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Liberty City is a Fiction al City in Rockstar Games ' hit Computer And Video Game series '' Grand Theft Auto '', which is loosely based on New York City . There are two known versions of the city:
As both versions, Liberty City is primarily depicted as a large city with a sizable population, featuring a complete transportation infrastructure of roads and railways, and is located on a geographical configuration of shorelines and Island s, similar to that of New York City. The city has been described as one suffering from crime and corruption, with the presence of Organized Crime , feuding street gangs, petty criminals, and rampant misconduct among city officials and law enforcement. Parts of Liberty City have also suffered major damage and loss from bombings, which are depicted as being orchestrated by local criminals. Some of these damages, however, have been repaired or resulted in complete redevelopment of an entire area. Together with ''GTA'', Liberty City is the most frequently featured fictional setting in the ''GTA'' series (Not including the '''' expansion packs for the original ''GTA'', Liberty City was featured in four out of seven ''GTA'' games). Liberty City is also located on the same '' and ''Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas'' prequels, although San Andreas was featured as a three-city state in ''San Andreas'', as opposed to a single city. ''GRAND THEFT AUTO III'' RENDITION Overview In '''' shows that the city was celebrating its 200th anniversary in 1998. The city is home to a large number of ethnic groups and contains several references of New York City's diverse demographics, while the population of the city is given at 4 million. The was campaigning (unfairly) as a candidate in the elections. Boroughs The city is divided into three areas, or " Borough s", which in turn are separated into districts and neighborhoods. While the boroughs are different from one another, each borough houses one hospital, one police station and one fire station, with the former two serving as local Respawn points in an event the player dies or is arrested, respectively. Note that bolded text in this section denote the names of the city's districts. Portland Based on the industrial area of New York City and northeastern New Jersey , Portland mostly resembles the run-down areas of New Jersey and Brooklyn that are located directly outside of Manhattan . In ''GTA III'', Portland consists of an Island at the eastern end of city limits. While Portland Island is known as a primarily industrial portion of the city, focused on varied industries and shipping, a sizable residential and commercial population does reside in the island, as the majority of the island is occupied by several non-industrial districts. Much of the island's industrial population is concentrated towards Trenton at the south of the island, and is within a short driving distance to '''Portland Harbor''' and '''Atlantic Quays''', which serves as Seaport s to the island and the city. Non-industrial properties tend to reside towards the north and west sides of the island. Portland also operates an Elevated Train Service with three stations (Rothwell Station in Hepburn Heights, Kurowksi Station in Chinatown, and Baille Station in Saint Mark's) that runs within the island. Chinatown, located northwest from the industrial districts, houses a and the Forellis . As the Triads and Mafia are enemies to each other, skirmishes between members from the Triad and the Mafia occur frequently in areas bordering Chinatown and Saint Mark's. members are also depicted, donning blue boiler suits and black bandanas.]] Other districts of interest include the Red Light District , just west of Saint Mark's, which serves as a prime location for Strip Club s and Pornography -related businesses. '''Hepburn Heights''', located north to the Red Light District, is home to several Apartment Project s, and is also home to the Puerto Rican Diablos street gang. '''Harwood''', located on the northern end of the island, is mostly underdeveloped, with only a few buildings (including the Head Radio broadcast station), a Junkyard , and the Porter Tunnel 's Portland entrance/exit. The remaining districts of Portland Island are sparsely inhabited: Callahan Point (also known as Waterfront Promenade ) is located under and around the foot of the Callahan Bridge , which links Portland Island and Staunton Island; '''Portland Beach''' is an empty cliff-side beach located east of Saint's Mark; while '''Portland View''' consists of a tract of land and a stretch of road between Portland Harbor and Chinatown. Old platforms and train cars of a railway line are also found in eastern Harwood, as well as a tunnel running under the Saint Mark's district, which directly links Harwood with Portland Harbor. Portland Rock, a small island housing a Lighthouse , may also be seen east of Portland Beach. The "Portland Beach" area was created to