San Andreas...

[dinodynamo]

Grand Theft Auto. One of the most popular games on the market...but why? Is it the extraordinary violence? Is it the fact that you can just walk up and steal a car? Is the story so in depth and filled with surprises that you have to play to see what happens next?

I think not.

Grand theft auto has gone downhill since its initial release. The first GTA was fun as heck, offensive, and had at least some replay value.

Ever since 2, GTA has become a gigantic borefest.  The game is the exact same people! 2 through San Andreas are the same! Sure they have a different story, and now you have to control your life in the boring aspects...food, staying in shape,  keeping track of a girlfriend? What is that?

It's like these games are saying, "Hey we realize that you're going to be wasting away hours of your life doing the same missions over and over, killing the same people over and over, until you finally 'Run a gang' or something. "

I will say that i have not played any of the GTA series since 2, so I do not have an entirely educated opinion, but I have watched people play these games for hours on end.

How entertaining is it to just sit around shooting people and cops until you get stars and get taken out, or cheat and get life so you can kill them and take their vehicles until you forget to put in your life cheat and die when a helicopter crashes on you.

I hate the Grand Theft Auto games, San Andreas the most. The only good thing I've noticed about this game is the fact that they have Rage Against the Machine on the soundtrack, but that song just ended, so the game is back to utter crap.

Do yourself a favor, do not purchase this game, and if you already have, cram the disk up your nose. If you know someone who bought it, take their disk and cram it up their butt. If someone bought it for you...shatter the disk and throw the pieces in their eyes.

[/rant]

[The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers]

two things:

1) the GTA series has never appealed to me. I just don't think the mindless criminal glorification works very well.

2) dino, welcome to the forums, and please introduce yourself when/if you get the chance.

(ok, three things)

3) please watch the language. We all slip up sometimes, but we're a family oriented site, even if the content is most popular with males age 13-27. We want the girls, the kids, and the peple who just don't like bad language to keep coming back. okithx!

[dinodynamo]

Heh, sorry about the language. I introduced myself a while ago, but haven't really been around any computers for a few months. Glad to see I'm not alone though, I figured that I'd have a bunch of POed GTAers yelling at me.

[JP Dogberry]

Ok, the games are not 'exactly the same'. Apart from the drastic leap from GTA 2 to GTA 3, the various GTA3 games are, while based on the same gameplay style, different games. Else they wouldn't have different titles. Speaking of titles, note that none of these games are called 'GTA 4'. They aren't intending to be entirely new games, more expanded editions of the same game.

GTA 3, the only one of the post GTA2 games I've played, is really an excellent game. The freeform nature of the gameplay, the enjoyable physics driving engine, and the hig production values (Like the quality of the radio stations) add up to an enjoyable experience.

Unlike many, I don't have a problem with the gangsta elements because they really aren't taken very seriously - if anything, the game satirises the lifestyle. I don't consider the games particualrly violent either. In fact, I find most of that becomes secondary to an excellent task based driving game with shooter elements.

Play what you like, though. I probably won't pick of GTA San, but that's because I have a shiny new copy of Half Life 2.

[Fellfrosch]

I'm surprised you dislike it so much, when a lot of the major reviewers say that it's the best of the series. I haven't played it myself, thought it's the first one that's tempted me to any serious degree. I guess we all look for different things in a game.

[Mad Dr Jeffe]

One word...

Mayhem