GTA virgin looking for guidance

[Yeargdribble]

So I've managed to miss out on the Grand Theft Auto franchise almost entirely. Problem is, the kids at the school where I work haven't. Keep in mind it bothers me to hear constantly that a 7 year-old is playing an M rated game because their parents are pathetic. That said, I'm a gamer. Unlike most adults and other teachers, I really don't have a good excuse to be completely unaware of the contents of the the game. My wife (a teacher at the school) and I (the pianist for the school) have decided to play some GTA sometime in the near future to be a little more informed and culturally aware.

So here I am, a GTA virgin, and I have questions. Much like the MGS (and seemingly more so) the GTA series is fairly complicated to me from the outside. It's on many platforms and apparently has various exclusive expansions and whatnot.


So for those in the know, let me know all I need to know about GTA. I'm specifically interested in the more recent stuff and may work my way back at least to San Andreas since it's been mentioned specifically by many kids at my (mostly black) school.

All platforms are available to me. PC, 360, PS3, PS2, PSP, DS (and Wii, though I don't recall any GTA games for that one). I want to know specifically about exclusive expansions/DLC, how it works, how the portable versions differ or where they are exclusive (as I understand CTW is portable exclusive).

Thanks in advance.

[I Took the Red Pill]

They are all a great deal of fun. I'd say I like Vice City more than San Andreas, but I didn't really have any real problems with SA, I just though VC was more polished. IV is easily my favorite GTA, and ranks up there with my favorite 360 games. The graphics are beautiful, the city feels sprawling alive, and the missions are fun. Once you finish the game you can just smurf around or check out the expansions.

The one thing that bothered me about IV (I'm not sure if this happened with others in the series, I just noticed it in IV) is that whatever car/motorcycle you happen to be driving at any given time will have a ridiculous rate of occurrence on any given street. It kinda sucks to be driving a limousine and turn a corner to find at least 3 other limos on the same road as me.

I've never played Chinatown Wars but may check it out if I find myself with some extra dough.

[Depression Moon]

There isn't a GTA for the Wii. Yeah those games aren't definitely for children. I think I started playing it when III came out was that 01? Anyway what makes it inappropriate for children besides the violence, are the cursing, sexual references, sexual humor, drug references, and nudity in some cases.

GTA is a sandbox game. A game that you're free to do anything from the jump, if you have cheat codes that is, but even without them you can still mess around a lot.
there's a lot of driving of course and the gunplay can be fun if frustrating in the pS2 era games. If you're looking to start playing I can suggest starting with III maybe or IV. If you start anywhere else, you might not appreciate III or IV especially IV. I was mad at how much stuff was removed from San Andreas than added from that installment. Seemed like a step backwards somewhat. Controls also seemed funny. I don't understand why you have to hold down x to jog in this game.This one seems more repetitive. Even if the older ones were just as repetitive, IV could've fixed that control scheme. I fell off a couple of roofs in the beginning because of that. One good thing it did was take out those frustrating as hell RC missions.

Probably the most fun you'll have out of it is just having numerous mindless wars with the police.

[Psychotic]

The one thing that bothered me about IV (I'm not sure if this happened with others in the series, I just noticed it in IV) is that whatever car/motorcycle you happen to be driving at any given time will have a ridiculous rate of occurrence on any given street. It kinda sucks to be driving a limousine and turn a corner to find at least 3 other limos on the same road as me.Yup it's been doing that since III.

[Madame Adequate]

Man, I don't even know where to start. You could sustain the argument that GTA 3 is the most important game of modern times. I'm not sure how it holds up without nostalgia, but it's freaking vital. Vice City is either utterly sublime or merely brilliant, depending on to what extent you consider the 80s the greatest decade.

GTA IV was actually a bit of a step back. It did a lot that was impressive but in the end, it abandoned quite a few things that made the series genius. It's still brilliant, and only more so with The Lost and Damned and Gay Tony DLC, but it's no San Andreas.

