Pow! GTA 3 explodes with fun!
Written: Apr 30 '03 (Updated May 02 '03)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Unparalleled freedom, balanced gameplay, and detailed cityscapes.
Cons: Frustrating elements of gameplay.
The Bottom Line: Buy this game because you will regret it if you don't.
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| qbprogger's Full Review: Grand Theft Auto 3 for Windows |
Grand Theft Auto is a felony crime in the United States, but its also a really freakin' fun game. Millions of copies have been sold, TV commercials grace the airwaves, and Rockstar Games seems to have unleashed a monster with GTA 3--a very successful monster. Many folks are snatching up copies of this game and are hailing this game as "the best ever, seriously guys". But, in order to fully understand what all the hoopla is about and what GTA 3 brings to the table, we must first take a quick look at the first two games of the series.
Grand Theft Auto, the controversial debut title of the series, was a unique game experience. The game was overhead 3D set in a gigantic city populated with cars, people, trains, strip clubs, and more. Every car on the road was drivable, every person was a potential target, and organized crime filled the streets. Gamers quickly adapted to this freedom and enjoyed creating massive crime sprees, huge traffic jams, or they would just simply drive around the city and explore. The central goal was to achieve a high score by committing illegal and/or violent acts. Some of these acts included killing police officers, destroying office complexes, robbing banks, and running down pedestrians with a car. After the player committed a series of crimes, his wanted level would rise leading to fast-paced police chases and gunfights. While GTA had its fun moments, the game was quickly monotonous due to mostly unimaginative missions. The game also lacked geographical clues for navigation and reused graphics to an almost excessive amount. Skilled players managed to memorize street layouts, but most would drive around in a state of confusion. Even with faults like these, the game retained a highly fanatical fan base. Rockstar Games quickly started work on a sequel to satisfy the thirst for a sequel.
Grand Theft Auto 2 attempted to enhance the game while maintaining the features of the original that the fans so dearly loved--large cities, lots of freedom, and mindless mayhem! This sequel was set in the near future and played with a new concept of gang reputation. In the city, several gangs each had a "respect" meter for the player. If the player had a bad reputation with a gang, the members of that gang would refuse to give missions and would attempt to kill the player. However, if the player had a good reputation with this gang, he could get several missions and chances to increase his score. The flow of the game constantly had the player changing affiliations in order to gain the points necessary to move through the levels. The substantially improved police AI was bigger, meaner, and just plain nasty. Policemen would move in groups and attempt to force the car into a dead end. SWAT teams, federal agents, and the Army were ready to crush the player with overwhelming force. Justice had a fighting chance in GTA 2!
Hardware graphics acceleration was moving into the spotlight and GTA 2 took full advantage of new hardware. The old software graphics modes were completely abandoned which meant that people had to upgrade their computers in order to play. This game featured two lighting schemes to take advantage of the lighting benefits of hardware acceleration. The daylight lighting model was like the original GTA with bright, easily seen graphics. The night model gave the city an atmospheric boost and provided stark and beautiful lighting. The light schemes were chosen in the configuration utility and the player had a choice between one or the other for the entirety of play.
GTA 3 goes back to Liberty City from the first game and expands the playing experience with fully 3D environments and some core changes. While GTA 3 is a worthy successor with plenty of great and excellently crafted features, it also has its share of notable negatives.
Grand Theft Auto 3 is different from its predecessors because the central goal of the game is to advance the plot rather than gain a high score through acts of mayhem. While the game still provides the player with a variety of deliciously destructive devices such as rocket launchers and flamethrowers, the game no longer gives points for killing police officers. Or shooting innocents. Or running over pedestrians. Bummer. However, the instant play ability that was cherished by legions of fans is still present. It's still very possible to fire up a game and just play around at a medium pace and totally ignore missions.
Many features that were highly regarded from the first two games come back in one form or another. In the first two games, every vehicle was usable and GTA 3 is no different in this aspect; every car on the road is a potential joyride. Cars range from craptacular station wagons to sleek exotic cars. Also, the player can pilot a variety of boats and even a plane in the latter portion of the game. I must admit that the plane is a bit of a disappointment considering that any attempts to pilot it spell certain doom due to extremely complex and tricky controls.
