I'm surprised, this game is actually good!

"BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion" (pbs)
10/27/2014 at 22:12 • Filed to: None

Since Reflections seems to have forgotten they once made a game called Driver, and that it was awesome and deserves lots of sequels, I've been going rounds with the first 3D era GTA games. Because they're cheap. And I'm cheap. Anyways, after the trainwreck that was GTA SA, with its stupid miniscale map, dumbass drivers and annoying commuting gameplay, I figured I'd at least try the game that made GTA famous without expecting much but... GTA III is actually pretty good. How'd they manage to fuck up GTA SA that bad?

DISCUSSION (24)

offroadkarter > BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion
10/27/2014 at 22:16

GTA SA is widely regarded as the best in the series, the worst one was london 1969

Conan > BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion
10/27/2014 at 22:18

San Andreas has its good qualities. Bit of me thought the questionable vehicle mechanics/crappy commutes were somewhat purposeful. Always preferred 3's driving.

DasWauto > BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion
10/27/2014 at 22:19

I've enjoyed every GTA release and Vice City is still at the top of the list (though I have a hard time choosing between it and 5). If you haven't tried it, do so.

BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion > offroadkarter
10/27/2014 at 22:23

I know, that's why I started with it, but it was all downhill from there on. Having to eat, exercise, get clothes, go out with virtual women, all of that was pretty pointless in my opinion, and, when their three "big cities" are actually pretty small to the point where they feel like miniature villages, I fail to see why they'd waste time on all that stuff. They could've given us larger cities, more places to drive and decent traffic that doesn't weave into your way all the time, but instead they focused on random crap. :/

djmt1 > BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion
10/27/2014 at 22:26

For me SA is the best largely because its controls aren't garbage. For me Vice City is the worse. I never realised how short it was until I replayed it recently but damn 8 hours.

BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion > Conan
10/27/2014 at 22:26

I actually enjoyed most of the driving for the sake of driving. It was quick enough to be fun, but slow enough to pull off all kinds of cinematic tricks you expect from an action driving game. But why so few missions were focused on driving, as opposed to commuting, is beyond me.

BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion > DasWauto
10/27/2014 at 22:28

I'll have to try it sometime, I suppose it's closer to 3 than SA, and that's actually a pretty good thing indeed.

BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion > djmt1
10/27/2014 at 22:29

Funny you should mention the controls, I had to use two programs to make GTA SA playable on a USB controller, and setting up the controls on 3 was a fucking science project...

TillTheWheelsFallOff: Brocoma > BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion
10/27/2014 at 22:31

GTA III was the first I played, still top three for me.

I liked SA, you could mod the crap out of it too.

djmt1 > BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion
10/27/2014 at 22:32

I'm suprised a 360 controller wouldn't just work out the gate that said I played all 3 on my 360 (the 3 gtas are actually backwards compatible) and it felt really weird. Probably Muscle memory.

BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion > TillTheWheelsFallOff: Brocoma
10/27/2014 at 22:35

Maybe that's why it didn't work out very well for me.... I replaced every in game vehicle with their appropriate real life counterparts, and I suspect that might be part of why the driving mechanics were broken beyond belief. I might give it another shot with no mods. Save for a Sabre Turbo replacement for the standard Sabre.

DasWauto > djmt1
10/27/2014 at 22:36

Vice city is a favourite for me; maybe it was the story, perhaps it's rose coloured glasses, I'll have to play it again.

djmt1 > DasWauto
10/27/2014 at 22:38

I love the setting but the controls and missions in that game are infuriating. I get why it took so long to finish when I was younger.

DasWauto > djmt1
10/27/2014 at 22:40

I played it on PS2, I don't remember the controls bugging me too much. Again, I'll have to replay it. I'm pretty sure I still have it.

BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion > djmt1
10/27/2014 at 22:41

Trust me, I'm as surprised as you are... The 360 controller works, but you can't map any commands to the D pad (which usually controls the radio, or changes weapons, or targets, or replies to dialogues), the right analog stick mimics the main buttons (as opposed to controlling/centering the camera) and the shoulder triggers do jack shit (when they should aim, handbrake and start side missions).

Thank god for SAAC and Pinnacle Game Profiler.

Frank Grimes > BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion
10/27/2014 at 22:41

I still have dreams about the beginning of Driver and that hard but satisfying once you master it test. Also the music. I got GTA San Andreas on my kindle hdx but I played it for like an hour and got bored. I might stick with it if I could use a controller.

I am also a cheap gamer. I just got skyrim this week and I want to be good at it but feel like I am screwing everything up.

BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion > Frank Grimes
10/27/2014 at 22:43

If you do, make sure to download SAAC and Pinnacle Game Profiler. You need both programs to correctly map the commands to the controller. Yeah, that's pretty ass.

As for the Driver intro, it was actually pretty simples once you figured out how to do it, but lots of my friends gave up on the game altogether because they either didn't understand the instructions in English or never figured out a good order to do the stunts.

Frank Grimes > BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion
10/27/2014 at 22:51

Yeah it was like that the instructions of what is to be done is what made it hard. But I found it so fun to be able to string the stunts together.

Vicente Esteve > BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion
10/27/2014 at 22:54

GTA and Forza are the only reasons I own an Xbox

Conan > BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion
10/28/2014 at 00:39

Yeah, I think THAT is something of an ongoing Rockstar problem at times. I loved Red Dead. Far too much horse travel.

BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion > Conan
10/28/2014 at 13:58

Yup, for GTA, that wouldn't be a problem if driving WAS the mission, but instead, you're going somewhere, no police or time limit or any other challenge involved, to do something, then come back, and most of the time the game even gobbles up your car and leaves you there looking like an ass to find a ride home. GTA III has far less of that. Sometimes you have to get somewhere without raising suspicion, or tail someone, or steal and deliver a cop car, or get away from the cops, the mission ends when you get out of the car, not the other way around.

Frenchlicker > DasWauto
10/28/2014 at 20:41

I wish they would have redone vice city. Why did they jump back to San Andreas so fast?

DasWauto > Frenchlicker
10/28/2014 at 20:48

I hope they still will. I think the jump back to the word of San Andreas for 5 was for its expansiveness, not something I'm about to complain about.

Frenchlicker > DasWauto
10/29/2014 at 08:08

True, I guess Vice City wouldn't allow that.