Rating: 
Summary: bugggy!
Review: I bought this game thinking that it looked good, I tried playing it on my 933mhz windows 98 and it kept freezing up. the sound was awful, although you can change the music during gameplay which was a cool feature, the music stinks! The gameplay consisted of mindless violence that went nowhere! No plot, no story. The game had a couple of buggs that Rockstar should have wored out before marketing this one. I would not buy it again if I had a choice. Buy Max Payne instead, now that game Rocks!
Rating: 
Summary: Will Give Congressmen the Screaming Heebie-Jeebies
Review: Will give you months of fun. I have been through the main plot 3 times now, and STILL keep finding new stuff to do. The violence factor is off the scale, so keep it away from the kiddies unless you want them permanently warped. No multiplayer, but who cares? If you can't have fun playing this as it is go get your pulse checked. There are just so many different things to do. An example, I unlocked a "super cab" by doing a ton of taxi runs. It is the stuff like this that makes this game one of the replay kings. You'll have to upgrade your video card sooner or later, so cough up for a Ge-Force 4 and enjoy one of the best games ever made. It has pure style from the opening credits to the hilariously dark closing credits.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely Amazing
Review: Grand Theft Auto III is unlike any computer game I've ever played. I can't tell you how amazing it is to get to do what you want, when you want in a game. Feel like playing just the main missions? No problem. Want to make a little extra cash between missions by putting out fires, busting other criminals or driving a cab? No problem. Want to just drive around the massive city wreaking havoc and seeing how long you can get by with it? No problem. It's games like this that show the possibility of what gamemakers can do when they think "outside the box."There are hundreds of hours of gameplay in Grand Theft Auto III. And chances are, you'll want to go back and play various missions through again because many missions can be done in different ways. The voice acting is superb and the overall sound is also excellent. The radio stations that every car plays are hilarious. The PC version allows you to place MP3 and/or WAV files into the game, so that you can have your own radio station to listen to as you drive around. Graphically, the game is nothing special. It looks good, but it's not going to win any awards. It's hard to complain, however, when the game world is so large. Liberty City, where you play, is broken up into three distinct parts. The developers had to draw the line somewhere! But, I'll take amazing gameplay over amazing graphics any day. A couple notes of caution, however. First, this isn't a game for the children in your house. There's something about drive-by shootings, hooking up with prostitutes and lobbing Molotav cocktails into city parks that isn't really appropriate for younger kids. Frankly, I'm not sure a lot of adults would like that either, HOWEVER, the game does it in an over-the-top comical way, so while it can be a bit graphic at times, it's not realistically graphic. System requirements can be quite steep, too. The required and recommended specs won't get things running with all the bells and whistles turned up, though that may not bother you. I'm running an Athlon XP 2000+ CPU. That works wonders on loads, but my GeForce 2 MX 400 card is going to need to be upgraded to get this game running without really choppy framerates in some parts of the city at 800x600 resolution. Bottom line....If you have the ability to run the game, you'll enjoy it if for no other reason than the incredible gameplay.
Rating:
Summary: Destined to be a legend!
Review: I'm 42 years old and really hesitated about buying a game that looked like it was designed by punks for punks. After several fascinating hours of wholly immersive gameplay however, I am so glad I put my preconceptions aside and bought this game. Or should I say 'city simulator'? GTA 3 breaks away from the first two in the series by going with a true 3-D first and third-person design. There's many camera angles that you can choose from on the fly. Drive cars, boats, and even planes, or just walk around enjoying the fantastic sights and sounds. This ambitious and extremely well-executed simulator was originally designed for a console, but the PC version is much better, with ultra-high resolution graphics, no loading once you're in the game, and removal of barriers that were in the console version. I'm still on the first of three islands. I haven't yet discovered how to get to the other two, but discovery is part of the fun here, and my anticipation is half the fun. You can accept missions from a variety of sources, or you can simply run (and drive) freely, experiencing the little dramas unfolding around you throughout the city and even taking part in these little dramas if you choose. The possibilies are endless and it's this free-form design that is what pushes this game way beyond any other. It combines the very best elements of games like 'Carmageddon', 'Thief', and yes, even 'The Sims' of all things. Beware however, there are adult themes here without doubt. Controls are super-easy and easy to customise to your liking. The game is easy to play, and easier to lose yourself in. There's practically no learning curve. By far, easily the best game I've bought in the last year, and I buy many. Every time you steal a car, you'll find there's different radio stations to choose from, with all different kinds of music, advertisements, and talk shows going on. You can switch between them or shut them off entirely. This adds a huge amount of atmosphere to the game, and you can even customize the game by importing your own MP3s to the game files! A note to the developers: In the add-on pack, please include a couple more CDs of this great radio stuff!
