A Game So Bad It’s Banned In Australia.

Grand Theft Auto 3 (GTA3), Rockstar’s controversial hit was banned in Australia due to it’s excessive violence, disrespect for elders, as well as the unrestrained mayhem the game promotes. This is a video game that draws great attention, because unusually enough, it has been the main reason why many gamers even own a Playstation 2. Everybody wants it, and as of late it has been the top weekly seller on the PS2 charts.

For those who don’t quite know what Grand Theft Auto 3 is, here is a short sum up. First, imagine a fully detailed city with working subway stations, traffic lights, parking lots, buildings, pedestrians and cars. Then imagine yourself as a free-lance thug looking for work in this city with the ability to do whatever you want.

This game is a masterpiece in terms of providing some of the most realistic city-mafia simulations that exists today. It’s does not even compare to the original GTA or GTA2, which featured a top-down perspective, with the emphasis on stealing cars and driving them recklessly about. This is completely the next step of evolution. It is full freedom in moving about a character through a city, from commandeering boats to taking the train. For the tired New York commuter who’s always dreamed of a little mayhem, this game is what you’ve been looking for.

Here’s the rundown:

Feel Free to Steal Cars and Drive Recklessly –

The city is your playground. Run over pedestrians, smash into other cars dead on, drive on the sidewalks and do whatever you please. This game gives you nearly total freedom to do anything to the city, you can smash streetlamps and send them falling into the street, steal a taxi and pick up passengers, send your car flying off ramps, pilot boats, steal trucks and even commandeer a tank. Recreate America’s Wildest Police chases however you choose. Each car drives with it’s own distinct feel, and there are some amazing stunt bonuses that are rewarded for doing amazing “car tricks”.

Characters Straight Out of a Mob Flick –

Mob rule dictates the world of GTA3, and its not pretty. Mobsters will feud against one another, and you often find yourself caught in between the action. GTA3 has a fully fleshed out mobster storyline with some great in-game cutscenes. Brutal and downright bad, these bosses will send you on any errand, anything from nailing a snitch, pulling of a bank heist or bombing the police station. To add to the mayhem, you may have to watch your back since the crime-bosses may easily stab you in the back at anytime. A simple but well-focused storyline with stereotypical mob characters keep the gameplay fresh.

Blast that Radio! The Most Amazing Environmental Sound Ever!

You will not see a game with sound/music quite like GTA3. When you get into a car you get the choice of several radio stations, one with funny random chatter, another with some (good!) dance music, another with some opera house, rap, and so on. The tracks go on and on and the radio rarely feels repetitive. It’s a feature taken from the older games, but vastly improved upon since the DVD has a whole lot of room for audio. In addition, you have the sounds of the city- just walk around and you’ll hear pedestrians yammer about. You may even witness a purse-snatching take place, or a fight go about. If you start driving around you can hear panicked pedestrians run about, angry pimps yelling at you, and a whole slew of sounds to add incredible realism to the mayhem you create.

The Ingredients for Mayhem - Sniper Rifles, Grenades and Bats

GTA3 gives you all the tools you need to cause your own city mayhem. Pistols, machine-guns and flame-throwers are just some of the weapons you’ll come by. My personal favorite is the sniper rifle, which operates amazingly well, allows you to find any high vantage point and pick off enemies or innocents as you choose. The grenades are also a blast, find a high roof to stand off and let them rain down on the public. The emphasis of this game is the freedom to do as you choose. There are severe consequences however, go around killing too many innocents and you’ll find the cops on your tail in no time.

Crazy Taxi – Built In

Why even buy Crazy Taxi when there’s one built into the GTA3 engine? You can steal an ordinary taxi in GTA3 and use it to get fares from passengers by bringing them to one area of the city to another. It provides a great way to earn extra cash and also all in all is a mini-game that almost surpasses Sega’s Crazy Taxi. In addition to the taxi mini-game you can also become a vigilante and do Police missions with a Police car, basically killing off criminals in a police car. Doing these missions come with rewards, after doing some 200 or so missions you get bonuses like weapons and police bribes free at your save points.

Okay given all the Pros about this game, we have a whole lot of ugly spots to talk about.

The Huge Controversy –

Just how low can gaming go? We have shows like the Sopranos which have been criticized for their negative stereotyping, and their downright “positive” portrayal of violence. The argument for Grand Theft Auto 3 is very similar. Should a videogame character be allowed to run over pedestrians? It is a kind of fantasy that we are allowed to act out in movies, books- but video games? Like most things in our society, drinking, R and NC-17 movies, GTA3 is something that should be played responsibly.

Which brings up the an important question. Should parents let their kids play this game? The answer is no NO NO and NO! This game has excessive cartoon-like simulated violence and references to prostitution along with its glorification of mafia activities. It is in no way suitable for kids 13 and below, and whether you want your teenager to play depends solely on your own judgment as a parent. Do take care to get to know the games that your kids do play as a new breed of “adult games” are emerging. GTA3 has a rating of MA-17, which means that kids can’t even buy this game at a store these days, unless they are older than 17.

Learning Curve – And Lack of a Detailed Map

Rockstar has been listening to its fans, especially those that played GTA2 and found the lack of in-game map particularly frustrating in regards to navigating a city of such large size. Well, they did provide the gamer with a map and a little circular directional map, but it’s not really enough. The maps don’t tell you where certain locations are, like the paint shop and the neighborhood locations. Essentially there’s a bit of “breaking in” with every new neighborhood, you will have to drive around a lot, to get a very good feel for it. One wishes there was a nice detailed built-in map, instead of the cheap “directional” indicators provided. Not a particularly big flaw, but notable.

The “Oops, I Shot the Wrong Guy” Dilemma

In addition to the lack of map, there’s a severe problem with the auto-targeting in this game. Because of the large amount of civilians and gangsters in this game, the two have a tendency to get blended about, and the game’s auto-targeting feature is just plain horrible. Timmy the Tooth may be running up to you with a bat, so you draw your gun, auto target and find yourself killing civilians some thirty feet away, while you get beat down with a hefty solid chunk of American oak. Makes no sense? You bet, and is especially frustrating on missions where targeting is extremely important.

Final Word

An awesome game, regardless of the controversy, no one can doubt that Rockstar created a game with some excellent car driving. The car physics are fluid, and the cars themselves are a very distinct and realistic feel. The city itself is a breathing, visually stunning, full-fledged city and adds to the whole “simulation” feel that this game is meant to provide. Awarded the Game of the Year by many gaming publications and most definitely deserves it, for providing a unique, original kind of gameplay that is unrivaled. A must own for the PS2 gamer.