Grand Theft Auto III

It destroyed all the previous ones.

This game is one of the true landmarks on gaming.

Grand Theft auto was a superb gaming idea hobbled by the lack of computer power. Don't get me wrong the 2D versions was really fun but I'm sure that everyone who played it realised that the first attempt at sandbox innovation needed something more.

Then after fading away for a few years I heard on the internet about GTA III. OMG I thought, "what the hell is this" Then I watched one of the first 3D trailers and I was hooked by just the idea of a true 3D GTA game.

GTA III is a truly groundbreaking game, it has lifted gaming to a new level and laid down a standard to gamers that developers have been chasing ever since.

This game might be dated but it will forever hold it's place at a true innovation in gaming that will be remembered for a very long time….

Twenty years ago today, Grand Theft Auto 3 came out for the PlayStation 2 and I really hope that this game gets remastered for the PlayStation 4 and maybe the PlayStation 5 today or soon.

What can I say, this game rocks.

The basic story is you are a criminal on the run. Your girlfriend and partner set you up after a bank robbery by shooting you and leaving you for the cops. You are busted but during the transportation to jail the Columbians (I think) bust out one of their men from the van, you and another convict (8-Ball) escape too. He sets you up with with Luigi and you start you work in the criminal underworld. The city is made up of three islands. But you can't just go from island to island right away. Yet the story makes sense why you can't. The bridge from the first island to the second is destroyed in the break out. So there is a huge gap in it. And the underground tunnel system project isn't finished yet either. But as soon as you've finished all the major missions on the first island, the bridge is repaired and part of the tunnel system is completed. (you hear it on the radio).

The story line has it all. Betrayal, little bit of love, violence, a little humor, lots of action, and more. This is by far one of the best made games I have ever played. It is so deep in gameplay. You choose when you want to take a mission by going to the proper place and get an assignment. Don't feel like taking a job at the moment? Just walk around the city if you feel like it. People pass you on the street and you hear lots of funny comments. I dub one guy "Village Person" type because he says lines like "There is a place you can go.." and a few other things that sound like lines from a Village People song. There are college students, gang members, Chinese Triads, Mafia, Spanish hoods, hookers, pimps, cops, and more! All the types have their own voices for that type and own lines of speech.

You can beat up people with a baseball bat if you like. Just don't it in front of the cops. They don't like that. Stand around and wait after you killed some one and an ambulance will come and heal that person. Hold off the paramedics for a while and the persons body disappears and a chalk outline appears for while. You can stick your gun in a person's face and hold them up.

All cars in this game can be stolen. Well some are locked so you are out of luck on them. But the car types also have their own driving styles too. Steal an ambulance and take a corner too fast at top speed and you may tip over. Steal a fast can and you may not be able to make the turn and you spin out a bit and hit a wall. Take a different can and you may not be fast enough to out run cops or keep up with the person you are chasing. This is great because cars do not simply have the same driving stlye like they do in games like Driver 2 and such. Plus this has a good physics engine. In some chases in Driver 2 I tried to ram a guy instead of just tailing him. It was like hitting a brick wall. I didn't do a thing to him but I was pretty much totaled. Not in GTA3. You hit them and they will feel it. Lots of cool cars are in the game even an ice cream truck and a small airplane, no wings but it still flys.

Next their is the voice acting. It is superb! Excellent cast! Also in the car you can listen to the radio. different channels to choose from. There is rap, ska, classic rock, opera, a talk radio (my fave), and more. The talk radio is a riot to listen too. There are calls such as one lady complaining about people on cell phones and is even in charge of an organization (ok there are three of them) called Citizens Raging Against Phones. Yes the organization is CRAP. Another guy wants to hire a nanny because he needs to be spanked. It even has guests on it. One is a pimp who runs Fernando's new beginnings and a self help guru/martial artist.

The cities are huge! It would take you a couple hours alone to walk the entire city. Plus their are more things to do in the game than just missions. There are 100 hidden packages scattered across the three islands that make up the city. Find them to have weapons created at your hideouts. Also their are places where you can ramp your car off of for uniqe stunt bonuses. This game is not something you will finish in a few short hours. This will take over 50 hours easily to finish.

This is my all time favorite game. I hope they make another one similar to this and add even more to it. 10/10

Left for dead by his girlfriend Catalina(she'll be our Saturday morning cartoon villain; the few occasions where you see her after that point, interest spikes) as they were running away from a just-completed robbery, Claude(nameless until his San Andreas cameo, and voiceless, yet still subtly somewhat characterized - he has attitude, nobody owns him) is then freed by his explosives-knowledgeable friend 8-Ball(...take one guess at his ethnicity), and, determined to get back the $70.000 that he stole fair and square, starts to work his way from the bottom to the top of organized crime in Liberty City(this universe's version of NY) - you will make enemies, your loyalties will have to be flexible, and you may just get doublecrossed.

