Have you ever wanted to work for the mob? Rob a bank? How about cut off that bastard on the highway, get out of your car, pull him out of his car, then beat him down with a baseball bat? How about steal a cop car, run over the officer from whom you stole it, then pick up a prostitute? Well, welcome to Liberty City - the place where you can do all of this and much, much more. We've all played games and thought to ourselves what if we could do this, or what if we could do that. In Grand Theft Auto 3 (GTA3), you need not ask "what if."
This is the king of all games, one game to rule them all.
Gameplay
The game starts with you, the main character, as a prisoner convicted of armed robbery. (You've been framed. Your girlfriend was the real robber.) In an elaborate prison break that includes the Colombian drug cartel and an exploding bridge, your character flees. And this is fine, because the authorities believe all prisoners have perished in the explosion.Fellow prisoner 8-ball takes a nearby car, tells you to drive, and you're off. After changing into civilian clothing, 8-ball tells you that he has a "well connected" friend who can get you some work. And from here, the fun begins. First working for a nightclub owner Luigi, then Joey, Toni, Salvatore Leone, etc. you become a mafia regular. You live a life of crime. This is where the story lies - and it's a beauty. First working for the mafia and then for various warring gangs throughout the city, when all is said and done your character will run missions for up to eight different criminal factions.
And believe me, these missions are fun and varied, ranging from "taking out" a certain someone, to rigging a car with a bomb so that it blows up an enemy of the Leone family, to driving the getaway car in a bank heist, to simply transporting a member of the family in the mob boss's spiffy limo.
But the best part of the game lies outside the missions. Whenever you find a mission too difficult or you simply don't feel like doing what they want you to do, you can have weeks of fun using Liberty City as your own personal playground. Steal the cop cars, steal the cabs, run around shooting old ladies carrying grocery bags, use your bare fists and beat the crap out of that pimp then steal his money, or just explore - you have an entire breathing city at your disposal.
And if that's not enough, there are side missions that aren't essential to progressing through the game. There are also sub-games within the game: for instance, you can run taxi missions and pick up fares from customers by dropping them off at their destinations, put out fires as a firefighter driving the fire truck, or become a vigilante after stealing a cop car.
As for the control of the game, well, let me just say one thing: this game has a button with only function: to steal cars. What else could you want? Hit triangle and your character goes to the nearest car, pulls the driver out, and throws him into the street. The gameplay is nothing more then running, gunning, and driving. But believe me, it's beyond brilliant.
Grade: A+
Graphics
While the gameplay is exceptional, if not perfect, the graphics are the one area of the game that could use improvement. But to be fair, the graphics are extraordinary in their own right. While most areas feature rather simple textures and issues arise with the draw distance when looking at the city from afar, the city itself is simply enormous.Developer DMA Design clearly went for scope over detail, and I don't fault them one bit. But regardless, the PS2's weaknesses do pop up at times. The sheer vastness of the game makes up for any nitpicking issues one might have. GTA3 features a very large, incredibly well designed living, breathing city that includes three islands, connecting bridges and subway, and an airport. Additionally, there are probably two dozen, if not more, character models for civilians wandering the streets. And there are easily 30-plus vehicle models driving around for your stealing pleasure.
GTA3 also handles complicated action sequences without a hitch, including six flaming cars exploding with two helicopters circling overhead as a fierce gunfight rages between you and the cops. The scene occurs regularly without a slowdown in the framerate.
The only reason I am marking the game down on graphics is that I simply expect improvement in the inevitable sequel. The textures could be better and crisper and the draw distance could be better in places. But then Michael Jordan could always be better at basketball too - that doesn't keep him from being the best to have ever played the game.
Grade: B+
Sound
You have the ladies with the New York accents yelling "watch where you're going asshole," you have cops yelling "get that guy," you have nine - yes, count them, nine - full-fledged radio stations that you can listen to while driving a car; tires screeching, engines revving, explosions exploding, guns firing, planes roaring. It's the sound of the street, and it's all here.Even without the radio stations, I'd have to give GTA3 stellar marks for adding high quality sound and providing the backdrop for a living city. If you simply stand there and listen for a moment, it really does sound like you're standing in the midst of a bustling city. It's really exceptional. But what really pushes the envelope are the superbly crafted radio stations. From Chatterbox, your typical talking head station (albeit with often hilarious commentary), to an '80s retro station to good old hip-hop, they are broad and deep. They really do add an unexpected degree of enjoyment. I found myself simply driving around the city at times just to listen to Chatterbox. Granted, I do have no life. But it really is that funny sometimes.
Grade: A+
Replay Value
Running missions for the mob, for drug cartels, for the Japanese yakuza, or the thugs in Chinatown, the missions in GTA3 will hold your attention for endless hours. And that drive to finish "just one more mission" before bedtime, gets you every time. Until you beat this game, you won't be able to put down the controller. And whenever you need a break from the main storyline, taking a detour to do whatever else you can dream of doing will eat up your hours just as nicely. I beat the game some five months ago and I still find myself playing it regularly to simply mess around and wreak some damage on an unsuspecting populace.Grade: A+
I hope that you've already bought this game. Otherwise, you don't deserve that PS2 sitting on your desktop. It's taking up space and you wasted $300. If you don't mind senseless violence in the name of fun (and really, who doesn't?), and you enjoy video games in general, you have no option in this matter, you MUST own this game. Period.
Overall: A+
