Replaying GTA 3

[Anywhere USA]

Hello, I'm that guy who hated the game and couldn't figure out how to shoot until it was far too late in the game to properly learn.

 

I decided, partially because I felt like I had screwed myself by not learning early on, and partially because people kept telling me to give it another chance, to play it again.

 

No cheats, Xbox version.

 

I EVEN decided to try to 100% it, something I've never done before. I did the phone missions, the RC stuff, the police, fire truck, and I'm just finishing the damn rampages before the mission where the mob betrays me.

 

I've gotten decent at shooting. I beat Bomb Da Base Act II on my first try, without trapping him or even using the adrenaline power up, and in Triads and Tribulations I showed my decent shooting skill.

 

"The Pick Up" was still a huge problem, and I could only beat it with 125 health max armor(not easy to get without cheats, I usually grab the powerups near the dockyard then go to the red light district for booty) and the rmapages have been hell, but I AM learning how to shoot.

 

Honestly, at long range I'm fairly decent, it's when the enemies charge me on mass I start to screw up because the game has TERRIBLE camera controls, and the shooting controls are still kinda sh*tty overall.

 

This is NOT a favorite of mine. I no longer hate it (GTA 1 and London are the only 'bad' games) but GTA 3 is probably my third least favorite of the series.

Advance was better(ATM, those two are both currently in the 'decent' category, GTA 3 might edge it out)

 

I've also heard Vice City still has the shooting and camera issues, but the plot and driving are better, so when I play that it'll probably outrank both of them, same with LSC.

 

VCS and San Andreas apparently have better shooting, not GTA 4 level, but better, so I'll probably like those alot

[Anywhere USA]

WHY DID NO ONE TELL ME I COULD DO DRIVEBYS IN THE UZI TRIAD RAMPAGE!

[Earthbound]

Fair shout. It's a hard game. Some enemies are way too OP, especially any enemy with an M16 or shotgun.

 

Good work sticking with it.

[Anywhere USA]

49 minutes ago, Earthbound said:

Fair shout. It's a hard game. Some enemies are way too OP, especially any enemy with an M16 or shotgun.

 

Good work sticking with it.

I got through the rampages, I've heard it's best to do Ambulance(way harder then firetruck or police) before moving on though.

 

I suck at ambulance extremely hard though

 

(I also ignored Patriot Playground, but that's nowhere near gangs)

 

Done for now.

[Anywhere USA]

Whoever designed the paramedic missions has a special place in hell

[Bartleby]

Using the handbrake for tight turns and quick stops helps, if you're not already doing that. Just be careful not to flip over. Aside from that, it's largely about knowing the map and common pickup locations, which takes time.

 

"Patriot Playground" will probably be annoying for you.....but just you wait until you get to "Gripped!".

[Anywhere USA]

7 hours ago, Bartleby said:

Using the handbrake for tight turns and quick stops helps, if you're not already doing that. Just be careful not to flip over. Aside from that, it's largely about knowing the map and common pickup locations, which takes time.

 

"Patriot Playground" will probably be annoying for you.....but just you wait until you get to "Gripped!".

I'm still refusing to leave Portland, though I'm growing more resentful by the day.

 

I've spent about 3-4 hours a day for the past 4-5 days.

My record is level 7. (Pissing off the Triads probably wasn't WISE, but they have NEVER killed me with their guns. I have been carjacked and thus failed once or twice, but it's not my biggest problem. Running out of time is, followed by flipping over, following by crashing and blowing up)

 

I'm not as concerned as Patriot Playground because I have no worry of making it impossible. I can come back to that whenever, who cares

[Jimmy]

On 6/5/2020 at 9:04 PM, Anywhere USA said:

I'm still refusing to leave Portland, though I'm growing more resentful by the day.

 

I've spent about 3-4 hours a day for the past 4-5 days.

My record is level 7. (Pissing off the Triads probably wasn't WISE, but they have NEVER killed me with their guns. I have been carjacked and thus failed once or twice, but it's not my biggest problem. Running out of time is, followed by flipping over, following by crashing and blowing up)

 

I'm not as concerned as Patriot Playground because I have no worry of making it impossible. I can come back to that whenever, who cares

You'll love Staunton. It's bigger and has more place to explore. Shoreside is interesting with it's whole dark, suburb climate. You can click some great cinematic shots on both of those islands. Triads grow more hostile towards the player after the Mission "Blow Fish". A tip about running when being shot, do not equip a heavy weapon like a Shotgun or a Rifle. Just have the fist or a SMG Avoid using the Triad territory (Chinatown) if you find it difficult.