A fully 3D city has definitely changed game play for the positive. Players can now drive over rugged terrain, fly several hundred feet from ramps, and even flip their cars upside down. A negative to flipping a car upside down is that the car immediately starts to set on fire and explodes a few seconds afterwards. I'm not sure why Rockstar implemented such a feature and it can cause frustration. The player can't normally exit a moving car and if he manages to get sufficient momentum behind a car and flip it upside down, the car can explode before the player gets out in time to escape. This is especially frustrating when police cars constantly ram a flipped car preventing a player's exit. However, the fully 3D environments do work wonders with the city landscape.
The game takes place in Liberty City's three areas: Portland, Staunton Island, and Shoreside Vale. Each area of the sprawling metropolis has a distinctive feel, unique vehicles, and various gangs. The city in GTA 3 is marvelously textured with unique visual cues on every corner. Many players will spend several hours exploring the vast cityscape--it's so large that it's very possible to get lost. Rockstar should be applauded for creating such a diverse and realistic city landscape for a video game. There's almost no reuse of graphics from one area to another and streets have little nooks, corners, and alleys. Rockstar absolutely sets a new standard in sheer size and interactivity of a video game world. Also, the day and night lighting models have been completely thrown out in favor of a game clock and dynamic lighting and weather effects. Liberty City operates differently at different times of day and some missions even require certain time periods. Rain and fog also make their appearance in this game and add to the atmosphere of the city.
One of the notable features in GTA 3 is the use of cinematic cut-scenes. The voice acting in this game is superb and all of the scenes are rendered using the game's display engine. The characters move semi-realistically and the speech is synched to the movements of the mouths (some games don't even come close!). Many of the cut-scenes feel straight out of a movie; especially the introduction scene with a bank robbery. The 3D camera, making its debut with this game, is extremely well-utilized in this game in areas other than the cut-scenes. Various "special" jumps are placed around Liberty City and every time the player ramps on one of these, the camera switches to a cinematic and stylistic slow-motion view of the jump. Unlike some games which overuse effects like this (Need for Speed High Stakes, I'm looking at you!), GTA 3 keeps it fun by only having this effect on special jumps.
As far as the standard game cameras go, the walking camera has two selections - a 3rd person view and yes, the classic overhead view! The car camera has 3rd person far, 3rd person close, Cockpit, Cinematic, and traditional overhead view. Different camera angles can come in handy in different places. Spotting power-ups on the rooftops of buildings is made easy using the overhead camera while this same view can make navigation clumsy. I highly suggest using the close 3rd person camera view for most driving. GTA 3 is designed to fully take advantage of its newfound freedoms and fully expects the player to use the increased field of vision with the 3rd person camera. In addition, the cinematic camera view is all but useful and is very hard to use during the game. Constant camera switches and mixtures of high and low angles can be confusing.
The plot's newfound focus uses all of these dramatic improvements as a tool for presenting a gritty, mafia-style storyline. The main character in the game has just been arrested for a bank robbery because he was shot and left for dead during the escape by his supposedly loyal girlfriend. Poor guy. An explosive accident on the bridge connecting Portland and Staunton Island haphazardly releases our hero. Now he's out for revenge and to make a name for himself again. Various gangs populate Liberty City and the plot of the game guides our man to make enemies and friends with these gangs in his quest for justice. Policemen also return to add some flavor as a consequence to illegal actions. GTA 3 takes the law enforcement AI to new heights. Police cars will aggressively seek to attack the player in various creative ways. When the player gets a high wanted level, the feds and eventually the Army show up to spoil the player's fun. The police are also used effectively in selected missions of the game and add a strong sense of urgency to mission completion.
In addition, various mini-missions add some variety to game play. 100 packages are spread around Liberty City, yielding cash and bonuses for finders. When a player enters a taxi cab, he can operate as a taxi driver and earn some spare cash. Fire trucks offer firefighting missions, police cars offer vigilante crime fighting missions, and ambulances let the player assume the role of a medical emergency team.
