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What was the more influential game in 2001? Halo: Combat Evolved or Grand Theft Auto III?

Chiggs

Member
Halo gets my vote because it really set the stage for console shooters in the decade to come, and more importantly, made it so that FPS games on a console were viewed as commercially viable when the only previous success story was Goldeneye back in the 1990s...I guess you can kind of count Perfect Dark (maybe).

That said, it's hard to ignore what GTA III did, but I'd also argue that not all open world games have copied GTA as much as FPS console games copied Halo.

Good thread!
 

Varteras

Gold Member
Halo was an absolutely huge driving force in getting consoles on the map for first person shooters. The genre probably would have taken a lot longer to mature on consoles without it. It consistently led the charge for FPS games up until Halo 3. After that, Call of Duty took over with Battlefield on its heels. Though it wasn't just about the genre. Had it not been for Halo, Xbox might not have lasted beyond one generation. Xbox has been very influential and there is no telling where the industry would be today without it.

That being said, Grand Theft Auto III really set the stage for a juggernaut of a franchise that has set the bar for open world games and being proof of how much money a company can make off of sheer quality. Open world games are increasing in quantity, size, and scope. They're everywhere now. Rockstar knew back then that they would be the future of the industry and they really haven't stopped making them since.

Unlike Halo whose influence, commercial success, and critical reception has diminished and few FPS titles today take inspiration from its original framework, Grand Theft Auto hasn't budged. Its commercial success has only increased. Its influence in open world games is felt constantly with entire franchises like Saints Row and more recently Watch Dogs trying to directly emulate it. It is consistently scored among the greatest games of all time with each entry. Grand Theft Auto III was truly the beginning of that.
 
2001 was the year we got Luigi's Mansion and Advanced war on the Game Boy.
Who has time for wearing Halos or that game where you drive around changing channels on the radio.
 

ACESHIGH

Banned
Well, R* mission design did not change much from GTA III so you could tell its quite the influential game from that alone.
 

Ten_Fold

Member
Halo pretty much changed FPS on consoles, also playing Xbox live was an experience you just had to be there.

GTA3 pretty much set off realistic open world games imo. Soo many GTA type games came afterwards as well like I remember true crime and the original saints row.
 

Corgi1985

Banned
Damn tough, but going with GTA.

In addition to those two we also had smash melee, MGS2, Devil May Cry, Advance wars, Baldurs Gate II. Makes modern AAA look like complete fucking dogshit doesn't it?
 
Halo changed the fundamentals of FPS gaming with its implementation of mechanics that are now standard in todays world all across the board.

It revolutionized FPS gaming.

GTA 3 practically invented an entire new genre when it took it's open mission mechanics in the original two, and then turned it 3D with an entire fucking city to explore and aspirations of a real-life centric simulation in a game.

It was the next step evolution of gaming which slowly consumed almost the entirety of gaming as we know it today.

-

The answer has to be GTA 3.

The highest achievement laid by the ground works of Halo are seen in games like Titanfall 2.

The highest achievement laid by the ground work of GTA 3 has transcended into all genres of gaming - racing, shooting, action adventure, RPG, and etc.
 

JimmyRustler

Gold Member
GTA III, no question.

Halo was quite influentional on making shooters get a foothold on consoles but let's not forget it was Modern Warfare who made the genre explode on consoles.
 

German Hops

GAF's Nicest Lunch Thief
There were good FPS games before Halo.

There were no good sandbox games before GTA III.
 
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Kagey K

Banned
Go try to play GTA3 now and go try to play Halo 1.

The difference is obvious and apparent.

They both influenced their genres greatly, but one of them doesn’t stand the test of time.
 

KRYPT83

Member
I don’t think it is a easy question.

I believe overall GTA 3 was more influential because it affected everybody (hardcore and casuals)... some coworkers that never played games talked about GTA 3 at time... the got even spotlight in national TV news here in Brasil (they rarely talks about games).

Halo was the most influential for hardcore first person shooters.

I think they have Halo made FPS relevant on consoles and
I love GTA as much as the next guy but you people are krazy, Halo revolutionized FPS on consoles and Halo 2 with the friendlist and messaging system basically became the backbone of xbox live
 
S

Shodan09

Unconfirmed Member
In terms of mechanics I think possibly halo? It popularised recharging health, grenades on a dedicated button, the two weapon limit, regular checkpointing, smooth transition to third person vehicle gameplay and friendly ai interaction which were copied in many other games. GTA may have been more of a cultural phenomenon but Halo had more impact on game design.
 

Maogp

Member
Holy shit, is not a easy question. Halo was important for the FPS genre on console, but Gta3 was a pop culture event. You need to define "influential".
 

K.N.W.

Member
I think GTA III did a bit more for gaming, making mainstream many elements still present in gaming nowadays, like free roaming exploraration, progressive map unlock, waypoint navigation, and maps filled with secondary quests and collectibles.
On the other hand, Halo did a lot for shooters, with its aiming assist and rechargeable shields.
 
JSRF
Open world Sandbox games weren't really a thing yet. there was maybe Shenmue and Daggerfall as far as what i played...that had that kinda freedom and things to do in the world
Openworld game was starting to come on the PC like with Omikron and even on the consoles like with Driver 2 and Body Harvest. I think many people just equal massive sales, with being influential. Look at Alien Resurrection on the PS, more or less pioneered the dual controls almost all FPS use to this day and it sold like crap sadly (and it was a great game as well )



 

muteZX

Banned
GTA 3 - obviously.

HALO - impressively terrible library level, awful bactraking, stupid flood, warthog worst than the MAKO from the ME1. Tiring boredom.
 

mansoor1980

Member
GTA 3 - obviously.

