Grand Theft Auto III

To put it simply, Grand Theft Auto 3 is one of the very best video games, or any form of entertainment for that matter, ever made.

You've probably heard about how graphically violent this game is, and there's certainly no denying it. People (criminals, gang members, cops, pedestrians, etc.) can be murdered in a variety of entertaining ways, but GTA3 isn't about mindless mayhem. The game is actually story driven, and that, combined with awesome gameplay (driving being a main factor of course) is what really puts it over the top. It's quite an experience as you rise through the ranks from petty Jack-of-all-trades thug-for-hire to a millionaire. Chock full of tons of fun missions, from carjacking to assassinations to body disposal and anything else your employer needs you to do.

Enough of my pretentious praise though. If you haven't played Grand Theft Auto 3 yet, what are you waiting for?!

Superior big game with real good graphics. The game has cons but this was one of the biggest games of its time. And its story is also real good mafia story. It may deserve 10 points but I thought 9 is better for this game. I'm but it has real gloomy air. It is good someways but with dark weather and blur effect it becomes a terrible looking visual.

Left for dead by his girlfriend Catalina(she'll be our Saturday morning cartoon villain; the few occasions where you see her after that point, interest spikes) as they were running away from a just-completed robbery, Claude(nameless until his San Andreas cameo, and voiceless, yet still subtly somewhat characterized - he has attitude, nobody owns him) is then freed by his explosives-knowledgeable friend 8-Ball(...take one guess at his ethnicity), and, determined to get back the $70.000 that he stole fair and square, starts to work his way from the bottom to the top of organized crime in Liberty City(this universe's version of NY) - you will make enemies, your loyalties will have to be flexible, and you may just get doublecrossed.

There is more story, albeit this is not propelled forward by it, and, especially with the ending, it does show that not that much was built onto this vague, as well as uncomplicated, base. The subversive(almost everything in this is... it may even insult you for your failure!) nature of it thus has a negative effect, along with the several positives(always keeping you guessing, reflecting the underworld, etc.). As you work for various "families", you learn many credible characters(several voiced by famous names - Michael Madsen's mother-issues-riddled Tony, Frank Vincent's head of the mafia Salvatore, and others, all perfectly cast... and nearly everyone does great acting here, names and otherwise), and there are a ton of details that flesh out the setting. The neutral tone is refreshing - no one is the "hero", it's people doing what their chosen business calls for - and sometimes suffering on account.

With a dynamic world, this is how you do what Assassin's Creed botched: things aren't too reined in, they're under the control of the engine which is indifferent towards you, either randomized(traffic, immediate police presence, civilians' reactions, weather) or determined by laws(turfs of your foes will be patrolled, time of day that you can keep track of via the HUD clock - 1 minute of its time is 1 second of real-life time). While not all of these are "vital", they do all make it feel organic, a simulation, not a preset series of events. There are actual consequences(in spite of what those who get their logic from the likes of William Lane Craig would assert) - die or be arrested, you lose all weapons and ammo, some money, and usually any mission(if this happens on the way from having completed one, you have to decide: try again, or go gather all of the weapons again?) you were on. This is more than most games, where usually you just load(which you still can).

Saving and storing motors can only happen at Safe Houses(race back there once you're finished with doing something that was tough!), and in general, benefits tend to require travel and memorizing(or printing out a map - the minimap here is insufficient) - you can repair your wheels and simultaneously get rid of the police by getting a paint job, get bullets/arsenal(pistol, SMG, shotgun, assault rifle, the awesome but seldom useful sniper, grenade, the insane molotov cocktail - typically one per type), even place a bomb on your ride... but not on every street corner! Exploration and learning what is where and how do you get from here to there rewards itself a lot, without this being something that they felt the need to hold your hand and guide you to. This is highly intuitive - if you apply yourself, you can probably figure out what you need to do. Sure, there is some trial and error, however, this is the exception. The rule is: you plan, you react rather than curse your bad luck, you win. A hard-earned victory that satisfies.

There is a ton to do - I've spent 24 and a half hours on it, and while I finished the plot, I only have 40% completion - and even if or when you've gotten all the hidden packages, done all the unique jumps, etc. one can always play this more: seeing how long you can last in a cop chase you started by causing enough mayhem, go everywhere. It's all up to you how deep you go in, what pace you take it at. You have more than one "contact" to get new assignments from, and they're varied, fun and, like everything in this, challenging. Assassinate, transport, tail or destroy. Throw in time-limits, having to keep your van intact and the like for extra spice. It doesn't sound like much, and yet these all feel inspired and make sense. Satire is over the top and also smart, thoughtprovoking - and it targets both sides of the aisle, equally. The 8 music radio stations cover and parody many genres(with a mix of licensed and original tunes - and you can't always tell one from the other), with 15-25 minutes of content each. No less than 58 for the hilarious, quotable talk radio.

With streets of everything from pimps in full purple getup, grannies with both hands holding full grocery bags, YMCA-ish construction workers, and areas including the inner-city with its neon-lit Red Light district and the suburbs, this feels real, and there is much to see, do, take in. For on-the-spot, jump-in-or-out jobs, grab a taxi to get to get people from point A to B, an ambulance to do the same with profusely bleeding NPC's, a police car to carry out vigilante justice, or a fire truck to go "put out", as the slogan puts it - all of this timed, and you can engage them anywhere, all it takes is the mentioned hardtop. Physics and interactivity as far as driving goes is good, though those who come here from Need For Speed and the like will find gear-shifting, acceleration and the like simplified(not gone).

