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Uzupedro

Banned
May 16, 2020
12,234
Rio de Janeiro
Title says all, people always discuss what is the best GTA and opinions are very diverse, but in your opinion, what is the worst mainline GTA? And why?
(Not going to do a poll, trying to incentivize discussion)


I have to go with V, A lot of good opportunities throwed in the trash due do the HORRIBLE and cringeworthy(in a bad way) writing that was dated like one year after the release.

A poorly made character, Trevor, that was just a excuse to do (bad) edgy jokes, 2 cool characters in concept, Michael and Trevor, that were unable to have a decent development since R* was focused in bring any stupid way to throw the protagonists in a suicide mission.
And the trio ends the game in almost the same way they started, like, Franklin was through the whole game saying how he was trying to have a good life without being a criminal and in the end he is a millionarie because he is a criminal

And man, again, the writing is so bad, it's like R* was trying to be funny while being unfunny, but they don't manage to do this well then they are just unfunny, I can't understand how the same people who wrote this, wrote RDR2 too, it doesn't make sense for me.

I know that maybe I'm being too harsh, ''It's a GTA, it's always dumb'' is a valid argument, but it seems, at least for me, that for some reason R* throw in the towel while making the campaign for this game and made the most effortless story possible, and honestly this makes me concerned for the franchise since this was good for 99% of the people lol(nothing wrong with that).
grand-theft-auto-v-1574776130644_v2_1920x1080.jpg
 

antitrop

Member
Oct 25, 2017
12,595
Grand Theft Auto 1 plays so poorly and yet I still love it so much. It barely even has a functional camera, it actually can't keep up with the fastest cars and that's just a disaster from a top-down perspective.

The freedom of gameplay was still special and unique enough to look past all that at the time, though. I played the shit out of it, while keeping thoughts of what it would be like in 3D in the back of my mind for the inevitable and monumental release of GTA 3.
 

ImaPlayThis

Member
Oct 26, 2017
2,071
Most likely GTA1,2 or the UK one they did... but out of the ones I've played more recently and are what people think of when you say GTA. Then GTA4. I loathed GTA4 at release and still hate it to this day, I never understood the appeal of it then and I still don't now. Especially the driving, it was so awful in practically every way.
 

thecaseace

Member
May 1, 2018
3,219
Yeah it's weird because all of the mainline games have been very good but I'd say GTA1 is worst. Still an excellent 7/10 game though
 

Lant_War

Classic Anus Game
The Fallen
Jul 14, 2018
23,579
Vice City. It was the only one I didn't play when I had a PS2, so it's easier to see its flaws without the nostalgia googles on.
 
Oct 31, 2017
9,623
I haven't played (and have no real desire to) the original isometric games, but out of all of the big, mainline 3D GTA's, it's probably either V or III. It's hard to say III just due to its impact and how amazing it was in 2001 so I lean towards V.

V is definitely the one I've played the least.
 

Noodle

Banned
Aug 22, 2018
3,427
Vice City.

I have zero 80s nostalgia and the map was terrible for car chases.
 

dotnetguy

Member
Jul 12, 2020
172
I appreciate the significant technical advances made in GTA V but the story is so meh and the MP loading times are just unbelievably bad. I've barely touched it in years.

For me nothing has surpassed GTA: SA. Spectacular game.
 

Jawmuncher

Crisis Dino
Moderator
Oct 25, 2017
38,501
Ibis Island
Since it's too easy to point at GTA 1 and 2, i'm going to say 4. To this day i'm still bothered by how much of a pass it got despite in many ways being inferior to San Andreas outside Ai/Physics and shooting mechanics.

It in no way deserves to be "One of the best titles of all-time" as its ratings currently suggest.
 

ghostcrew

The Shrouded Ghost
Administrator
Oct 27, 2017
30,364
GTA2 is the answer. Unremarkable.

I was totally ready to write GTA off as a one hit wonder after GTA2. Then GTA3 came along and the rest is history.
 

cooldawn

Member
Oct 28, 2017
2,449
Grand Theft Auto V.

I loathed the character switching mechanic and the gun-play is like Red Dead Redemption 2...slow and lethargic.
 

shinobi602

Verified
Oct 24, 2017
8,352
They all range from 'good' to 'masterpiece', but I guess the original would be the 'least good' from every one that I've played lol.
 

Spring-Loaded

Member
Oct 27, 2017
19,904
Of the 3D ones, Vice City for me. The music was incredible, but at the time I couldn't appreciate it, and the city layout was lame
 

Deleted member 44122

Guest
1 or san andreas for me, just couldnt get into either
 

ninnanuam

Member
Nov 24, 2017
1,956
Out of the 3d ones it's probably 3. It was cool, bringing a decent 3d open world to the PS2. But it played pretty badly and I can't remember anything about the story or missions at all.
 

Betty

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
17,604
GTA3 because I couldn't play it after Vice City and San Andreas, it felt too aged even then.

Though there's a strong argument for GTAIV as well.

