A decade ago the video game industry was under attack by the government for adult themes, grotesque deaths, and realistic depictions of violent acts. Looking back now at those perpetrators - Night Trap, Mortal Kombat, and Lethal Enforcers - there's almost an aura of innocence about them, when compared to Grand Theft Auto 3.
I suspect that when Senator Joseph Lieberman dreams about everything bad in video games, Grand Theft Auto 3 is the deepest darkest nightmare he's ever had. For there is freedom unlike anything you have ever seen in a video game before this, even if Rockstar Games idea of freedom is a little (okay, a lot) off kilter.
Never before has a world been so fully realized, and yet so teaming with the underbelly of society. It isn't that Liberty City is ugly; as game worlds go, this is the largest, most impressive cityscape ever found in a video game, no matter the genre. It's just that Liberty City is crawling with the scum of society, and will eat you up inside if you aren't ready to become part of them.
Set in the third person, Grand Theft Auto 3 casts you as a fairly nameless street thug looking for his connection to the big time. Through simple mission goals, you'll be able to work your way out of the small island you start on, and eventually up to the grand scale of crimes you've only dreamt of. Give yourself some time, and you too will be a made man... you simply have to earn it.
It's not the missions themselves that everybody is raving about, though. Grand Theft Auto 3 redefines the word "freedom". One can spend days, perhaps even weeks, simply searching around this HUGE living world doing nothing at all. Fights break out in front of you. Cars will be stolen as you run past them. Old ladies purses will even be stolen right in front of your eyes, and we haven't even begun discussing the evil, dastardly things your character is allowed to do!
Outside of the obvious theft of vehicles, Grand Theft Auto 3 has you setting car bombs, running surveillance operations, murdering crime bosses, even delivering prostitutes to their, um, clients (in a police car of all things), and those are just things you do while running your missions. Outside of your objectives, you are allowed to do just about anything you want to, literally.
Want to murder senseless people on the street? Want to have sex with multiple prostitutes? Want to blow up entire city blocks? Want to kill cops? Want to shoot down helicopters? Well, you can do all that, and so much more. There is more here than you'll likely ever see, even with multiple play sessions.
There is also a pretty extreme amount of weapons and uses. You can find a place on top of a skyscraper and shoot down at shoppers and pedestrians with your sniper rifle. You can set entire crowds on fire simply using the flame thrower, or just run into a group with guns a blazing (your choice, uzi, shotgun, machine gun, pistol, and so forth.) Each weapon is unique, each is controlled differently, and each has a practical use.
The game also features a fair amount of car stealing. Every vehicle is usable and each comes with it's own varied handling. The tourist bus, for example, doesn't go nearly as fast as the sport cars, but that doesn't have nearly the armor as the tank, and so on. I couldn't get a total count on the amount of vehicles found in the game, but I'd be shocked if there were less than 200. The greatest thing of all is the longer you play, the more cars you are likely to see.
Even better, some of the vehicles you can steal actually have bonus games that are worth playing. Steal an ambulance and rescue hurt citizens, or steal a fire truck and put out fires. If you're skillful you can pick up a police car and pull people over. The best waste of time in the game, though, is the Crazy Taxi-esque mini-game you come across when stealing a taxi cab.
None of these mini-games will keep your mind off the ultimate goal, but they are an excellent waste of a few hours. There are also quite a few hidden missions found by answering ringing phones, stealing the wrong kinds of delivery trucks, and talking to the wrong people. None of these are found on the maps, and some will take serious digging to uncover.
There are also over 70 missions in the story, each completely different from the last. Some aren't much more than being a taxi for the bosses, but others will have you assassinating former employers, getting rival gangs into fights, and even street racing. No matter how you look at it, the missions are diverse enough to keep from not getting bored, and worthwhile enough to keep you wanting more.
The story is also one of the best ever found in a video game, carefully pieced together with twists and turns you'll likely never see coming. With the possible exception of the women in the game, the voice acting is simply amazing. Unlike most video games, much of the voice acting is done by fairly famous names, including Joe Pantoliano (Memento, Matrix), Michael Rapaport (Boston Public), Kyle MacLachlan (Twin Peaks, Dune, Showgirls), Michael Madsen (Reservoir Dogs), and even old time bad ass Robert Loggia (Wild Palms). Each delivers some of the best voice acting found in anything animated, let alone video games.
Those aren't the only famous names found in the game. Like the previous two games, Grand Theft Auto 3 has a radio station on when you steal the cars. But wait, not just one radio station, but nine different radio stations. Each with what seems like hours worth of programming. No matter your taste, be it Reggae, Rock, Opera, Classical Music, or Techno, your musical tastes are covered. Some of the stations even have famous musicians lending their talents.
But don't forget about Chatterbox FM, a radio station that lambasts everything sacred about talk radio. It's some of the funniest talk radio I've ever heard, and unlike anything ever seen in a video game (the commercials are also a hoot).
There are just so many different layers found in this game. I have been at it for more than two weeks and still I'm finding, and doing things I never considered possible only days ago. I'm still surprised when I see a new type of car, or a new location I hadn't explored before and the excitement of having a team of FBI agents, helicopters, and the police after me as I navigate a tank through the city never quite gets old.
Grand Theft Auto 3 is one of the few games that actually give you a deep story while still remaining non-linear. The game has more replay than any other one player game I can think of, and is probably the most ambitious project to date.
It's been a long time since I've played another game that is quite as impressive as Grand Theft Auto 3. It's not for everybody, but if you've been waiting for the Sopranos on your game system, this is about the closest thing you're going to get. The game is extreme, possibly the most controversial game thus far, but if this is the future of gaming we're indeed in for a surprise. Don't think twice about it, this is a must own game.
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