[quote name='007']Ok, but let's look at your descriptions... aside from the 'sea' part, doesn't that described exactly what you could do in GTA2, albeit from a 2D top-down perspective? GTA2's world, though less graphically impressive, was essentially a sandbox type game, though one without true 'character interaction', so to speak. What I'm trying to get across is that both games follow nearly the same formula, albeit from a different graphical perspective and with GTA3 being much more story-driven. It was a larger world for certain, but the tenets of both games were essentially the same. You start in a large city where you can go anywhere by foot or by vehicle, you do missions, and you can also wreak havoc on foot if you so choose.
I agree about the 'flat-out crazy shit' that could be done in 3, but I assert that it was only the 2D to 3D transistion that the series was going to have to make eventually is what made that possible... the basic elements of the GTA2 and GTA3 were the same, aside from a more fleshed out storyline in 3. Obviously they weren't going to do another 2D top-down GTA in a now 3D standard generation, so they simply changed the engine, but left the rest intact. That's why I call it an evolution instead of a reinvention... the core gameplay elements remained the same, they simply upgraded the way it was presented.[/quote]
You say graphics - but really look at the games side by side.
- Big color dots turn into people
- Buildings go from barely perceptible facades to that diner on the corner, that high rise with the dry cleaners, that construction site with the crane
- Details, details, details - papers litter the street, parking lights go from green to red above, wise guys have that tough guy walk and pros walk like pros - all visual cues lending an emotional element to the game
- Weather, day/night transitions, and lighting go from crude iconic representations to a city that eases suspension of disbelief
All these games revolutionize the experience. As fun as it is to blow stuff up in GTA2 at the end of the day it just feels like an advanced version of the common shmup - all I feel are alternating emotions of frustration and triumph.
When blowing cars up in GTA3 I get that visceral fireball rush, when running from the cops in GTA3 I really feel hunted, when shooting back at rival gangs in GTA3 I want to f them up.
And we haven't even cracked the gameplay/mission/transparent presentation elements of the game. It was revolutionary.