Grand Theft Auto III (1 Viewer)

[Dave F]

For the S.A.M. mission (and others, for that matter), before you start, identify where the police bribe stars are located. Book it to the stars, reduce your wanted level & reduce the police chase a bit.

I can't remember if it can be done in the mission, but you could try hit the pay 'n' spray to completely eliminate your wanted level.

-Dave

 

[Dean DeMass]

Thanks for the help guys. I actually beat both missions right after I made the post. :rolleyes
The only crappy thing about the Securicar misssion was that you could not reduce the wanted stars.
-Dean-

 

[Craig Crane]

I got this game for xmas, and I haveto say, I am having the most fun with it. NON STOP! I am now on the 2nd Island, having been betrayed in Carson City!

This game is the nuts, and as for being played on the big screen???? Ineed to sleep. Not since Goldeneye has a game sucked me in soooooo much.

I have just been told that Australia wont pass the game for certification. Is this true?

 

[Dan Brecher]

I have just been told that Australia wont pass the game for certification. Is this true?

Indeed it is! Think we have a thread about that somewhere...
Damn all of you for making me want a PS2 sooner than planned. £220 for the console with GTA3 at HMV, well.... I know what I'll be doing this weekend. Wasn't it just Christmas?
Dan (UK)

 

[Iain Lambert]

I don't know where the thread went, but the short version is this. Making Australian ratings convert to US ones, its basically that they have G, PG, PG-13 and R for films, but for games they didn't invent an R rating (its actually closer to the British '18', but you get the gist). Since the game quite clearly deserves a rating this high, and the highest available rating is far too young to pass it at, they had no choice to ban it completely. All because some idiot didn't consider the possibility that adults might play computer games when they made the rating system.

edit- noticed its Craig asking the question, so using the UK ratings of U, PG, 12, 15 and 18, with no 18 rating (which is what its rated here) for games would make more sense...

 

[Nick Sievers]

G, PG, M15+, MA15+, R18+ is the rating system for film here in Australia, and gaming has the same as film except for the R18+. GTA3 was given an MA15+ which is the highest rating in a games. But the geniuses at the ratings board felt it required higher and pulled it until the game edits out some of the more adult-oriented themes.

 

[Marque D]

Did any of you read this very extremist view of GTA III?

GAME REVIEWS

For Mature Eyes Only

The technical achievements of 'Grand Theft Auto III' are overshadowed by the sadism that permeates the game.

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By AARON CURTISS, TIMES STAFF WRITER

"Grand Theft Auto III" embodies the best and worst of modern video games.

Taken purely in terms of play, the game for Sony PlayStation 2 delivers varied challenges across sprawling environments detailed with painstaking care.

But that's a little like admiring the cinematography of a snuff film. Purists may argue that "It's just a game, man," but "GTA III" is a game so suffused with sadism that its considerable technical attributes are lost in a nihilistic realm that gives the finger to any sense of propriety or responsibility.

That a game like "GTA III" got made is not nearly as disturbing as the fact that gamers who praise its "depth" and "variety" have made it enormously popular.

Or that a number of recognizable Hollywood actors--including Kyle MacLachlan, Robert Loggia, Joe Pantoliano and Michael Rapaport--lent their voices to its characters.

Had designers considered even a tiny bit of mature self-censoring, the game could have been an exquisite display of PS2's power and refinement.

Instead, "GTA III" does a disservice to the interactive entertainment industry by playing into the hands of those who crusade against violence in games without ever bothering to play them. Titles such as "GTA III" hinder the industry's drive for mainstream respect--something an $8-billion-plus industry surely deserves.

Be forewarned: Its "Mature" rating doesn't begin to describe its contents, or, by necessity, some of our descriptions below.

The premise behind "GTA III" is simple enough. Players assume the role of errand boy for the mob. Taking care of business--you know, things like picking up the boss' girlfriend, whacking a pimp, destroying evidence--requires a set of wheels. And there are plenty of cars sitting around Liberty City just begging to be swiped, whether they're occupied or not.

Police cruisers. Ambulances. Family minivans. Hot rods. If someone is inside, players pull them out, push them to the ground and slip behind the wheel. Or shoot them. Or bludgeon them. Whatever it takes to get the car.

