Grand Theft Auto has been around for a while. The first two involved
gameplay playing a guy who is trying to get away from cops while also
car jacking people. I kind of made that sound boring, but it's really cool.
The only hitch with the game was the graphics. It was an overhead view, and the
people were soooo small. Thankfully the third title in this series is in a fully realized
3-dimensional world.
Graphics
Welcome Grand Theft Auto 3 in it's polygonal splendor. Adding this dimension to the
series adds incredible depth to the entire franchise. The cities are just plain huge!
There's a working airport, cars driving around the streets, pedestrians walking, and moving newspapers scattered about the street.
Your character is detailed, but not like say, Metal Gear 2. He still has a face and his
model doesn't have as many polygons, but he still looks cool running around the city, and
jacking cars. There are many models of cars to steal from and they all crash in real fashion.
Cars blow up, lose fenders, lose hoods, glass breaks, and flip like a stunt show.
There is some draw-in problems and a few clipping issues, but nothing to complain about.
Overall, the game is kind of jaggedy, but it doesn't matter! Look at the size of this place. It's all forgiven.
Sound
Everything from a bustling city can be heard in this game. It adds a lot of atmosphere
when you run in front of a car and some guy starts yelling at you and honking his horn.
The town is full of rumbles from the people, and you can hear people having conversation with
each other. You are immersed in this world.
Gameplay
Jacking cars has never been as fun as it is in Grand Theft Auto 3. There are missions to
do since there is a storyline to this game, but you don't even have to follow it. You can
do whatever you feel like doing and even find secrets hidden about this city. So this game
has infinite replay value. Once you're done with all the missions, you can just have fun
and see what kind of havoc you can cause. It's pretty simple to control once you first get
your hands on this game. It feels familiar and it's just damn fun to play.
Overall
So much to city to cover, so little time. Never has a game been this big, this diverse,
and so much fun! I'm glad the Grand Theft Auto series moved into 3D because it deserved
this kind of treatment from the very beginning. Get this game eventhough Vice City is out.
This is the game that started out small and is creating the biggest buzz I've ever known.
--Alvin
Graphics: 9.2
Sound: 9.4
Gameplay: 9.9
Satisfaction: 10
Overall: 9.7
