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Control Evolution

Discussion of how GTA III and Vice City had problematic shooting controls that prevented enjoyment until GTA IV improved them enough for some players

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For some players, the clunky mechanics and "abysmal" shooting controls of early Grand Theft Auto titles acted as a significant barrier that prevented them from enjoying the series for years. While the janky top-down perspective of the original games initially alienated some fans, others found the combat in 3D entries like GTA III and Vice City so frustrating that they were unable to progress through the story. It wasn't until the release of GTA IV that the controls felt sufficiently polished, finally allowing these players to overcome their negative associations and fully appreciate the franchise’s evolution.

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I'm more than old enough to remember the original GTA and GTA II, and I have friends who played and loved both of them. For me, I thought the first GTA had graphics from the past (I'd got too used to playing 3D shooters on PC - along with Wipeout on the Playstation - so struggled to get past the top down presentation), and just felt janky to play. GTA II was more polished, but I still didn't love it. Yet people raved about them. Anyway, the negative associations I had with GTA I and GTA II stopped me from playing any other GTA game until 4 came out in 2008, at which point I was like, OK, FFS, people won't stop banging on about this so I suppose I'll try it again. I ended up really liking it but, because I only played it on friends' consoles, and I started the game several times over, I never played it all the way through until 2018. I then played through both the expansions, along with GTA V in 2019. I've subsequently gone back to play III and Vice City, both of which I also like - as well as Vice City Stories on the PSP. I've barely touched San Andreas, but the few minutes I have played suggest that I'll also enjoy it. I've even fired up GTA and GTA II again... but still don't really get on with either of them. I presume there must be others out there who were put off enough by them that it meant they've never touched the rest of the series, or only got into again several games later, but it doesn't seem to be a particularly common experience.
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I’ve played tons of 3D games, ever since they started coming out. I could never get very far in GTA 3 or Vice City because of the controls. I tried when they came out and I think I tried again later. It wasn’t looking around, that was never a problem. The shooting controls were abysmal. If I ended up in a fight with more than one person I was pretty much guaranteed to die. GTA 4 was the first of the main line series where the controls were good enough for me to enjoy the whole game.