Once mobile, players speed through the streets of a fully realized city, complete with three distinct boroughs. Liberty City sparkles with virtual life. Pedestrians stroll the sidewalks. Other cars cruise the streets. Over the course of two dozen or so missions, players explore every corner of Liberty City--from suburban Shoreside Vale to industrial Portland.

It is impressive.

As with other titles in the "GTA" series, much of the game is spent driving. But unlike most driving games, "GTA III" imbues its cars with personalities.

When a car is jacked, the radio remains tuned to whatever station the original driver had selected: talk radio, rock, hip-hop, whatever. Players can then switch between them. It's a great detail.

Missions range from a few minutes to a few hours. They are challenging and varied and ooze with a Mafioso attitude. A player might be wasting a reporter one minute and escorting an associate to a meeting the next. In between are high-quality cut scenes voiced by actors such as MacLachlan and Loggia.

So what's the problem? After all, shows such as "The Sopranos" deal with similar themes and win critical and public praise. Such movies as "Pulp Fiction" dwell on violence and are deemed art.

But there's a big difference between filmed entertainment and interactive entertainment.

Like movies, video games are about fantasy. Unlike movies, video games allow players to experience that fantasy firsthand by giving them--not the director--control over their actions. Players who could never fit their Frito-fed behinds into the cockpit of a real F-16 can be the finest computer fighter jocks. Or those who long for more chivalrous days can crawl through digital dungeons in search of adventure.

Violence and video games often have gone hand in hand, whether it's the cartoonish Pooka-bashing of "Mario" or the double-barreled grimness of "Max Payne." But "GTA III" takes random violence to new soul-sapping degrees.

For instance, players can revive their flagging health by picking up a prostitute at one of the many street corners in Liberty City. Take her to a secluded spot. Have sex with her. Money goes down. Health goes up. The whole scenario is juvenile. A case could be made that it's also demeaning and degrading.

But that's not nearly as disgusting as what happens next. After the hooker gets out of the car, the player can follow her, beat her to death and take back his money. It's not just a quick hit. It's a bloody bludgeoning with a baseball bat that players can feel in their hands thanks to the force-feedback feature in the PS2 controller.

To be sure, the game is rated "Mature" by the Entertainment Software Ratings Board, which means it contains content inappropriate for children under 17.

Parents who buy "GTA III" for their kids--and, yes, lots of kids want it--frankly deserve the felons-in-training they get.

The real question is whether a game that finds entertainment in murdering hookers, killing cops and carjacking soccer moms is appropriate for anyone older than 17 either.

Sure, it's just a game.

So was the Roman Circus.

*

Aaron Curtiss is editor of Tech Times. He can be reached at aaron.curtiss @latimes.com.

 

[Ike]

Please. It's fun. People who complain about violence in videogames and it be degrading are missing the whole point: it's not real. When I shoot a cop in GTA 3, it's not a real cop. People are smart. Morally high game reviewers are not the only one's smart enough to discern between life and games.
And, different strokes. If it makes you sick to get in virtual shoot outs with the pixel police, don't buy the game. Me? I think it's hilarious. And I understand that doing it in real life is going to get me in trouble, and it won't be the fake police: it's real people.

Quote:

I'm sorry, but young boys like playing the bad guy. This guy is the bad guy. I think it's a childhood fantasy to be the double crossing sadistic murdering puke that speeds through streets and kills competing bosses.

 

[Dan Brecher]

Ok well I got a PS2 yesterday with GTA3. This game is sick, violent and repulsive.... I love it! Oh good lord, I played it until about 2am last night, finally turning in after I'd done "the getaway" mission where you're the getaway driver for 3 guys pulling off a bank heist. I had the police on my tail for some five hours (on the game's clock).

This game is a delight and to my surprise, really very easy to pick up. It's been a long time since I played GTA (never got GTA2) and I'm gobsmacked at how well the transition into 3D has been done. At one point I went to the docks, run up the stairway and onto the roof where you can get a view of the whole city. The landscape stretches as far as the eye can see, it was really quite a sight.

Dan (UK)

 

[Kip]

Can anyone offer some suggestions on how to beat the "dead skunk in the trunk" mission.

