Gaming Grand Theft Auto V | 2022: GTA+ (monthly GTA Online subscription) announced exclusively for PS5/Xbox Series

[Rado_N]

I think you could genuinely argue that SA was the last great GTA game.

GTA IV was a bowling simulator. GTA V was just, I dunno, always felt like an elaborate let-down for me.

I missed out on SA as I was going through a 'get pissed every night because everyone's at uni' phase and didn't touch a console for a few years. People often rave about it and if they brought out a remastered version I'd give it a go but I can't go back to those graphics

I also didn't like the idea of the SIMS type stuff of having to work out etc, kind of similar to how the friendship bollocks ruined IV.

V I have to say I loved though. It had it's limitations, the biggest being it was too easy thanks to being able to continue from checkpoints rather than dying meaning beginning a whole mission again, but I still loved it. On the PS4 it was just beautiful as well.

 

[Adebesi]

I think you could genuinely argue that SA was the last great GTA game.

GTA IV was a bowling simulator. GTA V was just, I dunno, always felt like an elaborate let-down for me.

I think that's about right. I think 4 and 5 were very good, but San An and Vice City were outstanding. A cut above.

 

[Marksy7]

I missed out on SA as I was going through a 'get pissed every night because everyone's at uni' phase and didn't touch a console for a few years. People often rave about it and if they brought out a remastered version I'd give it a go but I can't go back to those graphics

I also didn't like the idea of the SIMS type stuff of having to work out etc, kind of similar to how the friendship bollocks ruined IV.

V I have to say I loved though. It had it's limitations, the biggest being it was too easy thanks to being able to continue from checkpoints rather than dying meaning beginning a whole mission again, but I still loved it. On the PS4 it was just beautiful as well.

there is a collection on the PS store discounted currently with GTA3, Vice City and SA in it. could be what your looking for.

 

[Adebesi]

there is a collection on the PS store discounted currently with GTA3, Vice City and SA in it. could be what your looking for.

Yeah but like he said its the graphics. It wouldnt feel as good playing it now. Just like one day, in five years or whatever, when we are all used to playing immersive VR games, today's best games wont feel as good. Youre not really comparing like for like, youre comparing the experience as you enjoyed it at that moment in time. And in that sense I think VC and SA were the best.

 

[One Night Only]

A lot of you saying SA and VC were the best are basing it off nostalgia, play them now and you'd be distraught, just the movement and control is major shithouse.

 

[Sarni]

A lot of you saying SA and VC were the best are basing it off nostalgia, play them now and you'd be distraught, just the movement and control is major shithouse.

They were made in 2001-2004. Very few games from that period don't look clunky when you look at them now, technology from today was not available then.

 

[Marksy7]

Yeah but like he said its the graphics. It wouldnt feel as good playing it now. Just like one day, in five years or whatever, when we are all used to playing immersive VR games, today's best games wont feel as good. Youre not really comparing like for like, youre comparing the experience as you enjoyed it at that moment in time. And in that sense I think VC and SA were the best.

yeah with the current graphics would amazing, I personally don't think VR will take off as its hoped too, just like 3D it will more than likely phase out after a few years

 

[Adebesi]

A lot of you saying SA and VC were the best are basing it off nostalgia, play them now and you'd be distraught, just the movement and control is major shithouse.

Definitely. I wouldnt think about playing them again for that exact reason. But like I said in the post before yours, I think its fair to compare things over different eras in terms of how they felt at the time, relative to other games that were available, what the machine was actually capable of, your expectations when you started playing it etc etc. Generally graphics and gameplay and everything else get better all the time, that is a given. A fairly unspectacular game I might play today on my PS3 is way better than my favourite game on my Amiga when I was a teenager, that doesnt mean I dont rate the Amiga game higher if I stayed up all night every night playing it because it was amazing in its day.

yeah with the current graphics would amazing, I personally don't think VR will take off as its hoped too, just like 3D it will more than likely phase out after a few years

You may be right but the point is games are always getting better, worlds bigger, graphics more realistic, machines more powerful. Maybe VR will disappoint but no doubt the games we play on the PS6 or whatever will blow the best games of today out of the water in absolute terms. But they might not have the same wow factor if our expectations are higher. That was my real point.

