Topic: Those dirty porn for kids games...

[Artimus]

...you know the ones. The ones that nasty bad dirty porn company used to gag and tie up parents before forcing poor unsuspecting innocent children to go out and buy a game shark and then input a series of really difficult and long codes so as to make them on purpose look at badly designed clothed pixelated humping! So...what are your thoughts?

I've borrow the game from the residence's game library (San Andreas) twice now. I've decided I won't bother again. They were quite amusing at first, and the ability to go everywhere was neat. But not I just want to throw the damn thing. Any game where I spend 95% of my time just GETTING TO a mission is a piece of crap. Not to mention the graphics are mediocre, the controls are horrible and the cut scenes suck after the first couple times of seeing them.

Neat idea, neat structure, but good lord the novelty wears off fast and then this game's millions of flaws shine through. Reviews for this series are EXCEPTIONALLY overrated. Unbeleiveable the media is this gullible.

EDIT: Changed 'stupid' to gullible.

[TMW]

As is, I suppose, every person that has bought the game and really enjoyed it.

[Artimus]

Ok game? Sure. Kinda fun? Sure. 95%? Hell no.

[KDR_11k]

Sounds like you didn't do much outside of going to the next mission and attempting to beat it.

[wandering]

...like, jacking cars and killing innocent people? What fun!

Yeah, I've never really understood the appeal.

[Artimus]

Quote
Originally posted by: KDR_11k
Sounds like you didn't do much outside of going to the next mission and attempting to beat it.

I played the game for probably 15 hours. I drove around probably over half the world and went into every type of shop, etc., etc., etc. Why do you like the game? Perhaps I missed something!

[Mario]

The GTA series is the reason I own a PS2, and i'd go as far as to say GTA3 is this generations Super Mario 64.

Firstly, I don't give a crap about the "mature" themes, they're a tacked on sparkling innovation. Wow, you can beat up hookers, amazing, nobody cares. The game is a unlimited playground of possibilities. It's hard to say why I like the game, it's just a combination of everything in it, mainly the randomness of it all, the fact that I can fly a plane into an old lady, ride a bicycle off a mountain or bungee jump onto the middle of a highway. Then do it again =D

The missions aren't really important to me, I do the missions when i'm bored, rather than the other way around. I enjoy playing around in it, one of the most common things me and my friends do is to take turns seeing how long we can avoid the cops for, with as many stars as possible. Because of the massive variety in the environments and everything, the possible situations are endless, so it never gets old for me. GTA3 / SA have got more play time from me than any other game this generation, it's just pure fun, and it makes me sad it's not on a Nintendo system, it actually feels like a Nintendo game in a way. I believe Miyamoto himself (or another high profile Nintendo developer) admitted he appreciated GTA's open ended gameplay.

Also I think the graphics are fine, there's some amazing looking environments in GTA SA, but some of the glitches balance it out. There's also a few issues with the controls while on foot, but the good outweights the bad by far for me.

[Renny]

The graphics are terrible. I mean really freakin' bad. Horrible. Inexcusable. But you don't think about it too much when you're playing, which is testament to how convincingly they created the world within the boundaries of a poor engine and poorer console. GTA3 was new and interesting and pretty damn fun. I couldn't force myself more than halfway through Vice City. Is San Andreas worth the effort?

[KDR_11k]

I played the game for probably 15 hours. I drove around probably over half the world and went into every type of shop, etc., etc., etc. Why do you like the game? Perhaps I missed something!

Your summary didn't mention doing anything outside of missions and getting to them so I assumed that's all you did. I didn't like GTA either, a lot of the "fun" seems to come from enjoying the things you can do with a car and stunts aren't exactly my definition of fun (I dislike stunts, rollercoasters, water slides, etc).

I suppose it depends on the level of disconnection you have reached. To me games are games. Bungie jumping in a game isn't bungie jumping, it's just another animation. Killing people isn't killing people, it's neutralizing threats (when they're armed) or wasting ammunition. A bike is just another way to move faster except you fall off if you hit anything. I can't get immersed in a game, probably comes from starting out on the C64 (we had Pong and a VCS but I didn't use them as much) where games were just abstract constructs that posed a challenge and asked the player to beat it. To someone who's less disconnected with the game, who actually believes he's bungie jumping or riding a bike the game is probably a lot more fun.

[Smash_Brother]

I played the original for all of 20 minutes.

Stole a car, banged a hooker, ran over innocent people, yawned and I was done.