However, it has to be said that a 32 meg video card is the very absolute minimum you should have to run this. I've tried it on several of my systems, and on my PII 450 with a 16 meg TNT 1 card and 256 megs system ram, it ran, but very slowly; hardly playable on that system. On my self-built 1.2 ghz. Athlon with a 32 meg GeForce 2 card and 256 megs ram, the game ran fairly well at 640 X 480 and it was indeed playable with options turned down, but it became clear to me that a video card upgrade was needed. So yes, I did purchase a GeForce 4 Ti 4200 with 128 megs video ram just to play this game. And I don't regret it. I can now run the game (and all my other new games) at 1280 X 1024 with all options maxed, and it's super smooth.
Simply put, this game is very graphically intense and there's a living city with lots of pedestrians and cars and buildings and scenery to render, all of it accessible to you with no loading times, so a great video card is crucial! Your computer's CPU is also important, but not as important as your video card. I'm thinking a PIII 600 with a 32 meg video card is minumum, and that same processor with a 64 meg video card will make a dramatic difference in your enjoyment level. I've played this game roughly 10 hours thus far, and haven't yet encountered a single bug, crash, or lock-up. This game is destined to be a classic and I'm looking forward to whatever add-on packs or sequels come along.
Rating: 
Summary: Grand Theft Auto 3 Review
Review: Gameplay 10/10: You can do almost anything in GTA 3. You can shoot police, kill pedestrians, kill gangsters and take their guns and money, explore all three cities, pick up woman, beat up people and more. Graphics 8/10: GTA 3 has good graphics. The cars look great, the buildings look great, the people look great and the plot looks great. But GTA 3 has minor problems with some computers so make sure you have your computer specs to at least 800MHZ CPU, 32MB videocard, and 16M-ound card, 64MB RAM or 128 MB RAM. At these specs GTA 3 for PC will run well. Sound 10/10: The cars sound like real cars, pedestrians say stuff, and the voice actors are great. Value 8/10: The game is long in length but the minor computer spec problems hurt the value. Replay 10/10: You wont stop playing the game for a big while. One of the most addicting parts of GTA 3 is killing people, killing cops, getting chased by cops, and more. -If it weren't for the minor problems that this game has, GTA 3 would have been better on PC than PS2. If you have a PS2 and a computer and your thinking of buying GTA 3 buy the PS2 version because you wont run into problems like in the PC version. But if your computer is good enough to run GTA 3 buy the PC version. -If you have a 800MHZ, 32MB videocard, 16MB soundcard, 128MB RAM or 64MB RAM, Windows 98 or higher, and 700MB of free hard disk space the game will run well, but there will still be times where the frame rate drops due to a lot of action in the screen. -If you have a 1.2 GHZ, 32MB videocard or higher, 32MB soundcard, 128MB RAM or 256 MB RAM, Windows 98 or higher, and 700MB of free hard disk space the game will fit perfectly on your computer.
Rating:
Summary: For Those Concerned About System Requirements
Review: I don't have to tell you how good this game is. Everybody already knows that. It's _amazing_. But aside from that, a lot of people seem to be having trouble with running the game itself. I have an AMD Athlon XP 1700 (1.48 GHZ) w/ 256 RAM, and a GeForce2 MX, and the game runs rock solid smooth on 1024 x 768 at 32-bit textures. Basically turn off all the... background and have at least the recommended stuff on the box, and you'll be fine. The people with slowdown probably don't take the extra precautions to keep all the resources focused on the game. I had to download a small update file right away, but it's not that big. The tighter aim control and the addition of a custom radio station might just make this superior to the PS2 version. It all depends on your hardware and preferences.
Rating:
Summary: Being A Thug Has Never Been This Fun!!