 

[Olly Gunnar Solskjær]

I haven't played this for a while. Stopped playing it a few months ago and haven't gone back to it yet, not sure why. It was good I guess, but it didn't give me the feeling that I have to carry on and keep playing. Maybe I'm just getting bored of all that US based stuff now. Sleeping Dogs is where it's at.

A lot of you saying SA and VC were the best are basing it off nostalgia, play them now and you'd be distraught, just the movement and control is major shithouse.

I played GTA III a few months ago and it played fine. I know I could play Vice City and love it again, since I've played it loads over the years. I wouldn't enjoy San Andreas, but I never liked that to begin with.

 

[Marksy7]

You may be right but the point is games are always getting better, worlds bigger, graphics more realistic, machines more powerful. Maybe VR will disappoint but no doubt the games we play on the PS6 or whatever will blow the best games of today out of the water in absolute terms. But they might not have the same wow factor if our expectations are higher. That was my real point.

Agreed games that wowed 10/15 years ago are nothing compared to today's games and in future the game still to come will make the current generation look like previous generation stuff we have seen before

 

[Adebesi]

I haven't played this for a while. Stopped playing it a few months ago and haven't gone back to it yet, not sure why. It was good I guess, but it didn't give me the feeling that I have to carry on and keep playing. Maybe I'm just getting bored of all that US based stuff now. Sleeping Dogs is where it's at.


I played GTA III a few months ago and it played fine. I know I could play Vice City and love it again, since I've played it loads over the years. I wouldn't enjoy San Andreas, but I never liked that to begin with.

I still remember the conversation I had with my mate when that first came out. "Adebesi," he said, "you need to come over this evening to play this new game Ive got. It's going to blow your mind, you can run around the place burning people with flame throwers and blowing up cars with rockets. Bring weed."

I had actually played the first one and the one they did set in London, when they were 2d in bird's eye view, but as far as I remember it didnt have anything like the same kind of freedom to run around causing general mayhem. The first incarnations were good but III was probably the biggest step up the franchise ever made between generations. That's how I remember it anyway.

 

[rcoobc]

I missed out on SA as I was going through a 'get pissed every night because everyone's at uni' phase and didn't touch a console for a few years. People often rave about it and if they brought out a remastered version I'd give it a go but I can't go back to those graphics

I also didn't like the idea of the SIMS type stuff of having to work out etc, kind of similar to how the friendship bollocks ruined IV.

V I have to say I loved though. It had it's limitations, the biggest being it was too easy thanks to being able to continue from checkpoints rather than dying meaning beginning a whole mission again, but I still loved it. On the PS4 it was just beautiful as well.

You didnt really have to do any of that. I'm playing through at the moment, and I haven't:

- Been to the gym
- Eaten anything, other that like, every 5 hours of play or more.
- Gone on any dates with the gfs.

I have been to a few shops to buy some threads. But that's just to make my guy look cool (stupid). You dont have to

 

[Rado_N]

I played GTA III a few months ago and it played fine. I know I could play Vice City and love it again, since I've played it loads over the years. I wouldn't enjoy San Andreas, but I never liked that to begin with.

I went back to play Vice City again when they re-released it on the PS Store and I just couldn't deal with the mechanics of it. I went to use the right analogue stick to move the view around the character and it flicked to his p.o.v instead it was horrible. It's mad how little changes feel so huge when going backwards.

 

[Rado_N]

You didnt really have to do any of that. I'm playing through at the moment, and I haven't:

- Been to the gym
- Eaten anything, other that like, every 5 hours of play or more.
- Gone on any dates with the gfs.

I have been to a few shops to buy some threads. But that's just to make my guy look cool (stupid). You dont have to

Get them to HD it and apply current mechanics and I'll be all over it!

 

[Olly Gunnar Solskjær]

I still remember the conversation I had with my mate when that first came out. "Adebesi," he said, "you need to come over this evening to play this new game Ive got. It's going to blow your mind, you can run around the place burning people with flame throwers and blowing up cars with rockets. Bring weed."

I had actually played the first one and the one they did set in London, when they were 2d in bird's eye view, but as far as I remember it didnt have anything like the same kind of freedom to run around causing general mayhem. The first incarnations were good but III was probably the biggest step up the franchise ever made between generations. That's how I remember it anyway.

I didn't have a PS2 when it launched, I got the PC version a couple of years later, but I can imagine how cool it was. I remember all the gaming magazine hyping it up to crazy levels.

