BigTrav415
09-11-2005, 01:29 PM
http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/2001/ps2/gta3/gta3_screen001.jpg
Quite possibly the greatest game ever
Background:
Once upon a time, Rockstar Developers was a small, obscure game dev company. If you were born after 1995, then you can’t possibly believe me. But it’s true. The game that put them “on the map” was a little game called Grand Theft Auto. 1. But this venture was nothing like the earth-shaker to come two sequels later; if only because of the POV. Grand Theft Autos I & II were both from a high helicopter-style overview, which made for a much more different gaming experience than the blockbusters today. In GTA III (but unfortunately neither VC or SA), you can select this camera angle for some old-school style, but it still nothing like the OG. The graphics were also rather… worse. Some claim the later GTAs to be graphic antiques, but compared to the earlier versions… Half Life 2 would pale in comparison. Anyway, back to the story. Rockstar achieved moderate success with their little game, frankly because there was nothing better out there. The Driver series competed, but GTA stil held the record for best sky-view TPS crime game. In a very limited genre. Then came the system/monster known today as the PS2. And Rockstar had opportunity bust a hole through their wall. And it changed gaming forever.
To be honest, GTA III had… a humble receiving at first. Sure, it was the awesome-looking sequel to a moderately popular PS1 game, but that was **** compared to what a certain other company had… the AMAZING looking sequel to THE MOST POPULAR game on PS1… If you don’t know what I’m talking about, then you shouldn’t be reading this. Or existing.
http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/screenshots/9/197909/mgs_screen006.jpg
Meh, I was feeling generous. Anyhoo…
Turns out MGS 2 wasn’t exactly a crowd-pleaser, and GTA III became the blockbuster seller of Fall 2001. And it’s all downhill from there… in a good way.
http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/2001/ps2/grandtheftauto3/gta3_0907_screen006.jpg
Story:
One of the best stories in the history of gaming. Non-convoluted, simple, and good. At the beginning, you are shown busting out of a bank in an unknown city with your girlfriend, and running like hell. Unfortunately, your crazy girl shoots you and leaves you for dead so she can have your share of the money. You are arrested and put on a prison transport to Liberty City, along with a guy named 8-Ball. As the transport is crossing the bridge from Staunton Island to Portland, some Latin-Americans surround you and kill all the policeman, so they can let some of their buddies out. You’re lucky, because you’re in there too. Right as you’re getting out of the transport though, t gas barrel explodes, and the middle of the bridge is taken out, and your new buddy 8-Ball sustains some serious injuries to his hands, leaving you to hijack and drive a car the hell out of there. And so begins your new criminal life in Liberty City. Over time you meet new employers, for whom you do many, varied, and fun missions for. The game keeps you in Portland by keeping the bridge blown out until, by certain circumstances, you escape by boat and head over to Staunton Island. From there you are eventually able to go to the suburban area (can’t remember the name ), where the game finishes with a bang. It can be a long or short game, depending on how good you are, if you do the side-missions, if you use cheats, or (like me) just like to go on rampages across the city.
http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/2001/ps2/grandtheftauto3/gta3_0907_screen001.jpg
Gameplay:
Easily the most important aspect of this style of game is the gameplay. GTA III doesn’t fail to please. You can hijack any car you see driving on the road, including normal Ford-style cars, suped-up sports cars, special gang cars, Hummers, trucks, SUVs, police cars, SWAT trucks, ambulances, fire trucks, and tanks. Choose your arsenal from baseball bats, 9mms, Uzis, SMGs, M16s, sniper rifles, flamethrowers, Molotov cocktails, grenades, rocket launchers, and more. The mission style is laid out by visiting each employer, who are located on your map by a letter. By walking into their establishment, a short cut-scene ensues, and you receive your mission. These can be anything, from a simple murder with a baseball bat of a punk who hasn’t paid his debt for the mafia, to stealing a armored van carrying a load of money, to dropping of the mafia don’s favorite girl down at a party, to trying to pick up as many hookers as possible for the policemen’s ball, to stealing certain types of cars and getting them to garages in a time limit (Gone in 60 Seconds-style), to sniping the guards of a ship while 8-Ball runs in and blows it up, to almost anything else you can think of. These don’t even include the various side-missions, such as races and killing sprees. Of course, probably the most fun in the game is not mission-based; it is simply getting a bunch of weapons, some body armor, and a fast car, and going on a rampage, killing innocent civilians by the dozen, and evading the ever-rising amount of cops on your tail. The game has a “wanted” system, ranging from 1-6 stars. 1 star means cops will chase you half-heartedly without guns, and 6 means you’ve got the police, helicopters, SWAT, the FBI, and the United States Army looking to kill you. Basically, it’ll take either skills or cheats to stay alive after a while. Tired of being chased? Find a Pay-and-Spray and repaint your car, so that your wanted level will instantly drop to zero, even if the cops were staring right at you going in. Keepyour favorite cars in a personal garage (and here’s a hint; putting a damaged car in a garage will heal it for free :thumb: ) Get a car-bomb put into your engine by 8-Ball (although it’s only really useful at the third location, where you get a remote detonator, otherwise you have to get out and wait for someone to try to steal it.) Overall the gameplay is varied, rarely stagnates, and is completely and thoroughly addictive. I’ve wasted more hours of my life on this game than any other, easily.