[Anywhere USA]

3 hours ago, Jimmy said:

You'll love Staunton. It's bigger and has more place to explore. Shoreside is interesting with it's whole dark, suburb climate. You can click some great cinematic shots on both of those islands. Triads grow more hostile towards the player after the Mission "Blow Fish". A tip about running when being shot, do not equip a heavy weapon like a Shotgun or a Rifle. Just have the fist or a SMG Avoid using the Triad territory (Chinatown) if you find it difficult.

This is "replaying", I made it to "Grand Theft Aero" on my first attempt, I know what Staunton looks like.

Dark, ugly, and hard to navigate.

[Earthbound]

1 hour ago, Anywhere USA said:

Dark, ugly, and hard to navigate.

Such a hater. 

 

It's a great island. Lots of hidden gems. Try to enjoy it mate.

[Anywhere USA]

I managed to get 11 guys in Round 12, squishing the last one in an alley.

Personal best so far

[Jimmy]

On 6/11/2020 at 11:24 AM, Anywhere USA said:

This is "replaying", I made it to "Grand Theft Aero" on my first attempt, I know what Staunton looks like.

Dark, ugly, and hard to navigate.

Was GTA IV or V the first game you ever played? I hardly know anyone who started with the III era games and called them ugly.

[Bartleby]

2 hours ago, Jimmy said:

Was GTA IV or V the first game you ever played? I hardly know anyone who started with the III era games and called them ugly.

I think if you started with VC or SA, you might come away thinking this, though. Liberty City in GTA3 has a sort of urban sprawl/concrete jungle sort of atmosphere, giving it a less cinematic and more nihilistic, somewhat bleak feel compared to its later counterparts.

[Jimmy]

Just now, Bartleby said:

I think if you started with VC or SA, you might come away thinking this, though. Liberty City in GTA3 has a sort of urban sprawl/concrete jungle sort of atmosphere, giving it a less cinematic and more nihilistic, somewhat bleak feel compared to its later counterparts.

I couldn't agree more. But a III era player would still appreciate the dark, less detailed urban sprawl atmosphere which would make it more mysterious. I get what OP is trying to say about being lost in Staunton. The lack of a map option in-game probably adds up as well. I started with Vice City myself and came to GTA3. Wasn't a huge fan until I completed the game. A few replays and you start to appreciate the simplicity and bleak nature of the whole game.  Just my thoughts.

[Bartleby]

23 minutes ago, Jimmy said:

I couldn't agree more. But a III era player would still appreciate the dark, less detailed urban sprawl atmosphere which would make it more mysterious. I get what OP is trying to say about being lost in Staunton. The lack of a map option in-game probably adds up as well. I started with Vice City myself and came to GTA3. Wasn't a huge fan until I completed the game. A few replays and you start to appreciate the simplicity and bleak nature of the whole game.  Just my thoughts.

I think part of what makes the game work as well as it does is that GTA3 captures a certain point in time - I don't think Rockstar could make another game like it today if it tried. The relative lack of detail in the story and gameplay was a relic from the 2D era, just like getting money for blowing up cars. Later GTAs, for as great as they are, have a much more robust kind of narrative which is great for story-telling, but maybe this comes at a slight detriment to crafting an independent sandbox style of atmosphere.

 

A great example of this is LCS. Similar map with many of the same characters, but the way they're portrayed is completely the inverse to GTA3; instead of being normal(-ish) people with a hinting quirk or two in GTA3, in LCS the quirks basically are the characters and so they don't feel interesting let alone real. As a result the game feels completely absent of nuance, and comes off as more of a comic book than a sober look at a city's seedy underbelly.

Edited June 15, 2020 by Bartleby

[Lioshenka]

On 6/15/2020 at 3:38 AM, Anywhere USA said:

I managed to get 11 guys in Round 12, squishing the last one in an alley.

Ah yes, squishing the level 12 guy. Been there myself. But until you've had a patient stuck behind a fence you haven't experience GTA 3 fully.

[Anywhere USA]

On 6/16/2020 at 6:21 AM, Lioshenka said:

Ah yes, squishing the level 12 guy. Been there myself. But until you've had a patient stuck behind a fence you haven't experience GTA 3 fully.

Nah I’ve driven through that,

On 6/15/2020 at 12:30 AM, Bartleby said:

I think part of what makes the game work as well as it does is that GTA3 captures a certain point in time - I don't think Rockstar could make another game like it today if it tried. The relative lack of detail in the story and gameplay was a relic from the 2D era, just like getting money for blowing up cars. Later GTAs, for as great as they are, have a much more robust kind of narrative which is great for story-telling, but maybe this comes at a slight detriment to crafting an independent sandbox style of atmosphere.