There is some sexual content(in dialog) and a lot of bloody, some brutal, violent, disturbing content in this. I recommend this to any fan of non-linear gameplay. 8/10

A REVIEW on the GAME: GRAND THEFT AUTO 3(2001)(4/5 stars)

With the voice talents of:

JOE PANTOLIANO MICHAEL RAPAPORT

In the game Grand Theft Auto 3, your character is a man who has been betrayed, and left for dead by a partner in crime in Liberty City, where the only dirty word is hope. Now, he must restart his life by doing jobs for the local mafia, and meanwhile seek revenge on those who betrayed him.

The main idea behind GTA3 is to provide you with a new experience. You are seeing your character with a third person view of Liberty City - a seedy area where anything goes. You can pretty much just steal any car on the street you see, as long as you can catch it. Some really good cars are hidden, for example, there's a car that's just like a jaguar hidden in a car shop and you must break in to get it. There's a hidden tank, and tons more fun, but the main idea is just to provide you with fun. Some people say this game is too violent, and after all I heard, when I played it the first time I expected tons of gore. But, it's not the most violent game I've seen. I have seen worse. It's really what you do in the game that counts. For example, you can walk over to someone walking on the street, and get in a fistfight, kill him or her, and steal his or her money. Or you could sniper out people with a sniper rifle, a weapon to choose from among the many you can get in the game. But with actions come consequences, because the more you do, the more `stars' you get-the most you can get being six. For each star represented, is a higher level of police after you. Eventually, you can get helicopters, snipers, and all trying to take you down. So if you play the game like this, it can be very bad for people affected by games. The whole basic idea of the game is revolving pretty much around mafia jobs so yes, I wouldn't recommend it to children. But you can also take taxi jobs, firefighter jobs, and police jobs, hunting down criminals like yourself. So with this in mind, you can also become a good guy. Depends what you want to be. Another fun thing, is with most car racing games and such, if you want a new car, you have to go to the start menu and choose a new car (games like Project Gotham Racing, and Twisted Metal). But in this game, if you blow up your car, or simply want a new one, you just run over and pull someone out of his or her car, and steal it. Yes, agreeing with some people, this is kind of bad for people who are easily influenced to see things, so I don't recommend it to anyone who might look at this and think to themselves, ‘I think I'll go hotwire cars!' :)

The graphics are very good, and the 3-D environment is very big for a game. You can travel by subway, car, plane, and more to 2 other cities near by (after you progress in the game). So just experiencing the environment is worth the price of the game. It's very realistic, and in some parts of town it's extremely seedy (you can guess what I mean). I think a few aspects like that could have been left out of the game, but I guess the publishers decided it would make it more realistic. Anyway, yes. I definitely do NOT recommend this game to children, for not only is there violence, but the jobs you do, and the city are both almost too realistic for any child to handle. But for older teens and above, the basic idea of GTA 3 is very fun. It's a great improvement on the previous games, and you can even change your third person view to the old above head view. The game's basically a mix between Max Payne, Great car games, The Sims, and The Godfather trilogy. It's simply one of the greatest game experiences I've ever had, and it is extremely addictive (thank goodness I'm not someone who can play games and lose track of time, I would probably still think it's the day I bought the game). Anyone who wants to experience this same feeling of a virtual 3-D world of sleek, stylish cars at your hands, taking out jobs for the mafia, and so many other fun things in this game, please play it. Just don't get too addicted, because beware-it's very possible.

Grand Theft Auto 3 is the very notion of what a game should be. The idea of a world where you don't really have to do anything- instead of having to crack levels by the same method (take most games for example, to beat the level you must figure out how to get to the bad guy, kill him, and win the game. And although you can choose how to fight them, you basically have to follow the whole level, the same way everyone else who plays the game does, left here, right there, watch out for that guy who pops out of the corner in 30 seconds, etc.) You can really explore Liberty City the way you want to. No standard level procedure. It's fully self-deciding on what you want to do, not what you have to do. That's what makes this game so enjoyable. Once again, GTA 3 is not a game for children but for adults. 4/5 stars. Play it, and I promise it will be one of the most enjoyable game experiences you've had in a long, long time.

JOHN ULMER-sk8boarder1088@aol.com

This is one of the most entertaining and controversial, yet wonderful games out there. Though it received heat from parents everywhere and other countries tried to ban it, it is without a doubt one of the best, and one of a kind out there(Do they think younger ones would play this? This is for older ones). Well it may not be for everyone, due to the violent content, grammar, and sex, but hey it is a satire of everyday life, but mostly depicting a grimy, rough city, supposedly this is supposed to be New York, where you control a nameless(we shall learn his name in GTA:SA!) and speechless gangster who's been wronged by the gang he worked for, now he goes freelance in the Pulp Fiction-esquire environment of Liberty City, where you work for different gang factions, just to do their dirty work. But that's not it, you can also walk around steel a car, and do whatever you will, it's non-linear! And because it is, you don't have to do some of the missions, though most of them are part of the story. This is one of the best and it is the first game of it's kind I played. If you like this play also Mafia(more like a 1930's GTA to me), GTA Vice City, and GTA San Andreas, thank you Rockstar, it's good, see.