Spring of Grand Theft Auto

[Neon Ignition]

Last year was the 15th Anniversary of GTA which I somehow missed. GTAV is on the near horizon and looks to be the biggest and most expansive entry yet undertaken by Rockstar however for the first time since GTA went 3D I'm finding myself hard to be that interested in it. I feel that I'm looking at the game more from habit rather than genuinely interest.

Now, I instantly know why that is. Whilst a hugely popular game GTA4 did a lot of harm to the series for me and is pretty much soley responsible for my lack of interest at this point. For all the impressive technical aspects I found Rockstar to have messed with the gameplay mechanics and almost entirely spoiled them. The aspirations of the game were wrong, what had been potentially a generation defining game instead felt like the devs vanity project. Sleeping Dogs, Saints Row, neither as technically accomplished as GTA4 yet I had more fun with both.

My aim with this thread then, is to try and recapture the magic the series once held over me. I'm going to revisit the 3D games (controversially I never was keen on the 2D installments. I have GTA3, Vice City, San Andreas, Vice City Stories, Liberty City Stories and GTA4 Compldte lined up ajd am going to throw myself back through the series and its memories to see if 4 can redeem itself, the series still has the cbarm and if I can make V more appealing to my hype machine. It's no small undertaking hence its replacing a machine for this season.

I'll write up my thoughts as I go but ahead of the biggest GTA ever, anyone fancy bringing three states, five/six cities, three decades and thousands of pedestrians to their knees with me?

[rmoxon]

GTA 4 was a massive improvement over the previous games from a gameplay standpoint. Though to be honest they are all a bit crap and their popularity is a bit baffling to me. I have played them all but never compleed a single one as they play like dodgy Japanese budget titles from the PS1 era and generally bore me to death.

[Pikate]

I played a few recently so probably won't join in but when GTA3 was 69p on the App Store last year I picked it up for my iPhone and despite the slightly dodgy touch controls I loved it, the sole reason I held off on a Wii U for so long and bought an Xbox 360 was that one game making me want to play GTA IV. I personally think GTA IV is by far and a way the best in the series, it's an improvement on GTA3 in every single aspect and while I probably do prefer the setting and style of Vice City the current gen consoles can just create a more realistic, more immersive world.

I realise this takes me into "graphics are 60% of a game territory" and I don't agree with that at all but in this one franchise I think the leap from generation to generation really does help since part of what makes GTA games great is the wonderment at seeing these vast interactive cities and with every new generation's entry that impact is going to be lessened with the older games. They do of course tinker with the formula from game to game, I personally think the property investment/portfolio building mechanics in Vice City are unnecessary and I have mixed feelings about the mission ratings in The Ballad of Tony Gay.

I think we'll all have different opinions on things they've tried to freshen-up the franchise though so we'll all have a different favourite. Well that or you're all about to decide San Andreas is the best one and I'm a moron...

[Family Fry]

The only GTA's I have finished were GTA, GTA London & GTA 2.
Mostly get about 50% through all 3D GTA's then I get bored.
Always thought since GTA 3 it's been quite an over rated series which predominantly sells because it's an incredibly shallow and casual experience.
You ALWAYS know what your getting with GTA.

[dvdx2]

Grand Theft auto III was pretty groundbreaking at the time - i remember playing it on launch for the original xbox - i think it was the first 3d sandbox game of its time (for the xbox anyway). i remember a group of us having great fun with that game; Graphics and gameplay were excellent - we were blown away. Probably seems bit antiquated now, but back in the day it was the mutts. I remember a mate commenting that the sky in the game was getting very dark and it looked like it was going to rain; and it did, then a thunderstorm occured. Variable, realtime weather was very ununcommon back then (or even unheard off?)

Things like that are soo taken for granted, nowadays. Lets not forget how GTAIII defined a new genre - the sandbox, and the 100s of game that have copied it, or its elements.

Any of the GTA games that suceeded it, were pretty much copies (bar graphical improvemens) and the series has been flogged to death since. But they are a laugh, for a while. I think the series has made some people very rich....

[H-Man]

GTA4 was amazing at pretty much everything bar what I want from a GTA game. Way, way too much fluff in between car chases gun fights. I expect more of the same from no. 5

[Charlie]

I love the GTA games. They haven't evolved much in terms of gameplay, it's true, and it could be argued GTA IV is in fact the least fun in the series, but Liberty City remains the most immersive virtual city I've seen. It feels dirty and alive and ripe for adventure, and I never tire of driving around it's streets and soaking up the sights and sounds and it's atmosphere, and attempting to create bigger and better or more amusing accidents.

[wakka]

I love GTA games too. I think for anyone playing GTA III now for the first time, it's impossible to imagine the feeling of playing it on release. It was seriously amazing. IV was a good game marred by the ambition of being a more sombre game, which is not GTA's strength. We already have lots of sombre games. It seems like every game is so bloody po-faced these days in fact, while humour is a rarity.

[Charlie]

Indeed, although the DLC The Ballad of Gay Tony did address that somewhat with it's funny characters, over the top missions, skydiving, brighter colour palette and funky motown/disco/dance soundtrack.

[wakka]

Fully agree!!

I absolutely loved the Gay Tony DLC, actually a lot more than the main storyline of IV. It reintroduced the brash, irreverent, over the top style that defined the earlier games.

[Neon Ignition]

I think, or at least am hoping, that that was mostly GTAs trouble. The on foot controls were better for the series but were still hoplessly atrocious, RDR was better so hopefully 5 is an evolution from there. The driving model is so much worse than the previous games though, cars are sluggish and steer like they have jelly for suspension, the car shoulder cam is awful and thankfully no other games adopted it. I appreciated Liberty City for its detail but it wae too much of a creation of a workable city. The previous games cities were fun sandboxes that you learnt like the back of your hand and spent hours finding hidden aspects and experimenting with yet with 4 it felt to me like a forgettable faceless city that I had to spend more time using satnav with than enjoying. My hope though is that a steady, careful replay at this point will let me appreciate the game more. Maybe the driving model (camera aside) will seem better too. I'm going to tackle 4 first though, as the most current I'll be working backwards to when V hits the tech leap will stand as I'll probably be going from 3 to 5 by then.

[cutmymilk]

4 was amazing. Didn't play any of the PS2 games as I didn't own one. Did play them recently though and they've aged horribly.

[Dogg Thang]

For me the problem with GTAIV is summed up by the amount of time I (and many others) chose to take a taxi rather than drive. In a game dominated by driving, the actual driving just wasn't any fun. GTA3 was like a driving playground. The handling of the cars was fun and the locations seemed built not for realism but just for entertainment and excitement. I enjoyed driving around that Liberty City.

GTAIV got too real, too serious. Gay Tony was a big step in the right direction though and I have always hoped that it was a sign that Rockstar realised where GTAIV was really lacking - the over the top fun.

['Press Start']

I thought GTA IV was rubbish. Poor car handling, boring lead and even more boring friend missions.

My fav is Vice City. 80s music, scarface like story line, nice size map and great missions make it my favorite by far.

[Guts]

I'm a huge GTA fan and cannot wait for GTAV this Autumn. Easily my most anticipated game this year.

First GTA I bought myself was Vice City for the PS2 and it blew my mind and is still probably my favourite entry (I love the 80's setting, the characters and especially the soundtrack which is still my favourite out of all the games), although IV + Episodes come close.

I've played and finished every entry in the series multiple times from GTAIII onwards (including Chinatown Wars on the DS), I think I've played through Vice City like 4 times at least, same with GTAIV. To me, nobody does it like Rockstar, they have great writing and humour, great sense of style and perfect taste in selecting music to their games.