GRAPHICS - 3.5/5 Stars
The major sticking point for GTA 3 is the sluggish performance. Extremely high system requirements diminish what would otherwise be a masterpiece. The graphics are stylish, players are diverse and richly animated, and the game is very consistent in its graphical presentation. However, a 1.5GHz P4 or Athlon system with a Geforce 3 graphics card can still experience choppy play at lowest resolution (640x480). This is basically inexcusable considering this same system can easily run almost any other game on the market. Also, the game requires lots of video ram and a modern 3d accelerator (minimum Radeon or Geforce).
INTERFACE - 4/5 Stars
GTA 3's interface is sleek, stylish, and simple. Almost every game action or command can be configured to any key or mouse button. The interface never frustrates the user and that's a very good thing. Also, the installation is cake. Some people have had problems installing and operating GTA 3 due to system requirement checks. Be warned, your computer may not be compatible with GTA 3. Once the game is properly installed and everything's configured, the game runs like a champ--as long as your system can handle it.
GAMEPLAY - 5/5 Stars
This game excels marvelously in the gameplay area. The new plot focus adds an extra reward for players that play through the missions. The marvelously crafted cut-scenes are fun to watch. Different cars handle realistically. SUV's can't make tight corners at high speeds without rolling over, cars slip around on the street in the rain, and the physics engine affects the capabilities and usefulness of each car. It's quite thrilling to grab an exotic sports car after puttering around the city in a slow pickup truck. The game offers intuitive controls and most players can race through the streets in no time. The auto-target feature allows for easy aiming--a big plus for beginners who are clumsy with controls. The missions are straightforward and the goals of each mission are clearly plotted out. Navigation is easy in Liberty City and the city has various pathways to different destinations.
MULTIPLAYER - N/A
This game does not feature a multiplayer mode. Rockstar originally planned on having a multiplayer mode, but it was scrapped.
SOUND FX - 4/5 Stars
GTA 3 has incredibly good sound FX quality. It uses a few different sound engines: Miles fast 2d, Miles fast 3d, and EAX. EAX acceleration allows for cool effects like echoes in tunnels and open-air ambience on the road. Gunshots sound like gunshots, pedestrians make comical small talk, explosions EXPLODE, and police sirens wail to great effect. Some current games, like UT2K3, manage to surpass the sound quality of a game like GTA 3. However, GTA 3 wholeheartedly earns those 4 stars.
MUSICAL SCORE - 4/5 Stars
The radio music stations in Liberty City are top notch. Especially Chatterbox radio station which features a hilarious parody on a talk show complete with idiot callers and sarcastic responses. Various radio stations have different styles - there's an opera station, a rap station, techno station, some songs return from the original GTA game, and flashback radio station is actually the soundtrack to the movie Scarface! The other radio stations left offer a variety of other music that I'm sure some people would enjoy but didn't appeal to my tastes. However, I can't hold GTA 3 to my ridiculous musical tastes. The soundtrack works well, sounds great, and helps the city come alive. Kudos to Rockstar!
INTELLIGENCE AND DIFFICULTY - 4.5/5 Stars
Players might become frustrated with the difficulty of the missions later on in the game. All missions are repeatable as many times as necessary for victory, but sometimes a mission may require 20 or more attempts. However, victory is never out of reach for the determined player. Various secret missions, mini-games, and more always offer options for a player that is frustrated by the standard missions.
OVERALL - 4.5/5 Stars
All I can say is that I've owned the game for about 7 months now and I'm still playing it. Rockstar really put a great deal of effort into this game and I'm definitely glad that I made this purchase. I'd reccomend this game as a solidly fun playing experience. Two glocks up!
THIS REVIEW IS ALSO FEATURED ON MY SUPER AWESOME WEBSITE http://www.funwithgames.com
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
qbprogger
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Member: Ryan Broomfield
Location: Lake Forest,CA
Reviews written: 9
Trusted by: 2 members
About Me:
I am a freeware game designer/programmer. I have a passion for playing/making games.
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