Cruising

Genre: Action
Developed by: Rockstar Games/DMA
Published by: Take Two Interactive

I stepped in the first car I found. Damn, I only had 3 minutes to collect those packages. Plus I was a wanted man. Argh. I put the pedal to the metal and roar down the street. Not by long, a siren started to whail. Damn, they're on to me. Quickly, I entered a one-way street. "Coming through!". I was THIS close to ramming a securicar, but I had to drive on the sidewalk (almost running over an old lady). Blast, the bells on the bridge started. To hell with this…. Just as the midsection of the bridge was elevated, I could drive on in, and a few seconds later, the car soared through the air…
-BLAM- Well, at least the car wasn't total loss, and I was wearing my safety belt (remember kids…always tight and secure!)
"Well mister Reaper…", a voice said. Who's he? "I'm sorry to inform you that you have failed the driving exam due to obvious reasons…"

Grand Theft Auto was released in 1998 by DMA and was a trendsetter in controversial driving. It was more or less the top-down graphics version of Carmageddon, but here the emphasis was on the urban environment (whereas Carmageddon was complete nonsense J). Enormously popular not in the least for its divine multiplayer mode, the sequel followed not too long thereafter. Unfortunately, GTA 2 not only failed to solve the various imperfections of its predecessor, it even enlarged them (autozooming camera, no automap, saving). This caused a huge whack to the otherwise fine GTA formula.
In 2001, Rockstar Games (who had taken over development from DMA) released GTA 3 on the Playstation 2. The game soon topped selling charts, but us PC gamers couldn't care less because of the bad experiences with GTA2 and also the fact that PS2 games are seldomly ported and if even so, only result in moderate, low-depth games. It was thus quite a surprise to hear that GTA3 would get ported. Although the announcement still lifted few eyebrows, screenshots, reviews on the Playstation 2 version and the promised features of the gains did catch our attention. It was even going to look as if this game would be "the coolest game ever" with its total freedom both in action and transportation, and the harsh city nature.

Well, and it is. But let's briefly go through the story. You're this guy who's a small time gangster. On your first big heist though, your girlfriend (with endless ambitions) betrays you, and you end up in jail. As you are being transported to state prison, you escape, and Liberty City is yours to explore.
That's it. But here's where the fun starts. Immediately, you notice the enormous freedom you are granted. You can take any car you want, and go everywhere you want. It took a while to notice it, but the city is incredibly real and alive. Frighteningly so perhaps. Remember Midtown Madness? Microsoft was praised for constructing a virtual city, with self-regulating traffic and great architecture. But GTA 3 goes a mile-long step further. It just doesn't feel "virtual" anymore, but downright real. For instance, all traffic lights are working accordingly, there are even signposts to indicate directions or parking regulations. Also, the pedestrians are not simple decorating pieces: they go about their daily lives, cross the street, they even sometimes fight each other. The traffic is also not perfect: accidents will occur and paramedic teams always rush to the scene. You can't enter all buildings, but you can get on rooftops of parkings or other buildings on foot or by car. You can also use public transportation: both the above ground and underground trains will take you to every major part of the city. The planning of Liberty City's roads is also logical: you have the public transportation, but also highway tunnels and major bridges. Traffic will also appear on peak moments during the day and on the most logical places.
In short, Liberty City is incredibly real and raises question on how close computer games can near reality.

The amount of cars you can swipe is endless. While in the first part of the city only moderate and rather dull cars appear, things get better as soon you reach the second and third part. Respectively, these part are Portland (old city center), Staunton Island (commercial center, hub of the city) and Shoreside Vale (airport, residential areas, chaotically constructed warehouses). The cars themselves do not bear real names, since no constructor would want to affiliate to this game, but you can clearly see what cars are depicted. Examples include Humvees, Vipers, Chryslers, Landrovers etc. You can even swipe exotic things like trucks, boats and even the garbage collector. The damage system of the cars (and other vehicles) is incredible. Gradual deformations occur on the location of impact and debris will come off when damage is allocated (loss of doors, windshield, etc.) Over time, the car will break down, indicated by a fire in the engine. It's then time to exit the vehicle, since it will blow up. The damage a car can take is relative to its frame: fast nimble cars can't take much abuse, while a Humvee will withstand almost anything. In vehicles, there are about 4 camera positions available: behind the car (closer or farther), in the car and the classic top-down view. A "Cinematic Camera" is also included, but this is more useful to see the replays, which automatically store the last 20 seconds or so. Unfortunately, the in-car view shows no in-car decoration. A speedometer is also surprisingly lacking, but since not even the police care about speeding, this probably was an unnecessary feature.

