Your opinion about Grand Theft Auto 3

[Ozymandis]

This game seems to come up a lot. Figured it needed its own topic.

I answer no, of course. The play mechanics got old quickly, and the missions were tedious. I felt the same way about the first two games of the series, and the third was the exact same thing (with a different camera perspective and more depth).

The only draw of the game was its violence. Being able to be a psycho and a killer... and this didn't appeal to me at all. I don't mind violent games, but I prefer to play as at least a semi-good guy.

Sadly enough, I'll probably have to buy Vice City to appease my casual friends who seem to think that it is a requirement as a Playstation2 owner to own and enjoy these games. I try not to burden their minds by broadening their horizons even slightly, and they'll no doubt enjoy it when they come over

Anyways, vote, and post your opinion.

 

[CeiserSöze]

I voted no. I bought the game (PC version), played it for about a week, got bored and forgot about it. I pretty much agree with all the points Ben made in the other threads so I won't elaborate why I think GTA3 ist not an excellent game...

 

[Thowllly]

The only draw of the game was its violence. Being able to be a psycho and a killer... and this didn't appeal to me at all. I don't mind violent games, but I prefer to play as at least a semi-good guy.

Hmm, so first you say you are drawn to the violence, then you say the violence doesn't appeal to you? That doesn't make any sense, so I guess you're saying the reason anybody is drawn to the game is because they like the violence. That is not true at all. I like this game very much, but I don't like it for its violence. It's the freedom the game gives you I like.

And you do play as a semi-good guy. If you only kill as much as you have to, you end up only killing bad guys, and...

*** Spoiler alert ***

...by the end you the game you have pretty much wiped out organized crime in the city... in fact, you could pretend that you are playing an undercover agent, and the story would still work…

Almost all console games are violent, GTA3 is no exception, but it is nothing special in the violence aspect. I end up killing just as many people playing any modern fps.


Now, can anybody tell me why I am unable to vote in this poll?

 

[-tkf-]

GTA3 is a revolution, first time i actually felt a sense of freedom in a video game.

 

[Blade]

I warez'ed the PC version of GTA3 and got a few good days of enjoyment out of it. Haven't touched it since.

I like the game and all, but it had some flaws that'll likely be fixed in GTA:VC and future GTA games.

 

[Ozymandis]

That doesn't make any sense, so I guess you're saying the reason anybody is drawn to the game is because they like the violence.

That's exactly what I'm saying.

 

[Logan Leonhart]

Come on, Ozy, does our opinion on this game really matter? Millions of people are going to be enjoying VC, does anybody in the least care about a really small bunch of jaded/grumpy/"hardore" guys in an internet forum?

You can´t please everyone, even if you´re the most popular game in the planet, or one of the best.

 

[Glonk]

I can see why it's popular, but it's not really my thing. I played it a couple of days but haven't had the urge to touch it again.

 

[Kolgar]

Have to admit, I thought this game a revolution the first time I played it. Stunning in its freedom to create mayhem, to go anywhere and do as you please (so long as it's violent).

Did I tire of it? Yes, but maybe only because the graphics engine was less than amazing and there are so many other great games to play these days... Otherwise, I'd probably still be at it.

Anyway, a big step for gaming.

Kolgar

 

[V3]

The game sux. No challenge, no fun, and worst of all its freaking slow.

 

[CaptainHowdy]

its a cool game, and fun for a while, I certainly am not excited about Vice City though, mainly because I have just had my fill, if it were coming a year later, I might have had enough time to want to enter that world again.

 

[BenSkywalker]

So far all the people that like the game that have posted here got bored with it.... this is supposed to be the killer app of this generation?

 

[Tommy]

Lotsa fun!

I just know so many people who own PS2s, which is why I haven't bought one yet...and may never.

 

[clem64]

I answered yes.

What was impressive about this game was the freedom you had between and during your missions. In the first part of the game at some point you have to kill some big shot mob leader and at first the mission seemed really hard. I would position myself on the roof just next to the door in the back of Luigi's bar (sex club 7?) and his goons would always see me and start firing. So every time my "victim" would end up getting away. Until I decided to position myself about a block away and use the sniper gun to take him down. It's at that point that I realized the amount of freedom you're given and that's part of why I like this game. You can approach every mission in any way you want as long as you get the job done.

But, to be honest, the biggest reason why I enjoyed GTA3 so much was the amount of carnage you're allowed to cause in the city. I mean, isn't that really the reason why it was so polular? I think so. That's always what I hear from people talking about this game. "it's so much fun to torture the city residents!". The problem with that though is that it gets old fast. kinda like a game with the best graphics you've ever seen. It's really cool the first few hours but after a while you're like "next!"

