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[Chairman Tickles]

I'm having a blast playing through missions in both games. Playing on PC with xbone controller. All settings maxed out (San Andreas v1.0 modded with obligatory player fixes, native xbox controller support, new music stations etc).

Really really good games. I realize now that these games have not aged at all compared to GTA5 for example. Yeah playing at locked 30fps is rough, but you get used to it (also necessary, physics are tied to fps). The amount of and quality of voice acting and character design in both games is rock solid. I never played bully beyond the opening sequence before, it's a real blast. I intend to finish San Andreas this time, only ever got past the starter city. Some tough missions but getting past them is thusly rewarding.

I'm on a gta-esque binge right now. Might even play through gta4 + expansions. Never finished that one either. I've only finished GTA 3 and Vice City. Come to think of it never finished GTA 5. I don't care for online. Gonna do all the GTA's. No story spoilers pls.

Favorite map time.

 

[Alfen Dave]

Both have become unplayable for me. Especially SA, actually even at release on PS2, graphics felt already dated to me and I was still in elementary schoolat that time.

Controls are overall stiff, rigid. I did enjoy driving around and riding bycicle though. Game only felt fun with cheat codes activated.

 

[Nymphae]

My favourite thing to do in that game was grab a BMX, turn on the super jump cheat, and bunnyhop off of a ramp at an angle from the tallest building. That or get maximum speed from the road, and bunnyhop up at buildings and try to get huge rotations by bouncing off of them.

Oh also, I used to love grabbing the big plane, flying to maximum height, then bailing midair and attempting to dive directly into backyard pools or other small bodies of water lol.

It was the one my buddies and I messed around in the most for sure. The car upgrading was nice, we had every garage stacked with best cars all souped up with nitro. We'd spend hours just hitting jumps alone and trying to evade the police in San Fierro.

 

[Lucumo]

San Andreas was the worst GTA I had played up until that point (1, 2 and VC) and it basically killed my interest in the series (well, GTA IV looking absolutely awful helped). What a load of wasted money.

 

[Phunkydiabetic]

I was around for the launch of the first one on PC and that time was amazing. Hadn't played anything like it before. If I remember correctly to play multiplayer online a buddy and I had to manually input our ip addresses to connect or some shit. But it was wild. Fast forward to III and that same level of awe happened again with that release.

In some way or form that same level of awe has been (for me) around with every release of GTA since III. Seeing the world of GTA rendered in 3d with III. The amazing atmosphere and how Vice City perfectly captured the 80s. When it came to San Andreas though, it felt like such an ambitious leap forward for the series. It helped that I grew up on this west coast rap culture (the whole 'golden age' of hip-hop really) so being able to play through a story like Carl's was awesome. The scale and scope of everything in San Andreas was just mind blowing back then. Fuckin awesome game.

As for Bully, by the time it came around it further cemented the fact that Rockstar is a developer that is capable of telling fantastic stories far beyond what the GTA games had made them known for. It was such a well thought out game with some great characters and dialogue. Loved it.

Rockstar is by far my favourite developer, they do so many things that resonate with me so well. I'm ready for Bully 2 Rockstar!

 

[anthraticus]

Out of all their games, I'd take new versions of Vice City (much prefer the 80s Miami setting & atmosphere to 90s west coast) and MANHUNT over anything else......easily.

 

[Chairman Tickles]

If you dig vice city for the atmosphere, might want to give Scarface a try.

San Andreas was the worst GTA I had played up until that point (1, 2 and VC) and it basically killed my interest in the series (well, GTA IV looking absolutely awful helped). What a load of wasted money.

Yeah but why tho? Any specific reasons?

Both have become unplayable for me. Especially SA, actually even at release on PS2, graphics felt already dated to me and I was still in elementary schoolat that time.

Controls are overall stiff, rigid. I did enjoy driving around and riding bycicle though. Game only felt fun with cheat codes activated.

Ah yes, I know why. Game actually updates controls at 29fps when running at 30fps, and the controls lag based on fps; a patch on pc fixes this. On PS2 I can imagine the fps tanking down to ~20, and your controls down with it. I know what you mean, the game requires precision when driving and that's all fixed on PC.

Rockstar isn't getting the credit they deserve for the polish of red dead redemption 2, that's a huge open world, and they have very few bugs. Only experiance could make that game as good looking as it is today. They have a secret pipeline at rockstar.

