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View Full Version : What is the best Grand Theft Auto game?



wardy
March 17th, 2013, 10:40 PM
I think it's San Andreas because it has the most stuff to do and is just generally the most fun. I love them all though, to varying degrees. I'll talk more about why San Andreas is the best in the morning. For now, just VOTE.

Bert
March 17th, 2013, 10:44 PM
San Andreas.

The Rick
March 17th, 2013, 10:46 PM
Do I include the GTA IV expansion in my voting? If so that changes my vote completely.

wardy
March 17th, 2013, 10:48 PM
Yes all games include their expansions.

The Rick
March 17th, 2013, 10:56 PM
Then my vote goes to IV. WIth out the expansions it would have goen to San Andreas. Episodes from Liberty City changed GTA IV so much for the better. Lost and the Damned brought in better characters and better choices in music. The Ballad of Gay Tony improved upon LatD expansion by leaps and bounds. I don't know any console expansion that has changed a game as much for the better as Episodes from Liberty City.

Atty
March 17th, 2013, 11:40 PM
For me, Vice City. San Andreas would be second and was definitely more ambitious, but Vice City was just brilliant fun. It didn't take itself seriously and I always had a ball with it. Just tremendous fun.

San Andreas was almost too big for me. The sheer scope made it so epic, but also led to me not seeing the story through. While I'd still wander off to shoot up the neighborhood in Vice City, it was concise enough that I finished the proper story twice.

Aero
March 17th, 2013, 11:49 PM
I voted San Andreas because it probably does have the most variety in terms of missions, locations, cars, and fun factor: as goofy as it may seem in the missions, the jet pack and all the planes make for a lot of fun in extracurricular play, and the country is awesome.

That said, Vice City was probably my favorite based on story, atmosphere, music, and it being the first one of the new series that I played. I had tried GTA III in bits and pieces but never played through because I didn't have a PS2 at the time. Vice City was one of the first games I got for PS2 and I played the shit out of it. And even though I recognize certain neighborhoods and locales in the other games, VC is still the one GTA that I managed to completely memorize the city (then again, it was probably the basic layout).

Simon
March 18th, 2013, 6:18 AM
In these polls I always try to go pound-for-pound, which game was the best for it's time, because otherwise it's invariably just the newest one which improves on previous instalments that is the best...and with that in mind I would have to go for the original Grand Theft Auto. I found the game utterly, chillingly immersive at the time, the top-down, limited graphics somehow still managing to give life to what felt like a real city, with recognisably different parts and cool little things to hunt down. Obviously the move to 3D and third person made it a more atmospheric world in the later games, but I never found them as addictive or as mind-blowing as that first game did.

MikeHunt
March 18th, 2013, 6:26 AM
Vice city for sure. Love the characters, the story is fantastic and the soundtrack..,,,,,,MINDBLOWING

Alf
March 18th, 2013, 7:47 AM
Vice City for me. I loved the shit out of that. It's one I played with my flatmates of the time too so it was like a good social team effort.

I missed San Andreas when it was released and when I picked it up years later I found it started really strong and then just got really boring as soon as you hit the last island. A pattern repeated by 4.

Andy
March 18th, 2013, 7:52 AM
San Andreas for me. The best fun game ever and I still play it occasionally.

Vice City had the better soundtrack though.

Mik
March 18th, 2013, 9:47 AM
III, best story, best characters, the original.

Olympus
March 18th, 2013, 10:38 AM
Then my vote goes to IV. WIth out the expansions it would have goen to San Andreas. Episodes from Liberty City changed GTA IV so much for the better. Lost and the Damned brought in better characters and better choices in music. The Ballad of Gay Tony improved upon LatD expansion by leaps and bounds. I don't know any console expansion that has changed a game as much for the better as Episodes from Liberty City.

I couldn't agree with this more. GTA IV + Liberty City is absolutely amazing. If it was even just the base game, I would still put it right up there with Vice City. People mostly hate it because they toned down some of the more outrageous aspects of it, but that was just fine with me. If I want outrageous, I can pop in Just Cause 2 or Saints Row The Third.

I really attached to Niko for some reason. Maybe it was because I have a Roman and a Brucie in my life. I just appreciated his struggle with balancing what he had to do to get by and what he wanted to do with his life.

Mark Hammer
March 18th, 2013, 11:23 AM
San Andreas for me.

VHS
March 18th, 2013, 12:59 PM
GTAIII. Keep riding to the top.

Beer-Belly
March 18th, 2013, 1:13 PM
IV for me. The physics engine is what makes it.

Alf
March 18th, 2013, 1:16 PM
Was it that good though?

I remember the odd way you leant when trying to turn while running and that's about it. The driving was sluggish and too slidy. Shit.

Matty C
March 18th, 2013, 2:08 PM
Vice City for me. I loved the shit out of that. It's one I played with my flatmates of the time too so it was like a good social team effort.

I missed San Andreas when it was released and when I picked it up years later I found it started really strong and then just got really boring as soon as you hit the last island. A pattern repeated by 4.

I have never played IV but otherwise, this is pretty much exactly how I feel.

