Grand Theft Auto III

The Good
Literally, everything. GTA3 places you in the shoes of a nameless thug, whose piddling criminal career is seemingly cut short after his girlfriend, Catalina, doublecrosses him. However, he escapes the clutches of the law, and subsequently farms himself out to every pimp, mob boss and gangster of Liberty City. You'll find yourself partaking in nearly every illegal activity under the sun, including car-bombing, hijacking, murdering selectively and wantonly and engaging in a little premarital intercourse with some choice ladies of the night. The sheer amount of things you can do in this game is immense, meaning that if you get tired of the linear missions, you can simply drive around the city, looking for secret passages, insane jumps and hidden rampage icons.

The Bad
Nothing, really. While some might complain about the difficulty level of some of the missions, I found the hard ones to be refreshing in this age of digital indulgence. So many games hold your hand and swaddle your butt that it's almost impossible to find a genuinely challenging experience. Kudos to DMA Design for kicking my ass several hundred times!

The Bottom Line
Two parts driving, two parts third-person action game, two parts felonious guilty pleasure, mix and bake. I should note that this is the kind of game that makes non-gamers sit up and take notice.