The damn Forelli brothers keep running me off the road. Tried blocking there path with a coach, but it didn't slow them down much.

Any other suggestions?

Kip

 

[Dave F]

Before you steal the car, block the Forelli's (sp?) car with a larger vehicle, such as a semi or a bus.


-Dave

 

[Andre F]

Dan,

Glad to hear you are enjoying this game so much! It's keeping me from playing MGS2, that's how much I like it!

-Andre F

 

[ChrisV]

On the "Dead Skunk In The Trunk" mission I just pinned it and got lucky. Watch out after you drop the car off, they're still gunning for you until it gets crushed.

An interesting thing about this mission is if you get rear ended the trunk opens and you can see the body. Ewww.

 

[Dan Brecher]

That Dead Skunk in the Trunk mission had a moment of genius the third time I did it (finally pulling it off). I simply flew in from over head smashing down from the upper level in a bus into the parking lot.

The brothers appeared in their cars as I ran to get in the car with the corpse and I just belted it out of there. Behind me the Forellis crashed into one another sending one of them to do a barrel roll right over the top of me. One of those "god damn!" moments!

An interesting thing about this mission is if you get rear ended the trunk opens and you can see the body. Ewww.

That happened to me on my third attempt! Nice touch.

I had another great moment on "The Getaway" mission where you play get away driver to a trio of bank robbers. Well, we got away from the bank but those pesky cops had us cornered at the docks. Well, two of my guys bought it and I made for my life in a cop car leaving the third robber for dead. After I shook the cop off my tail (lol, listen to me!) I returned to the dock, and behold the third robber was hiding there. I picked him up and took him back safe. His buddies bought it, but he had the stash and I got my cut. Yeah!

Dan (UK)

 

[Dan Brecher]

Have access to all 3 islands now and am frequently donning my "sick bastard" cap, going to the arms depot to fuel up on rocket launcher amo, then going to the top of the multi story car park and blowing the crap out of passers by on foot and by car. I shoot down all choppers trying to get at me, thus boosting my wanted rating to ****** when the army arrive in their tanks.... Occasionaly I will drive off the roof pulling off a neat stunt and have the FBI chase me but the damn tanks will always finish me off in the end...
I've also gone back to Chinatown just for fun, got myself up on a roof with the sniper rifle and proceded to take revenge out on the Triads.
Dan (UK)

 

[Derrik Draven]

I was 1 mission away from finishing the entire game when Halo came out. That was a month ago.

Finally finished GTA3 last night.

Dan - That's a blast (no pun intended) to spend time up on top of that parking garage, causing serious mayhem. There's an even higher sniping position downtown. I can't remember the name of the building but, you go up several flights of stairs to a position well above street level. I'd guess about 15 stories. The only thing that can get you up there is the helicopter. It's too high for the Feds/Cops/Military.

And, has ANYONE delivered all the stolen cars to the chop shop in Shoreside Vale? I found all the vehicles the one shop in the docks wanted but, this other shop has 1 last car that I can't find. Can't think of the name of the vehicle right now but...and I'm guessing here...that it's the cruiser that the Feds are driving when they show up to waste your ass.

 

[ChrisV]

Yeah, I got all the cars for that garage. I'm still looking for an ice cream truck for the one at the docks, though. I haven't delivered all the emergency vehicles yet either. Still lots to do!!

 

[Dave F]

Derrik - is the FBI car the last car that you need? That sucker is a pain. Unless you get ultra lucky, you have to boost your wanted level to 4 or 5 stars to get the FBI out. I ended up boosting my level by my hideout in Shoreside Vale, then waiting for the FBI to pull up and get out of their car. Then I proceeded to pop a cap in all of 'em, run over some police bribe stars to lower my level, then jack the car.

It took a zillion attempts, but I finally got lucky...

-Dave

 

[Bjoern Roy]

I LOVE this game. Its the most fun i had playing in a LONG time, maybe ever. I still haven't proceeded much into the missions (still first island), because i can't help it and just love bringing mayhem over the city.
I hope you guys are aware of the violence cheat?

 

[Andre F]

I hope you guys are aware of the violence cheat?

I'm not...

-Andre F