I think red dead is mostly an empty world compared to the gta's. Little traffic, fewer npc's, etc.

 

[Aintitcool]

Rockstar isn't getting the credit they deserve for the polish of red dead redemption 2, that's a huge open world, and they have very few bugs. Only experiance could make that game as good looking as it is today. They have a secret pipeline at rockstar.

 

[anthraticus]

If you dig vice city for the atmosphere, might want to give Scarface a try.

I remember playing a little of this on the PS2 and it seemed pretty cool, but not being able kill anyone you wanted was a big turn off. Weren't all the civilians basically invulnerable in this from what I remember ?

I see it's on PC too. Sounds like it would be a great candidate for mods but I'm not seeing anything after a quick search.

 

[nkarafo]

I can't go back to the PS2 era of GTA games. The graphics look bad and i can only describe the animations as the worst. Characters have no weight, there are no smooth transitions, etc. Even back then the animation was bad.

 

[Cato]

If you dig vice city for the atmosphere, might want to give Scarface a try.

Amen to that. Scarface was one of my fav games on the PS2.
I actually started a replay just a few weeks ago (on real PS2 HW ofcourse)
and it still has it. It is old but has aged well.

The voice acting is just so super good. I can not get enough of it.
They really nailed if with that Al Pachino doppelganger they got.

Sometimes It call my driver to deliver new over and over cars just to hear the voice actor.

 

[MrJTeera]

Funny enough, I recently went back to GTA III. I say, it still holds up pretty well in terms of gameplay. Most of the missions are actually vehicle-based. Straight to the point. No elaborate set pieces or long drawn shootouts.

The style is a perfect balance of grittiness and cartoony I’ve yet to see any other games imitated. GTA IV comes close second but it feels like the whole game is a reimagine of III.

 

[Lucumo]

Yeah but why tho? Any specific reasons?

Basically two major ones: The setting was really off-putting. I'm not American and it was as far removed as possible, so no connection could be made at all (and I really dislike the rap/hip hop stuff). The game absolutely felt like a console game, unlike Vice City which came before. The controls were worse, the effects were worse and the graphics seemed to be worse as well. Considering the series used to be a PC one and it did well with Vice City (and GTA III which I played later), it was pretty much a punch to the gut.

 

[nightmare-slain]

i can't enjoy older GTA titles. actually even GTA V feels and looks super dated now.

as for III/VC/SA the graphics are what they are. the game play is still super fun but the thing that really puts me off GTA games is how the characters/guns (and cars in IV) handle. they just feel so awkward and clunky.

 

[Red Crayon Aristocrat]

I haven't touched SA in close to a decade, but I've revisited Bully on and off since 2015.

Sadly I've never given it a full play through, not because I dislike the game, because dated graphics aside it's still a lot of fun and charming, but because it's hard to find the time when there's so many new games waiting.

I think the concept of Bully is good enough that it warrants a sequel with modern tech.

 

[MiyazakiHatesKojima]

I'm having a blast playing through missions in both games. Playing on PC with xbone controller. All settings maxed out (San Andreas v1.0 modded with obligatory player fixes, native xbox controller support, new music stations etc).

Really really good games. I realize now that these games have not aged at all compared to GTA5 for example. Yeah playing at locked 30fps is rough, but you get used to it (also necessary, physics are tied to fps). The amount of and quality of voice acting and character design in both games is rock solid. I never played bully beyond the opening sequence before, it's a real blast. I intend to finish San Andreas this time, only ever got past the starter city. Some tough missions but getting past them is thusly rewarding.

I'm on a gta-esque binge right now. Might even play through gta4 + expansions. Never finished that one either. I've only finished GTA 3 and Vice City. Come to think of it never finished GTA 5. I don't care for online. Gonna do all the GTA's. No story spoilers pls.

Favorite map time.

Best thread in a while and i agree 100%. Quality games never get outdated, in my opinion.

 

[CyberPanda]

Bully was fun, but I never could get into GTA.

 

[Virex]

Rockstar isn't getting the credit they deserve for the polish of red dead redemption 2, that's a huge open world, and they have very few bugs. Only experiance could make that game as good looking as it is today. They have a secret pipeline at rockstar.

True. But they also haven't done anything to fix the FHDR or the PS4 Pro blurry mess.

