Grand Theft Auto III

Grand Theft Auto III is the kind of a game that is immersed in popularity so deep that it actually has more cons than pros. There are too many negatives about playing Grand Theft Auto III due to numerous useless and pointless missions, limitedness of freedom, repetitive playing, constant use of X button, lack of ability to save the game when needed, and ridiculous storyline and miscellaneous information. Let me get the positives out of the way first. For one, Grand Theft Auto III looks cool for its playing features, and the ideas of what to expect are of high level. There is a plenty to do around each of three islands. It took me about a couple of months to beat Grand Theft Auto III, so more bang out of the money. Several special types of missions are fun such as rampages and unique jumps. Now for the negatives as they are many of them. Novelty of a game can only wear off that it's no longer replayable. Grand Theft Auto III is no exception to this case. I beat this game a while ago, and I showed some interest in playing it again few years later. What I had forgotten about Grand Theft Auto III is how monotonous the game is. I perfectly outlined my objectives for each island of three: Cab, Fire, Cop, Jumps, Packages, RC Rampages, and Missions. Each of them (not the RC anyway) takes too damned long to finish. The worst aspect of Grand Theft Auto III is the dreadful Ambulance mission. It takes a good two hours to finish this one; there are twelve levels (level 1, save one person; level 2, save two persons; etc.). If the ambulance is either flipped over or shot up, I am back to square one and must do it all over again. In the midst of this, there is no allowing of saving at any point of the mission. It has to be completely done from start to finish. Actually, I reached level 12 and saved nine people. Then suddenly, I flipped the ambulance over not because I wasn't paying attention but my thumb literally got tired. Of course, my mind got numbed, and I grew frustrated at the idea of doing it again. I understand that those missions along with cab, fire, and cop are to familiarize myself with the geography of each island. My suggestion to improve the game play, why not just have 20 cab missions on one island, 20 fire the second island, and 20 cop for third island? Maybe ten levels of ambulance are okay and allow me to begin at the highest level possible where I screwed up. Whenever I am doing something on each island, ninety percent of the time my thumb is constantly on the X button. It gets sore after a while. The tedious driving around and going from point A to point B can be thought of preliminary stages of Alzheimer's. It's no fun. As for the real missions, they are all right for RPG but nothing special. The storyline is ridiculous at best; why not get the main character to make a name for himself as he rises to the top as Mafia hood boss or something? Speaking of the protagonist, who is he? What is his name? What does he really look like? What can he do? What is he interested in? The statistics are helpful, but must I know how many inches of rain fell, or total people wasted, or weight of explosives used, or total amount of money paid by cops? When I pointed out limitedness of freedom, mainly I have objectives that I must complete and when I am in midst of them, I feel the rigidity that I must follow this way and no other way. The game is not actually hard to beat, but it's not that easy either. All in all, Grand Theft Auto III is full of cycles repeated to death until 100% completion is reached. When that is accomplished, is there a sense of satisfaction? Not really. And no, I still can't fly the freaking Dodo (and it's not even necessary either...what a waste of intrigue.)

I must confess that I am NOT an avid gamer, just your typical middle-aged suburban dad. I picked up one of these games just to see what all the hype was about. What I discovered is that, in terms of graphics, detail, plot twists, etc. this game is fantastic. However, the subject matter is pretty grim, and it is unfortunate that the game even exists in this form.

The game should simply be called "Scumbag", because what it really does is offer the player a glimpse into what life would be like if you were a person with absolutely no redeeming qualities what-so-ever. Whenever you need a ride, just steal someone's car! Whenever you're low on cash, just beat up a prostitute and take her money! The plot is basically a downward spiral whereby the lead character is rewarded for committing ever more violent and heinous acts against society at large.

In real life, a person such as this would ultimately be found face down in the muck of some deserted alley with no vital signs, or fried in the electric chair, or shanked to death with a toothbrush by one of the inmates at some state-run facility. Yet somehow, in this game, the lead character miraculously emerges from the hospital and/or police station time and again so that he can go on perpetrating his misdeeds.

When I first began to play it, I was shocked and uncomfortable so I laughed. As time passed, and I realized that there were no family or friends to be had, and no negotiation involved in accomplishing the game's objectives (strictly violence), I began to feel a sense of nausea. I finally had to shut it off. It's been two weeks since I looked at this, and the images and dialogue are still in my head. Therein lies the real danger...

I think that teens simply don't realize that you have to be careful about what you put into your own mind. You have to watch your intellectual diet at least as much as your physical diet, perhaps more. The reason is because thoughts and words ultimately become deeds, and then you've conditioned yourself to become a person that no one should ever aspire to being. Playing this game is tantamount to poisoning yourself.

I'll recover from this experience because I'm an adult, and I know the difference between right and wrong. But there is no question in my mind that this game is dangerous for ANYONE who comes into contact with it (esp. children and teens). I have no specific knowledge about other versions of the game, but I can't imagine that they are much different. Avoid this at all costs. Forget "virtual" experiences and try having real-life experiences with friends and family instead.

i got this game when it originally came out and it was a good time, i had a blast with the free roaming ability, however there are things that get tiresome and more noticeable especially after playing vice city and san andreas - negatives to me are: repetitive soundtrack after awhile, character has no personality, the twist in the middle of the game that makes you change allegiances, the mission to kill a certain mafia boss that forces you to be precise with a one bullet sniper shot otherwise ur dead takes the fun out of the mission...i should be able to stand on the corner and just blaze with armor on and see what happens using my machine gun and grenades, the handling of the cars is rough at times and they blow up too easily...i could go on, but the story just doesn't impress me...its a lot of fun to roam but the story does little to make me want to continue pass the plot twist

This game is just pure fun. If you want to, you can follow the story line which is fantastic by the way, or you can run wild doing whatever you want. If you're bored a fun thing to do is see how long you can outrun the police. There's so much hidden stuff in this game to add to the fun and make it feel more special. Who can forget spawning a tank, then turning the turret around to propel it over the bridge to the next zone that you really haven't unlocked yet? The list goes on and on with things to do. The story is interesting with many plot twists and psychotic missions. At the same time, they start you out small to make you feel like you're really progressing through the crime world. The music is great, and the radio channels are hilarious. There is some good humor throughout the game. The only negatives are the graphics, which are forgivable considering the scope of the game, and the difficulty. The difficulty curve is a bit on the harsh side once you move on to the second island and join up with the Yakuza. Especially the missions titled "Grand Theft Auto" Those are nearly impossible at times, as ironic as that sounds. Simply a great game, if you haven't checked it out yet, you should.

The game came in time promised and great and new condition. A+++ A Pleasure to do business with.