" advisory by an AED. Some AEDs may be used on children – those under 55 lbs (25 kg) in weight or under age 8. If a particular model of AED is approved for pediatric use, all that is required is the use of more appropriate pads.

All AEDs approved for use in the United States use an electronic voice to prompt users through each step. Because the user of an AED may be hearing impaired, many AEDs now include visual prompts as well. Most units are designed for use by non-medical operators. Their ease of use has given rise to the notion of public access defibrillation (PAD), which experts agree has the potential to be the single greatest advance in the treatment of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest since the invention of CPR. Some advances include a CPR feedback device by Zoll and Cardiac Science, non-polarized pads (they can be placed in either location) by Cardiac Science, a status indicator most AEDS, and simple voice and text prompts with an adjustable skill level, on most AEDs.

Observational studies have shown that in out of hospital cardiac arrest, public access defibrillators when used were associated with 40% median survival. When operated by non-dispatched lay first responders they have the highest likelihood of leading to survival.

Automated external defibrillators are now easy enough to use that most states in the United States include the "good faith" use of an AED by any person under Good Samaritan laws. "Good faith" protection under a Good Samaritan law means that a volunteer responder (not acting as a part of one's occupation) cannot be held civilly liable for the harm or death of a victim by providing improper or inadequate care, given that the harm or death was not intentional and the responder was acting within the limits of their training and in good faith. In the United States, Good Samaritan laws provide some protection for the use of AEDs by trained and untrained responders. AEDs create little liability if used correctly; NREMT-B and many state Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) training and many CPR classes incorporate or offer AED education as a part of their program. In addition to Good Samaritan laws, Ontario, Canada also has the "Chase McEachern Act (Heart Defibrillator Civil Liability), 2007 (Bill 171 – Subsection N)", passed in June, 2007, which protects individuals from liability for damages that may occur from their use of an AED to save someone's life at the immediate scene of an emergency unless damages are caused by gross negligence.

In 2012, automated external defibrillators were under scrutiny by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) which considered reclassifying AEDs as class III premarket approval devices. Technical malfunctions likely contributed to more than 750 deaths in the 5-year period between 2004 and 2009, in most cases by component failures or design errors. During the same period, up to 70 types of AEDs were recalled, including recalls from every AED manufacturer in the world.
In January and February 2015, the FDA issued this news release: "The FDA issued a final order that will require AED manufacturers to submit premarket approval applications (PMAs), which undergo a more rigorous review than what was required to market these devices in the past. The agency’s strengthened review will focus on the critical requirements needed to ensure the safety and reliability of AEDs and their necessary accessories, including batteries, pad electrodes, adapters and hardware keys for pediatric use."

In the United Kingdom there is concern that poor maintenance may make public defibrillators unreliable. The "Henley Standard" reported on 21 July 2017 that more than half the defibrillators in Henley-on-Thames and the surrounding area were at risk of failing, either because of low battery power or because adhesive pads had deteriorated.

The first use of an external defibrillator on a human was in 1947 by Claude Beck. The portable version of the defibrillator was invented in the mid-1960s by Frank Pantridge in Belfast, Northern Ireland, a pioneer in emergency medical treatment.

In a study published in 2017, researchers in Poland selected the main entrances of buildings which had AEDs, although the researchers themselves did not know the exact locations of the devices. In drills of pretend heart attack, the average time to bring the AED to the patient was 96 seconds, with a time that ranged from 52 to 144 seconds. This met the three minute goal. In some cases, the use of the AED required the continuous presence of building personnel. Future improvements include more obvious signage and public-access AEDs which do not require a staff member of the building to either retrieve or use the device.

Automated external defibrillator


What is the capital of Sudan?

Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, sometimes called North Sudan is an Arab state in North Africa. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, and Libya to the northwest. The Nile divides the country into eastern and western halves. The capital city is Khartoum. The country is divided into 17 states.

List of airports in Sudan

This is a list of airports in Sudan, sorted by location.

Airport names shown in bold indicate the airport has scheduled service on commercial airlines.

Khartoum State () is one of the eighteen states of Sudan. Although it is the smallest state by area (22,142 km), it is the most populous (5,274,321 in 2008 census). It contains the country's second largest city by population, Omdurman, and the city of Khartoum, which is the capital of the state as well as the national capital of Sudan. The capital city contains offices of the state, governmental and non-governmental organizations, cultural institutions, and the main airport.

Khartoum (state)

The city is located in the heart of Sudan at the confluence of the White Nile and the Blue Nile, where the two rivers unite to form the River Nile. The confluence of the two rivers creates a unique effect. As they join, each river retains its own color: the White Nile with its bright whiteness and the Blue Nile with its alluvial brown color. These colors are more visible in the flood season.

The state lies between longitudes 31.5 to 34 °E and latitudes 15 to 16 °N. It is surrounded by River Nile State in the north-east, in the north-west by the Northern State, in the east and southeast by the states of Kassala, Qadarif, Gezira and White Nile State, and in the west by North Kurdufan.

There are several etymologies for the name of Khartoum. The explanation suggested as "most correct" by the state government's website is that it comes from the Arabic for "elephant's trunk", which describes the shape of the site of the city at the confluence of the two Niles, where a stretch of land extends into the water. Other stories are that it is a corruption of "gurtoum", the name for seeds of the sunflower plant, supposedly used by Roman invaders at the current site of Khartoum to treat soldiers' wounds, or that it was derived from the words "Khor al-Tom".

The northern region of the state is mostly desert because it receives barely any rainfall, whereas the other regions have semi-desert climates. The weather is rainy in the fall, and cold and dry in the winter. Average rainfall reaches 100–200 mm in the north-eastern areas and 200–300 mm in the northwestern areas.

The temperature in summer ranges from 25 to 40 °C from April to June, and from 20 to 35 °C in the months of July to October. In winter, the temperature declines gradually from 25 to 15 °C between March and November.The 2008 population census estimates the population of Khartoum state to be about 5,274,321 capita, composed of various tribes of the Sudan. The population is 79% urban, and 74% of the state's population reported their region of origin to be outside Khartoum.

The areas of Omdurman and the rural South are inhabited by the tribe of Gamowia, as well as by the Kordofani tribes displaced to these areas by the drought and desertification that hit their areas in the early- and mid-1980s. These are the tribes of the Kababish and the Kawahla. In the northern countryside of Karari locality are the tribe of Shiheinat, and in Khartoum North the tribes of Abdallab and Batahin. In the East Nile are the tribes of Abu Dileig, Batahin, and Kawahla, with the tribe of Iseilat in Um-Dowan.

Most of the population works in government service, the private sector, and banking. There is also a large number of merchants, and migrants and displaced people working in marginal activities. In the countryside most people are engaged in agriculture and grazing and thus supply the capital, Khartoum, with vegetables, fruits, and dairy products. There are also some residents living on the banks of the rivers engaged in the trades dependent on the rivers, such as pottery, brick-making and fishing. Above all stands the strong ambition to become the new Dubai with the financial support coming from the oil and gas supplies of the country.

Khartoum state contains archaeological sites dating back to different periods of civilization, both prehistoric and historical. Its museums include the largest in Sudan, the National Museum of Sudan, and a number of specialized museums, such as the Khalifa House Museum and the Museums of Natural History, Folklore and the Popular Heritage. There are also a center for study of folklore under the National Authority for the Arts, and the Omdurman Museum of Ibrahim Hijazi.