Grand Theft Auto III (PC)

We enter this world in the greasy sneakers of 'unnamed punk', hereafter refer to a John Doh. John, resembling some genetic crossover between Dirty Harry Callahan and Morissey, has only three things on his mind; Fast Money, Fast Cars and Fast Women. Fortunately for our antihero, the first two aren't too difficult to come by. JD is a dab hand at getting into all but the most secure cars and is good enough with his fists, feet and forehead not to have too many problems dealing with people that may already be in them. Money may be earned either by doing 'jobs' for local hoodlums (missions basically.. most of which revolve around a pretty cool cinematic plot), by playing taxi driver, paramedic, vigilante, scrap merchant or simply mugging people in broad streetlight. Whilst doing the consecutive missions is the key to progress.. you're free to earn extra cash on the side however you choose. As for the fast women.. theres plenty around, but JD is surprisingly shy for a thug (he never speaks), and so his love life is in the hands of fate (i.e. part of the games plot).

Fancy a firearm? your local Amu-nation store is open all hours for business.. and wont ask for a license. Scratched your car? Take it too a spray shop to get it good as new. Theres numerous other 'special' locations dotted about the city at which you can spend, or earn money. This includes specially set-up 'stunts' to perform.. replayed in slowmo Dukes of Hazard style.

The non-linearity of the game is nice.. as are the graphics, Liberty city is very believably implemented. You're never quite able to forget that GTA3 is a console port, however. On the good side, this means the game is immediately playable and just about as fun packed as it gets. On the down side is the annoying save game system.. where you have to drive to a particular place in town in order to save your game. I also resented the fact that 2/3rds of the city has to be 'unlocked' by following the prescribed missions. Likewise with weapons, where you only have access to a 9mm pistol and a baseball bat to begin with. Theres no reason I can think of why the whole city shouldn't be available from the outset. 'Unlockable' stuff is just one of the gimmicks people expect on console games, unfortunately it seems to be bleeding over into PC games now too.

Generally though.. this is a great gaming experience. The physics model of driving is superb, you can do handbrake turns, jumps, rolls, even drive on two wheels just like in the movies! If you like your Tarentino, you'll also find the plot a great laugh. This game is a great parody of modern 'gangster' films, which in turn parody modern america.. the double twisted humour is subtley and intelligently done. Undoubtably the best thing in the game, however, is simply cruising around in the cars exploring the city and doing rediculous stunts. A must for car fans!

The innovative prospective to the game allows you to take the first person viewpoint, something which the last two in the series denied you. The possibilities are endless. With the new viewpoint you become so engrossed in the game that time will seem to pass far too quickly.

With the old games, the missions didn't last very long, you ran out of missions to do and you had to make up your city total by selling cars or finding odd jobs. A problem overcome in the new game. This game offers the world and delivers the universe, all in the hustle and bustle of Liberty City. As the story unfolds, you become more and more involved in the dark underworld and you have crimes to your name you never even thought existed, the game doesn't lose its charm, but perfection comes to light. The game of games. Only one step away from the real thing. What in real life would keep you up at night out of guilt, have you slammed in jail for eternity and a day, in the game will have you captured to the screen, on the edge of your chair, and I guarantee that you will end up either screaming, laughing or crying into the computer screen as the intelligent policeman with impeccable AI bust your ass and throw you in jail or you complete a lucrative job adding three zeros to your bank balance.

A game of a lifetime. The only bad thing? Well you'll never ever get any work done ever again! This game last forever, I hope you've got the next couple of years free in your calendar, because you are NEVER going to tire of this game!

The game is set in Liberty City. Liberty city is divided into massive well-designed islands; Portland (The Industrial Zone), Staunton Island (The Commercial Zone) and Shoreside Vale (The Residential Zone). You start in Portland and work your way to the next island by doing jobs for Gangs and bent cops. As you progress through the game you discover more weapons of destruction and faster vehicles. But be warned...Liberty City has a strict Law Enforcement System. Organised crime will be met by an organised response. Cops, SWAT teams, the FBI and the army will eventually become involved in bringing you down. Liberty city is not a pretty place.

There are over 80 missions for you to work your way through in GTA 3. As well as loads of side missions in ambulances, taxis, fire engines, police cars, SWAT vans and Tanks. You can car-jack over 50 vehicles, each with their own physics based on real life versions of that vehicle. Take my advice...don't attempt a sharp corner in an ambulance! In each vehicle you can listen to over two hours of music from a variety of radio stations.

GTA 3 is a revolutionary game. GTA 3 is totally addictive and the missions are well thought out. You feel like you are part of a living breathing city that never sleeps. Liberty city even has its own weather system. No bit of detail has been left out in this game. You are in a city where not everything is as it seems.