Grand Theft Auto Grieving Thread - Yep, I've been drinkin' again...

[Meth Dick]

T

I agree. I had a great time in SR2 as a kid and the factions and story were really memorable (controversial, but I think Dane Vogel and Ultor were really epic). I think SR3 and SR4 were more just distractions that were ok at the time and had kind of interesting customisation (though actually inferior to SR2, I believe) and I don't remember anything about them particularly fondly. I enjoyed SR2 so much that I went back and played SR1, whilst I was still a kid, and I was actually pleasantly surprised that it was really cool.

Honestly, I kind of feel a similar way with GTA V, although I feel slightly less negatively about GTA V than I do about SR3/SR4. It was fun in 2013, but I don't really care about any of it anymore and it feels characterless.

The vehicle customization in SR2 was fantastic. I made redneck trucks and I'd take gang members cars because those were the only ones with the certain decals and I made my character look like a Crip, it was the ultimate gang banger larp game.

 

[wtfNeedSignUp]

It was an experiment in doing a super serious GTA and while a huge sales success, left a bad taste in a lot of peoples mouths and led to Saints Row stealing a decent chunk of the audience with SR 3-4, which was more silly in tone ala the PS2 era games.

As for a remake of GTA4; the only way I can see that happening is if it is exclusive to the Switch/Switch 2 since it might be easier to port it to the Switch than port GTA 6.

It was the fault of video game reviewers hyping up Saint's Row because "it isn't grey, and it's quirky". SR3 was shit and SR4 wasn't even a GTA clone. Looking back at those times is like look at early signs of a tumour with hindsight. The post 2009 gaming sphere doomed gaming.

 

[30+GameOvers]

I'm curious, can anyone date when SA started to become a meme? I don't remember the game being looked at by people as this silly experience back in the day, outside of a few lines and general GTA insanity, but if you ask zoomers what they think of it now it's just going to be some funny clips taken from reddit or twitter.
Are the other GTA games even given the same treatment? GTA 3 is kinda bland but Vice City was definitely more out there, and I don't see that one memed nearly as much.

 

[Prophetic Spirit]

I'm curious, can anyone date when SA started to become a meme? I don't remember the game being looked at by people as this silly experience back in the day, outside of a few lines and general GTA insanity, but if you ask zoomers what they think of it now it's just going to be some funny clips taken from reddit or twitter.
Are the other GTA games even given the same treatment? GTA 3 is kinda bland but Vice City was definitely more out there, and I don't see that one memed nearly as much.

Since always.
But more starting from 2017 when Big Smoke Order goes nuts.

 

[30+GameOvers]

Since always.
But more starting from 2017 when Big Smoke Order goes nuts.

I wouldn't say it was always seen as a meme. I want to say for the rest of 2000s it was seen more as a respected groundbreaker that made Rockstar and open world games into what it is, and later paved way for GTA 4. Interesting that you mention 2017, I swear it started earlier than that.
I guess it makes sense, that's when a new generation of gamers got old enough to play, and they obviously didn't see SA as a piece of history like people who were there did. To them, it really is just all memes and jokes, since what else are they supposed to be wowed at? That scale isn't really impressive anymore, every other game is open world now and the 90s LA rap culture might as well be ancient times to them.

Still curious how we haven't gotten a "Big Smoke" moment from VC. There is plenty of memorable lines and moments from that game that could easily be memed into the zeitgeist if anyone cared to.

 

[Green Man]

SR3 was a fun enough game but it didn't really deliver what I expected from the franchise, pretty much everyone just wanted SR2 but bigger and more and they have managed to fuck that up like, what, four times now? Five if you count Agents of Mayhem. And now Volition's in the ground for good thanks to that awful fucking reboot. I think SR3 and what came after were the result of devs/publishers getting in their head about the "GTA ripoff" shit and wanting to strike out in a different direction, but it never really was a GTA ripoff unless you count any game with an open world and cars to be a GTA ripoff. It focused on gang shit from the very beginning, whereas the only game in the GTA catalog that does that is SA, the rest are more or less organized crime [mafias, triads, syndicates, etc] or heists. But I've been on that rant quite a few times in the Saints Row thread and I imagine there's a good bit of overlap here.

 

[⋖ cørdion ⋗]

I'm curious, can anyone date when SA started to become a meme? I don't remember the game being looked at by people as this silly experience back in the day, outside of a few lines and general GTA insanity, but if you ask zoomers what they think of it now it's just going to be some funny clips taken from reddit or twitter.
Are the other GTA games even given the same treatment? GTA 3 is kinda bland but Vice City was definitely more out there, and I don't see that one memed nearly as much.

