Best Grand Theft Auto game?

[Del Tachi]

I'll allow two votes, because I myself could not decided between Vice City and San Andreas.

III is of course great because it represents the genesis of an entire genre of video games, and its impact on the overall industry has been unparalleled.

IV was generally underwhelming, and a re-imagined Liberty City in the HD universe just didn't exceed expectations like San Andreas did.

V was better than IV, but I think it lost some of the charm that the series is known for.

Vice City is all around a great game because of the time/place in which it is set.  What could be cooler than Miami during the 1980s?  In fact, I really hope that Rockstar decides to return to a 1980s Miami for the next game (or invents a new city all together, D.C. and Atlanta being the best candidates IMO)

GTA: SA was great due to its RPG characteristics, multiple cities, and story-line.  I think it represents the apogee of the series.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

I never got bored of GTA IV, nd GTA V is great, but it has some flaws that GTA IV didn't have.

In GTA V, you get the police after you way too easily. In GTA IV you could commit crimes and get away with it if the police were not nearby or nobody saw/heard. Also, the plot of GTA IV was very complex and intricate, while GTA V didn’t seem to have much of a plot at all. They could have spent the time used on building that hideously overdone strip club on creating better charters (seriously, the strip club is almost like a 3D soft porn movie), and enhancing the plot.

On the bright side, Trevor Phillips ranks with Niko Belic and CJ Johnson as one of the best characters yet, and the map was incredible. I look forward to future expansion packs similar to the Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony that involve the street elements of Las Santos, much like San Andreas did.

As for GTA VI, I'd like to see a new Vice City as well. Chicago would be another neat idea.

[Supersonic]

Vice City is the iconic GTA game to me.

San Andreas is the best in terms of gameplay.

Despite the hype, I didn't really feel GTA IV and V.

[dead0man]

I've only played VC,SA and IV (but I also played all the top down scrollers when they were released so neener neener) and they are all great games (even the top downs), but I think SA was the best.

[Kushahontas]

San Andreas followed by V followed closely by IV

[politicallefty]

I've played them all except V. I've always enjoyed SA the most. It had the huge map, overall better playability, and the best radio stations. After that, VC and III are very close behind. IV never really seemed like anything special.

I've also bought the iOS versions of III, VC, and SA. Even being the first time playing them in years, they haven't lost anything in terms of enjoyment. It may not be as good as on a console, but it's pretty close with surprisingly easy controls.

[dead0man]

Am I the only one to play ALL his GTA on PC?  I always forget that non-little kids play consoles.

[TNF]

I haven't played V yet, but so far I would say San Andreas and IV

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

San Andreas won in just about every category.

[retromike22]

The only one I ever played.... (this makes me feel old) was Grand Theft Auto II.

Oh remember going to my sister's house playing it back in 1999 stealing police cars...

I loved the music:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFJ09XjsXPo

[politicallefty]

Am I the only one to play ALL his GTA on PC?  I always forget that non-little kids play consoles.

I never really got into computer gaming myself, but I doubt it's really any different compared to a console if you have a controller. For those that have a smartphone or tablet, I would recommend those versions of the GTA games. I think they range from $5-7, but sometimes lower during a sale. They are the actual full games and most definitely worth the money. Like I said above, the controls are really quite easy, though it may take a bit of time to get used to.

[Marokai Backbeat]

The Los Santos setting never really did much for me.