 

A great example of this is LCS. Similar map with many of the same characters, but the way they're portrayed is completely the inverse to GTA3; instead of being normal(-ish) people with a hinting quirk or two in GTA3, in LCS the quirks basically are the characters and so they don't feel interesting let alone real. As a result the game feels completely absent of nuance, and comes off as more of a comic book than a sober look at a city's seedy underbelly.

I see where you’re coming from, even though I disagree on a lot of it.

 

GTA 3 is still my second least favorite of the series so far, and I doubt it’s moving up anytime soon unless the stories games f*ck up badly.

On 6/14/2020 at 9:13 PM, Jimmy said:

Was GTA IV or V the first game you ever played? I hardly know anyone who started with the III era games and called them ugly.

4, started with 4.

 

No specifically Staunton. Portland and Shoreside have a very nice feel to them, but Shoreside is a f*ckimng maze so it drops a few points.

 

Also I liked the astetic of San Andreas from what I’ve seen.

Not so much Vice City though, really not a fan of the setting, we’ll have to wait and see til I fully play that though.

 

Also, I’m not someone who only likes the HD era, GTA 2 is probably my second favorite of the series(IV and Chinatown Wars right up with it) 

[Anywhere USA]

Anyway, I get the feeling if I keep speaking my mind the GTA III friends will inevitably kill me, I learned my lesson from the incident on reddit, so back to that paramedic design disaster

[Anywhere USA]

Got to level 11, but lost extremely quickly because I couldn't reach anyone in the 20 or seconds I had. I had one guy who I might have been able to get, but I drove way past him because I overestimated his location

[Anywhere USA]

Month 5: Ambulances, Ambulances everywhere. No salvation. Haven't gotten to Round 10 in months. Losing hope in life. Urge to burn GTA 3 rising.

 

Claude why have you forsaken me? I used to love you in GTA 2. I trusted you.....and you gave me this.......

Edited November 8, 2020 by Anywhere USA

[_ROM30_]

Im trying for 100% now on GTA 3 ipad with a PS4 controller, Im dreading the paramedic missions especially since Ive finished the main story and all the gangs are out to get me.

 

The shooting on IOS is even worse as Claude auto aims and the camera is facing him whilst hes shooting who knows what. However most of the time hes aiming on the person you want dead so I had no issues completing all the missions.

[Anywhere USA]

YES! f*ck THE PARAMEDIC I BEAT IT!

 

I SOFT RESET MOST THE ATTEMPTS SO THE STATS MENU IS INSCFUEATE, but I did go from 132-486 in two days since I started trying again, real number is probably 2000+ pickups

[Anywhere USA]

Playing a 3rd time through on PS2. Took me months, but beat Paramedic finally and got to the second island .Just got all the packages there.

 

Is GTA 3 the last game where (due to game mechanics like gangs) it's crucial to do all the side missions as soon as possible during the story? Anything in Vice City like that?(I know Vice City is probably the smallest game of the 3D era, both in terms of map size and missions, but I also know it's very much GTA 3 2.0)

[GTAFanLuca]

10 hours ago, Anywhere USA said:

Playing a 3rd time through on PS2. Took me months, but beat Paramedic finally and got to the second island .Just got all the packages there.

 

Is GTA 3 the last game where (due to game mechanics like gangs) it's crucial to do all the side missions as soon as possible during the story? Anything in Vice City like that?(I know Vice City is probably the smallest game of the 3D era, both in terms of map size and missions, but I also know it's very much GTA 3 2.0)

In Vice City, the Haitians will be violent towards you at some point in the game. Nothing to worry about, as they only hang around Little Haiti and carry pistols.

 

In San Andreas, well, after a few missions for Sweet, the Ballas will hunt down CJ on sight (however, from what I know, gang violence is turned off during certain side missions).

 

In Liberty City Stories, there will be plenty of violent gangs, just like GTA III. The Triads, the Sindaccos (until they're wiped out), the Forellis, the Colombians and the Yakuza. Be careful about this one too.

 

In Vice City Stories, the Cholos are a threat, but only for about the first half of the game. Other than that, be careful about taking over empire buildings, because the gangs that you take over empire buildings from will attack you on sight (both by sending hitmen after you, who have an insane capacity of drive-by - however, this effect will go away once the game is saved, and on the streets around their own empire buildings - this effect cannot be cancelled unless all empire buildings are taken over).

 

Hope this comment is useful for you.

[Anywhere USA]

Things go way faster without paramedic and taxi to worry about. I might just try Paramedic again on the second island to see how hard it was there.

 

Halway through Ray's missions

[KGBeast]

If you think this game is hard I can't imagine the time you'd have with the first Mafia or The Getaway. 

