Claude's Artwork
Claude in-game.
Claude Speed appears as the protagonist of Grand Theft Auto 2, which is set in Anywhere City either in 1999 or 2013.
Description[]
Little is known about the character's history, nor does he have any dialogue in the game. What is known, however (by pre-release previews and some websites that are now offline), is that Claude Speed has just been freed from prison and awakened from cryogenic sleep with a bad case of amnesia shortly before the events of the game.
During the course of the game, Claude starts his career as a simple thug, however, he was soon hired by the major gangs that controlled Anywhere City. Claude secretly worked with all of them and in the end managed to kill all of their leaders, and later flees the city with the money he earned.
Trivia[]
- There was a live-action short film released in 1999 to promote the game, depicting some events of the game. Claude is portrayed by actor Scott Malsen; unlike the game, Claude can be seen talking (despite none of it being audible). The film ends with Claude being killed, although it is unknown if the in-game counterpart will also suffer the same fate after the storyline.
- His appearance in the artwork bears resemblance to Niko Bellic.
- Claude, the protagonist of GTA III, is not confirmed to be the 3D Universe counterpart of Claude Speed. However, this has not stopped speculation from fans that he could be. Rockstar Games has given the small tidbit that his surname "may or may not be Speed".
- The short film contains a peek at Claude's rap sheet, revealing him to be 28 years old. Assuming this fact is also canon to the in-game version, this would place his year of birth to 1971 (if the game is set in 1999) or 1983 (if the game is set in 2013).