| Navigation: |
| More GTA3: |
| Screenshots: |
 |
| "Borrowing" cars! |
 |
| On foot. |
 |
| Bigger guns! |
| Grand Theft Auto 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Full Review: | ||
Rockstar Games, part of the mighty Take 2, have always been successful with the Grand Theft Auto series, even though their journey has been filled with controversy. Everytime they release a new game, there is outrage at the amount of violence or sex in the game, and GTA3 was no exception. However, the game was successfully released, and has since become the most popular game on PS2. | ||
| Gameplay | ||
|
It is a violent game, but not one that takes it seriously. This is not a "crim-sim" set out to convert the population into highly trained gangsters, but instead one of the most enjoyable experiences on PS2. Its the kind of game that never says "You must go over there and pick up that box", but instead gives subtle signals so that you by yourself will decide "Maybe I`ll go and pick up that box". If you think of something you'd like to do, then the game will probably let you do it.
The first thing most people will do though is to head for the nearest car, grab hold of the driver, hurl them from their vehicle and jump in. In doing this, you'll get shouted at loudly, and possibly even punched if the driver tries to defend itself. You may even get a police pursuit if you happen to do it when they are watching - and they often are. Of course, if you pick a police car in the first place, you're really pushing your luck! If you wanted, you could carry on like this for weeks, just exploring the city, causing havoc and getting to know the place, and stop, feeling satisfied that you`ve played a great game. However, that doesn`t even take into account the actual plot at all. Once you`ve had enough fun messing around, you can get on with the huge selection of missions, working for different gangs, taking on the police, and working your way up the chain. You may start out as a hired thug, but before long you become trusted with several top assignments including sniper assasinations and more. Once you get to a certain stage in the game, the bridge that is initially undergoing repairs becomes finished, and you are able to cross over into the next island (there are eventually three main islands). This opens up a whole new game almost. The next island is even bigger than the first, and has hundreds more missions to take part in. Using boats, cars, loads of guns, and both stealth and assault approaches you battle your way up the ladder again. One of the few niggles with the gameplay is the targeting system for weapons. Without a great deal of practise, its very easy to get confused about who you are aiming for, and why it won't aim elsewhere. After a while, these problems become less noticeable, but they are still there, just slightly taking away a little of the realism. | ||
| Graphics | ||
|
Incredibly, the huge islands have no loading times except when crossing from one island to another, and even then its very bried. This means you can drive from one end of an island to the other without interruption, and take in the fantastic detail of the game. The many varied pedestrians, the different cars, buses, taxis, lorries, the trains going past, the shops in the streets, the trees, the weather... everything coming together to make a living breathing world.
The facial detail is impressive, making your character look the part, so small animations like giving "the finger" to the cops are a superb touch. The other people in the city are similarly detailed, so you almost (only almost) feel guilty when you decide to get into a punch up. The city detail is equally amazing, allowing you to drive through busy urban areas, or out into cleaner forests and hills, or down to the beach, or practically anywhere else you want to go. The details aren't like they are in Metal Gear Solid 2, but they make up for it in volume. Quantity really does rule here, and its easy to be shocked by new details you find even months after starting the game. The graphics may not be top notch, but they are certainly adequate, but the one noticeable fault is the camera. With such a massive game, its no wonder the camera gets lost from time to time, but you will notice when suddenly your character is obscured by a nearby wall, or a body is half inside a closed door etc... This is a very minor clipping problem, combined with a little camera dizziness, and rarely hampers the game. | ||
| Sound | ||
| Outside of a car, you can listen to the pedestrians shouting at you, or the cops chasing you, car engines growling as they pass by, rain drops tapping on the road side, but inside the car, things really come alive. With the exception of emergency services vehicles, there is always a radio on board, and you can pick up a great selection of radio frequencies. Chatterbox with its endless but funny discussions, Classic for those mass-murderer moments, Rise for the racing experience etc... Hours and hours of great radio recorded and ready for you to listen to whenever you like. | ||
| Overall | ||
| Its shocking how so much detail can be put into one game. Its no wonder that a year later it remained in the all-formats chart as well as the PS2 chart. The game is so addictive and enjoyable that you could quite likely be playing it for years. | ||
| Score | ||||
| Gameplay Great fun to play, but the targeting lets it down. | 9.3 | |||
| Graphics Nothing amazing, but quite massive, with lots of hidden detail. | 8.8 | |||
| Lastability Huge, massive, collosal. Could take months. | 9.4 | |||
| Sound Good music, decent enough sound effects. | 9.3 | |||
| Overall Not as polished as Vice City, but a fantastic game. | 9.2 | |||
| Alternatively: | ||
| You could also check out Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, for a more recent edition to the series. Set in Miami, the gameplay has been fine tuned, and a few of the things that were missing from GTA3 turn up in Vice City, such as motorbikes, helicopters and more. | ||