There is more story, albeit this is not propelled forward by it, and, especially with the ending, it does show that not that much was built onto this vague, as well as uncomplicated, base. The subversive(almost everything in this is... it may even insult you for your failure!) nature of it thus has a negative effect, along with the several positives(always keeping you guessing, reflecting the underworld, etc.). As you work for various "families", you learn many credible characters(several voiced by famous names - Michael Madsen's mother-issues-riddled Tony, Frank Vincent's head of the mafia Salvatore, and others, all perfectly cast... and nearly everyone does great acting here, names and otherwise), and there are a ton of details that flesh out the setting. The neutral tone is refreshing - no one is the "hero", it's people doing what their chosen business calls for - and sometimes suffering on account.

With a dynamic world, this is how you do what Assassin's Creed botched: things aren't too reined in, they're under the control of the engine which is indifferent towards you, either randomized(traffic, immediate police presence, civilians' reactions, weather) or determined by laws(turfs of your foes will be patrolled, time of day that you can keep track of via the HUD clock - 1 minute of its time is 1 second of real-life time). While not all of these are "vital", they do all make it feel organic, a simulation, not a preset series of events. There are actual consequences(in spite of what those who get their logic from the likes of William Lane Craig would assert) - die or be arrested, you lose all weapons and ammo, some money, and usually any mission(if this happens on the way from having completed one, you have to decide: try again, or go gather all of the weapons again?) you were on. This is more than most games, where usually you just load(which you still can).

Saving and storing motors can only happen at Safe Houses(race back there once you're finished with doing something that was tough!), and in general, benefits tend to require travel and memorizing(or printing out a map - the minimap here is insufficient) - you can repair your wheels and simultaneously get rid of the police by getting a paint job, get bullets/arsenal(pistol, SMG, shotgun, assault rifle, the awesome but seldom useful sniper, grenade, the insane molotov cocktail - typically one per type), even place a bomb on your ride... but not on every street corner! Exploration and learning what is where and how do you get from here to there rewards itself a lot, without this being something that they felt the need to hold your hand and guide you to. This is highly intuitive - if you apply yourself, you can probably figure out what you need to do. Sure, there is some trial and error, however, this is the exception. The rule is: you plan, you react rather than curse your bad luck, you win. A hard-earned victory that satisfies.

There is a ton to do - I've spent 24 and a half hours on it, and while I finished the plot, I only have 40% completion - and even if or when you've gotten all the hidden packages, done all the unique jumps, etc. one can always play this more: seeing how long you can last in a cop chase you started by causing enough mayhem, go everywhere. It's all up to you how deep you go in, what pace you take it at. You have more than one "contact" to get new assignments from, and they're varied, fun and, like everything in this, challenging. Assassinate, transport, tail or destroy. Throw in time-limits, having to keep your van intact and the like for extra spice. It doesn't sound like much, and yet these all feel inspired and make sense. Satire is over the top and also smart, thoughtprovoking - and it targets both sides of the aisle, equally. The 8 music radio stations cover and parody many genres(with a mix of licensed and original tunes - and you can't always tell one from the other), with 15-25 minutes of content each. No less than 58 for the hilarious, quotable talk radio.

With streets of everything from pimps in full purple getup, grannies with both hands holding full grocery bags, YMCA-ish construction workers, and areas including the inner-city with its neon-lit Red Light district and the suburbs, this feels real, and there is much to see, do, take in. For on-the-spot, jump-in-or-out jobs, grab a taxi to get to get people from point A to B, an ambulance to do the same with profusely bleeding NPC's, a police car to carry out vigilante justice, or a fire truck to go "put out", as the slogan puts it - all of this timed, and you can engage them anywhere, all it takes is the mentioned hardtop. Physics and interactivity as far as driving goes is good, though those who come here from Need For Speed and the like will find gear-shifting, acceleration and the like simplified(not gone).

There is some sexual content(in dialog) and a lot of bloody, some brutal, violent, disturbing content in this. I recommend this to any fan of non-linear gameplay. 8/10

To put it simply, Grand Theft Auto 3 is one of the very best video games, or any form of entertainment for that matter, ever made.

You've probably heard about how graphically violent this game is, and there's certainly no denying it. People (criminals, gang members, cops, pedestrians, etc.) can be murdered in a variety of entertaining ways, but GTA3 isn't about mindless mayhem. The game is actually story driven, and that, combined with awesome gameplay (driving being a main factor of course) is what really puts it over the top. It's quite an experience as you rise through the ranks from petty Jack-of-all-trades thug-for-hire to a millionaire. Chock full of tons of fun missions, from carjacking to assassinations to body disposal and anything else your employer needs you to do.

Enough of my pretentious praise though. If you haven't played Grand Theft Auto 3 yet, what are you waiting for?!