Grand Theft Auto 3

Grand Theft Auto. No other three words could create such controversy, except, maybe, "Mel Gibson Gay". Originally, the Grand Theft Auto series was pretty much a needle in the haystack of generic violent games, and had only a small cult following. However, with the debut of the PS2, PS2 owners were granted the blessing that was a full 3D GTA game- Grand Theft Auto 3.



For those of you who really don't know the story, the games really circle around crime. In GTA 3, you basically work for different "Employers" around town, doing such jobs as delivering prostitutes to the police ball to make dough, or shooting up a lying bastard. True to the name, you'll steal cars, as well as assasinate, transport people of low moral fiber, or just generally cause hell.

Okay, so the game is completely centered around crime. But it's fun. Why? Well, let's start with the engine of the game itself. In the sprawling city, you are literally given the ability to do virtually anything you want. Go into Triad territory, beat up some asians, steal their guns, shoot a trucker, take the truck and ram it into Chinatown? Sure. Randomly kill people like the DC sniper? Sure. You can do virtually anything the game allows, making the engine very powerful- because even when you're not performing "Missions", you can still fag around with the engine with no real loss to the game. It's like that.



However, most people focus on the violence in this game and ignore the fun of the missions. The missions, like I mentioned before, really revolve around crime, but really boil down into things you'd see in Nintendo games, especially in games like Super Mario 64. Think of it this way- whereas Mario collected the Red Coins, you collect Hookers. Whereas Mario had to beat Bowser like three million times, you have to beat some d*** Cubans. Many people overlook the fact that Grand Theft Auto really boils down to a Nintend-like game for adults, which is one of the reasons, I think, this game did so well.

Another good part of this game is just the expansiveness. No matter if you play it on the PC, PS2, or XBOX, you will definately get a lot of time out of this game. The levels are huge, and you're never specifically limited to one level at a time. Maybe if you get bored of causing hell in Chinatown, you can pop down to the bay area or something. This is one of the games that you thank god you have a radar for that shows available roads, because trust me, you'll get lost.

Okay, now for the paragraph you've all been waiting for, the appropriate-ness of this game. I feel like this game is like a blank canvas. This game, face-value, is no different than any other violent video games. You can play it straight out and kill people, just like in Counter Strike, Doom, or other games. Or, you can reinact the DC sniper. The game NEVER makes you reinact anything, and the game feels no different than being on the opposite side of "Law and Order".



One of the small downsides to GTA III is that it sometimes gets tiresome. Just like in games like Super Mario 64, you'll run into a mission you can't complete, and either give up on the game or screw around. Really, this game is a lot funner with cheat codes where you can have all your weapons, instead of "Buying" them or "Earning" them.

Overall, I recommend this game to anyone of legal age for playing it. It's a fun game, and you really can't take that away from gamers. There's something fun about it, kinda like a stress reliever. It's almost d*** psychological to see how the citizens react when you do certain things. Trust me, you'll have a blast.

4 star(s) out of 5

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