look like the beachy areas in and around New York: as well as any of New Jersey's several other industrial urban cities, such as Newark or Paterson . The "Red Light District" resembles Manhattan's 42nd Street of the 1980s . Staunton Located on an island between Portland Island and Shoreside Vale, and based on the commercial area of New York City, Staunton most resembles the tourist areas and Central Business District s of Manhattan as well as urban shopping areas in Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island . The name is an obvious play on the real-life borough of the city Staten Island and business-oriented areas of urban New Jersey such as Newark, Hoboken , or Jersey City . Staunton Island is depicted as Liberty City's upscale central business district or city center, housing the largest cluster of commercial and residential Skyscraper s in the entire city. Taller skyscrapers are concentrated towards the south of the island, while low-rises and several of the city's major institutions (Stuanton's hospital, sports stadium and university) are concentrated towards the north. The commercial core of the island is located within the south Staunton skyscraper districts of Torrington (to the east) and '''Bedford Point''' (to the west). The tallest and largest building in Staunton (and the city) is depicted to be owned by the Jefferson St. Credit Union, which is connected to two other large commercial buildings owned by FCB Bank and AMCO via Skyway s; all three buildings are located within the district of Torrington. Aside skyscrapers, Torrington also boasts a Yakuza -controlled casino at the southeast, largely in control by Yazuka gang members, and the Staunton branch and overall headquarters of the Liberty City Police Department (LCPD) complete with a helipad; Bedford Point houses the city's Cathedral , Opera House , Art Gallery , a Times Square -themed street, an Empire State Building look-alike that dominates the district, and the Love Media building, the workplace and home of Donald Love . Several Neoclassic -styled municipal buildings are also located within the two districts, which are nameless in-game, although one of the buildings located near the northern end of Torrington is suggested in the official ''GTA III'' website to be City Hall , while another building on the northeast end of Bedford Point is described as "town hall" upon inspection of the game's internal data files. Based on the locations of the city's landmarks and spoofs within the both districts, it may be concluded that Torrington is possibly based on Lower Manhattan , while Bedford Point is possibly based on Midtown Manhattan . The Newport district, located south of Torrington, houses several apartments and businesses, Boating docks, and a multistory car park; the district is also under the control of the local Jamaican Uptown Yardies . Bordering the west of Newport is the '''Belleville Park''' district, consisting of Belleville Park, a play of New York City's Central Park , and blocks of buildings surrounding the park, including a shopping mall. Fort Staunton, located north of Newport, is largely depicted as an area in the process of demolishing blocks of old buildings and re-developing the entire property with the construction of Staunton Plaza. Panlantic Construction, a division of an American- Colombia n business conglomerate in charge of the area's development, is suspected by the LCPD to be one of the many fronts for the Colombian Cartel , and thus may explain the presence of Cartel members and gang cars in the area. The remaining districts towards the north house civic facilities and structures: The Aspatria district in the northwest houses the "Liberty Memorial Colessium" (or the Bush Stadium), completed in 1923 and serves as the playing field for the Liberty City Cocks and Liberty City Beavers, both Soccer teams, and a waterfront park along its coastline; while the '''Liberty Campus''' district, located inland from the east of Aspartia, consists of campus blocks of the St. Matthias University (the facility was also dubbed Liberty City College). '''Rockford''' at the northeast is an exception; while the district is primarily occupied by the Carson General Hospital, an arms dealing business owned by Phil, The One-armed Bandit , is also operating on the northern tip of the district. "Aspatria" takes its inspiration from the Astoria section of Queens. "Liberty Campus" is a take-off on the typical Manhattan college campus, such as New York University (NYU) or Columbia University , while "Belleville Park" derives its name from the nearby Manhattan suburb of Belleville . Shoreside Vale Based on the residential area of New York City, Shoreside Vale most resembles the farther away, more upper-class Long Island , Westchester , and New Jersey suburbs of New York City, as well as the more affluent neighborhoods in the city's outskirts, such as areas of Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island which are relatively