Flying in GTA is anything but that. That is the sole reason why I never finished any entry in the series.

Alright I am gonna boast by saying I am more hardcore than any of you three guys because I conquered Vice City and San Andreas without cheats.

But in GTA 3, I had to use the cheat to give me more money in the final mission, because I am not gonna do those phone missions for it. BUT I did not use any cheats during the final mission.

As far as I'm concerned, autosave is the best thing ever. I hate repetition, and so having to repeat an entire section just because I forgot to save is excruciating to me - especially now that my time for playing has been cut short, I'll just give up on a game entirely if I have to repeat anything longer than an hour (and even in case of said hour I think long and hard whether I was enjoying the game enough to actually suffer trough what I have already seen again.)

Actually... I finished Vice City, San Andreas AND GTA 3 without using any cheats. That doesn't mean that mission in Vice City isn't a retarded and frustrating piece of shit ...

I totally get it. I just hate it that you are always forced in one or the other direction. Some people like one some other, so without an option to set it for your preferences, someone is always screwied. Well, people like you are in bliss these days when almost every game has it.

Saving Lance was the most annoying mission.

Besides not liking to replay boring parts over and over again, one main problem I have with auto saves is that many times they tend to save at the wrong point. Especially in games which are a bit more free-roaming, I hate it if it saves the game just as I got hit bad and lost almost all my health. As long as there is a way to roll back to an older save point...

Also it is stupid how often the save points are _before_ some non-interactive video part. Do I really want to see the minute long dialogue every damn time I try to replay the hard part right after that?

I do believe that's because most games have autosaves triggering on player crossing a certain point and devs are lazy to actually include another script which could be called at the end of a cinematic. If that actually is the case, I could at the very least understand it.
Well, in your place (if the game allows it), I'd just make actual saves where I want them and when I die I'd ... Well, load them. It is kind of annoying, but entering a menu and loading a game takes up a few seconds at best. Ideally, I agree that giving player the option would just solve the problem entirely, but this should work too, no?

IMO, most modern games should only ever have 2 or 3 difficulties.
2 as in Normal and Hard, or 3 being Easy, Normal or Hard. Extra Hard difficulties seem friggin' pointless since all that changes is that enemies are much stronger. I like how the MGS series made it so on higher difficulties you just play without the radar, I don't recall if enemies or bosses were stronger though, then again this is a Stealth game so only bosses would be the ones you battle.

Which GTA games have you tried flying in and what did you use as a controller? This use to be the bane of my existence (specifically the glider 'porn drop' in Vice City) but I managed to figure them out now the only things about any of the series that really aggrivate me are the remote helicopters in Vice City and San Andreas.

You know, I would as a rule, 100% agree with you on that. For the first time though, I found playing these types of missions in XCom:EU (ie. the "diffuse the bomb" and "escort" missions) were actually kinda fun, and challenging, without being insanely, or infuriatingly impossible, at least on "normal" difficulty ;-). The timed bomb diffusal missions allowed you to find and deactivate power source pods (buying you just a tad more time each deactivation) as you made your way to the bomb. And I found with the escort and rescue missions, if you moved your team and the "escort target" tactically like a real SWAT team (the Hunker Down option for the escortee was nice also) these missions were very fun and doable. As rule though, when I see these types pop up in a game, I get ready to head for a shot of tequila to chill my temper and frustration, lol As a big RTS like you, I couldn't agree more bro...think that's why I sometimes gravitate towards TBS games more and more...maybe I am just getting old too, lol

GTA III and San Andreas with mouse/keyboard controls. I have a gaming keyboard, but it doesn't really help in the case of San Andreas. I recently picked up Saint's Row the 3rd from the THQ bundle, which wasn't that good when compared to GTA, but I found that the flying mechanics actually worked for me. Despite not having high expectations for Saint's Row IV, I think that I can at least be able to do any mission that involves flying.

I didn't know there was flying in 3? Hmmmm, guess I better give it another go. Anyway with any flying in any GTA I found a game pad IMPERATIVE to being able to fly. It can be a little awkward but once you get it down, flying around, specifically in San Andreas, can be a real blast (especially when you have to take off and interecept the other plane). I myself have a cordless logitech rumblepad which I adore but for some reason isn't all that popular. Of course if you only have a passing interest in flying then I do not recommend forking over $50+ for a game pad just for that because everything else in the series is way too hard without the mouse/keyboard combo.

I already got a controller, it is working pretty well for me so far. I might give San Andreas another try someday. :)