 

[Chairman Tickles]

I remember playing a little of this on the PS2 and it seemed pretty cool, but not being able kill anyone you wanted was a big turn off. Weren't all the civilians basically invulnerable in this from what I remember ?

I see it's on PC too. Sounds like it would be a great candidate for mods but I'm not seeing anything after a quick search.

I think its not a big issue, I typically don't kill NPC's in gta if I can help it.

i can't enjoy older GTA titles. actually even GTA V feels and looks super dated now.

as for III/VC/SA the graphics are what they are. the game play is still super fun but the thing that really puts me off GTA games is how the characters/guns (and cars in IV) handle. they just feel so awkward and clunky.

Yes the character models are disgustingly ugly. Mods help with this but I don't mind how silly they look.

RDR2 I stopped playing when I got to the big city. The missions (ride here have shootout ride back) got old even with the excellent story. I think I had done ~60 such cookie cutter missions by then. I will revisit it in some years.

 

[mcjmetroid]

After playing Red Dead Redemption 2 just about anything will control well. If you can enjoy a Rockstar game now you can probably enjoy one in the past. They've only gotten worse control wise for me.
I just never got on with them.

Hammer X to run, too much animations causing slow character reaction times.

Saying that I did have fun with Vice City at the time and I think a lot of it was the true sandbox nature of it and the more cartoonyness of it. It controlled fine at the time and your character moved extremely fast.

 

[anthraticus]

I think its not a big issue, I typically don't kill NPC's in gta if I can help it.

It's not even about just straight out killing them, but say you have a big explosion , car wreck, crazy shit go down and they're just still standing there as if nothing happened. Talk about immersion breaking.

Plus some of most fun to be had in the old GTA games was activating....

All weapon sets
Hostel citizens/All pedestrians riot
All pedestrians have weapons
Aggressive drivers

We use to make a game out of it and take turns seeing how long you could survive & how much damage you could do while trying.

 

[stranno]

I prefer Grand Theft Auto 3's Liberty City but San Andreas was probably the best balanced sandbox large map ever done.

Every area fits and has a purpose, unlike pretty much every map from every single sandbox since then, 35453465743423453245234 km2 of nothing, Just Cause series beign the paradigm.

 

[Chairman Tickles]

After playing Red Dead Redemption 2 just about anything will control well. If you can enjoy a Rockstar game now you can probably enjoy one in the past. They've only gotten worse control wise for me.
I just never got on with them.

Hammer X to run, too much animations causing slow character reaction times.

Saying that I did have fun with Vice City at the time and I think a lot of it was the true sandbox nature of it and the more cartoonyness of it. It controlled fine at the time and your character moved extremely fast.

Good point regarding RDR2 and how sluggish it is. It has actually prepped me for these older rockstar titles. They have better controls...

It's not even about just straight out killing them, but say you have a big explosion , car wreck, crazy shit go down and they're just still standing there as if nothing happened. Talk about immersion breaking.

Plus some of most fun to be had in the old GTA games was activating....

All weapon sets
Hostel citizens/All pedestrians riot
All pedestrians have weapons
Aggressive drivers

We use to make a game out of it and take turns seeing how long you could survive & how much damage you could do while trying.

True, but the most fun I have is doing the story, unlocking the map, exploring the map and acquiring goodies such as cash and whatever collectibles. Cheats are for the endgame.

 

[TLZ]

San Andreas was the worst GTA I had played up until that point (1, 2 and VC) and it basically killed my interest in the series (well, GTA IV looking absolutely awful helped). What a load of wasted money.

 

[angelic]

Vice city is worth it just for Fernando Martinez.

 

[Acidizer]

Not played Bully, but GTA SA genuinely has more fun and realistic driving physics than GTA V.

The vehicles feel grounded and satisfying, and most importantly the wheels on the car represent the cars' actual turning circles. In GTA V it's like the cars turn from a central pole in the middle, and not by the actual wheels.

Also the bikes in SA and a million miles better than in V, which has all sorts of hand-holding fake sticky super gravity and forgiving "physics". This meant crashes or dismounts were rare - even when you deserved it. In SA if you fucked up a landing, you were punished by a dismount, but it never felt unfair... it did feel VERY satisfying though, and that's something V lacks entirely.

Obviously these changes are for the mass market that Rockstar decided they needed, and with the wild success of GTA V, the more realistic and satisfying physics of older games are NEVER going to return.