[CynicalMexican]

On 6/14/2020 at 11:30 PM, Bartleby said:

I think part of what makes the game work as well as it does is that GTA3 captures a certain point in time - I don't think Rockstar could make another game like it today if it tried. The relative lack of detail in the story and gameplay was a relic from the 2D era, just like getting money for blowing up cars. Later GTAs, for as great as they are, have a much more robust kind of narrative which is great for story-telling, but maybe this comes at a slight detriment to crafting an independent sandbox style of atmosphere.

 

A great example of this is LCS. Similar map with many of the same characters, but the way they're portrayed is completely the inverse to GTA3; instead of being normal(-ish) people with a hinting quirk or two in GTA3, in LCS the quirks basically are the characters and so they don't feel interesting let alone real. As a result the game feels completely absent of nuance, and comes off as more of a comic book than a sober look at a city's seedy underbelly.

Controversial opinion: this is why I also love the original Watch Dogs. 

 

Both GTA 3 and Watch Dogs 1 had such a grey, nihilistic, depressing, dark, cynical, and tragic vibe to them. No optimism, no good guys, everything goes to sh*t, and it's f*cking awesome. Claude and Aiden both have vague backgrounds and the world oddly builds itself.

 

Compare them to GTA SA and WD2 respectively. Those games are a lot more robust, constructed, and fleshed out. But man, did I love the tense vibe of both III LC and WD Chicago.

 

IMO I think for many modern gamers, GTA 3 isn't anything too great, but for me I f*cking loved it as a kid. I think the GTA 3-ish approach to the original Watch Dogs let a lot of people down, but man I f*cking loved gunning down crooks with Aiden. Yes, the OG WD had an outdated approach to the game, but that's what made it so charming.

 

GTA IV, IMO, isn't comparable to either. The characters are far more fleshed out there, which is great, but it feels too unique.

 

(Sorry if I sang phrase to an unrelated game; I grew up LOVING GTA 3, and I fell in love with Watch Dogs back in 2014 for the same reason. Games with that vibe are so rare today) 

[Anywhere USA]

Finished 'The Exchange' and 'S.A.M.'. Both came off as easier then 'Grand Theft Aero' and 'Grand Theft Auto'.

 

I'm currently doing Import/Export, which I skipped prior. Just missing 2 cars in Portland, then the Shoreside ones.

 

I'm also missing a couple of D-Ice's missions, Gripped!, and one stunt jump(no clue which), but I'm pretty much finished.

 

 

Should I do Vice City or Liberty City Stories next?

On 5/25/2021 at 11:02 PM, GTAFanLuca said:

In Vice City, the Haitians will be violent towards you at some point in the game. Nothing to worry about, as they only hang around Little Haiti and carry pistols.

 

In San Andreas, well, after a few missions for Sweet, the Ballas will hunt down CJ on sight (however, from what I know, gang violence is turned off during certain side missions).

 

In Liberty City Stories, there will be plenty of violent gangs, just like GTA III. The Triads, the Sindaccos (until they're wiped out), the Forellis, the Colombians and the Yakuza. Be careful about this one too.

 

In Vice City Stories, the Cholos are a threat, but only for about the first half of the game. Other than that, be careful about taking over empire buildings, because the gangs that you take over empire buildings from will attack you on sight (both by sending hitmen after you, who have an insane capacity of drive-by - however, this effect will go away once the game is saved, and on the streets around their own empire buildings - this effect cannot be cancelled unless all empire buildings are taken over).

 

Hope this comment is useful for you.

So Liberty City Stories is the only other one where I have to play strategically and do the side missions really early to avoid screwing myself? That makes me want to play that one next

[GTAKid667]

Nice job completing the story and good luck with those last few things to get you to 100%, sounds like it has been a journey! Hopefully it ended up being a fun one along the way

 

Both Vice City and Liberty City Stories are good choices, I'd recommend either over San Andreas and Vice City Stories at this point simply on the basis that the mechanics are similar to each other and you won't get used to features in San Andreas and Vice City Stories that aren't in the other games (as I think that'd make for a less enjoyable experience as a first time player).

 

I think I'd recommend Liberty City Stories. You're already familiar with the location and characters, and it'd be a nice way of adding more to the story you've just played through. I'd always recommend doing the side missions early on in the game, but the gang hostility in GTA III is probably the worst you're going to encounter of any game. It really is brutal if you don't complete side missions early which for a new player isn't at all obvious. I think you're in for an easier ride with the other games in that regard, but it's good to be cautious.

[Jeansowaty]

I don't recommend LCS solely because you might fall asleep while playing it