Introduction
If there is one group who knows how to create the darkest and most twisted world imaginable, it is the people from DMA and Rockstar. As if GTA1 or 2 were not enough, they have created the most sickening yet delightfully simple game world one can imagine in GTA3. And the best part of this world is its simplicity. Police officers cruise the street by car or by foot. Ambulances tear through the streets. Follow one and sure enough you’ll end up at some kind of mishap, and the paramedics will get out and help someone out. Start a fire somewhere and sure enough if you stick around, a fire truck will shortly arrive to put it out. What they dont count on is for you to mow them down with an Uzi and take their truck. And in that lies another of the games strong points. GTA3 is a game that allows absolute freedom. There is no rush to complete missions. No set tasks you need to complete in order. No set way to do anything. It is so shocking that I spent the first few days just running around messing people up. No need to play the ’game’. GTA3 is like many games within itself.
Presentation
The game opens up with an awesome FMV sequence, which triggers the game. There is no real menu in the game. Only a pause menu, with many different options. A very refreshing change of pace. To save your game, you go to your ’hideout’. Theres even a garage there that you can store cars in that will remain until you remove them. Excellent. With no menus or loading, you never feel out of the ’world’. Turn the game on and you’re in Liberty City. It really adds alot of style to the game. Getting into controllers, for the amount of commands you can do, DMA pulled it off incredibly. Anyone familiar with GTA on PSX will feel at home while on your feet. If you’re used to the Driver series, you’ll feel right at home while driving. The analog sticks are used for looking behind or to the left/right. They can be configured as well.
The game has the best presentation I’ve seen since Metal Gear Solid, and considering the type of game GTA3 is, thats really saying alot. From the opening sequence to the controls, cut scenes, etc, you really feel like a part of DMAs sick twisted world.
Graphics & Sound
Back on the PSX, there was one thing that really kept you from being ’in the game’. The view. While the fast gameplay and huge levels could never have been done on PSX in a 3rd person view, it still left alot to be desired. It also meant the graphics didnt need to be good. In GTA3, you are in the game. You can see everything. Aside from better graphics, the new view adds alot more depth. Also, GTA1 and 2 were big, but GTA3 is much bigger, and the view makes it seems even bigger.
On the graphics, they are simply breathtaking. Granted, you dont have character models like Devil May Cry or car models like GT3. But when you take into account the amount of cars, people and buildings on screen at once, you wonder how DMA pulled this off. There is never a drop in game speed, not once. The characters animate smooth and fluid. The car models are good. Not great, but it isnt needed.
One of the coolest effects in the game is its weather/time system. There is a clock on your screen at all times. When it gets late on the clock, it gets late in the game. Not only does the graphic look change, but there are far less people running around and less cars driving. Theres also the weather. It rains at times and it looks awesome. It bounces off the cars and flys off their tires. It can also get foggy, which also looks very good, but limits how far you can see.
As with the first two GTA games, the sound in GTA3 is excellent. Each car sounds different, and there are lots of cars. Profanity is COMMON when you are driving around. So is pedestrian chatter. And the best part is..... the radio. Yea, the radio is back in GTA3. There are I think about 10 different stations, each are actually different. Let me tell you, I flip the station right to Chatterbox every time I get into a car to hear what Laslow has to say. Its that good. The guns and screaming of people sound good also.
Its kind of hard to decidew which aspect has a bigger impact on the game. The graphics or the sound. Rarely can you say that about a game. They are both that good in this one.
Gameplay
One of the best parts of the GTA series is that you do more than one thing. You drive, you run, you find secrets. It’s really like multiple games in one. GTA3 expands on this greatly. While walking around, you can do the same thing you always have been able to do. You can run up to someone and shoot them to death. Or you can beat the crap out of them. But the new view really adds alot more depth.
You’ll spend most of the game driving around. From your car, you can do the same things as walking around. New to GTA3 are ’insane stunts’. Anywhere you see what looks to be a nice jump setup, try it. There are 20 jumps setup in the game that you ’collect’. Hit one and you’ll get a Dukes of Hazzard style slow mo cinematic view of your jump. It is really awesome.
Fans of Driver will feel right at home. The cops can become insane while chasing you down. You have 6 warrant levels. Get one or two, and its not that big of a deal. Cops will chase you. But, get 3 or 4 and they will hunt you down and bring out the chopper. Get over 4 and the Swat Team sets up road blocks while undercover cars run you down. You will spend hours just messing around with the cops.
Depending on which car you end up in, you can also earn money by doing little side jobs. If you steal a cab, you can become a cabbie. Pick up fares and drop them off. Get a police car and become a vigilante, killing wanted criminals for cash(police bribes to be exact). Ambulances can be stolen and you can pick people up and take them to the hospital. Put fires out in a firetruck.
Another big part of the gameplay is weapons. The cops can take you down real quick-like. You have to have a weapon to survive. They can be obtained in different ways. Killing any cop will yield you a handgun. *yawn*. Steal a cop car and you’ll get a shotgun. There are hidden weapons all over the place, like grenades, motovails, flamethrowers and rocketlaunchers. Theres also a weapon store where you can simply buy weapons. The better the weapon you have the bigger chance you have at succeeding. Once you start to complete missions for one gang, other gangs will have a price on your head. So just running around the city becomes cumbersome cause you have 10 gang members chasing you around with anything from pistols to Uzis to baseball bats.
The main part of the game are the missions. There are 75 missions to complete. Some are easy. Most are pretty hard. But they are all fun. Theres so mamy different ways to get places and so much that can happen in between here and there that its always different.
A great part of the game is that just when you get used to one map and all the cars there, a new area of the map is open and there are different areas and cars to explore. This is a game with truly perfect gameplay.
Lasting Appeal
This game can be whatever you want it to be. It can last a few days or it can never end. Ive put atleast 30 hours into it and Im 17% finished I believe. At that pace it will be a 150+ hour game. Not too shabby. The missions are varied enough to keep you interested, but there are more than enough mini games for a change of pace. If you get tired of doing missions you can bust some criminals in vigilante mode or make some cash as a cab driver. Or you can just drive around and kill people. Theres also tons of hidden things to find, from rampages, to insane jumps to 100 secret packages. Once you finish one game, theres more than one game left to finish. Most replay value in any game, ever? Maybe...
Conclusion
GTA3 is a refreshing change of pace from any other game. It offers complete freedom, which adds more than words could ever describe. Above all the great graphics, controls and sounds, an incredibly deep and dark world lies for the player to do whatever he/she wants with it. It is a game where the player is in complete control of the type of game they play through. Esssentially, the game is whatever you make it. Can a gamer ask for anything more? I really dont think so. GTA3 is polished and very solid across the board, and no mature gamer should be without it.
