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Your favourite GTA clone

doops.

doops.

Member
Jun 3, 2020
2,489
Just so personal definitions don't get muddled, I'm exclusively referring to games that are either directly inspired by GTA or at least aim to recapture that GTA open-world magic.

Some obvious examples:

  • Saints Row series
  • Mafia series
  • Sleeping Dogs
  • Watch Dogs series
  • The Simpsons: Hit & Run
Some lesser-referenced examples:
  • Scarface: The World is Yours
  • LEGO City: Undercover (a personal favourite)
  • Driver: Parallel Lines
  • The Godfather: The Game + The Godfather 2
  • The Getaway + Black Monday
 
BasilZero

BasilZero

Member
Oct 25, 2017
36,415
Omni
I was gonna say saints row (specifically the third) but sleeping dogs was an amazing experience though wouldn't it be similar to yakuza more than gta….
 
Jubilant Duck

Jubilant Duck

Member
Oct 21, 2022
5,965
Simpsons Hit And Run really isn't the GTA clone that people remember it being. It's less open world and more 3x unconnected levels that are laid out like Mario Kart maps rather than explorable spaces.

To answer the question: LEGO City Undercover is my favourite, too. Had me cackling so often.
 
bixente

bixente

Member
Jan 27, 2019
2,265
I like Shakedown Hawaii a lot. 2D GTA clone.

Enjoyed American Fugitive, too.

Oh, Mafia 3 is great. Got a lot of criticism, but I enjoyed it.
 
BobHarris

BobHarris

Member
Dec 20, 2017
189
Saints Row 2 specifically. It carved out its own little piece of half-serious, half ridiculous power fantasy which the series never managed to replicate.

Sleeping Dogs overall was the more refined experience however and deserved more than it got.
 
ara

ara

Member
Oct 26, 2017
13,027
I haven't played either of them in well over a decade, but I loooved Saint's Row 2 and Simpsons Hit & Run back in the day. None of the others mentioned in the OP ever really worked for me.
 
GlitchyDegree

GlitchyDegree

Prophet of Truth
The Fallen
Dec 4, 2017
5,501
Saints Row 2 is literally one of my favorite games of all time, let alone favorite favorite GTA clone.
 
data west

data west

Member
Oct 25, 2017
13,017
Sleeping Dogs, Mafia 1 remake, and Saints Row 2 are the peak of peak IMO.
Underneath that I'd put Watch Dogs 2, Godfather 1, and Simpsons.

Buggy as hell I'm sure but I also loved True Crime New York as a kid.
 
OneTrueJack

OneTrueJack

Member
Aug 30, 2020
4,655
Saints Row 2 is one of my favourite games of all time and one I regularly return too. Nothing else in the genre has scratched the same itch, including its own sequels, all of which fell short for me.
 
jungius

jungius

Member
Sep 5, 2021
2,348
I agree with sleeping dogs :')

they really made accurate (but much smaller) hongkong in that game down to the ambience and atmosphere. Its really fun to play too
 
shadowman16

shadowman16

Member
Oct 25, 2017
32,108
Hard to pick. First thought was Sleeping Dogs but Mafia (the original) is one of my favourite games ever... Thought to be fair Mafia's open world works for me because its more just for atmosphere and window dressing, while I love SD for exploring its map, doing side stuff, leaping onto enemy cars, and listening to people trying to sell me Pork Buns.
 
Skiptastic

Skiptastic

The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
3,702
Scarface. Great soundtrack, fun gameplay. I enjoyed it more than some of the GTA games.

Though now that I know Lego City Undercover is a GTA clone, I'm much more interested in playing it!
 
Jubilant Duck

Jubilant Duck

Member
Oct 21, 2022
5,965
shadowman16 said:
Hard to pick. First thought was Sleeping Dogs but Mafia (the original) is one of my favourite games ever... Thought to be fair Mafia's open world works for me because its more just for atmosphere and window dressing, while I love SD for exploring its map, doing side stuff, leaping onto enemy cars, and listening to people trying to sell me Pork Buns.
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I remember when Mafia 2 came out and reviews and forum posters were slamming the open world for being empty

Whereas for me that was so perfect as it just meant the commute to and from missions could feel more like a real place. Same with LA Noire. Those games wouldn't work half as well at evoking a time and place if you were just teleported from location to location.
 
deadmonkeyuk

deadmonkeyuk

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,217
Highlands, Scotland
Lego City, I played through it last year with my son who is 7. He loved it, often laughing at the slap stick humour and really got into collecting all the characters. There were also quite a few jokes aimed at an adult audience.

I have struggled to get motivated to play many games the last few years, but this was a standout playing with my son.
 
Xando

Xando

Member
Oct 28, 2017
27,380
Sleeping dogs was something special. Insane that we never got a sequel.

