Grand Theft Auto
Developer - DMA Design
Publisher - BMG
Players - 1
Extras - Memory card
The bit on the box
"Experience for yourself every classic car chase ever
seen. Race at breakneck speed through an immense, living city out-running
and out-witting rival gang members, mercenaries, hired killers, and an
entire police force. Drive dozens of varied vehicles around three of America's
toughest cities. Only the best will be able to tame the fastest cars. Only
the smartest will know all the short-cuts and the whereabouts of the hottest
wheels. Only the toughest will be able to take on the world and finish
the job like a professional..."
Graphics
Grand Theft Auto tends to look somewhat retro with
it's top-down bird's eye view, but the effect can still be impressive at
times as the camera actually zooms in and out depending on the speed of
the vehicle you are driving (eg. it zooms right away from your car if you
have your foot down, so that you can see the traffic further out in front).
There is a nice variety of vehicles motoring about the cityscapes, with
a mixture of yellow cabs, family sedans, sports cars, buses and pick-up
trucks (there is even the odd limo). All these vehicles can be stolen by
the player, and if they should drive recklessly and crash alot, you can
see the damage and dents appearing (this is also a good warning to ditch
the car, as they can only take so much ill-treatment before exploding).
People and pedestrians are made up of tiny sprites with very little animation,
but basically do their job (that is to say, splat nicely when you run over
them).
Sounds
There is a great soundtrack to be had in this game, using
real music from real-life bands, and mixing it in such a way that it sounds
like they are being played on the cars' radios. The songs range from techno
to rock to hillbilly music, usually matching the type of vehicle you have
stolen (rock music for muscle cars, hillbilly for pick-ups). The sound
effects also sound superb, with constant traffic noises, loud mouthed pedestrians
and motorists, and nice screeching and crunching sounds when there is an
accident. I will say however, that many of the engine noises sound very
weak, and don't really sound like the vehicles they represent at all.
Gameplay
The playability of the game is nothing overly special,
but it works well because it has been kept simple. The biggest selling
point is the sheer amount of missions that the player will be involved
in, adding up to over 200 overall, as well as plenty of secrets to be found
as well. As you work your way up from mere car thief to gangster, you can
be awarded points for almost any kind of misdemeanor, whether it be running
a red light, pulling someone out of their car to steal it, or driving a
bomb-loaded truck into a police station. Where the game really gets tough
is when the police put out APBs on you, and it is incredibly hard to lose
them at times, and once you get caught you lose all of those points you
worked so hard for. Well no one said being a crook was easy!
I feel a verdict coming on
Maybe the biggest problem people will find with Grand
Theft Auto is even though the selection of missions is large and wide,
after a few hours of playing it can all get a little tedious, and if you
feel like driving about squashing or shooting a few pedestrians just to
let off some steam, you will soon have cops crawling all over you. This
game is also aimed at older users (R18) as it uses very bad language and
plenty of needless violence (as well as promoting killing cops!). Overall
it is still a fun game, albeit dated-looking, and there is certainly plenty
to do and so will provide hours of entertainment. It is also probably the
only chance you will ever get of killing Feds without being summarily executed.
Review by D.R.T.Barrett
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