Review: I wasn't a fan of the other GTA's because while the theory and atmosphere were OK, the gameplay really blew and the graphics were just too awkward for me. However, GTA3 has changed all that. Not only has it changed it's own format for the better, it has revolutionized gameplay as we know it in a 3rd person format. A perfect combination of story, ambiance, graphics, gameplay and post-end gameplay make this game really worth the [money]. Here are a few reasons why this game is so worth it: Reason 1: The world that they have created is immense. You are playing on three islands that are filled with tons of city streets, city folk walking around and gang members getting into trouble. While you don't really enter any of the buildings (during the ACTUAL gameplay) the sights and sound of the city are so incredible that you really get immersed in the game. Every car is jackable, everyone is robbable and every cop is watching YOU.... This is not even considering the mission based sections which I'll touch on now. Reason 2: The story is actually well written. You basically start out as a thug who gets broken out of prison and hooks up with other gangs to stay alive and make money. That's a pretty brief description but it touches the theme. Throughout the game you do little "jobs" for the various rulers of the city. As time passes you get more trusted, backstabbed and launched up the money ranks until the very end where you fight the ultimate crime sindicate. No spoilers...you have to see for yourself. Reason 3: The gameplay is very intuitive. It took me about an hour to pickup the basic gameplay while on foot AND while in a car. Once you learn the basics you get better at smokin' thugs .... One of the great things that I noticed is that the further you get into the game, the better your "character" becomes at running, driving and avoiding being hit by bullets. Example: at the beginning of the game you can walk, jog and run for about 2-3 seconds before you get really tired and are slowed to a jog again. By the end of the game I was straight running for a full minute before I got tired. Very cool. Same went for the cars. I didn't notice it because I was so used to playing. But when I started a new game after beating it I couldn't handle cars as well as I did in my other game. Brilliant! Reason 4: The ambiance is amazing. Every character walking around will utter something that fits their personality. Granted, after about 20 hours into it you've heard it all, but there's enough of it to not get bored. The cops scream at you to get down and all that cop jazz. Pimps proposition you to check out their "merchandise" .... This is actually seconded by the radio in this game. When you are in cars you have the option to listen to about 6-7 different stations ranging from Rap to Classical. There's even a talk station. All in all I think this game has about 60 hours of original programming, but don't quote me on that. The music is actually really good. AND OH...they actually use the Scarface soundtrack for their "80's" station. It's hilarious and absolutely perfect! Like I said, even though this is a long review, it only touches on the fun I've had playing this game. While the subject matter is completely lacking of humanity and has caused a uprising with the moral majority, there is a reason why this game is considered the best console game made yet. Because it's straight up fun to steal a cab, kill the ex-driver with your uzi and start making money taking fares around the city. AND once the fare is complete...you can kill the passenger and take their money. Oh yeah...and when the cops chase you because they witnessed you do this, you have a blast avoiding the squad cars as you race to your neighborhood chop shop to get "hidden". Yes, you can do that. I'm going to stop writing and go play some more. I've beaten this game twice and it's STILL not old. If you buy a PS2, you have to buy this game. You won't regret it.
Rating:
Summary: Immersive fun
Review: Yes, it's not for kids. In an age of plaintive "what about the children?" cries, a refreshing game is released for the PC. Don't get hung up on the killing, the hookers and the suggestive cut scenes -- this can actually be nice, pleasant experience. Really. Image cruising down realistic streets in a sporty car, watching the sights and listening to your own MP3s (take that, PS2). Get bored? Take up a short mission or two. Or pick a fight with a rival gang. Or, yes, hook up with a hooker.
Rating:
Summary: Faithful Port
Review: This game, as advertised, is like the PS2 version, only for PC.
Rockstar has added to and cleaned up GTA 3's graphics for gamers who aren't playing on a TV. As a result, the game requires serious hardware to run. In fact, if you are planning on playing this game on a maching that barely meets the minimum specs, I would reccomend against it. This game chugs occasionally at 800x600x16 on my machine: P3 800
640MB RAM
32MB Nvidia GeForece 256AGP That being said, I love this game! The ability to run amock in a fully realised 3d city is downright amazing. Being able to add my own tunes (the standard 'radio' stations get dull after you've heard them repeated 4 or 5 times) is a nice new feature.
The missions, though repetative at times, have a few originals thrown in the mix. Personally, my favorite thing in the game is being able to do "Whoops... Blew up the car again. Better steal a nice new one.. (pause) OOh, that one looks nice"
All in all, GTA 3 on PC is wicked entertainment for the (im)mature gamer in you.
Next month I'll be buying a seriously newer video card, so hopefully that will smooth out some of the graphics issues.
Rating:
Summary: Rocks
Review: There's alot of good points to say about this game, that I don't know where to start. The graphics and sound are second to none. Gameplay is good, you never know what to expect. And most importantly, it's fun ... Only thing is, you need a high(er) performance PC to get the whole experience. On my 1.2 T-bird 512 RAM GeForce 2 MX 200, It doesn't run so well, but on a GeForce 3 it runs great, so I would upgrade my card if you have anything less than a GeForce 2 Ultra or so. Great game, very fun, all you could want in a crime game.
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