Hmm ... I definitely know what you mean, but I'm not sure I agree. I can't really say I disagree either, though. I'd have to play more of those other games to really feel knowledgeable, but I'll give my uninformed take for shits and giggles.
I guess I feel GTA is more sandbox despite the missions, because it's not a straightforward linear dungeon crawler like most modern Zeldas I've ever played. Sure, you can traverse the scenery in Zelda, but it's not the same or quite as encouraged as it is in GTA from what I've played.
Tomb Raider is more a straight-forward action game to me, with the only one I've played (newest one) being practically on-rails thus far. Of course, obviously my opinion isn't on the series as a whole, given that I've literally only played one TR game and I'm a lot more familiar with Zelda than I am with the other two series, so I can't tell you much really.
Another difference is that Zelda is more fantasy-based and is closer to a JRPG than the other two. Yeah, Zelda lacks random or turn-based battles and the only party member is you and there really aren't any stats but the layout is really similar. I guess Tomb Raider's layout might be similar too, though.
I really don't know. I'm gonna go listen to your podcast while I drift off to sleep.