I think it's more-so the make of the game. Everyone of a certain age group played it, and it had a few notorious funny moments that dug deep into people and can be brought back like a sleeper agent trigger. 45 min review of GTA:SA, 30 sec zinger about Smoke's order, move on. Now you see that in 3 videos in a row and you start to connect the dots.

I mean look at all the Sseth copycats and "mundane deep voice with mlg-era editing" channels that pop up. If a majority of content channels online instead were.. women talking about celebrity TV, we'd probably be talking about iconic yet underrated moments from America's Next Top Model instead.

 

[The Last Stand]

Since always.
But more starting from 2017 when Big Smoke Order goes nuts.

I'd say around 2017-2018 when people would make rumors about CJ being in GTA 5/6.

 

[wtfNeedSignUp]

Playing GTA4, it really is a time capsule of the late 2000's, before the cultural endtimes of the iphone. Missions like catfishing a faggot to kill him would NEVER happen today.

Having mid mission checkpoints would be nice tho.

 

[Meth Dick]

Playing GTA4, it really is a time capsule of the late 2000's, before the cultural endtimes of the iphone. Missions like catfishing a faggot to kill him would NEVER happen today.

Having mid mission checkpoints would be nice tho.

I laughed so hard at that mission's cutscenes.
One of my favorite things was how realistic the dialogue sounded. Friends actually sounded like friends, family sounded like family, and enemies sounded like enemies in the dialogue.
GTA V's dialogue doesn't even come close and I have the feeling that GTA VI is going to be worse in that department, and in others.
I'd give up the mid mission checkpoints for better dialogue, gameplay, and physics.
The only thing I think I'd really miss going back to IV is rolling your car back over when you flip it, as unrealistic as it was.

 

[Breadquanda.]

Missions like catfishing a faggot to kill him would NEVER happen today.

One of my favorite things was how realistic the dialogue sounded. Friends actually sounded like friends, family sounded like family, and enemies sounded like enemies in the dialogue.

Agreed. Characters like Gay Tony, too, are not even 'harmful' as far as I am concerned. Most people in GTA IV are stereotypes and charicatures, and people like Tony do exist in real life. Plus, Tony wasn't a bad guy: he was loveable despite being so many bad things. People really did just feel more real.

French Tom was annoying and detestable whilst being a gay stereotype (a type of person who does exist in real life) and was killed as part of the plot; Gay Tony was another type of gay stereotype who was a good character overall and who was an ally. I just hate the one-sided type of liberal who would view this all as some kind of representation of 'problematic hatred'. I'm just glad reasonable people still appreciate this.

 

[Psyduck]

I laughed so hard at that mission's cutscenes.
One of my favorite things was how realistic the dialogue sounded. Friends actually sounded like friends, family sounded like family, and enemies sounded like enemies in the dialogue.
GTA V's dialogue doesn't even come close and I have the feeling that GTA VI is going to be worse in that department, and in others.
I'd give up the mid mission checkpoints for better dialogue, gameplay, and physics.
The only thing I think I'd really miss going back to IV is rolling your car back over when you flip it, as unrealistic as it was.

It's not just GTA 5, its a lot of games in general nowadays, feels like the writers are aiming for "witty" and "clever" rather than natural.

It's like that infamous "My face is tired" line from Mass Effect Andromeda. No one talks like that. No one ever says their face is tired when they mean to say they're exhausted.

A lot of modern dialogue feels like every line has to be one of those "I shouldve said that!" quips you think up after the convo ends.

 

[30+GameOvers]

It's not just GTA 5, its a lot of games in general nowadays, feels like the writers are aiming for "witty" and "clever" rather than natural.

It's like that infamous "My face is tired" line from Mass Effect Andromeda. No one talks like that. No one ever says their face is tired when they mean to say they're exhausted.

A lot of modern dialogue feels like every line has to be one of those "I shouldve said that!" quips you think up after the convo ends.

You could have just said "Marvel Writing" since this is all these cretins seem to look up to. Joss Wheadon ruined an entire generation of writers.

 

[Prophetic Spirit]

Agreed. Characters like Gay Tony, too, are not even 'harmful' as far as I am concerned. Most people in GTA IV are stereotypes and charicatures, and people like Tony do exist in real life. Plus, Tony wasn't a bad guy: he was loveable despite being so many bad things. People really did just feel more real.