far from Manhattan. Shoreside Vale is a hilly area of the city, located on the west-most side of Liberty City, and is the only part of the city located on the mainland, with the entire area attached to a large body of land that creeps towards the north of Portland Island. The area is the location of the Cedar Grove suburb (which takes its name directly from one of New York's Jersey Suburbs ) at the northeast, the '''Witchita Gardens''' housing projects at the east, the '''Pike Creek''' industrial district at the west, a Dam (dubbed '''Cochrane Dam''') at the northwest and the city's Airport , '''Francis International''', at the southwest, representing New York's three airports which are located on the outskirts of the urban city center and are closer to the suburbs than to the center of Manhattan. Cedar Grove is controlled by the Colombian Cartel , and Witchita Gardens is home to the Southside Hoods , consisting of the African-American Red Jacks and Purple Nines street gangs. Ghost Town Although not technically part of the city, a "Ghost Town" seemingly located in Liberty City exists as a hidden sector of the game, used only once in the bank heist cutscene at start of the game's storyline. The Ghost Town is located behind Shoreside Vale, floats above the sea, is not solid and is reachable only by the Dodo airplane (which is considered difficult to fly), or by third party Modifications , including one that creates a bridge linking the Ghost Town with the rest of the city. Transportation in and around boroughs Like in the real-life New York metropolitan area and its surrounding communities, the three different boroughs of Liberty City are connected solely by Tunnel s and/or Bridge s, some of which were made unavailable for use during the duration of the storyline to prevent players from reaching other islands. Bridges Liberty City has two major bridges, each linking two boroughs: Callahan Bridge (also known as the West Port Bridge ) and the Shoreside Lift Bridge. Callahan Bridge is a four lane (two lanes of roads for each direction) AVI movie, 1.59 MB), thus not just gaining access to Staunton Island, but also Shoreside Vale via the Porter Tunnel, which is found initially blocked only at the Portland side. The second bridge, known as the Shoreside Lift Bridge, is a large four lane Lift Bridge connecting southeast Shoreside Vale with the west side of central Staunton Island. Before players unlock access to Shoreside Vale, the bridge was out of order when mechanical failure prevented the lift from functioning. Like the Callahan Bridge, the Shoreside Lift Bridge has since been repaired and is operational. Road tunnels Liberty City has one major road tunnel system, dubbed Porter Tunnel, possibly based on the Holland Tunnel . The Porter Tunnel is a primarily four lane underground and underwater road tunnel (the Staunton Island tunnel exit consists of only one lane for each direction), which connects all boroughs in Liberty City: Portland via Harwood, Staunton via Rockford, and Shoreside Vale via Francis International and Wichita Gardens. The tunnel was initially inaccessible, citing that tunnel construction was still incomplete and had been delayed several times. The tunnel would then be opened in phases: first with the segment linking Portland and Staunton, then the segment linking the Portland-Staunton exits to the Shoreside Vale exits. In Shoreside Vale, entrances to two addition road tunnels may also be found north of Cedar Grove and Cochrane Dam, respectively. The tunnels were inaccessible in ''GTA III'', but in ''Liberty City Stories'', it is revealed that the tunnels can be accessed and connects to each other at an underground T-junction. The tunnel that branches off is signposted as leading to "Upstate", but is inaccessible. Rapid transit systems In addition to road transportation, Liberty City has two Subway And Elevated Train Systems which run within the city. The inter-borough subway, an underground subway system that connects all three boroughs of the city, has stations at Portland (border between Chinatown, the Red Light District and Saint Mark's), Staunton (Liberty Campus and Bedford Point) and Shoreside Vale (Francis International); while Portland El, an elevated train service, runs its routes within Portland Island, with stations in Hepburn Heights, Chinatown, and Saint Mark's. The Portland El is claimed to have been introduced in 1930. Both systems are not directly connected to each other, and there is no transportation hub in which both trains networks may intersect. Each of the rapid transits' trains comes in either two or three cars, and run their lines 24 hours a day. No fare is charged for riding the trains, however, and there are no vending machines from which trains tickets can be purchased; this may be attributed to the game developer's limited efforts to include any additional features for both train services. Additional screenshots |
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