PlayStation

Grand Theft Auto

Grand Theft Auto may not be the best looking game I have seen, but it sure packs a punch with the amazing amount of controversial gameplay that has been crammed onto one CD. The city's are enormous and you really have to drive around for quite some time before you get your bearings. Each mission is put across in such a 'tongue in cheek' fashion that I cannot see too many people getting upset at the content, although planting bombs in busy shopping malls may bring out a few placards. If only the handling of the cars had been a little more responsive then the value of the game would have matched the potential created by the subjects mass of advanced publicity.

Grand Theft Auto puts you in the role of a small-time criminal who is looking for a way to make a name for himself in the crime business. The quickest way to do so is by getting on the good side of the local crime boss by jacking cars, running drugs, and the ever-popular contract killing. In one of the game's most notable missions, you pick up a big rig loaded with explosives. Your task is to drive the rig into the police station, get out, and get away before taking out the pigs where they live.

Grand Theft Auto is a fun game, but you may find yourself saying to yourself outloud, "Hey, why didn't they fix that?" Not a good sign for a game that has so much potential.

In Grand Theft Auto, you're a goon on the lam, pulling jobs such as bombing or drug runs as you avoid the police either on foot or by hijacking any car in sight. GTA's violent nature, complete with abundant cursing, is sociopathically chic... but the game's just not any fun.

In light of the frustrating gameplay, the blood and profanity seem more silly and gratuitous than offensive. GTA2 was a slight improvement, but the series didn't grow teeth until its third installment.