5 frustrating aspects of older GTA games

While the old-school GTA titles are still great in their own right, they haven't aged well in certain aspects.

Newer fans of the GTA series might have difficulty contending with the older games. They take for granted features like checkpoints and switching between weapons easily.

This is noticeably missing in most of the earlier titles, which could frustrate the newer generation.

Even old-school GTA players consider these inconveniences to get in the way of gameplay. Note that this specifically refers to GTA titles from the 3D era, not those from the 2D era. This is one of the main issues with older games - not everything holds up years later, let alone at the time.

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Five aspects of old GTA titles that frustrate players

#5 - Lack of a checkpoint system

One of the main quality-of-life assurances in recent GTA titles is a checkpoint system. If a player fails at any point, the game will reload them at a recent checkpoint.

Older games don't have this feature. Instead, the players had to finish everything from beginning to end.

Early GTA titles have difficult missions that are frustrating to experience. Whether it's overpowered enemies, long drives to a destination, or strict time limits, GTA players have to survive long ordeals.

With no checkpoints, any slight mistake will be costly. A player doesn't even have to die for mission failure.

It's especially brutal for final missions, such as The Exchange and End of the Line. Messing up right at the finish line will result in starting over from scratch. That's not to mention all the armor and weapon ammo will be gone.

The earlier games were relentless with difficulty at certain points.

#4 - Swimming mechanics

Being unable to swim is detrimental when GTA players have to contend with water everywhere. Since every GTA title takes place on islands, the lack of a swimming mechanic is a major problem.

Whether it's failing a stunt jump or flipping over a boat, players should expect to respawn at a nearby hospital.

GTA San Andreas introduces the swimming mechanic, which is also used for Vice City Stories. However, it's completely missing in GTA 3, Vice City, and Liberty City Stories.

That is not a good track record, since being unable to swim is a death trap for unsuspecting players.

#3 - No cover system

Since GTA 4, players can now take cover behind nearby objects. During intense shootouts, players need all the protection they need. It's especially useful for tight corridors where players can better position themselves.

Unfortunately, Rockstar Games hadn't fully developed a cover system for earlier games.

Back then, the players were only able to crouch behind a wall. Otherwise, they were sitting ducks in the open or running around like maniacs to dodge bullets.

Strafing did help, but there was only so much a player could do when up against powerful shotgun shells.

What also didn't help was that player vehicles had low durability. It's not like Claude could hide behind a Sentinel while trying to take out mafia goons. Their high-powered weapons would shred the vehicle to pieces.

Since there was no cover system back then, players had no time to waste when shooting.

#2 - Changing weapons

Prior to Chinatown Wars, GTA players would scroll through their weapon selection with multiple presses of a button. The more weapons they had, the more they had to manually scroll for the right one.

Switching between an SMG and a rocket launcher takes up time in combat situations.

Since Chinatown Wars was built on portable devices, Rockstar Games had the right idea to introduce a new system. The weapon wheel has eight easy-to-select slots players can use to find their favorite.

There is no hassle in using this feature; it reduces the time wasted in finding specific weapons.

#1 - Being unable to climb

With the exception of GTA San Andreas, the older GTA titles didn't allow players to climb walls. This presents a problem when running on foot. If a GTA player hits a dead end fence, they cannot simply climb over it to get to the other side.

They have to go around it instead.

The lack of climbing also means GTA players will have a harder time reaching nearby hidden packages. It makes navigating areas cumbersome when there are physical limitations along the way.

Running away from cops without a vehicle is also a challenge.

When GTA players are unable to climb, it limits their movement to simply scurrying from one place to another. GTA 4 is a prime example of why players should be able to head for higher ground. The game has parkour elements that bring variety to standard chase sequences.

Note: This article reflects the writer's personal views.