Because holy fuck. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. We are talking about an all-time classic of the medium here. We are talking about something which shows why videogames are special and can do things movies and books and :bou::bou::bou::bou: can't do. It isn't genre-defining. It's medium-defining. Beg, steal, borrow, get San Andreas and enjoy one of the truly brilliant experiences of the 2000s.

[Shoeberto]

Because holy smurf. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. We are talking about an all-time classic of the medium here. We are talking about something which shows why videogames are special and can do things movies and books and :bou::bou::bou::bou: can't do. It isn't genre-defining. It's medium-defining. Beg, steal, borrow, get San Andreas and enjoy one of the truly brilliant experiences of the 2000s.
Yep!

[Iceglow]

The long and short of the many many GTA games over the years is that there are 4 cities it takes place in, during GTA 2 at the very least you visited all 3 american cities as part of the story, London was it's own seperate game and sucked, don't go there:

Liberty City (which is more than heavily based on NYC)
San Andreas (This is more of a mix of San Francisco and Los Angeles than any one in particular)
Vice City (Miami definitely here)
London (literally they done GTA 2 I believe but with London place names and some different car sprites, other than that the game was pretty much the same)

Now what you need to know is that:

the games all take place in different points in time, GTA London for example I believe was actually based on the 60s or was it just that Rockstar North back then believed England to be full of 1960's cars and references everywhere? San Andreas on the ps2 takes place in the late 90's/2000s Vice City however was very much so the 80s

If you were looking for a place to start then start with IV. To be honest, yes the ps2 ones were amazingly good games at the time and even now with some nostalgia attached they're still amazing. I love GTA III still and lets not get me started on my love affair with GTA Vice City. I never quite fell in love with San Andreas even though I saw how beautifully made it was. I just didn't bite that time I've never been able to say why, probably my love for 80s thrash metal and power ballads keeping me going back to VC.

At first I hated IV, there was a lot more realism to the game than I was used to. There was things like the relationship system where I'd be called constantly as I was trying to go do missions by people like Roman asking me to go drinking or see some strippers it got irritating. Then I left the game alone for a long time, when I went back to play it having finished Mass Effect 1 and a whole host of other games I needed to get done with before I could truly focus on the game and try to see if I could adapt to the new touches. I've since fallen in love with the game, it's flaws are in a sense obsolete because the things it does well, it does VERY well. I will also point out the infamous "no russian" level from MW2, if you do multiplayer free roaming with a friend like Psy is even worse than that..."AAAH YOU HAVE A GUN!!!!" *dies*

As for format to get it on? 360 IMHO because you'll get the added content of TBOGT and L&D either as a download or a second disc if you choose to purchase them (you most likely will do so if you end up enjoying the game) also I have heard from PS3 owners who had the game and also brought 360s and the game again that they felt the game ran smoother and had better lighting on the 360 over their ps3. I'm not so sure but I do know I played it over my sisters and I definitely found the 360 pad better laid out for it too.

Edit:

As for the portable games, CTW was ok, not fantastic but still good fun. Liberty City Stories ties in to GTA III so has the same engine if a little toned down (though the game got ported to PS2 as well as Vice City Stories) it featured some of the same characters as cameo roles ect. It was good fun though Vice City Stories did go one better. I felt it was a shame there was never a San Andreas Stories game. I feel imho that the expansions on the 360 kind of take the role of the Liberty City Stories game, in fact I believe Rockstar do too because they named the disc "Episodes From Liberty City" when they released both expansions on disc for the 360.

[Shoeberto]

San Andreas on the ps2 takes place in the late 90's/2000s Vice City however was very much so the 80s

Ngah. Early-mid '90s. Nowhere near the 2000s xD That's GTAIII's area.

... I don't know why that bothered me so much but I felt the urge to correct it.

edit: Also, TLAD and Ballad of Gay Tony are now available for PC and PS3. The PC version is not that great - the port requires some serious hardware and even then runs ridiculously slow at times (speaking from experience; I played the whole game on PC). If you're gonna do GTAIV, the order of best version is 360 > PS3 > PC. The PC has the best version of all of the previous games, though... IMO.

[Psychotic]

Yeah I think San Andreas is like 1992.