http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/2001/ps2/grandtheftauto3/gta3_0907_screen003.jpg
Controls:
There is a little bit of debate over the controls for this game. Personally, they work fine for me. Acceleration, braking, and turning are easy in cars, and running and shooting are easy on foot. The biggest problem most people seem to have is with the targeting system. When you are auto-targeting someone, you can’t move around, only stand in place. I never found this to be a problem honestly, but that’s what some people say. Believe what you will.
http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/2001/ps2/gta3/gta3_screen013.jpg
Graphics:
This is definitely not the game’s strong point. To be honest, for the time it came out, the graphics weren’t awful, only decent. Compared to games nowadays however, they seem almost terrible. The fact that Rockstar hasn’t exactly upgraded the graphics in its two sequels doesn’t help matters. Look, just don’t play the game for its graphics. Play it for its gameplay, like anyone with a true love for gaming should, unlike all these graphic whores we have floating around today.
http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/2001/ps2/grandtheftauto3/gta3_0907_screen013.jpg
Audio:
This IS a strong point of the game, and has been since GTA III in the series. The actual SFX are good; shooting, driving, etc. But where the audio really shines is the game’s built-in radio stations that you listen to in the car. With a wide variety of genres, from 80’s music to reggae to classical to talk radio, this game has one of the coolest soundtracks in the gaming world. And don’t even get me started on how hilarious the commercials are. The talk radio is also pretty funny, with guests that are often characters in the game, and hearing what they say can be a real treat. Rockstar definitely did (and has done since then) a great job with their soundtrack, and hopefully they will keep it up for the next title in the series.
http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/2001/vgnews/081501/gta3/grandtheftauto3_screen015.jpg
Wrap-Up:
Overall, GTA III is one of the greatest games in modern gaming. Not only for it’s great gameplay, but for its role in changing the way people view gaming as a whole (sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worst; a.k.a. lawyers, parents, etc.) Look how many game companies saw how the open-ended formula works for video games, and ended up creating great games that would never have been thought of before. Look how many games have been made with the “go anywhere, do anything” theme, and how many games now let you alternate between driving and walking whenever you like. Not to mention setting Rockstar up to make two amazing sequels so far, and nowhere to go up. Although GTA III is often overshadowed by it’s two bigger, better siblings, it is still in my mind the best game in the series, because of it’s role in gaming as we know it today.
10/10
http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/2001/ps2/gta3/gta3_screen010.jpg
Quite possibly the greatest game ever
Background:
Once upon a time, Rockstar Developers was a small, obscure game dev company. If you were born after 1995, then you can’t possibly believe me. But it’s true. The game that put them “on the map” was a little game called Grand Theft Auto. 1. But this venture was nothing like the earth-shaker to come two sequels later; if only because of the POV. Grand Theft Autos I & II were both from a high helicopter-style overview, which made for a much more different gaming experience than the blockbusters today. In GTA III (but unfortunately neither VC or SA), you can select this camera angle for some old-school style, but it still nothing like the OG. The graphics were also rather… worse. Some claim the later GTAs to be graphic antiques, but compared to the earlier versions… Half Life 2 would pale in comparison. Anyway, back to the story. Rockstar achieved moderate success with their little game, frankly because there was nothing better out there. The Driver series competed, but GTA stil held the record for best sky-view TPS crime game. In a very limited genre. Then came the system/monster known today as the PS2. And Rockstar had opportunity bust a hole through their wall. And it changed gaming forever.
To be honest, GTA III had… a humble receiving at first. Sure, it was the awesome-looking sequel to a moderately popular PS1 game, but that was **** compared to what a certain other company had… the AMAZING looking sequel to THE MOST POPULAR game on PS1… If you don’t know what I’m talking about, then you shouldn’t be reading this. Or existing.
http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/screenshots/9/197909/mgs_screen006.jpg
Meh, I was feeling generous. Anyhoo…
Turns out MGS 2 wasn’t exactly a crowd-pleaser, and GTA III became the blockbuster seller of Fall 2001. And it’s all downhill from there… in a good way.
http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/2001/ps2/grandtheftauto3/gta3_0907_screen006.jpg
Story:
One of the best stories in the history of gaming. Non-convoluted, simple, and good. At the beginning, you are shown busting out of a bank in an unknown city with your girlfriend, and running like hell. Unfortunately, your crazy girl shoots you and leaves you for dead so she can have your share of the money. You are arrested and put on a prison transport to Liberty City, along with a guy named 8-Ball. As the transport is crossing the bridge from Staunton Island to Portland, some Latin-Americans surround you and kill all the policeman, so they can let some of their buddies out. You’re lucky, because you’re in there too. Right as you’re getting out of the transport though, t gas barrel explodes, and the middle of the bridge is taken out, and your new buddy 8-Ball sustains some serious injuries to his hands, leaving you to hijack and drive a car the hell out of there. And so begins your new criminal life in Liberty City. Over time you meet new employers, for whom you do many, varied, and fun missions for. The game keeps you in Portland by keeping the bridge blown out until, by certain circumstances, you escape by boat and head over to Staunton Island. From there you are eventually able to go to the suburban area (can’t remember the name ), where the game finishes with a bang. It can be a long or short game, depending on how good you are, if you do the side-missions, if you use cheats, or (like me) just like to go on rampages across the city.
