Ask GR: Which GTA games are the best?

III, Vice City and San Andreas for me.

To be fair it's not much of a choice when the only other GTA game I've played is IV, which I enjoyed at times, but is comfortably my least favourite of the four.

Vice City sits cosily in my all-time top ten games, loved everything about it except one mission which for some reason felt impossible at the time.

GTA;V is the only one I finished, and I played so much Vice City that I still have the cheats committed to memory. Other than that I never really got into most of the instalments. strawberry floatin hated 4.

Victor Mildew wrote:San Andreas is the best overall, but nothing will ever top GTA 3 for how mind blowing that game was. I knew nothing of it prior to seeing a single spread review in a ps2 magazine which had a handful of screenshots and just said it was really good. Did a crap job of selling just how good it was, but having played the first on pc a lot, I was intrigued enough to go and buy it.

Holy gooseberry fool, within minutes of starting it I was just blown away. I played it so much, god only knows how many hours I put in to that game.

this is a good post

Vice City, III and GTAV for GTAO.

Couldn't care about the story or missions in any of them, its all about how they are as free roam sandboxes.

Cheats >>> no cheats

I actually found all the hidden packages in Vice City, not an easy feat.

I also did a wheelie from ammu nation to the harbour on the south of the island.

If only the PS2 had a PS4 style sharing button.

OrangeRKN wrote:...Couldn't care about the story or missions in any of them, its all about how they are as free roam sandboxes...

Tell it, Orange! I've always found the missions to be finicky and frustrating whilst I just love driving around listening to the radio, occasionally choosing a mountain or something to try and drive up and then cause some comic mischief for five minutes.

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I may be mis-remembering but I thought the driving in GTA IV was okay? It seems like it could be an ideal thing to check out during the upcoming GR GTA Weekend...

san andreas
it's the only one i really played and it's got sam jackson

PostRe: Ask GR: Which GTA games are the best? by KK » Tue Jan 12, 2021 10:37 am

I've played them all, though some much more than others, and Vice City is still my favourite. I found the map, although a bit on the flat side, very manageable. I liked knowing where everything was, every shortcut...the entire map is still etched on my brain. In comparison, and as great a technical achievement as San Andreas was, I found it overwhelmingly big, nor did I ever actually manage to get to the city I really wanted to (Las Vegas). I just found the game extremely difficult for some reason. I remember within the first few hours being hit with this chase-the-train on motorbikes mission that still pisses me off just thinking about it!

I think I also have such fond memories of Vice City because GTA3 the year prior had mostly passed me by, having only played bits and pieces on a friend's copy, so I was going in there more fresher than others.

GTA Vice City, IV and its expansion The Lost and Damned, are the only ones I've seen the credits roll on.

Of the 3D games I'd go with Vice City. 2D I'd say Chinatown Wars. VC for me as it was pretty much out and out parody plus I prefer the smaller map as I felt like I came to know the place. Chuck in the business investments. Brilliant. Chinatown Wars is just the most refined version of the top down originals. Think the drug dealing added a nice element which gave you something more meaningful to do in the world and they actually tried to make the game look like the artwork!

I've loved every mainline GTA game I've played. Put so many hours into the first two, and was completely blown away by all 3 on the PS2. IV and V were for me brilliant open worlds that were so fun to drive around in and have car chases.

I think if pushed to name one, it would have to be the whole experience of GTA3. The excitement for it, poring over images in magazines, being amazed reading the impressions of the Americans on IGN that got it a few weeks before us, and then the awe of feeling like for the first time I was in a 'living city' in a video game. All the way up to the end, and what felt like the longest week and a half ever as the Americans again got Vice City earlier than us, but using the time to master flying the Dodo.

KK wrote:I've played them all, though some much more than others, and Vice City is still my favourite. I found the map, although a bit on the flat side, very manageable. I liked knowing where everything was, every shortcut...the entire map is still etched on my brain. In comparison, and as great a technical achievement as San Andreas was, I found it overwhelmingly big, nor did I ever actually manage to get to the city I really wanted to (Las Vegas). I just found the game extremely difficult for some reason. I remember within the first few hours being hit with this chase-the-train on motorbikes mission that still pisses me off just thinking about it!

You took the words out of my mouth. GTA, GTA Vice City and GTA V are all classics in their time in my opinion, but I don't rate the other GTA games as highly. Vice City was an amazing game. I remember booting up the old Xbox for Vice City in between PS3's (between my 5th PS3 dying and purchasing my 6th) and it still held up well as a well built, fun game. I completed all of the challenges in that play through, increasing health by completing ambulance missions, etc etc and like you, I knew every inch of the map. Countless hours spent flying around blitzing the police in the attack helicopter!

GTA V is certainly the best of the bunch today thanks to technical advances, but few games can top the setting of Vice City.

Vice City was great but the huge increase in scope San Andreas brought means it just edges out on top for me. The game world felt literally huge, and all of the areas had a really distinct identity. You could customise your character in a much fuller way than simple costume changes (e.g. strength, diving stats, haircuts etc). There was a huge sense of achievement when you got past some of the missions (some of which were tough as nails!) and unlock stuff like the desert airport base. Plus the story was really great (I genuinely didn't see the Ballas betrayal twist early on coming) and had an awesome array of characters who were really well written. I still love Tenpenny, The Truth, the CIA agent, Big Smoke. And you could get the ability to keep guns after you died, which was a huge game changer for someone prone to the occasional pointless rampage. :p

Followed by GTA Vice City followed by GTA V if I had to pick a top 3.

I couldn't vote for GTA London so flying a helicopter across the quays dropping flyers for a porno movie whilst Billie Jean plays in the background wins out.

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