[Iceglow]

Yeah I think San Andreas is like 1992.

I quoted Psy through Lazyness but yes, my bad after a bit of thinking and a quick youtube check I am incorrect there, I had a gut feeling I was wrong but yeah early - mid 90's for San Andreas 2000+ for IV.

Wasn't 1 set way back in like the 70's?

[Madame Adequate]

Yeah I think San Andreas is like 1992.

Correct, game takes place in 1992.



With jetpacks.

[Levian]

If It's not your type of game, then I think playing through San Andreas will be enough, you'll learn everything you need to know about GTA. Don't forget to listen to the radio. ;)

[Psychotic]

Wasn't 1 set way back in like the 70's?Nah, the original was in modern times. Although London was set in 1969, maybe you are thinking of that.

[Madame Adequate]

If It's not your type of game, then I think playing through San Andreas will be enough, you'll learn everything you need to know about GTA. Don't forget to listen to the radio. ;)

K-Rose 4 lief!

[Slothy]

Because holy smurf. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. We are talking about an all-time classic of the medium here. We are talking about something which shows why videogames are special and can do things movies and books and :bou::bou::bou::bou: can't do. It isn't genre-defining. It's medium-defining. Beg, steal, borrow, get San Andreas and enjoy one of the truly brilliant experiences of the 2000s.

I actually didn't like San Andreas much once you leave the first city. Although it was certainly bigger than the others, I felt like the world it created wasn't as fully realized. There was some more stuff to do, but most of the world was pretty damn empty. They also added some stuff that just wasn't that fun or improved the game and the story just kind of meandered. The third city had so little going on that they probably should have dropped it altogether. It felt like you were moving on almost as soon as you got there.

Vice City felt much tighter and was a much bigger improvement in every single way over it's predecessor than San Andreas. GTA3 is still worth playing though. Great game with a great story, and still fun now, if slightly tainted by some clunky controls.

I won't get into GTAIV too much except to say that while it felt like a much more realized and polished city compared to the PS2 titles, it added in such wonderful things as maintaining relationships with characters by having them call you on your cell phone every five minutes and playing boring half assed mini-games with them. The story was also pretty meh. The core gameplay was still pretty good, but only because it didn't change that much aside from better controls. I can't say anything about the DLC for it though because it's one of a literal handful of games I've ever traded in. Ditched it for Killzone 2 and have never looked back.

[Shoeberto]

IV's story took itself too seriously all the time. There was nary a lighthearted moment compared to the previous games, at least not in the main story. All of the characters, aside from maybe Brucie, were all serious all the time. I mean, the story itself was alright, but without some tongue-in-cheek spread throughout, most of the characters were entirely forgettable.

[Psychotic]

Yeah once you leave the first island of IV, all of the characters apart from Packie and Bernie are pretty much generic wastes of time.

[NeoCracker]

Only thing you need to know about GTA is Saint's Row 2 is better. ;p

[Psychotic]

When I saw NeoCracker was the last poster I was expecting him to hate on GTA and I was going to quote him saying "Hello my name is NeoCracker and I hate every good game ever" but lo and behold he has said something beautiful. I judged you harshly.

[NeoCracker]

When I saw NeoCracker was the last poster I was expecting him to hate on GTA and I was going to quote him saying "Hello my name is NeoCracker and I hate every good game ever" but lo and behold he has said something beautiful. I judged you harshly.

I actually thought I was going to hate Saint's Row honestly, due to my dislike of GTA. :p

I will give GTA this though, as much as I didn't like it, I understand the appeal and can appriciate some of the lasting effects it has had on gaming.

[Namelessfengir]

i didn't start playing til 06 with san andreas, then vice city and gta3.... course i havent paid for any of them thou got them all from friends.

i love the soundtrack and story of vice city over san andreas and three didnt impress me much after playing vc and sa

[Jessweeee♪]

When you decide on one and start playing, I recommend printing out cheat codes! It's one of those rare games where it's a million times more fun when you cheat. Like The Sims. Few honestly enjoy doing the missions over just messing around and seeing just how much you can do.

