Being a huge fan of the previous Grand Theft Auto and other games like Driver, I could hardly wait for this game to be released. Well it is out and I am just weaning myself off the computer for a couple hours to write this before I get back to causing some serious mayhem. For all you who are not familiar with this game or it’s predecessors you are truly missing out on one of the best games of the year.
Graphics
The graphics on this game are simply amazing. With motion blur, detailed textures, and exquisite lighting this game looks like a million bucks. All of the cars in the game are very well modeled and show accurate crash damage, so if you get hit in the rear you can expect the bumper to fall off. Crash physics involved in this game are also incredible, If you take a tight turn at 80mph you can bet you will flip or if you hit a slight bump in the right place can send your car spinning out. The lighting in this game stands a head above the rest. You can see trails of smoke from your engine when it’s damaged, you can see fire light up the night when you set something aflame, all car and street lights illuminate the road and the surroundings appropriately. You can see the rear lights,”burn into the lens”. The sun also created glares, so when you are driving directly into the sun, well it is not the most pleasant on your eyes. One of the most impressive features Rockstar brought to the table was the engine they used. WOW is all I can say, their engine brings Liberty City to life with no annoying load times.
Sound
Since Tony Hawk Skater I have not heard a better soundtrack. You can choose from practically any music genre: Rap, Classical, Rock, Hip-Hop, and even Michael Flatley’s Lord of the Dance! Well I was just joking about the last one, but you can get point, tons of good tunes to listen to while you pillage the city. Another great option Rockstar installed is the ability to listen to your own music. Just copy your popular MP3’s into a game subdirectory and select the MP3 player station. Nothing and I mean nothing beats driving on the sidewalk like a maniac and listening to some Tool, at least in my humble opinion. The sound FX in the game are quite impressive as well. From gunshots to head on collisions, with the speakers turned up you feel right in the middle of the action. My personal favorite is the gangsters you have to deal with. The dialogue feels right out of “Scarface.”
Gameplay
Awesome! That is about all there is to say about that. If you are familiar with GTA3 predecessors then you know what to expect. It’s all about being a thug; robbing banks, hijacking cars, making deals with mob bosses, and if you feel like it you can just unload your AK-47 on a crowd of unsuspecting civilians.
The only small problem I have with this game is that it is too similar to the previous versions. If you already purchased the PS2 version of the game you won’t find anything new here, just a few Hi-End graphics and a couple new missions. Also this game tends to be a little buggy, just like GTA2 when it came out; but I am sure we can expect a patch to fix all these minor, and I do mean minor, problems.
Conclusion
A definite buy! Not since Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3 have I glued myself in front of the monitor for this long. This game simply blows its competition out of the water.