- ugly character models
- story that goes nowhere
- cars that feel like they're driving on ice with a rhino strapped to the hood
 
Nov 4, 2017
7,377
GTA IV. Terrible performance and controls. Annoying relationship mechanics.

"Nico where are you? Nico why you no call? Nico you bad cousin..."
 

SanTheSly

The San Symphony Project
Member
Sep 2, 2019
6,516
United Kingdom
Based purely on the 3D games: Vice City or V. Probably V.

Vice City is a solid refinement of GTA3's groundwork but the story is literally just Scarface, the map is probably my least favourite of any GTA for it's smallness and awkward landmass distribution.

V's story is utter trash though. The satire is weak as hell, Franklin is the closest thing the game has to a likeable protagonist but even that's a stretch. The map has the opposite problem to Vice City for me, it's far too expansive, takes too long traverse and there's basically nothing of interest in the top half anyway.
 

Damn Silly

Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,194
So as a Dundee lad, I can't say 1 or 2

I'd probably say V. By that point, I was just kinda done with Rockstar's style.
 

defaltoption

The Fallen
Oct 27, 2017
11,486
Austin
Only played from 3 onward but I personally think it's 5, my favorite is 4 though so I'm probably an outlier.

Most underrated is Vice City Stories, don't think many people played it but it was such a good time especially knowing it was made to work on a handheld.
 

Wamapoke

Member
Apr 11, 2018
2,726
I'd love to say 4 because of what a massive disappointment it was, but lets be real - the first game was rough.
 

Muitnorts

The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
2,144
I'm ignoring the 2d era and I'm caught between GTA4 and GTA5. I actually quite liked the story of 4 though and the atmosphere was quite novel and a refreshing change from San Andreas when it came out.
So I'll say GTA5. I never managed to beat it, the mission design and gameplay was surprisingly shitty and the writing wasn't great.
It's sad that Rockstar keeps raising their game when it comes to creating convincing and interesting worlds to play in but can't seem to improve the act of playing itself. Their mission design is so incredibly outdated.
 

Jimnymebob

Member
Oct 26, 2017
19,635
2 is the worst easy, but I honestly never liked GTA3 at all really. VC is where the series found its stride.

IV is boring as a GTA game, because the sandbox isn't fun to screw around in, but the story missions are great.
 

antitrop

Member
Oct 25, 2017
12,595
I can't remember 1 detail about the first 2 games.
I think one of the most noteworthy aspects of them is how much they nailed the radio stations right from the start. Just driving around recklessly listening to the radio was as much an important part of the experience as it was in GTA V and every other one.
 

darkside

Member
Oct 26, 2017
11,291
of the 3d games its 4. Everything about this game sucked, it was a sandbox game that wasn't fun to actually play.
 

Deleted member 31817

Nov 7, 2017
30,876
4 and it isn't even close.

I haven't played 1 and 2 though if those are included.
 

Mathieran

Member
Oct 25, 2017
12,861
Of the ones I've played, 5 is the worst. But I've only played about half the games. 1, 2, Vice City, and 5.

the only thing I liked about 5 was the city itself.
 

Dyl

Member
Oct 27, 2017
753
I haven't played the first two games, so I'll go with GTA IV. III, VC, and SA may or may not hold up today, but they were incredible for their time, IV not so much. It's still an enjoyable game, but it lacked a lot of what makes GTA fun. V was a huge improvement in terms of fun and interesting characters, art design, map diversity, mission variety, driving physics, etc.
 

Mudo

Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,115
Tennessee
I'll say 5 but I haven't LOVED any of them...
They are good mindless fun but the worlds are massive set pieces with far less interactivity than I would like.

Ive never beaten one of them as I have grown bored after a dozen or so hours.

But this is making me want to re-install GTAV lol

Edit: shit I read "the best" not worst.
My least favorite was 4. It was boring to me even though the city looked great.
 
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Empyrean Cocytus

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 27, 2017
18,707
Upstate NY
Does Liberty City Stories count?

Also GTA2 isn't great. Never understood why it was so popular. The series really didn't get good until 3.
 

Cess007

Member
Oct 27, 2017
14,114
B.C., Mexico
from all of what I've played (Never played GTA nor GTAII)

I can say I didn't enjoyed San Andres. It's actually the only mainline GTA I haven't finished.
 
Apr 21, 2018
6,969
GTA3,VC and SA were unplayable to me because of the godawful framerate. Gave me literal headaches.

Maybe they were better on hardware other than PS2, but yeah, I'd have to go with one of those.
 

The Unsent

Member
Oct 25, 2017
19,438
Sorry to be boring, but it's the first or second. Just too simplistic and boring to play now.
 

viotech3

Member
Jul 31, 2020
5,224
Maryland
Vice city (though this opinion is exclusively based on the PSP version. Which probably explains everything.) Not mainline, but I miss Chinatown Wars. Loved that game so much, even printed actual paper sheets with cheat codes for me to screw around with. PRINTED. I was a mad person back then...