Seedy, decrepit, vile, wrong - and pretty cool, too

By William Barker

The issue of videogame censorship will never go away. I have my own opinions on the topic, but they're biased, because I'm very pro videogames. Even so, the debate is going to get worse as time goes on, with developers pushing the boundaries to extremes as the evolution of the industry continues at an extremely rapid pace.

I don't want to harp on about the issue, but to my mind the onus should be on the parents to monitor what their children play, and not penalise the majority of gamers for doing nothing wrong.

If an adult wants to play a game with lots of explicit sex and violence, they should damn well be able to do so, in my humble opinion. Whatever happened to freedom of speech?

We aren't governed by the Taliban, so why must we have decisions made for us? Are we too dumb for our own good? Am I ever gonna shut up? Is there really a fountain of youth?

Anyway, the point was made because here in Australia; Grand Theft Auto 3 was banned for a whee while, so they could take out specific aspects of the code deemed too explicit for any Australian. Anyway, we finally sourced a copy from Tajikistan - here's looking at you Moustafa!

My neighbours wouldn't turn down the stereo...

Grand Theft Auto 3 (GTA3) follows faithfully in the footsteps of the prior two games, but unlike its dated-looking precursors, this one is 3D all the way.

The graphics are great, giving the player the impression of really being in Liberty City - the dirty underbelly of the US. The clipping range is huge, though not absolute, allowing you to see massive skyscrapers and large cargo ships way off in the distance.

The detailing is also great, with good texturing on almost all surfaces and the little extras like variable weather effects and smoky exhausts put the icing on the cake.

When on foot, the way inhabitants move is nice and realistic - testament to solid motion-capture techniques. Like, for instance, when you are simply walking along. The vehicles in GTA3 have a funky zonal-based damage model too, so now you can take that nice new looking sedan and efficiently adapt it into a convertible.

The plot is pretty cool as well, and immerses you into the seedy underworld of Liberty city most convincingly. You take control of a criminal who was on his way to prison after his girlfriend double-crossed him in a bank heist. As it happens, the bus is ambushed, and together with another prisoners help, 8-Ball, both criminals escape. Later he introduces you, the crim, to mafia middle-man, Luigi.

Luigi gives you your first mission and, from here on in, gamers will be mesmerised with the endless comings and goings of corrupt Liberty City - the worst place in America!

Who do you side with... The Mafia, the Yakuza?

The missions on offer are varied and keep the pace of the game ticking over nicely, but while there is a linear set of missions following a single plotline, players will be tempted to tinker and tanker in such a rich gameworld.

Feeling unhappy? Beat-up a few strangers on the street. Feeling upbeat? Why not steal a taxi and earn some extra dough? The scary thing is you can even steal fire trucks and get paid for putting out fires. Yeah, it's very bizarre, but so very cool at the same time.

There's also ambulance and police car duty, players may wish to put cars into an industrial compacter, destroying any unsightly evidence plus you can even steal boats, ride trains, hop on a jet airliner and venture into the subway -- though when you do, make sure you're armed. Chortle…

Without yanking your chain, this is the best PS2 game I've played thus far. Perhaps it's the seamless on-foot and in-car gameplay, the gritty, grimy and very seedy atmosphere, or the simply the perception of existing in a living, breathing city.

Besides the missions you'll be charged with completing, by way of gaining new criminal contacts, there are other ways to earn money, such as simply blowing up cars and similar anti-social activities. But there's a huge element of on-foot action too. You'll come across plenty of weapons in GTA3, from small side arms up to assault rifles, bazookas and sniper rifles - complete with zoom function!

That's not champagne - rather a molotov cocktail

It's lucky too, because the Liberty city is a huge cesspit, teaming with society's filth. There are numerous gangs who would love to pop a few caps in yo' sorry ass, so it's always a wise idea to pack some heat.

For instance, one mission sees players having to dispose of a Chinese bloke at his take-out stall in Chinatown. Only thing is, as soon as you pull out your weapon of choice (mine's the uzi 9mm), half-a-dozen Triad mo fo's pop out of nowhere, perforating you with deadly accuracy.

All up, there are three main maps - each of which will take a considerable amount of time to fully explore, let alone finding all the secrets and interactive sections.

You start out in Portland - a scummy industrial hole of a town if there ever was one.

It's got the red-light district, the docks and plenty of crime - the perfect place to start out your budding underworld career. Once you clear a pre-determined amount of missions the Porter tunnel will open and you'll have access to Staunton Island - the CBD, if you will. After this region, chock full of rich Yakuza members running the Casinos, you come to your final destination - Shoreside Vale. This is a tranquil suburban region with parks, picnic areas and the airport. Crime here is rife - just well dressed.

The controls are nice and responsive and driving around town is very reminiscent of Driver. You can rool the cars, do hand-brakeys, smash into others. Pushing DMA's physics engine to its limits is an immeasurable amount of fun.

Some people don't like you stealing their cars...

There are so many different cars and each has varying acceleration and cornering characteristics, as well as weight differences. There are even special areas, usually involving a hairy jump over a body water or some such, where you'll be rewarded with stunt points and slow-mo replay of the jump.

The characters living in Liberty city also add plenty of life to the game, with their humourous idiosyncrasies and the voice acting - woah! It's good. Actors like Michael Rappaport, Kyle MacLachlan and even Joe Pantoliano of The Sopranos fame made the cut, adding more to the authenticity.

I could go on all day about the intricacies of Liberty city and how it all fits in together - the ever changing gang rivalries, the FBI, flying the dodo - but it would just take up too many words. And scariest thing is, the more you play this game, the more impressed you'll be with what it offers.

Grand Theft Auto 3 is perhaps the most risqué game ever produced, and also one of the best. It feels so open-ended and free-form, most gamers will want to play long after completing the plot-driven missions. Anyone with an interest in gaming needs this title - that's all there is to it.

DMA - we salute you.

Game: Grand Theft Auto 3
System: Playstation 2
Players: 1
Memory Card: Yes
Developer: Rockstar
Distributor: Take 2 / Sony

Rating: 90%

(Ratings Key/Explantion)

Grand Theft Auto 3 is on the shelves now.