[S-U-P-E-R]

I'd like to take a minute to endorse MANHUNT to you guys, especially since it's probably like a $10 game now, and full to the brim with delicious shock value.

[Smash_Brother]

Postal was also good for shock, as was Syndicate, but that was one that made it under the radar before the rating system was really in effect.

[Mario]

Quote
GTA3 was new and interesting and pretty damn fun. I couldn't force myself more than halfway through Vice City. Is San Andreas worth the effort?

I think yes, I actually didn't like Vice City much, but San Andreas made the series fun again. My only problem with San Andreas is that it's TOO huge. You'll never see everything in that game.

[ShyGuy]

ManHunt was incredibly dull to me.  

[KDR_11k]

It's one o' these goddamn stealth games anyway.

[Hocotate]

I tried to get into the GTA games, I really did. But they just suck so hard that I couldn't. It was fun for about 10-15 mins, then it becomes extremely boring. After forcing myself to play for a time I just said "scew it" and haven't wanted to play them since.

[IceCold]

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The GTA series is the reason I own a PS2, and i'd go as far as to say GTA3 is this generations Super Mario 64.

I thought you bought a PS2 because of SSX

[Mario]

I got SSX Tricky with my PS2, and got GTA3 a few months later, since it was banned here originally I had to wait a bit for it to come out after getting my PS2 at xmas.

I can't even remember mentioning that here before, Stalker get?

[Infernal Monkey]

Quote
Not to mention the graphics are mediocre,

Considering the sheer size of the game world, the number of NPCs and vehicles moving in it, how there is no fog (unless it's intentional), minimal pop-up, no loading between areas, has a MUCH more stable frame rate than GTA 3/GTA: VC and that this is all running off a PS2, it's EXTREMELY impressive. Of course you're not going to get Resident Evil 4 style graphics.

Quote
the cut scenes suck after the first couple times of seeing them.

Obviously. Nobody is going to keep watching the same mission cut scene after failing it over and over again. Press start.

[PIAC]

Quote
Originally posted by: S-U-P-E-R
I'd like to take a minute to endorse MANHUNT to you guys, especially since it's probably like a $10 game now, and full to the brim with delicious shock value.

pro tip: MANHUNT was banned in Asstralia =D

[Spak-Spang]

To be fair to the original poster.  Some gamers don't really enjoy the free roaming games.  

I personally hate them.  I want to know what to do and how to accomplish it immediately.  That is not to say I don't want a challenge, I just really hate these open ended games.  

I tried to get into the Grand Theft Auto series.  I ran around hijacked some cars and did some errands all while trying to find the next mission point.  That was the annoying thing.  You first have to find the first mission point, then you have to know how to get to the mission action, do everything for the mission and start all over.  And usually the mission stuff is the same as you can do just wondering around, you just finally get an award for it.  

This isn't a fault of Grand Theft Auto, its a fault of the free roaming system.  Tony Hawk, Spiderman, True Crimes they all have this initial problem.  In fact many of the platform games are getting those problems too.

It is for this reason I usually only play Zelda games once.  I love the dungeons and the Zelda experience is my second favorite gaming experience (Mario is the first), but wondering around the game world trying to get all the side quests done to get to the next dungeon can be annoying and frustrating.  You can run through a Zelda game and get to the next dungeon quickly.  However, at least with Zelda the dungeon experiences are worth the effort.  They have direct objectives and have real rewards for your experience.

[KDR_11k]

Quote
Originally posted by: PIAC

PIAC hosts SomethingAwful? pro tip: MANHUNT was banned in Asstralia =D

Protip: EVERYTHING is banned in Australia. Kick your representatives in the head until there's a 18 rating for videogames.

[couchmonkey]

I like some free-roaming games (Pilotwings 64, Simpsons Hit & Run) but I can see why some wouldn't.  I've never played GTA, although I'd like to, just because the series is such a big deal.

[IceCold]

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I can't even remember mentioning that here before, Stalker get?

You know it

[mantidor]

I havent played GTA because I loath the theme of the game, I despise hip-hop, rap or anything that is remotely similar, specially the attitude of the people who compose this kind of music, but if its like Artimus says, I wouldnt like it even if it was different, open end games like Zelda let you do anything you want, but you still are given some kind of direction hey! listen! , roaming just for roaming is incredibly dull for me.

[Dasmos]

GTA is fun. It wasn't the reason I bought a PS2 though. I like just playing it for a while every now and then just going round drivin' 'n' killin'. I haven't got bored of just roaming around just yet.