Overview

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Review

Release Date: 10.23.2001
Platform: PlayStation 2
Developer: Rockstar North
Publisher: Rockstar Games

Reviewed by Wade Monnig on 4.28.2003

Review Rating: 10/10

User Rating: 7.39/10

“You say you want a revolution? Well, you know we all want to change the world...”

The Revolution known as Grand Theft Auto III arrived on the PS2 in late 2001 and it changed the console videogaming world. Not only was the Revolution televised, it is also interactive. For years the label of “Adult game” or “Mature title” was corrupted by rock/paper/scissors stripping titles on the PC and “all bloodletting and no gameplay” titles like Time Killers. If the industry needed a blueprint on how to build an adult-themed game (which it obviously did), Rockstar created it. They took the M for Mature rating and wore it like a badge of honor. While most M-rated titles could have just as easily have carried an A for adolescent approach, GTA3 gave PS2 owners a taste of what is possible when a Hollywood rated R approach is applied to videogames.

This Hollywood approach can be seen in a number of different areas. For instance, the central theme of Grand Theft Auto 3 is revenge. Sure, it’s an age-old theme that has been used since the beginning of time. But, just like any Hollywood release, the achievement is in the execution. It can mean the difference between making Revenge of the Nerds or creating a masterpiece like Memento and GTA3 clocks in as an Academy Award Winner. Each mission is set-up by a brief cut scene that fills in the plot and lays out the mission parameters. This “story before the action” layout gives a real movie-like flow to the game. This doesn’t mean the game isn’t without wall-to-wall action but the story behind the mayhem means it never feels pointless.

Another piece to the puzzle the gives GTAIII its Hollywood feel is the voice acting. The voice actor list includes names like Joe Pantoliano, Michael Madsen and Kyle MacLachlan. These names may not set bells a ringing in your brain by their names alone but if I say “GTA3 has Cypher from The Matrix, Vic Vega from Reservoir Dogs and Paul Atredies from Dune!” You’ll understand why the voice acting is of such high quality.

Of course, these extras wouldn’t mean much without solid gameplay backing them up. This is the second way that Grand Theft Auto III is revolutionary. While the game is set up with bite-sized missions, you are by no means restricted to following this layout. If you want to simply drive around and create total anarchy, only the long arm of the law will try to stop you. However, by following the mission-based gameplay, you will see how GTAIII really shines. During almost every point in the game, you have multiple missions you can attempt. For instance, if you are currently working for the Mafia, you might have 3 or 4 separate Mafia contacts, all who are ready and willing to hand out unique mission. In addition to these missions, there are a healthy portion of mini-games you can enable by simply jacking the right type of car. Snag an ambulance and you can try your hand at saving the injured on the streets of Liberty City or step into a police car and enter Vigilante mode to clean up the unsavory characters roaming the trash strew streets. The only drawback to the mission layout is that by following a certain storyline, you can miss missions that you cannot return to later. During my first playthrough of GTAIII, I was engrossed in trying to become a Made Man. I repeatedly returned to the head of the Mafia in my attempts to achieve this and, after an unfortunate turn of events with the Mafia Boss, lost the chance to engage in a number of lower mafia sub-boss missions and get 100% completion of the game.

One of GTAIII’s easily overlooked masterworks is the great balance of difficulty. I have heard frequent complaints that “So and so mission is too damn hard!” The truth is, GTAIII requires you to think. If you reach a mission that you keep failing, step back, think about your approach, and try something new. For instance, one of the missions that, on the surface, seems extremely difficult is one that requires you to rub out a crime lord who has plenty of hired heat and fast cars to help his getaway. You have to get to a club in a certain amount of time, hang around without being spotted and kill him before he reaches his home. You can literally throw pounds of hot lead at this guy and still expect to be cut to ribbons by all of his henchmen. However, if you stand back and think about it, he has to walk from the club to his car. You can simply take a position on a rooftop that is out of the line of sight of his bodyguards and use a sniper rifle to “reach out and touch” this soon-to-be ex-crime lord. While the missions themselves are straightforward, you can use any approach you like in order to complete them. That is what takes GTAIII beyond simply good into the territory of instant classic.

Good graphics, smooth control and a new meaning to the term infinite replay value. All of these things are the ingredients that add to the mystique of Grand Theft Auto 3. Yes, you can rip off cars, set car bombs and play any number of minigames. As a matter of fact, I could waste this whole review just listing off the cool things you can do in this title. That’s the thing, GTA3 is like Santa Claus coming early, giving you everything you had on your wish list and throwing in some things you didn’t even know you wanted. Almost anything you can think of, you can try, from picking up ladies of the night for a quick health boost to stacking 6 cars into a one-car garage.

While I rated this title a 10, it isn’t perfect. The biggest problem is the auto-aim function used with most weapons. It’s way too easy to get twisted around in a massive gun battle and hard to target the mark that you want. Of course, you shouldn’t be TRYING to get into massive gun battles if you want to finish a mission, but I can’t say they aren’t fun.

Grand Theft Auto 3 has forever changed the face of videogaming. Not just with its adult attitude but with the gameplay that backs it up. If you haven’t played this game (and are of “legal age”), you owe it to yourself to try this game.

Box art