I had one or two of the original 2D ones on the PC as well, but can't ever really remember playing them. I actually found the second one for the PS1 at a charity shop a couple of weeks ago for a quid, so I'll have a go at that some time.

 

[rcoobc]

I went back to play Vice City again when they re-released it on the PS Store and I just couldn't deal with the mechanics of it. I went to use the right analogue stick to move the view around the character and it flicked to his p.o.v instead it was horrible. It's mad how little changes feel so huge when going backwards.

Yeah, I did the same on GTA III. How the heck do you move the camera?! GTA SA was is also annoying in that R2 and L2 couldn't be break and accelerate!

But... at least the right analogue stick moves the camera around your guy!

 

[Olly Gunnar Solskjær]

I went back to play Vice City again when they re-released it on the PS Store and I just couldn't deal with the mechanics of it. I went to use the right analogue stick to move the view around the character and it flicked to his p.o.v instead it was horrible. It's mad how little changes feel so huge when going backwards.

Yeah, that first person view thing was a bit awkward. Even from the off though that was weird for me, when I first played it on the PC for some reason that bit didn't work right, so to look up I had to move the stick left, left was up, down was right etc

Other than that though I don't have any issues, and I can still kick arse at that RC helicopter mission

 

[Rado_N]

I didn't have a PS2 when it launched, I got the PC version a couple of years later, but I can imagine how cool it was. I remember all the gaming magazine hyping it up to crazy levels.

I had one or two of the original 2D ones on the PC as well, but can't ever really remember playing them. I actually found the second one for the PS1 at a charity shop a couple of weeks ago for a quid, so I'll have a go at that some time.

GTA and GTA2 were both absolutely amazing games, I can't believe you've not played them!!

 

[Minkaro]

I love San Andreas, but I'd take GTA V over it any day just because I don't have to go to the fecking gym in V.

 

[Olly Gunnar Solskjær]

GTA and GTA2 were both absolutely amazing games, I can't believe you've not played them!!

I played them a bit, my cousins had the first one when it was new and I played a bit of theirs. I guess I would have played the PC versions a bit as well, but obviously not much since I can't rememeber doing it.

 

[rcoobc]

Grand Theft Auto, Grand Theft Auto! *squish*

 

[Adzzz]

I love San Andreas, but I'd take GTA V over it any day just because I don't have to go to the fecking gym in V.

Didn't you just get fit from running anyway? I never really used the gym, well, that's a huge lie, I made CJ ripped as feck but I don't think it really changed that much.

Also, as Adebesi has said, GTA IV and V are still very good games, so any critique I've made on them is in the context of GTA games. They're still the benchmark for that type of game.

 

[Sparky_Hughes]

V is excellent, I'm replaying it at the moment and loving it. Vice city was brilliant as was 3, 2 and 1. The only one I really disliked was San Andreas, did absolutely nothing for me. And it was the only one I never even bothered finishing

 

[Olly Gunnar Solskjær]

The only one I really disliked was San Andreas, did absolutely nothing for me. And it was the only one I never even bothered finishing

Finally, I thought I was the only one

 

[Duffy]

Strange, I still think San Andreas is the greatest game ever taking into account the hardware available at the time. Loved it and still yearn for a gaming experience that good. Plus the soundtrack is perfect.

Just downloaded the remastered III, VC, SA trilogy on the ps4, look forward to playing it again.

 

[Sparky_Hughes]

Finally, I thought I was the only one

I don't know if it was the game, the setting or the characters but I found it a real effort to make myself play it right from the start

 

[horsechoker]

If you're going to replay III, Vice City or SA again, I'd highly recommend doing it on PC. The PS2 versions of these games were the weakest, and when compared to PC or even Xbox they look a lot worse. An average PC can run these games now and all you pretty much need is a control pad (PS4 pads can be easily configured to work on PC).

 

[Adzzz]

For the lads who disliked SA, I wonder how old you were when you first played it.

I was 14, I don't think it could have been released at a better time for me.

 

[Shark]

For the lads who disliked SA, I wonder how old you were when you first played it.

I was 14, I don't think it could have been released at a better time for me.

Yeah good point actually. I was around 13/14 too and liked it much better than the first two purely because of how big it was, had no real care for the missions, I just messed around in it.

 

[Sparky_Hughes]

I was around 21. Never understood the hype for it and never will.

