Official Website

Platform: Playstation 2, Xbox, PC

Genre: Racing Action

Number of Players: 1

* Note to parents. Grand Theft Auto 3 is DEFINITELY not a game for children. This game features scenes of explicit violence and many adult themes. There is a reason that this game has a mature rating. Those parents that insist on buying this for their children without looking into the games content have only themselves to blame for the images their child will witness during the course of playing this game. Do not place blame on Rockstar Games or on Sony. There is a reason there is a ratings system in place *

 Admittedly, I was never a fan of the Grand Theft Auto series. The overhead game play just didn’t do it for me and overall, I just didn’t see the appeal. When I heard about Grand Theft Auto 3 coming for the PS2, I must say that I was quite under-whelmed. I figured that if nothing else, I’d just ignore it and it would go away soon enough. However, once I got a taste of GTA3, I was hooked bad, really bad.

In GTA 3, players assume the role of a small time crooked who has taken the fall in a burglary in the fictional city of Liberty City. Fortunately, he ends up in the wrong place at the right time.  During a prisoner transfer by the LCPD, members of the Colombian Cartel overtake the van and our anti-hero manages to escape with his newfound friend, 8-Ball. After changing into something less conspicuous, 8-Ball gives players their first introduction into the underground world of organized crime. From there, it’s up to the player to accept various jobs from different mod bosses to work his way up the ladder.

GTA3 allows players to do just about anything they’d like. Take all those dark fantasies onto the console and act them out. If you don’t like the trash talk a pedestrian is spouting off, simply mow them down with a car or take a baseball bat to them. Feeling a bit frisky? Well big boy, you can pick up a prostitute off the street for a bit of R&R. Steal cars, shoot police, go on vigilante missions, and most importantly, collect cash in the process.

Of course, taking all these jobs from the criminal underworld is only half the fun. There are also rampage missions you can go on where it’s your objective to blow up or slaughter as many people as possible before your allotted time limit runs out. Rampages range from harmless things, such as gunning down Triad gang member to picking up a rocket launcher and destroying cars. So, what do you get for all this carnage? Money; and maybe some personal gratification.

Another highly entertaining aspect of GTA3 is the radio stations. Once you hop into a car, feel free to surf through the stations on your car stereo with such genres as reggae, rap, techno, and even an all talk station. It isn’t just about the music however. These radio stations feature some hilarious mock commercials and the talk station has some gut bursting chatter.

What crime spree would be complete without weapons? GTA3 has an abundance of weapons that can be found, bought, and stolen. Things as simple as your common baseball bat, to your everyday shotgun. If that isn’t enough, feel free to lob a few grenades off an overpass into oncoming traffic, or pick up a sniper rifle and pick off a few annoying civilians.

The jobs that you’re sent out on have varying degrees of difficulty. Some are incredibly easy whereas others are almost impossible. One quick note: try and do the missions from El Burro before moving onto the second island. The race that you take part in is hard enough. If you’ve gone far enough in the game, imagine trying to do this little race with both the Triads and the Mafia taking shots at your car. 

Even though it may seem that violence and crime are a way of life in Liberty City, there is the old mantra that crime doesn’t pay. If you do something in the presence of a police office, it will raise your wanted level and the higher the level, the more aggressive the police become, resulting in even the FBI or Army coming after you. Some jobs will boost your wanted level immediately as well. To counter this however, there are police bribes scattered across the city. Grab one of these and it takes a little bit of the heat off you.

Okay, so maybe GTA3 is on the fringes of the gaming world and perhaps it delves into the dark side. Keep in mind however, that Sony has made it a habit of focusing on the older gaming audience whereas the competition has al but forgotten that the fans that helped build their empires have grown up and really want nothing to do with a new Pokemon title. The adult pallet is a bit more refined and not as easily amused as that of a child or a teenager. Rockstar has done for adult gaming what Capcom did for it a few years back when they first introduced us to the survival horror genre. This game may not be for everyone, especially those with a strong sense of moral value, but for those looking for a more adult title, or just searching for a little stress relief; GTA3 is hands above the rest.

 -mike-