Grand Theft Auto III

The Good
OPEN WORLD, EXCELLENT STORYLINE, SHOWED WHAT THE MAFIA WAS ABOUT TO AN EXTENT

The Bad
COULDN'T KILL PEOPLE THROUGH THE GLASS OR WINDOW IF YOU WILL

The Bottom Line
FOR THE TIME AND SEASON THE GAME CAME OUT, THE TIMING WAS PERFECT 9/11 HAD JUST OCCURED SO IT WAS A WAY, TO EXPRESS ONE SELF WITHOUT HURTING PEOPLE IN REALITY FOR THE BIRD BRAINS 🧠 IT WAS AN EXUSE TO GO HURT SOMEBODY

The Good
Okay kids, set the wayback machine for late 2001.

A somewhat nascent PS2 had been available in the United States for about a year, and while some major titles had been released already (Final Fantasy X, for example) the platform had yet to see a truly revolutionary title.

Enter Grand Theft Auto 3.

Your nameless character, wandered the tough streets of Liberty City, taking jobs from various underworld bosses, all the while trying to take out the partner who (metaphorically) stabs you in the back at the beginning of the game.

Those of us who had played the PS1 religiously saw this one coming from a mile away. Back in the summer of 1999 there were three games constantly spinning in the PSs of the world, Grand Theft Auto 2, Driver, and Syphon Filter. Grand Theft Auto 3 was a combination of the best features of all three of these, inside of a car, the game was basically an update of Driver; your action on foot was almost identical to that of Syphon Filter; finally, the whole thing was tied together by the open ended, kill-em-all, gangster/gangsta style of Grand Theft Auto 2.

It was a veritable wet dream for PS1 fanatics; and a defining moment for the PS2 platform.

Part of the success of this game is due to the fact that back in 2001, open ended (or “sandbox”) games were virtually unheard of; they just were not as popular or technologically feasible as more linear games. This game changed all that, not only was the mission structure non-linear, but the missions themselves almost without exception, totally non-linear. Instead of the player completing a mission by following pre-determined paths or utilizing a highly rare resource at the exact moment the programmer desired, the player could play through a mission HIS way.

This carried over to the rest of the game; you could play through the mission structure in the order you preferred, using whatever tools you happened to find.

It was new, it was fresh, and everyone ate it up. The success of GTA 3 made “sandbox” games an industry standard, and a slew of them followed, for every type of platform and every type of situation; but it all started with GTA 3.

The Bad
Okay, back in 2001, when this game was first released, the only real complaints that one could have about this game were because of the 1) shoddy camera system and 2) the shoddy targeting system. Even 4 years ago these systems were hard to use/control and glitchy.

Circa 2005, however, there are a whole host of complaints one could make about this game.

Graphics: This game looks pretty ugly by modern standards, the graphics are only slightly better than what one could expect from a PS1. Textures, resolution, etc. all bite the big one, and just can not compete up with anything released in the last 2 years.

Sounds/Music: Unlike modern games or any of the later GTA games, the music in this game is generally pretty awful. Most of the tunes in this game were created in-house at Rockstar/DMA and do reach the standards set by the soundtracks of Vice City or San Andreas.

Control: As mentioned above, the camera and targeting control in this game was bad back in 2001, it is HORRIBLE by today’s standards. You will constantly fight against these systems during this game.

Story: This game has a very thin storyline, nowhere near as developed as later GTA games. I believe that DMA purposely created the game this way to accentuate the open-endedness of the gameplay, but it is lacking nonetheless.

Gameplay: This is the one category where GTA 3 matches up with later games. You can do basically whatever you want, to whomever you want, wherever you want. As long as you don’t want to fly a helicopter, the gameplay is almost identical to Vice City.

The Bottom Line
This game was an instant classic when released. It has become a bit dated in the following years as newer games have refined and revamped it's basic formula.

The Good
the entire game was and is great i bought the game last november 2001. and i am still playing it to this day no other game has been as addictive to me like this one has the controls and game play are great simple and after about 5 or 10 minutes of cruising around town youll be at home with the controls. i was kind of put off before i played it because i thought the other 2 sequels were and are cr*p but the look it had made me buy it and im glad i did .

the size of the areas you can explore in each part of the city is amazing (area 1) portland (area 2) staunton island (area 3) shoreside vale. the best car to drive is the banshee (dodge viper) its fast and has great handling. it can be found in area 1 at the car show room and in area 2 at the car park of kenji`s casino and at the car park of the building where you work for the japanese chick next to the water and in area three at the car park on the way down the snake like road to your hide out in shoreside vale(after you cross the bridge in the third area)or if you see one in the street (tax it - steal it).

the missions are fun and some of them are a challenge but if you keep at it youll figure out a way to get past it. missions range from simple ones like picking someone up and droping them off to drive by shootings to assassinations basically everything all those mafia guys do and other criminals do its fun and addictive. i have been playing this game since nov 2001 when it was released and i am still playing it today you dont know the meaning of the word addiction till you play this game . the story has a kind of moovy feel to it it draws you in to it and makes you feel as if you are in a hollywood moovy which is partly to blame for it being so addictive. i could go on and on about this game but i will not this is the best game ever and its the best game on the ps2 better looking than it`s pc version. i hope the next one gta-vice city is as good as this little beauty.

The Bad
the radio stations were and are cr*p not one decent station. they should have included a metal/rock station after all that is what you call driving music it gets you all worked up and ready to kick rearend. and also makes you want to drive faster which in this game is exactly what you need.

the company are called - rockstar - so why did they not put a station on that was rock ?.

thank christ they gave you an option to turn the crp off if you did not like it . it`s because they gave you this option that the game is still great . if you never had this option then i would not have it in my collection.

The Bottom Line*
if you are looking for a decent game i.e not rpg or strategy or platform or sports then this is for you . if you like a game that involves cars then look no further because this is one hell of a good game the handling of the cars is good unless you tax a bus or a bucket lorry(trash collector) :). and you be kicking arse in no time at all controls are easy to get the hang of .