I think I spent more time in GTA games blowing :bou::bou::bou::bou: up with a tank or just driving like a maniac than doing missions or going KILL KILL KILL EVERYONE DIE (though I guess hundreds of NPCs do die when I'm in a tank).


Personally, my favorites are GTAIII and Vice City. I actually found myself doing a lot of missions on Vice City, which is something I never do xD

[Yeargdribble]

I'll probably start with GTA IV. From what I can discern TLAD and TBOGT are the only DLC and available for all platforms.

As I check out head to head comparisons around the internet it seems that the PS3 version comes out very slightly ahead of the 360. I'll probably grab it there unless anyone has a specific reason I shouldn't.

I'll likely get me a copy off of Amazon in the next hour or so.

[Jessweeee♪]

Have fun :</>D!

[kotora]

Mosg fans seem to hate GTA4 because it's not as cartoonish as the previous titles. For me that was why I liked it way more than the others. Nico Bellic seemed like an actual person even though he was just your stereotypical Eastern European criminal.

[Depression Moon]

cartoon????

[Quindiana Jones]

3 is still my favourite, though certainly not the best. I also like the references to 3 that SA has. I could never really get into 4. I may buy it again some time, but it seemed to have lost the GTA factor that made the other games such classics.

[Iceglow]

cartoon????

I wouldn't use the term cartoonish to describe GTA III/VC/SA but I certainly would use the term "arcade" in reference to the style. Cars didn't have any real sense of realistic handling, it was much more like Crazy Taxi than Gran Turismo. IV definitely lost that style and got a much more realistic sense of handling however the differences between the games are so vast that trying to compare GTA IV to GTA III is like comparing Final Fantasy Tactics Advance to Final Fantasy Tactics, both are great games but aside from name and a few ideas what transgress between the two games they're chalk and cheese on a technical scale.

Edit: To those who tried IV and disliked it but might give it another go, I do reccomend trying it again, it's a good game and solidly built. Once you let go of the previous titles such as VC/SA/III then you can find it infinitely more enjoyable than first thought. Though the lack of comedy in the storyline is still a killer. I also agree that Saints Row 2 is better and acknowledge fully that I need to buy that game, before Psy rants at me about it again.

[Quindiana Jones]

iz curekt (http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/312-Saints-Row-2)

[Loony BoB]

I've played a few of them but not excessively because I find in the end I just get bored. However, one exception: GTA San Andreas? I got hooked in a big way. The fact that they had everything in it from the start says enough, really. No need for DLC when the initial game is good enough on it's own, and that means less money spending just to get to the stage that you can call it a great game.

All this and I barely even scratched half of the game's map, I suppose that just shows how immense that game was. I just... loved it. :D

[Jiro]

Yeah I think San Andreas is like 1992.

Correct, game takes place in 1992.



With jetpacks.

The year I was born, :bou::bou::bou::bou: happened. Awesome :bou::bou::bou::bou:

[demondude]

SA made me lol more than any other game for intentional reasons and unintentional ones. It's my favorite. xD

[Jings]

San Andreas is my favourite but it did have the most mind-numbingly difficult mission in GTA history. RC Red Baron is NOT fun! :mad2:

[Jessweeee♪]

Ugh, any mission where you have to drive like a sane person takes me fifty million tries and is incredibly boring.

[Bolivar]

Seems like Yeargdribble already made a decision, but here's my two cents.

GTA III was not as innovative as it gets credit for. There were many "sandbox" games before that, as evidenced by its own predecessors, and even 3rd person free-camera sanbox games like Mega Man Legends where you can roam a full town and interact with the people walking around and complete missions and sidequests in a number of orders.

However, what it did do was fully utilize the technology of the time to bring such a world even more to life, and the rest is history. It kind of defined the PS2 era and set the bar for almost the rest of the console cycle.