Psycho666Soldier
March 18th, 2013, 2:13 PM
I voted San Andreas, but Vice City is also a very valid vote. I loved both games so much.

Beer-Belly
March 18th, 2013, 2:57 PM
Was it that good though?

I remember the odd way you leant when trying to turn while running and that's about it. The driving was sluggish and too slidy. Shit.Yes. That's what keeps me coming back, at least. Granted, I haven't played the older games recently enough to really compare, but IV just feels like a major improvement as far as physics goes. Compare the way someone reacts to getting nailed with a car in IV to the way the just fly up 50 feet in the previous games.

The Rogerer
March 18th, 2013, 3:03 PM
I would have said Vice City, but I replayed in and 3 recently. Although 3 is basic in some ways, there's a purity to it. Vice City is an amazing product and concept, but it's just not as tight a game and the city design/start of the gimmick creep hasn't aged well. 3 is very coherent and well designed, and I think it has the best city layout of them all.

Psycho666Soldier
March 18th, 2013, 3:05 PM
I just can't agree with that. Grand Theft Auto 3 is just far too boring for me these days, whereas Vice City drew me back in and hooked me to play it recently like it does every couple years.

Then again, i was not a big fan of 3 when it first came out, so I might have just been looking for something else from the series, anyway.

Beer-Belly
March 18th, 2013, 3:09 PM
It's still amazing how well Rockstar nailed New York City in IV. For all the complaints that someone could have about that game, the job they did with NYC can't be one of them.

The Rogerer
March 18th, 2013, 4:10 PM
I just can't agree with that. Grand Theft Auto 3 is just far too boring for me these days, whereas Vice City drew me back in and hooked me to play it recently like it does every couple years.

Then again, i was not a big fan of 3 when it first came out, so I might have just been looking for something else from the series, anyway.I'd say we're saying the same thing, just prefer either side. I think GTA isn't as good when it gets away from it's basics. I also find it refreshing to go back to GTA3 as it is more aware that it's just a game and doesn't try to be as much of an experience, compared to just about everything these days. I think the scope of Vice City is amazing, especially for the short time they made it in, but it doesn't grab me in the same way. It's easily the second best for me, anyway.

For least favourite, possibly SA. It just felt too bloated and all the extras they added took something away for me. I admit to being biased, as when I got it I seemed to be getting bored with games as a whole, but every time I've gone back it still feels far too slow to get going. I can fully appreciate why some people think it's the best. I like how in three titles on one system, they were able to create three games that feel very distinct.

The Rick
March 19th, 2013, 12:13 AM
I like how San Andreas furthered the Kingpin feeling from Vice City. It was great when you got the auto dealership in Vice City, but was a pain to always have to go back there to get your money. What kind of a business am I running? With San Andreas you didn't have the annoying task of picking up your money from your businesses. You had more business ventures, and way more properties to own. I also preferred the music in San Andreas. So much variety, and so many weird moments with certain tracks bumping in the background.

San Andreas was huge. To the point of being daunting to play. I put it down for a while, and handed it off to a friend to play. I had just gotten Smackdown vs Raw, and couldn't play both.

McBain
March 19th, 2013, 12:27 AM
For me, Vice City. San Andreas would be second and was definitely more ambitious, but Vice City was just brilliant fun. It didn't take itself seriously and I always had a ball with it. Just tremendous fun.

San Andreas was almost too big for me. The sheer scope made it so epic, but also led to me not seeing the story through. While I'd still wander off to shoot up the neighborhood in Vice City, it was concise enough that I finished the proper story twice.

I'm exactly the same on all of this. :yes:

Plus what others have said on Vice City soundtrack, absolutely immense.

Atty
March 19th, 2013, 1:53 AM
Oh God, yes! The soundtrack is so amazing.

At one of my jobs that song with "I've run so faaaar awwwwwaaaaaaay" plays at least once a night. Every time, I think of Vice City and love the song almost solely because of that game. Have no clue who even sings it, but it's great because it was in Vice City. :D

Bert
March 19th, 2013, 3:20 AM
A Flock of Seagulls.

Atty
March 19th, 2013, 3:44 AM
Ahaha. Really? The guys that inspired Chandler's haircut?

Lagom
March 20th, 2013, 7:48 AM
Got to agree with Simon and Rosk on this one. As good as I've thought the subsequent efforts were, and as involved as they've become, none of them have captured my attention, or inspired as much playtime as the original. Just love it.

mr sabu
March 20th, 2013, 8:02 AM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GeYwuLRPJo

Excel
March 20th, 2013, 2:58 PM
One thing San Andreas has that the others don't.

Ladies and gentlemen... Mr. Conway Twitty

seriously, don't like country music, but getting a car and driving along the highways in the country listening to Amos Moses, or some Conway Twitty or whatever was awesome.

Pablo Diablo
March 20th, 2013, 6:47 PM
Mama don't let you babies grow up to be cowboys.

wardy
March 20th, 2013, 7:32 PM
I like San Andreas the best for 2 main reasons: the ability to customize CJ's appearance and the gang wars. I was annoyed when these features didn't return in GTA IV. Hopefully they bring back the gang wars when we revisit Los Santos.