Grand Theft Auto III / Vice City / San Andreas
Yes, I know, graphics are nothing comparable to today's standards.
Despite the fact that graphics may help make the series "less violent", by looking old, it does however technically provide some sick violence.
I mean ... you do almost what you want to do.
If you want to, if you feel like it, you walk around, high-jack a vehicle, kill his/her owner in the process, go two streets away, grab a hooker, get the ... erm, services ... then, once the hooker gets out of "your" vehicle, you get out, take out your baseball bat, kill her, take her ... erm ... hard earned money (sorry I had to say it), and go away just like if what you just did was as important as killing a miserable insect.
While I believe the freedom provided in the series is welcome, it also gives "extra" violence.
Things given in the name of enterainment.