All of the PS2 games are very good in my opinion, and believe it or not I actually play them (mostly) for the story. The creators are geniuses at creating these pulp stories that could easily stand among the very movies they are imitating. While the first 3 used black humor throughout (and indeed even in the gameplay), its much more subtle in GTA IV, and the story is actually very serious almost the entire time. This threw some people off a little, but to me it represented the overall evolution it was trying to parallel with video game technology reaching a new level of sophistication.

I would start with GTA III because it created this type of game, with a wonderful little world not only to explore but to take part in. I love the atmosphere in this game and the cast of voice actors is amazing (one of them died today (http://allhiphop.com/stories/news/archive/2010/04/20/22177912.aspx)) Either of the two sequels are just as amazing.

IV's a good start as well, but the shooting was made more accessible so you might not be able to appreciate the earlier games as much. Still, it's an awesome game and I personally can't wait to play through it again.

Here's the most in-depth (http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/grand-theft-auto-iv-ps3-vs-xbox-360-special-article) look you can get at the game if you haven't already bought it for PS3. The 360 version has some inherent specifications which theoretically should mean it is the better looking version, but as the article points out, both versions edge each other out in different ways. They also have comparison screen-shots as well.

And I don't think you need the game to play the DLC either, but in my opinion you'd be better off just getting the game because I, personally, am not going to pay $20 a pop for something like that.

[Depression Moon]

3 is still my favourite, though certainly not the best. I also like the references to 3 that SA has. I could never really get into 4. I may buy it again some time, but it seemed to have lost the GTA factor that made the other games such classics.

Oh yeah, wasn't the main character in III in the game? I think your Hispanic girlfriend ran-off with him. I was thinking this is leading up to the events of III.
Can I ask a question about 4 here?
Does anyone know if it's possible to date someone else in the game besides that girl who called herself Michelle, who just seemed to have been forgotten in the storyline, and Kate?

I tried at least 3 times to get another girlfriend by using that website, but whenever I sent a request I was rejected. One said I was too young for her.

[Jessweeee♪]

3 is still my favourite, though certainly not the best. I also like the references to 3 that SA has. I could never really get into 4. I may buy it again some time, but it seemed to have lost the GTA factor that made the other games such classics.

Oh yeah, wasn't the main character in III in the game? I think your Hispanic girlfriend ran-off with him. I was thinking this is leading up to the events of III.
Can I ask a question about 4 here?
Does anyone know if it's possible to date someone else in the game besides that girl who called herself Michelle, who just seemed to have been forgotten in the storyline, and Kate?

I tried at least 3 times to get another girlfriend by using that website, but whenever I sent a request I was rejected. One said I was too young for her.

Yeah, we learned his name is like, Claude or something xD

[Iceglow]

Can I ask a question about 4 here?
Does anyone know if it's possible to date someone else in the game besides that girl who called herself Michelle, who just seemed to have been forgotten in the storyline, and Kate?


There is a lawyer on the site, I can't remember her username but she's dateable in fact dating her and getting her "relationship power" allows you to remove 3 stars from your wanted level for free instantly (still need to behave afterwards) I think theres another couple, Psy will know for sure but theres like 6 girls you can date IIRC

[Shoeberto]

Does anyone know if it's possible to date someone else in the game besides that girl who called herself Michelle, who just seemed to have been forgotten in the storyline, and Kate?
Michelle wasn't really forgotten, Niko just wanted nothing to do with her once he realized she was a fed and had been selling him out.

[Meat Puppet]

London ain’t happenin’, Lou
Thanks for keeping me in the loop

[Quindiana Jones]

Can I ask a question about 4 here?
Does anyone know if it's possible to date someone else in the game besides that girl who called herself Michelle, who just seemed to have been forgotten in the storyline, and Kate?


There is a lawyer on the site, I can't remember her username but she's dateable in fact dating her and getting her "relationship power" allows you to remove 3 stars from your wanted level for free instantly (still need to behave afterwards) I think theres another couple, Psy will know for sure but theres like 6 girls you can date IIRC

I remember just focussing on her and the health chick. Good times. :D

[Psychotic]

Off the top of my head there's 2 storyline girlfriends and 2-3 you can meet on the internet. Just spam every single woman on lovemeet.net and you'll find one you can date. Although I wish you could date men, too. Colonel Cuddles looks like a real catch.

