Any alternatives to GTA?

Without turning this into a faith-debated thread, as a relatively new gamer, I'm wondering if there are any games similar to that of the GTA series? The "immersive" world aspect of those games looks really fun to me, like being able to walk into a bar and play pool in-game, and doing missions throughout the city. But as a Christian and father of children in my home, the Mature rating is not a good idea, me thinks. I don't mind a curse word here or there, but this is what they rated the game mature for: "Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language, Strong Sexual Content, Use of Drugs"... And that sounds like far too much for my house. Are there any "cleaner" alternatives that are similar to this game? Thanks in advance

Well, just about every game out there features violence. If violence is the least of your worries, go ahead and get GTA and just play without the volume turned on. That does away with the language. The only drugs I recall were in the cutscenes (smoking pot), but there might be some drug-related missions that I'm missing. Anyways, that doesn't really matter, either, as I've found that kids usually don't pay any attention whatsoever to the actual missions. So that deals with the issue of drug use, as well. As far as sex themes go, while there isn't any actual sex in the game, there are... innuendos and sound effects (after you drop your girlfriend off at home, and when you pick up a hooker and the car moves). But like I said, there's no visuals, so if you've got the volume on mute, it won't matter. And if you have to "kid-proof" it any more than that, just get rid of all of the weapons and let your kids drive around town finding secret stuff, buildings they can enter, and grafitti tags they can paint over. They won't even know what they're missing.

And then, of course, you can play the game the way it was meant to be played when the kids aren't around. Everybody wins. :)

can bully be alternative for that ?

a bad kid in highschool  

i guess mercenaries is in the same vein, though i didnt like it as much as gta

its a free-roaming game, based on war in asia 

That's very noble of you trying to keep away violence in your household. Besides, your children will be de-sensitized to violence in a few years and will live with it for the rest of their lives! LOL just kidding. 

Bully is a much more "cleaner" alternative but be warned that the game has some material you may find offensive. It dabbles into homosexuality if you choose to do so, some of the students smoke or display pda, pretty extreme violence that these youths participate in (though no one dies), violence against young girls, you'll hear the B word ever so often, that kind of stuff. The game is a little raunchy but the overall content is no better than what you see on broadcast TV on prime time.

This is a tough question. The alternatives, such as True Crime and The Getaway, are mediocre or worse. In my opinion, the best game you can find that's close to the GTA style is actually Jak II and 3. It's not as violent, it's cartoon-ish, and its gameplay has infinitely more platforming than GTA, but Jak II and 3 are amazingly well-made titles. Even if you're just looking for a solid Action game, Jak II and 3 get my vote above any of the GTA alternatives.

It's worth noting that you don't need to play Jak & Daxter to enjoy Jak II and 3. Although, I have to say, Jak II is the best game in the series as well as the best Platformer of this generation.

This is a tough question. The alternatives, such as True Crime and The Getaway, are mediocre or worse. In my opinion, the best game you can find that's close to the GTA style is actually Jak II and 3. It's not as violent, it's cartoon-ish, and its gameplay has infinitely more platforming than GTA, but Jak II and 3 are amazingly well-made titles. Even if you're just looking for a solid Action game, Jak II and 3 get my vote above any of the GTA alternatives.

It's worth noting that you don't need to play Jak & Daxter to enjoy Jak II and 3. Although, I have to say, Jak II is the best game in the series as well as the best Platformer of this generation.

Pumster76

Ya, I forgot these 2, totally agree

well the only GTA alternative that is kid friendly was the Simpsons Hit and Run.deathragnarok

Yeah the Simpsons Hit & Run would be the best alternative to Grand Theft Auto.

If you want an open ended game that is nothing at all like GTA, but is still kid friendly, you might want to look into steambot chronicles.   It is an excellent game with tons of different activities to do that you can do whenever you choose.   You can play music in the streets, or mine for rare items, and take care of your "trotmobile" which are huge walking cars basically.

I also agree with the people who suggested Jak 2 and Simpsons hit and run... both of those are more gta styled map wise, but very fun.  Perhaps you might also look into crazy taxi.