Imagine the scene: The payphone behind you rings and you pick it up. Another job's come in. This time they want you to pick up a stolen truck loaded with C4 from the docks and drive it into the local police station. No problem, but how do you get to the docks? Simple, stand in the middle of the road until a station wagon stops, drag the driver out at gunpoint, hop in his auto and run him over in the process of departing. Steam roller a couple more pedestrians and a group of hare krishnas on the way and...Damn, the cops are after you. So you flip a handbrake turn smashing a nearby crate which reveals a machine gun. Nice. Ok so you get out of the car and wait for the cops to arrive. Give up? Never. Out comes the machinegun and the cop is full of lead on the sidewalk. What next? Lets take the squad car, it's miles faster anyway. After a quick detour through a local park mowing down a couple more innocent by-standers you reach the docks and the truck. Hopping into the cab you set off for the PD. Careful though it's loaded with explosives so you better take it easy. Arriving at the PD you jump out the truck as it careers into the heart of the building and then... BOOM! Another job complete and a few more quid in your pocket. Suddenly your pager bleeps "I got another job for ya! Interested?"...
Welcome to Grand Theft Auto where the object of the game is to do as many bad things as possible. The game spans across three fictional cities in America where you are employed as a kind of freelance criminal. You pick up jobs from the cities crime lords via payphones and your pager but this is not the only way to get points. Exterminating local pedestrians, stealing cars and causing general mayhem will also get you points but beware of the Police. Once on your tail they swarm like bees setting up road blocks and chasing you all round town, but a quick trip to the local respray shop, a change of plates and hey presto you can get on with more dodgy dealings. Certain missions are ripped of famous films like the one where you have to pick up a bus, but once on board you find out it's a trap and the bus is armed with a bomb that will trigger if your speed drops below 55mph (sound familiar?). Anyway, once you get a million points your reputation will have got around and you will be summoned to the next city where more jobs await.
Nothing special at all but does the job sufficiently. GTA uses a top down 3D view which zooms in and out depending how quick you are going. The sprites on the characters and cars are very basic but the gameplay detracts your attention from the visuals
The in game sound effects are pretty basic, but not much else is needed. Simple engine sounds, car horn noises and angry people shouting as you mount the kerb are all that is required but the music is excellent. Each type of car that you drive has a radio tuned into a different station reflecting the cars personality. For instance if you drive a station wagon you get country and western, if you drive a big monster jeep you get hip hop and if you drive a top speed sports coupe you get techno etc. All the tracks are specially written for the game and some are actually quite good.
When I first started playing GTA I was hooked. I haven't played it for a while now but I have a feeling I will go back to it eventually. Three massive cities and the extra hidden missions make this game very non-linear and the fact that you can do almost anything you want providing you meet the points target to progress keep you addicted for quite a while initially. The urge to go back will pop up now and again even if it's just to take out a little stress relief without actually doing any real harm. The increase in difficulty between cities also is quite considerable and can take some time to master. Although not particularly stunning visually the gameplay makes up for this in a big way. While speeding through the city streets in a stolen car, mowing down a couple of guys in the process, to pick up a guy who's just robbed the city bank while the cops give chase gives you quite a buzz. But contrary to pyschological reports on violence in videogames, did not make me want to go out and do the same in real life. In my opinion, it's just good fun being a cyber criminal.
