With GTA San Andreas finally here I thought this would be an interesting question. The first GTA came out in 1997 so that would have made me 12. Considering the cartoon violence and the 2D top down viewpoint of play I suppose it’s not that shocking. Today I think some people would find a 12 year old playing San Andreas shocking (while most of us would continue on with our lives).

So how old were you and did you even actually pick up a copy of GTA?

Hmmm...I would have been 11. I remember playing it but thinking it was stupid at the time, lol. Back in those days I was mainly just an RPG player, but now I play mainly action and online games.

I would have just turned 14. I picked it up about a year later and to be honest really didn' t see the appeal. Actually I don' t really see the appeal of the latest versions of the game either. GTA is a bit shit really imo.

Sorry folks, but I was 31...almost 32 by that time!

I feel really old now...

Maybe it' s time for some old school lessons...any of you youngun' s up to the challenge?

I was 19, and I didn' t play any of the 2D GTA' s all that much. I played the first one for like 10 minutes on PC, but I didn' t like it at all. Let' s face it: that franchise NEEDS to be in 3D. It' s that simple.

So the first time I actually bought and played a GTA was GTA III in 2002 (I know it came out in 2001, but I waited on it before I played...silly me).

1997? Damn I was about 24 I guess. I never played any of the Dreamcast or PS1 ones. They just looked like another " me too" game so I didn' t even rent them.

How old where you when Bill Walsh College Football came out? Or how about Spider Man for the Sega CD? Or what about Kolibri for the 32X?

Shite was it that long ago? I wa slike 11 or 12, but I dont think I played it til I was 13 or 14. It was at a friends place and we made the biggest damn bowl of chicken noodle soup youd ever seen. I never thought much about violence in games, I was more affected by the real life violence around me. I just thought it was pretty funny runnign ppl down and using the flame thrower, it was all so funny way back then...well actually it still is now, the game violence that is.

Indeed Mass X, the thing I remember most about the first GTA is the violence. It was only a top down 2D game so it didn' t even matter that you were running people over. At my age then hearing the comical ' squish' sound effect, or the screams of people running for their life whilst on fire was hilarious. I think the first GTA required a good imagination too. After all the missions had been done you were left with basically three playground areas to go ' play cops and robbers' .

GTA 3 for me was the least impressive of the series because it was basically more of the same, only in 3D. Sure there was *some* stuff to do but I' d overplayed GTA so the playground aspect of the city didn' t appeal to me. With Vice City and San Andreas there is just a hell of a lot more to do.

GTA 3 for me was the least impressive of the series because it was basically more of the same, only in 3D.

I' m confused..." only" in 3D? That was the entire allure of the game. I hated the old GTA' s just because they were so boring with that top-down 2D view...it had zero chance of bringing me into that world. GTA III revolutionized that franchise, not to mention that kind of genre, by allowing the player to be down IN the environment and partake of the city in a much deeper way.

Yes, there was much more you could actually do in VC and SA, but GTA III started that, and was phenomenal in tring for its overall goal at the time- immersion.

You see I loved the first GTA despite its top down viewpoint. GTA 3 did bring the series into the mainstream but because I' d overplayed one world, after the initial ' Wow!' factor wore off I was just bored and I had to force myself to finish the game. I didn’t feel like ‘playing’ about as much in Liberty City. Looking back I feel GTA 3 is very soul-less. The only thing I can remember from it is the radio stations (Lazlow in particular).

I was 18 when it came out. I was the only guy on the block big upping it. The rest hated the way it controlled. I love the fact that the PSOne version let you put your CDs in as well as you can listen to the game music through a regular CD player. I remember when they called the top down perspective " O.J. Camera view" . Heck, there was a SUV that resembled a Bronco that you could jack (Yes, it came in white.)

I was only 9, and no, i haven' t got violent becouse of it!