Top 50 Video Games: Number 10

#10: Grand Theft Auto III
System: Playstation 2
Publisher: Rockstar Games
Released: 2001
Players: 1


You can play the role of a taxi cab driver in GTA3. There's just the formaility of securing a cab for yourself.


Grand Theft Auto III is a violent work of art. It is bloody, engaging, brutal and engrossing entertainment. Several have attempted to copy or modify Rockstar's formula for GTA3, largely without success. True, the GTA series has scored headlines outside the industry for it's violent, abrasive gameplay. What those negative headlines - and 'me too' game publishers - fail to realize is that the violence is simply a backdrop for some really fantastic, open-ended gameplay.

Grand Theft Auto 3 draws its ispiration from gangster movies such as The Godfather and Scarface. It casts the player in the role of up-and-coming mobster Tommy Vercetti. The story carries you from being a two-bit punk recently released from prison and trying to make a name for himself to the man who basically runs the city from his mansion/fortress. This is achieved by carrying out missions for various criminal elements from arond the city. The pacing is where GTA3 really shines. Missions can be taken at your leisure. When you don't feel like doing a mission, you are absolutely free to roam the city and do whatever it is you find to occupy yourself. There certainly is plenty in that category.


The vehicles in the game show damage realistically and eventually when you're too rough on them, they will explode.


Liberty City really feels alive. The citizens come and go, carrying out their own business, oblivious to Tommy Vercetti. You can steal and drive any vehicle in the city, find secret missions and generally raise as much hell as you wish - until the cops take you down. You can steal a police cruiser and do vigilante missions, chasing down criminals. You can do missions for the Fire Department or the local Hospital. There are other various hidden goodies and cool things strewn about. Jimbob and I used to play this game for hours on end. We'd take turns entering the cheats for all weapons and armor, then we'd go around leaving chaos and destruction in our wake until we were either "Busted!" or "Wasted!" by the police, FBI and/or Army. Whether playing on foot or driving around the city, GTA3 handles very smoothly. There are several radio stations to listen to while driving, all of which are entertaining in their own right. The advertisements are often hilarious. I always listened to Chatterbox, the Liberty City talk radio station, just for yuks. The game's full of detail and humor everywhere you go. You can literally play this game for hours and hours without ever attempting a mission.


Video games are good, clean, healthy fun!


Grand Theft Auto has become a cultural phenomenon. It's first sequel, Vice City, has all the qualities of the previous game with a few new features. It takes place in the eighties in the south. There's a sort of Miami Vice feel to it. Nothing like running down pedestrians while Michael Jackson's singing Billie Jean in the background. The third game in the series, San Andreas, has gotten rave reviews. I haven't played it but Jimbob has. The Grand Theft Auto series has become one of the best video game series ever. All three games are now available for the PS2, XBox and PC. Every gamer should try these games unless you are under the age of 17, in which case they will cause you to become a violent criminal rapist carjacker.