Okay, we have a huge, live city and the possibility so snatch every vehicle in reach. The fun's not over yet. You can also arm yourself with a small arsenal. These include real life weapons, like 9 mms, AK 47s, M16s and your standard pipe rocket laucher. Funpiece is the flamethrower. You mostly need this hardware to complete the missions. And that's actually the purpose in GTA3. Similar to the phones in predecessors, you need to visit certain crime bosses to get missions and earn cash but more importantly, to unlock parts of the city and to progress through the game. In this respect, the game is pretty lineair. In the beginning, you can only reach Portland (sine the bridge, subway and tunnel all simultaneously need "maintenance". By completing the missions, these parts of the city will open up. You start as a hoodlum working for a pimp with mob connections, but soon you will get to the bigger boys and you'll get hunted down by the cops, feds or even the army during daring jobs. Also, your gang activity will earn loyalty and respect with your employer, but hostility with opposing factions. Certain city areas controlled by an organization will become a dangerous place to drive in, because gang members will not hesitate to open fire. You'll come across the Italian mob, the Yakuza, the Colombian drug cartel… each have a distinct area of operations and also a unique "front operation" and vehicle park. While this is a pain in the butt, this also gives you a feeling of power, because you know you're a "big fish". Saving by the way occurs between missions: you can then enter your "garage" and save the parked car too. You can't save during missions.

What makes GTA3 charming though are the details. The city is huge and in every corner lurks a secret or hidden mission. For instance, around the city 100 packages are stashed. I don't know what this will do, but I'm sure it'll be something big. Also, taking cabs, ambulances and copcars will allow you to play "civil service" missions. The copcar for example will let you play the "Vigilante" missions, in which you need to kill suspects around the city in a set timespan. The prostitution also gets an original yet logical purpose. Pick up a dame and drive to a quiet place. Money goes down, car goes from side to side, health goes up. Damn that's way better than dull medkits! ^_^. You can even retrieve your money. Beat up the bitch and get a full guaranteed refund! Although this course of action is not endorsed by Rockstar…hell…you as well as I do know that them fellas do it each and everytime :D

The immense scale and detail of GTA3 shows what kind of graphical miracle Rockstar has pulled off. Not only the city itself is brilliant (polycount, structuring, textures) but also the effect are out of this world. Weather conditions like rain and fog are clearly visible and rain for example results in waterplanes (reflections are mindnumbing btw) which themselves result in reduced car performance, especially with high power, rearpowered hotrods. The real-time day/night cycle also adds to the incredible atmosphere of the game. What's better than cruising Liberty Cit in a fast car at dusk or being followed by feds and police helicopters at night? The people are also remarkably detailed. During the mission briefings, you see how creatively the development team used camera angles. The characters move realistically and all possess viable lip synchronisation.

The sound also deserves some extra attention. Instead of random music (which you'll turn off anyway) GTA 3 uses an original system of radio channels. When you're in a car, you can tune in to any radio, going from popular MTV-style channels to a funk station, hip-hop station and even an 80ies radio and talkshow channel. Next to being original and realistic at the same time, you actually decide to kill the music by turning off the car stereo.
The sound-effects need little comment, but what caught my ear are the way how incredibly realistic the "city noises" are. Horns, people shouting, running engines, screaming when there is gunfine of when there are explosions. The doppler effect with sirens and trains is also admirable, so is the sound environment when you're being chased by cops. You get jumpy just by the sound of that chopper, the sirens, and the taunting ("I'll get you boy").
The comments you get when you swipe one's car are always great ("Hey dude, don't kill me -or- Argh how dare you against an old lady -or- I'll woop your ass boy"). Drivers btw don't always allow you to take their cars. Sometimes they'll fight back by punching you or even dragging you out of their car!

Is there anything bad about this game? Well, there is. There is no multiplayer. Obviously for technical reasons (PS2 port, out-of-sync problems due to complex environment) but perhaps also to cut development time, the (previously promised) mulitplayer mode has been shut down. While the game is entertaining and big enough to keep you busy for weeks, you can't help but wonder how clans control parts of the city, or how modded/new cities would look like.

EP sez:

There is still a great deal to say about GTA 3. Very similar to Morrowind, the game is huge and allows endless possibilities. Gladly, as good as all points of irritation of its predecessors are gone (eg there is a great minimap now) and technically GTA 3 is simply perfect. But most incredible is the degree of immersion and fun. After a while, you're "in" Liberty City, and as you fix jobs and drive through the city, you think as you're really there ("Hm, I probably should take the outside road to get to the tunnel"). But whilst being surprisingly realistic, the game cuts you some slack to keep the fun in it all. And above that, the many details, amount of "coolness" and the addiction and adrenaline of the missions or just cruising the city simply makes GTA 3 one of the best games ever, both on PC and console. The only thing that keeps GTA 3 from truly being the "Best Game Ever" is the lack of multiplayer.

Pros and Cons

+ Liberty City (city, cars, environment, everything)
+ Atmosphere and attitude
+ Fun and details
+ Originality in sound department
- System requirements
- No multiplayer



Grand Theft Auto 3 receives the Erwin's Pages Award for Gameplay, Sound & Music and addictiviness.

(c) 2002 Erwin's Pages
Erwin "Reaper" Husin

Links

> Official GTA3 Site