French Tom was annoying and detestable whilst being a gay stereotype (a type of person who does exist in real life) and was killed as part of the plot; Gay Tony was another type of gay stereotype who was a good character overall and who was an ally. I just hate the one-sided type of liberal who would view this all as some kind of representation of 'problematic hatred'. I'm just glad reasonable people still appreciate this.

Tony even helps you shooting in the building shootout & the club one.
He's a badass faggot iirc.

 

[wtfNeedSignUp]

It's not just GTA 5, its a lot of games in general nowadays, feels like the writers are aiming for "witty" and "clever" rather than natural.

It's like that infamous "My face is tired" line from Mass Effect Andromeda. No one talks like that. No one ever says their face is tired when they mean to say they're exhausted.

A lot of modern dialogue feels like every line has to be one of those "I shouldve said that!" quips you think up after the convo ends.

Last couple of years it's not just the wittiness, but also filing off edges off characters. As long as characters are protagonist they are all "one big family that looks out for eachother". You already had shades of it in RDR2, so it will almost surely be in 6.

Meanwhile 4 all the characters are either a den of vipers or will actually behave like people in familial relationship.

Anyways third island unlocked, almost finished the bank mission on first try only to die in the very end by "cop with a shotgun" meme.

 

[Meth Dick]

Last couple of years it's not just the wittiness, but also filing off edges off characters. As long as characters are protagonist they are all "one big family that looks out for eachother". You already had shades of it in RDR2, so it will almost surely be in 6.

Meanwhile 4 all the characters are either a den of vipers or will actually behave like people in familial relationship.

Anyways third island unlocked, almost finished the bank mission on first try only to die in the very end by "cop with a shotgun" meme.

That "cop with shotgun" shit was hilarious. I laughed so long when I killed a cop and when his shotgun went off hitting the ground killing me

 

[The Last Stand]

Agreed. Characters like Gay Tony, too, are not even 'harmful' as far as I am concerned. Most people in GTA IV are stereotypes and charicatures, and people like Tony do exist in real life.

You can "like" a character and detest whatever actions they may do. I like how IV is becoming a cult classic as it aged. IV's Liberty City, while small in size, was massive in scope.

I was just about to praise The Ballad of Gay Tony for exploring the nightlife, glamour lifestyle. Each district within Liberty City had character, diversity, story, purpose. IV's Alderney masked its mob/biker crime through suburbia bliss.

People call NYC The Big Apple, but I'd call it an onion. Layers upon layers hidden within each other with a pretty exterior.

 

[wtfNeedSignUp]

And finished. Funny that the ending is contrary to what you'd think happen, and the choice of revenge is unarguably better since the one that bites the dust is barely a character. Overall it was nostalgic in many ways and a lot of fun to get back to a GTA game after the genre pretty much died out to FPS and RPGs world exploration. You do feel like a lot of features went missing like buying assets and multiple weapons (especially as by the end you have massive amount of money without anything to do with it). I think the first quarter was the best character wise, with the characters afterward being mostly forgettable and Niko just doing busy work for several hours without really any point. And the ending feels like it should have had a lot of variants by what you did during the gametime.

Absolutely loved Brucie, but that's probably my Israeli bias.

 

[Psyduck]

And finished. Funny that the ending is contrary to what you'd think happen, and the choice of revenge is unarguably better since the one that bites the dust is barely a character.

Revenge could've been done much better had they:

a) Build Pegorino up and made him a legit threat to Niko. He wasn't gonna get Dimitri levels of heat this late in the game, but you could've done something more intimidating than a mocking parody of Tony Soprano

b) Went with Bulgarin as the last enemy Niko fights in the game

Also, giving Kate a bigger role in the story would've helped. I've noticed that people don't go with Revenge because it's the "better" ending, they choose it because no one wanted Roman to die.

 

[wtfNeedSignUp]

Revenge could've been done much better had they:

a) Build Pegorino up and made him a legit threat to Niko. He wasn't gonna get Dimitri levels of heat this late in the game, but you could've done something more intimidating than a mocking parody of Tony Soprano

b) Went with Bulgarin as the last enemy Niko fights in the game

Also, giving Kate a bigger role in the story would've helped. I've noticed that people don't go with Revenge because it's the "better" ending, they choose it because no one wanted Roman to die.

I would have less problem with it if it was a case of the more appealing choice leading to the worse ending (so it balances out). But everybody with a brain cell would choose to kill Dimitri when the alternative is to cooperate with him due to sheer greed. It's not like with the penultimate choice where you can understand why not killing the traitor would be a good option since he is no longer a danger.