IV wasn't perfect, but it did feel satisfying and not unrealistic (the bikes, though - just horrible) I spent 100s of hours prowling the world in cars, not doing anything in particular. In GTA V that desire was gone completely. I ended up not caring about the game world or even the game itself in GTA V because of these heavily dumbed down physics. I fully expect GTA 6 to not change the driving physics at all (for the first time ever) - or even to worsen them.

There is a solution for PC gamers with mods, but console GTA will never be fun or engaging for me again.

 

[Stuart360]

Both have become unplayable for me. Especially SA, actually even at release on PS2, graphics felt already dated to me and I was still in elementary schoolat that time.

Controls are overall stiff, rigid. I did enjoy driving around and riding bycicle though. Game only felt fun with cheat codes activated.

Great game but yeah the graphics were very dated, even back then. It always blows my mind when you compare GTA3, Vice City, and San Andreas to GTAV, then realize that there is only one generation between them. GTAV literally looks like a 2 generation gap.

 

[Acidizer]

Great game but yeah the graphics were very dated, even back then. It always blows my mind when you compare GTA3, Vice City, and San Andreas to GTAV, then realize that there is only one generation between them. GTAV literally looks like a 2 generation gap.

That's because it basically is.

 

[VulcanRaven]

I played GTA 3 some time ago on PS4 and it too holds really well. I tried playing San Andreas on PC but it doesn't have the right atmosphere. It doesn't have that orange haze effect that is in the PS2 version:

 

[Mojoraisin]

Really tried getting into Bully 2-3 years ago as I didn't buy it when released but I found it to be too dull unfortunately. Not really sure what didn't click with me but it just felt too slow. Almost fell asleep playing it sadly as I know quite a few people love it.

 

[lock2k]

Never went back to San Andreas but I regularly go back to Bully and I always have a blast playing it.

Something about that setting is really special. It takes me back to my high school years. I love it.

 

[lock2k]

Best thread in a while and i agree 100%. Quality games never get outdated, in my opinion.

Agree strongly with this.

 

[Phunkydiabetic]

San Andreas was the worst GTA I had played up until that point (1, 2 and VC) and it basically killed my interest in the series (well, GTA IV looking absolutely awful helped). What a load of wasted money.

 

[Mista]

Damn right they do. I’m playing both recently thanks to Xbox BC

 

[Chairman Tickles]

I played GTA 3 some time ago on PS4 and it too holds really well. I tried playing San Andreas on PC but it doesn't have the right atmosphere. It doesn't have that orange haze effect that is in the PS2 version:

It does with the SilentPatch.

 

[nani17]

I'm replaying Vice City

 

[IncognitoPanda]

Both have become unplayable for me. Especially SA, actually even at release on PS2, graphics felt already dated to me and I was still in elementary schoolat that time.

Controls are overall stiff, rigid. I did enjoy driving around and riding bycicle though. Game only felt fun with cheat codes activated.

I got bully on 360 a few years ago. I see the appeal, but god, I find the game design atrocious! The whole thing with going to class, the stupid mini games, the time aspect of it; I just really didn't like it. I can definitely see why people hold it dear to their hearts, but I just felt like I was trying to enjoy a game, amd the game wouldn't let me.

 

[lock2k]

I got bully on 360 a few years ago. I see the appeal, but god, I find the game design atrocious! The whole thing with going to class, the stupid mini games, the time aspect of it; I just really didn't like it. I can definitely see why people hold it dear to their hearts, but I just felt like I was trying to enjoy a game, amd the game wouldn't let me.

I love it precisely because I can skip classes and just be a brat to the school staff during class time and curfew, etc. It's so funny to trip one of the school employees and kick them, use the sling on them, etc. lol

 

[Wimbledon]

A bully 2 would be much appreciated.

 

[Larxia]

Don't you have any issues on Bully? I wanted to play it again a few years ago and it kept crashing very often, apparently it was something common on Windows 10 and there weren't any fixes for that.
I sadly had to stop playing because of this because the game doesn't have any auto saves, and you can't either save at anytime, only at specific save spoints, meaning that I kept losing up to 20 - 30 minutes of gameplay everytime the game crashed, it was extremely annoying.

 

[EverydayBeast]

Agreed OP, still fun.

 

[ph33rknot]

Gta Sa is my favorite of the gta games i loved the rpg elements being able to date and being able to get fat lol