[Quindiana Jones]

Seeing as there was a sale on I decided to rebuy IV.

[Jessweeee♪]

Wait, there's internet dating in GTAIV? xD

[Depression Moon]

Off the top of my head there's 2 storyline girlfriends and 2-3 you can meet on the internet. Just spam every single woman on lovemeet.net and you'll find one you can date. Although I wish you could date men, too. Colonel Cuddles looks like a real catch.

Aww man, but I don't wat those women. From Russia Without Love is a clever name and she's the finest one of the bunch.

[Yeargdribble]

Looking at side-by-sides of the PS3 vs 360 the AA looked a little smoother in the PS3 version. I hate jaggies so I went with that one.

So far my wife and I are both really enjoying it. It's not our type of game and it's not our type of theme, but we're loving it. It's one of those things where we can't put our finger on it. In most games there are awesome fun bits and mediocre bits. In GTA IV it seems that there are fun bits and holy-sh*t fun bits. We love games with strong narrative elements so that's one of the bigger parts to us. The characters are very lush, if cliché. We like interacting and getting the backstory fleshed out to us as we go through a variety of means. Niko opens up to different people for different reasons and at a very graduated pace.

Another huge issue is the level of polish and detail put into the world. Everything is satirizing something about our real world and it's just great. Sometimes I sit idling in my car once I get to my location just to listen to the rest of some junk on the radio.


I'm pretty horrified that kids at my school as young as 6 are playing this though. I'm so glad there are games like this that take advantage of the mature sensibilities of adults and aim things at them. I'm not nearly as conservative about what children should be shown as most. I think generally you shouldn't try to hide the realities of the world from them. Stuff like cussing happens. Pretending it doesn't and covering their ears is BS. However, this game is just beyond their grasp. They can't possible digest what the game is throwing at them responsibly. They can't understand the satirical nature or the fact that the violence isn't actually glamorized.

Parents need to start parenting. The game is honestly worse than I'd expected for kids. There's little I can do. Parent's aren't going to be that receptive to any input from my wife or me. And these parents that gave an M rated game to their kids will also be the first to blame the game if their kids do something wrong rather than looking back at their own failings as a parent.

[Jessweeee♪]

The radio is great. I probably listened to all of that one talk show in Vice City. It was amazing xD

I had to have been like eight or nine years old when I first played GTAIII, and that was probably a little too young. I felt like I could be mature about it, but I certainly didn't understand it properly. Some of my peers at the time definitely should not have been playing it.

[Pete for President]

I loved III and Vice City for being not too one-man-army-ish.

Also, car chases and stuff weren't as pre-determined as in the later games. Most of the time you could do missions your way. That meant finding a fast car before certain missions would really help catching up in a chase, or getting hidden packages for weapons could mean you could easily finish some shoot-out mission.

In IV, you usually get assigned to a specific car, stick to a specific route, stay in one place or get some lame time limit. And there's the invincible-ness of tires, enemies suddenly speeding up as soon as you get close enough to ram etc etc.

I remember finishing some assassination mission on a boat in VC with the bonus army helicopter I got from collecting all hidden packages or something. I just used the rockets to wipe out everyone. Those were the good times.

[kotora]

The radio is great. I probably listened to all of that one talk show in Vice City. It was amazing xD

I had to have been like eight or nine years old when I first played GTAIII, and that was probably a little too young. I felt like I could be mature about it, but I certainly didn't understand it properly. Some of my peers at the time definitely should not have been playing it.

why, did they turn out to be mass murdering murderers?

[Jessweeee♪]

The radio is great. I probably listened to all of that one talk show in Vice City. It was amazing xD

I had to have been like eight or nine years old when I first played GTAIII, and that was probably a little too young. I felt like I could be mature about it, but I certainly didn't understand it properly. Some of my peers at the time definitely should not have been playing it.

why, did they turn out to be mass murdering murderers?

No, but they were annoying little :bou::bou::bou::bou:s that made me want to be a mass murderer.