A new benchmark (Grand Theft Auto III (PC))

Member Name: lordsnooty

Product:	Grand Theft Auto III (PC)
Date:	30/09/02 (648 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Freedom, Remarkable gameplay, Excellent graphics

Disadvantages: Soon to be surpassed by the sequel!

The standards have been raised. GTA is a massive step forward that raises all of our expectations for future games.

One thing most gamers crave is freedom. For many years, we've been playing games that offered us a degree of freedom in a variety of virtual worlds. In recent years we've had games such as Driver and Operation Flashpoint, both of which introduced - albeit in very different ways - new concepts of what it was to be free in a computer game.

GTA 3 is closer to Driver than Op Flashpoint, but it's still a gargantuan leap forwards. GTA 3 presents us with a realistic world in which you can do pretty much whatever you like. You can walk from one end of the (huge) map to the other. You can steal pretty much any car you like, and mow down innocent pedestrians with automatic weapons - if the fancy takes you.

Naturally there are missions to complete, which help to earn you money and progress through the game. But between missions you are very much your own man, and if you want to race around the realistic city in a sports car, or attempt derranged stunts in a school bus, you are free to do so. Of course, the police maintain a presence in the three islands of the game, and the naughtier you are, the harder they'll try to take you out! Police bribes scattered over the maps allow you to take the heat off for a while.

The maps really are very large indeed. The chances are, you'll never see all of it. There are so many secret areas that you'd need to dedicate a large portion of your life to finding them all. But in a sense, that's the beauty of it - even when the game has been completed, you can still pick it up and go on a murderous rampage in a search for more things to do. I completed the game three weeks ago, but I can't stop going back to it.

Graphically, GTA3 is very good. It's not perfect, but it's clear and crisp, and the animations are very good. People dive out of the way when

you drive at them (assuming they see you before they roll over the bonnet), and heads explode in a cloud of red dust when shot at close range. Dismemberment is also possible, and always good for a laugh. The three maps (which are linked by underground tunnels and bridges) are extremely well realised. If you stand on a high point, you can actually see everything - from the far side of one map, right across to the other two. It's quite breathtaking.

The sounds are also good, and varied. The radio stations that activate when you get into a car are fine, and the sound effects are excellent - the nattering of passers by can sometimes be a little irritating, but there are such a huge variety of phrases that it doesn't annoy as much as it could. The principal voice actors are all US celebs.

The missions are varied in nature - a small number are subject to tight time restrictions, which I personally find irritating. Thankfully, most are objective based (kill someone, escort someone, collect this, steal that). They're quite good fun, and they see you working for various unsavoury groups, including the Mafia and the Yakuza.

I've probably gone on a bit - and to be honest, I have barely scratched the surface - but to sum up: GTA 3 is an incredible game. It's full of huge explosions, incredible stunts, lots of blood, mass murder, incredible police chases, and the most fun you'll have ever experienced in a computer game.

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