I played GTA3 for a few months and in the end it was only to make my kill count as high as I could make it (It's around 8000 now ). I expect the same thing for VC except that the violence aspect of the game will probably feel 'been there, done that' a lot faster. Still, should be fun.

 

[Blade]

Clem: Exactly. I mean, it's a hilarious game to play.. (and watch)

It's just that once you've killed people and blown up cars every way possible.. it gets quite old.

 

[Ozymandis]

Come on, Ozy, does our opinion on this game really matter? Millions of people are going to be enjoying VC, does anybody in the least care about a really small bunch of jaded/grumpy/"hardore" guys in an internet forum?

Hey, I got an idea. Since the posters on this forum aren't like the millions of casual gamers out there, why don't we just close up shop tonight?



Seriously, when I find myself caring about what the millions of moronic, misled casuals think about MY hobby, it's time for me to hang up my controller and move on. Call me an elitist, but that's how I feel.

 

[mkillio]

I played GTA3 over at a friends house and I thought teh freedom was nice and all but it was just to shallow and it got real old real fast.

Lotsa fun!

I just know so many people who own PS2s, which is why I haven't bought one yet...and may never.

I only have one friend with a PS2, the others have either a GC or an XBox and one of them has both. None of my friends minus the one above like PS2 in the least including my self. I still stayed open minded about GTA3 though. Speaking of what millions of people think of something that I think totally different about, I didn't like MGS at all.

 

[Vince]

I voted yes, because it set a new paradigm for the worlds that we inhabit in video games. The open-ended gameplay and sheer fun (thats why we play games - or though I thought).

It was the first time I felt like I was in an actual action movie being chased by the cops - trying to drive my way out out, then eventually run my way out - which never gets you very far

The only draw of the game was its violence. Being able to be a psycho and a killer... and this didn't appeal to me at all.

If that was the 'draw' of the game the why did State of Emergency sell like ass? it was so over-the-top in insane killing - yet it's sales were horrible - why? Because it was a poor game, unlike GTA3.

Nice try though....

I answer no, of course. The play mechanics got old quickly, and the missions were tedious.

This is what confuses me - how did the mechanics get old when you can constantly reienvent how you go about the mission and the exact methods used to complete it. I had fun trying diffrent ways of completing the missions in increasingly insane and funny ways.

Tedious? I guess you never played Hitman then?

I mean, if you wanta play some totally linear game thats perfectly 'PC' with the necessary great graphics and ass gameplay - then go ahead, but don't expent your opinion to be that of the majority... which this clearly isn't.

 

[Johnny Awesome]

I disagree of course. I think GTA3 is pure crap.

While you have some freedom in GTA3, it's not an immersive experience. When almost all the consequences of your actions are taken away, the freedom the game gives you is irrelevant. You may as well be playing Wack-a-mole, considering the piss poor AI that is thrown against you.

Some people get a big thrill out of games with no challenge, no restrictions, and no consequences. That isn't fun to me. That's not why I play games.

The game engine is horrible. Versatile, but at the expense of being poor in every single area. Bad driving and shooting mechanics, a busted world simulation, and horrendous AI add up to a poor game in my opinion. Don't even bother defending the graphics.

It's simplistic to say that GTA3 sold just because of the violence. It's more accurate to say that it was "unrestricted violence" coupled with the illusion of freedom. I think there was a surprise element as well for some people, that you could walk around a virtual city, but this is something I had already done in Shenmue and Crazy Taxi. It was nothing new from a freedom perspective.

I certainly don't expect the masses of casual gamers to agree with me. I don't particularly care. They didn't like NiGHTS or Shenmue, but that doesn't matter to me either.

One thing to note - only one in five PS2 owners think GTA3 is good enough to own. Considering the legendary hype, there must be an awful lot of people who don't think it's all that great.

 

[marconelly!]

Shenmue was a great game, but immersiveness that it's city offered was nowhere near that of GTA3. In GTA3 you could just sit there and watch people go around - someone would start a fight, beat each other, the ambulance car would come, which you could steal... or get into the nearby taxi and get a whole miniature Crazy Taxi game as a bonus.

Besides, GTA3 was as much fun as you wanted it to be. It reminded me of the LEGO bricks in that regard: Some kids would be just sitting there, having no clue how to have fun with them, probably thinking 'if someone just told me what to create - walk me through it...' others would make their own castle and spaceship designs come to life...

Sure, you couldn't *create* anything in GTA3, but the imaginative and open minded approach was always very rewarding to a player.