Personally also always liked Scarface very much but unfortunately i couldn't get it to run on modern PCs without some massive graphics glitches
 
OP
OP
doops.

doops.

Member
Jun 3, 2020
2,489
Bishop89 said:
This still doesn't make it clear for me lol

Are we only talking about open world games set in modern times that revolve around crime?

Wouldn't technically every open world city game be inspired by gta3?
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Found a definition from a reddit post that should be applicable:
  • The game must be open world and set mainly (but doesn't have to be exclusively) in an urban environment
  • The character can use guns
  • The character can have immediate access to motorized vehicles by either stealing them or "taking them" in the name of law enforcement
  • The character must be a civilian (this includes the police). I specify this because military themed open world games might meet the former criteria yet the themes and even the gameplay might be very different
 
shadowman16

shadowman16

Member
Oct 25, 2017
32,108
Jubilant Duck said:
I remember when Mafia 2 came out and reviews and forum posters were slamming the open world for being empty

Whereas for me that was so perfect as it just meant the commute to and from missions could feel more like a real place. Same with LA Noire. Those games wouldn't work half as well at evoking a time and place if you were just teleported from location to location.
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Well Mafia 2 is a weird one. I do love that open world - especially when it snows early on (lovely atmosphere), plus having it take place over two decades so you get this great change in cars etc. over time. I did legit just drive around and soak up the atmosphere during missions. It was terrific.

That said - Mafia 2 WAS supposed to have way more side content. If you look up articles on Mafia 2 cut content, you'll see that the junk yard, docks, several characters etc. were all supposed to have you do missions for them. There's even something about working for the phone company if I recall correctly...
 
SPRidley

SPRidley

Member
Oct 25, 2017
8,247
I wouldnt call them clones but whatever (maybe siants row, but they are actually parodying gta):

-Bully
-Sleeping Dogs
-Saints Row The Third
-Saints Row IV
-Mafia 1
-Mafia 2

Bully and Sleeping Dogs were created by the same cretive people, and it shows, they were the best part that Rockstar lost, and not they sadly dont exist anymore after being closed by square. They do not feel like GTA for the most part, and thats what i like about them.

Saints Row 3 and 4 are the most GTA, but they rely so much into parody and making fun, and they have SO much fun on story missions compared to the GTA series, that they are much better imo. Also i will never fully enjoy SR2 when it takes its story so seriously, it really sours my experience about it, i do not want to play a shitty GTA story when im playing saints row.

Mafia 1 and 2 are, again, very little gta clones, the city is used more like another character telling the story instead of an open space. They were incredible. The original Mafia 1 in its time also was better than any other GTA released by then.
 
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MarcelloF

MarcelloF

Member
Dec 9, 2020
7,499
Not sure I'd call Mafia a GTA clone.

As a kid, I thought True Crime Streets of New York was cool. Depending on how you played, the city would either become nicer or shittier looking.
 
Jintor

Jintor

Saw the truth behind the copied door
Member
Oct 25, 2017
32,478
I think Sleepy Dogs flows together the best... god I would kill for a new Sleepy Dawgs. You've never seen a HK that empty before

Like honestly I replay Sleepy Dogs every few years. It's that fucking good. Fuck you Dog Eyes
 
WJD

WJD

Member
Nov 4, 2017
428
I loved True Crime: Streets of LA when I was a kid.

But I was dumb as fuck so that probably doesn't count for much.
 
Bishop89

Bishop89

What Are Ya' Selling?
Member
Oct 25, 2017
34,739
Melbourne, Australia
doops. said:
Found a definition from a reddit post that should be applicable:
  • The game must be open world and set mainly (but doesn't have to be exclusively) in an urban environment
  • The character can use guns
  • The character can have immediate access to motorized vehicles by either stealing them or "taking them" in the name of law enforcement
  • The character must be a civilian (this includes the police). I specify this because military themed open world games might meet the former criteria yet the themes and even the gameplay might be very different
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Easy

5C46ABFBF423B725EF17687F78E4CAAE215B9193


The Saboteur by far
 
logash

logash

Member
Oct 27, 2017
4,744
I loved Sleeping Dogs. I always wanted to try hit and run but I never got to it as a kid. Would love a remaster or something. Is it on PC?
 
Jacknapes

Jacknapes

Member
Oct 26, 2017
3,181
Newport, South Wales
Out of them, there's 2

Sleeping Dogs is brilliant, it's a shame we'll never get a sequel to it. And Scarface is just like the movie, which i enjoyed immensely. Honourable mention to Hit and Run, the best Simpsons game created (in my opinion)
 
Valcrist

Valcrist

Tic-Tac-Toe Champion
Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,715
Never played any of those games (including GTA or Jak 2) except 1

I choose Sleeping Dogs.
 
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