http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/2001/ps2/grandtheftauto3/gta3_0907_screen001.jpg
Gameplay:
Easily the most important aspect of this style of game is the gameplay. GTA III doesn’t fail to please. You can hijack any car you see driving on the road, including normal Ford-style cars, suped-up sports cars, special gang cars, Hummers, trucks, SUVs, police cars, SWAT trucks, ambulances, fire trucks, and tanks. Choose your arsenal from baseball bats, 9mms, Uzis, SMGs, M16s, sniper rifles, flamethrowers, Molotov cocktails, grenades, rocket launchers, and more. The mission style is laid out by visiting each employer, who are located on your map by a letter. By walking into their establishment, a short cut-scene ensues, and you receive your mission. These can be anything, from a simple murder with a baseball bat of a punk who hasn’t paid his debt for the mafia, to stealing a armored van carrying a load of money, to dropping of the mafia don’s favorite girl down at a party, to trying to pick up as many hookers as possible for the policemen’s ball, to stealing certain types of cars and getting them to garages in a time limit (Gone in 60 Seconds-style), to sniping the guards of a ship while 8-Ball runs in and blows it up, to almost anything else you can think of. These don’t even include the various side-missions, such as races and killing sprees. Of course, probably the most fun in the game is not mission-based; it is simply getting a bunch of weapons, some body armor, and a fast car, and going on a rampage, killing innocent civilians by the dozen, and evading the ever-rising amount of cops on your tail. The game has a “wanted” system, ranging from 1-6 stars. 1 star means cops will chase you half-heartedly without guns, and 6 means you’ve got the police, helicopters, SWAT, the FBI, and the United States Army looking to kill you. Basically, it’ll take either skills or cheats to stay alive after a while. Tired of being chased? Find a Pay-and-Spray and repaint your car, so that your wanted level will instantly drop to zero, even if the cops were staring right at you going in. Keepyour favorite cars in a personal garage (and here’s a hint; putting a damaged car in a garage will heal it for free :thumb: ) Get a car-bomb put into your engine by 8-Ball (although it’s only really useful at the third location, where you get a remote detonator, otherwise you have to get out and wait for someone to try to steal it.) Overall the gameplay is varied, rarely stagnates, and is completely and thoroughly addictive. I’ve wasted more hours of my life on this game than any other, easily.
http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/2001/ps2/grandtheftauto3/gta3_0907_screen003.jpg
Controls:
There is a little bit of debate over the controls for this game. Personally, they work fine for me. Acceleration, braking, and turning are easy in cars, and running and shooting are easy on foot. The biggest problem most people seem to have is with the targeting system. When you are auto-targeting someone, you can’t move around, only stand in place. I never found this to be a problem honestly, but that’s what some people say. Believe what you will.
http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/2001/ps2/gta3/gta3_screen013.jpg
Graphics:
This is definitely not the game’s strong point. To be honest, for the time it came out, the graphics weren’t awful, only decent. Compared to games nowadays however, they seem almost terrible. The fact that Rockstar hasn’t exactly upgraded the graphics in its two sequels doesn’t help matters. Look, just don’t play the game for its graphics. Play it for its gameplay, like anyone with a true love for gaming should, unlike all these graphic whores we have floating around today.
http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/2001/ps2/grandtheftauto3/gta3_0907_screen013.jpg
Audio:
This IS a strong point of the game, and has been since GTA III in the series. The actual SFX are good; shooting, driving, etc. But where the audio really shines is the game’s built-in radio stations that you listen to in the car. With a wide variety of genres, from 80’s music to reggae to classical to talk radio, this game has one of the coolest soundtracks in the gaming world. And don’t even get me started on how hilarious the commercials are. The talk radio is also pretty funny, with guests that are often characters in the game, and hearing what they say can be a real treat. Rockstar definitely did (and has done since then) a great job with their soundtrack, and hopefully they will keep it up for the next title in the series.
http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/2001/vgnews/081501/gta3/grandtheftauto3_screen015.jpg
Wrap-Up:
Overall, GTA III is one of the greatest games in modern gaming. Not only for it’s great gameplay, but for its role in changing the way people view gaming as a whole (sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worst; a.k.a. lawyers, parents, etc.) Look how many game companies saw how the open-ended formula works for video games, and ended up creating great games that would never have been thought of before. Look how many games have been made with the “go anywhere, do anything” theme, and how many games now let you alternate between driving and walking whenever you like. Not to mention setting Rockstar up to make two amazing sequels so far, and nowhere to go up. Although GTA III is often overshadowed by it’s two bigger, better siblings, it is still in my mind the best game in the series, because of it’s role in gaming as we know it today.
10/10
http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/2001/ps2/gta3/gta3_screen010.jpg