 

[rcoobc]

I was about 15 too. I'm seeing a pattern here!

SA is - for me - one of the greatest - if not the greatest game of all time.

Vice City had a much better setting and theme. Miami in the 80's with the Mafia is much more interesting than Los Angelas in the modern day (as it was then). Periodic games are always going to have the better sound track too, as they can borrow from basically a decade of music with full knowledge of what stands the test of time.

But San Andreas is (for me) the FF7 of the GTA franchise. You just dont realise how big the game is at the start. You can swim, you can get a jet pack, you can own properties, it had single console multiplayer (done a bit like the lego games). Street races, stadium races, flying school.

I do wish they would stop with the modern games though. When you've got all of time to explore - the 60's, 70's, 80's... it's all a lot more interesting. I get that they like to hold a mirror up to the stupidity of the modern world.

Actually the big thing about San Andreas was how through all the side missions, you are still playing GTA. Apart from some of the bar games, the gang wars, property, everything... it's GTA. Not like playing an average tennis game, or an average golf game.

Hopefully GTA VIce will be new greatest ever though

 

[SilentWitness]

Flying Limo cheat on SA is still one of the most funnest solo times i've had in a game.

 

[horsechoker]

I'm hoping for GTA London instead of Vice City.

 

[Lay]

GTA San Andreas is my favourite game of all time. There was a hell of a lot to do in the game. I quite disliked GTA 4 though. Never really cared much for Niko or Liberty City.

 

[Panther]

For the lads who disliked SA, I wonder how old you were when you first played it.

I was 14, I don't think it could have been released at a better time for me.

I must have been about 9/10, maybe a bit too young to play it.

 

[Rado_N]

I think I was about was a few months short of 21 when SA came out. I remember a lad my mate went to Uni with kept not coming out cos he was playing SA instead. I think he failed the year through doing nothing but play it

 

[Olly Gunnar Solskjær]

I don't know if it was the game, the setting or the characters but I found it a real effort to make myself play it right from the start

I think it was a bit of everything for me. It took away nearly everything I liked about Vice City.

For the lads who disliked SA, I wonder how old you were when you first played it.

I was 14, I don't think it could have been released at a better time for me.

I was 16 the first time I got/played it.

 

[Vidic_In_Moscow]

I was 13. I feel so lucky to have been born at an age to capture the GTA and Pokemon series in all their glory. A few years either side and I may have missed them. SA was a magical game. Spent tons of hours on it. The rumours, announcements, trailers, build up and hype for GTA IV was almost as fun as a game in itself for me, though it didn't really live up to it but I still enjoyed it.

It's hard to say where I rate GTA V in it all. I think they really starved the online mode in favour of making more money which is a shame but I guess that's why they make the game. By that I mean, take SA, the beauty of it was all the things you had at your disposal to mess with the environment. GTAV Online made it all about doing the hard slog just so you're able to afford these things, and that makes everything too valuable to just fcuk around with like you did when you played SA. I think on reflection the story was weak too. If they made a GTA Online mode which was a private lobby, where you had everything unlocked to just do whatever with, with your pals, or even if that was the mainstream of GTA Online public games, then I think that would make the game into another San Andreas, but obviously they lose an easy and huge revenue stream by doing so, so it wouldn't happen.

 

[Spoony]

I loved SA, I suspect being a fan of 90s hip hop helped. I preferred Vice City though.

 

[Earthquake]

I had actually played the first one and the one they did set in London, when they were 2d in bird's eye view, but as far as I remember it didnt have anything like the same kind of freedom to run around causing general mayhem. The first incarnations were good but III was probably the biggest step up the franchise ever made between generations. That's how I remember it anyway.

Forget franchise, III was a gamechanger full stop.

I went back to play Vice City again when they re-released it on the PS Store and I just couldn't deal with the mechanics of it. I went to use the right analogue stick to move the view around the character and it flicked to his p.o.v instead it was horrible. It's mad how little changes feel so huge when going backwards.

Aye, I picked them up for my tablet(especially excited about Vice City, which I'd never played), but it's a hard experience now. I can ignore graphics just fine, but the clunky feel and dreadful(unchangable) controls made me give up incredibly quickly.

Still, I remember San Andreas being ridiculously good at the time. Wouldn't mind a modern take on it, for sure. Plus, Samuel L. Jackson.