HALO - impressively terrible library level, awful bactraking, stupid flood, warthog worst than the MAKO from the ME1. Tiring boredom.
warthog worse than MAKO?
200w.gif
 
GTA no doubt. Everyone around the world loves it. If a GTA ever gets released on the Nintendo Switch expect big headlines and switch units flying of store shelf's.

Halo is kinda just a western game it didn't really kick off till Halo 3 got released and even then people tend not to bother with Halo these days. I'm just glad Microsoft managed to get MCC on PC and crossplay both platforms.
 

ZywyPL

Banned
I'd give it to Halo - it laid the foundation for modern FPP games on consoles (and by the same token TPP games as well) - without it open-world games or any other genres wouldn't still have completely flat level design, with no verticality due to controls limitations. I mean, Halo is the sole reason games started to be made first and foremost with consoles in mind since PS360 era launched.
 
Halo was an absolutely huge driving force in getting consoles on the map for first person shooters. The genre probably would have taken a lot longer to mature on consoles without it. It consistently led the charge for FPS games up until Halo 3. After that, Call of Duty took over with Battlefield on its heels. Though it wasn't just about the genre. Had it not been for Halo, Xbox might not have lasted beyond one generation. Xbox has been very influential and there is no telling where the industry would be today without it.

That being said, Grand Theft Auto III really set the stage for a juggernaut of a franchise that has set the bar for open world games and being proof of how much money a company can make off of sheer quality. Open world games are increasing in quantity, size, and scope. They're everywhere now. Rockstar knew back then that they would be the future of the industry and they really haven't stopped making them since.

Unlike Halo whose influence, commercial success, and critical reception has diminished and few FPS titles today take inspiration from its original framework, Grand Theft Auto hasn't budged. Its commercial success has only increased. Its influence in open world games is felt constantly with entire franchises like Saints Row and more recently Watch Dogs trying to directly emulate it. It is consistently scored among the greatest games of all time with each entry. Grand Theft Auto III was truly the beginning of that.


While GTA 3 was huge, we do not have open world games today because of it. It didnt shape the landscape as much as people want to believe. We had and enourmous amount of open world games since the 80s, but it was mostly a Pc exclusive affair, since consoles didnt have the memory and hardware for it. We had Elder Scrools since the early 90s, GTA was open world before 3, although top down, Mafia 1 was developed simultaneously with GTA 3 with similar format. STALKER, Far Cry 2. Far Cry 2 and ubisoft have had a bigger influence on the open world genre than GTA id say.

GTA 3 had some copy cats in those times, True Crime Streets of whatever, Drive 3, Saints Row. But thats about it. Open world games existed long before and the industry was always going for it, the freedom and openess that MMO's alone provided until then. GTA is selling like crazy and is well known, but its not that influential when all is said and done, i think. Too many were doing the same thing at the same time and were following the same concepts
 
GTA easily. Hands down. No doubt about it.

not downplaying Halo cause that shit was crazy but cmon…. GTA games have always sold well and V is the 2nd best selling game of all time.

you could argue Halo influenced games like CoD/Battlefield etc but none of them are close to GTA.

GTA games in the top 50 best selling games of all time have sold 212,500,000 copies . Halo isn’t in top 50. CoD has sold 129,600,000 copies. GTA V alone has sold more copies than the top 5 CoD games and likely the entire series itself.
 

ethomaz

Banned
I love GTA as much as the next guy but you people are krazy, Halo revolutionized FPS on consoles and Halo 2 with the friendlist and messaging system basically became the backbone of xbox live
Score is very very different between them.

GTAIII become a pop culture.
It influences was way wider than just games.

At time even the most casual guy that never talked about games did know GTA... it was a phenomenon.
 
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Ozzie666

Member
I don't think we had ever had anything like GTA3 on any gaming system, let alone just console. It also spawned Vice City and San Andreas. It was they same type of edgy marketing dream as Laura Croft in Tomb Raider in 1996.

HALO was an eye opener and a beautiful game with great music.

I had a great time with both games. But GTA3 was a trend setter, iconic..
 

mxbison

Member
What exactly did Halo do?

Serious question, I'm not trashing the game. Tight controls on a console FPS or what?

You really can't compare that to GTA 3...
 

kuncol02

Banned
What exactly did Halo do?

Serious question, I'm not trashing the game. Tight controls on a console FPS or what?

You really can't compare that to GTA 3...
Regenerating shield/health, separate button for throwing grenades and limited amount of carried weapons.
 

Pantz

Gold Member
Both are good choices. I'll give it to Halo.

Halo because the controls became the gold standard for all console games (not just fps) going forward. They were so dialed in and cohesive to all the gaming elements. There were many in my circle who learned how to control the camera on the right stick while moving in Halo. If you ever seen a newbie playing games they can't control the camera at all. The graphics, AI, multiplayer and all the other stuff were good too. I think all that enticed people in from word of mouth to play and learn the controls which felt natural after some practice. These controls are basically the same as you would have in the latest AAA games releasing today...strangely aside from GTA who kinda still do their own thing.
 

kuncol02

Banned
Surely that isn't as impactful as GTA3 creating a 3d open world?
Of course not.
Halo polished existing genre and made it viable on consoles, but GTA3 flipped table and basically changed everything about how modern games are designed. IMO GTA3 and AC are two most influential games of last 20 years.
 
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nkarafo

Member
Halo impacted the adoption of a genre on consoles because it found the right controls and basically trained customers.

It opened the gates for fps, which may have happened...or not if the controls never were standardized. FPS could be like RTS on consoles if not for Halo.
Nah. These controls existed before Halo. Alien Resurrection and Goldeneye/PD already had a similar analog scheme. N64 Turok also had the same scheme but following the mouse+keyboard logic instead of dual analog. But you could still use both thumbs for the same exact controls (movement/strafe - turn/aim).
 
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