The original and best GTA game (Grand Theft Auto (PC))

Member Name: Burning_Darkness

Product:	Grand Theft Auto (PC)
Date:	09/08/09 (27 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great arcade-style fun, good music, responsive controls, good sense of humour

Disadvantages: Very basic graphics

A far cry from the big budget, visually impressive GTA games of today, the original Grand Theft Auto is a very simplistic top-down affair with basic, 2d graphics that relies on addictive, arcade-style gameplay and responsive controls. Its very easy to pick up and play and is game that has dated very little, both because its gameplay is so straightorward and enjoyable and also due to the fact that its visuals were nothing particularly special even when it first came out back in 1998. As in its numerous sequels you play a joyrider who makes money by stealing cars and undertaking missions for local organised crime gangs, roaming about vast cityscapes complete with motorways, carparks and pedestrians in an effort to rack up enough points to proceed to the next level. The missions are varied, including assassinations, acting as the getaway driver in bankjobs and bombing the buildings of people who have ticked off your criminal paymasters, and the game has a strong sense of humour and strong adult themes of sex and violence running through it. The game is 'sandbox' in style in that it allows you to choose when you want to undertake missions and also allows you to engage in 'extracurricular' activities such as selling stolen cars on at the local docks, and you can earn points just by joyriding around running over pedestrians and eveding the cops if you wish, though it will take considerably longer to pass the level this way.

The more cars you steal and pedestrians you mow down the more police attention you receive, and the cops will set up roadblocks and ram into you in an attempt to drive you off the road, emerging from their squad cars and hauling you out of your car and arresting you if you let them get close enough. You can wander around gunning people down with your arsenal of a pistol, machinegun, flamethrower and rocket launcher if you like, but by far the most fun is to be gleaned from Blues Brothers style car-chases, only with infinitely more violence, as you steal and carjack a wide number of vehicles that include sports cars, sedans, motorbikes, police cars, articulated lorries, buses, ice-cream trucks, ambulances, hearses and even tanks, should there be a military base nearby. There are a range of radio stations that you can switch between too during your joyrides, which play a variety of music including dance, rock, pop and country and western, effectively allowing you to choose the music you want to accompany your car chases. Should you want to take a more strategic approach to the game you can also evade the police by taking your car to a local garage to get a spray-paint job done, which I always thought was a rather nice touch. The game's simplicity and arcade-style charm means that the functional graphics don't really matter, and its an incredibly pure and exciting gaming experience that is still great for both short both extended plays.

Summary: Pure, uncomplicated arcade-style fun