Looking back: Grand Theft Auto (PC) (Grand Theft Auto (PC))

Member Name: thole09

Product:	Grand Theft Auto (PC)
Date:	28/03/09 (58 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Innovative gameplay?

Disadvantages: Lack of colouring

Grand Theft Auto, often abbreviated "GTA", is a video game released to the personal computer in 1997 by BMG Interactive. It is the first game in a long standing series of the same name which is still in production to date. At the time of release its system requirements were a CPU capable of 100 MHZ, 16 MB of RAM and 1 MB of video RAM. I have tested this title to run in Microsoft Windows XP but the performance is very slow. There are also noteworthy graphical differences between the Windows and MS-DOS version. It is therefore recommended that, for full compatibility, one runs this title under a DOS emulation program such as "DOSBox". The game received an age rating of "18" by the BBFC in the United Kingdom. It is mainly a single player game but did feature multiplayer gameplay over the Internet or direct networking. In my experience, the multiplayer option was considerably flawed and choppy in play.

GTA's premise revolves heavily around completing missions for local crime syndicates in the cities which the criminal finds himself in. The central themes to the missions which the player will be required to execute include murder, assist with bank robberies and theft. There is also an element of "free roaming" to this title where the player can freely engage in play through the theft of motor vehicles and selling for cash or other crime. To advance further in between the cities, however, one must complete all assigned missions which are usually given to the player at a corresponding pay phone. If one simply wishes to freely roam throughout a specific city, the player is often encouraged through vocal prompts deeming their villainous actions to be good, and is often heavily rewarded for the theft of police vehicles or murdering of police officers. Due to these aspects the game has been continually surrounded by controversy with each addition to the series, including Thailand officials banning the series from sale due to teenagers imitating their in-game experience by murdering a taxi driver.

The game is presented from a top down view and features two dimensional graphics. The programmers showed good detailing as the graphics remain easy to look at under various driving conditions, from legal street speeds to high speed chases and crashes. The colour palette was rather limited and did not readily feature differentiations in the vehicles; a silver "bulldog" will always be a silver "bulldog" vehicle. This can make gameplay somewhat repetitive but can allow greater ease to the player when requiring a certain vehicle to execute a certain mission. Text is heavily featured throughout the game and displays at a quick rate so basic literacy skills would be a requirement to this game. There is some element of basic sound effects, from gun shots to car engines, but these only serve as a mere accent to the title. The general difficulty of this game could be regarded somewhere between "easy" and "normal", and the game itself requires minimal time in which the player will find him or herself actually playing.

Overall, Grand Theft Auto may not satisfy the current game's standards but is nonetheless an enjoyable escape for the moment which it enthralls the player. The element of "free roaming" definitely sparks further interest in continual play.

Summary: Thumbs in the middle