dopeyy
2001
This review contains spoilers
GTA III is one of those games that had been sitting on my shelf for years and, for one reason or another, I could never get into. I'm really glad I did give it a proper go, however, cause 2001's Liberty City has such a unique atmosphere--one you really don't find in many open world games.
The City is bathed in litter, it always rains and it's full of murderous assholes, but they're fun assholes, considering none of them actually get much development. I was impressed at how well the structure of the game holds up--I was seriously blown away by the game's scale the first time I arrived on Staunton Island, and though Shoreside Vale didn't offer much in the way of story content, I feel like I spent a lot longer exploring it than either of the other two islands.
Of course, GTA III is not a perfect experience. It's marred by performance issues pretty much throughout and some of the missions can be seriously frustrating (maybe it's just a skill issue but I remember having some real trouble with Bomb Da Base Act II and Kingdom Come). The combat controls can take some getting used to as well but this was something that would be refined in Vice City (but mostly San Andreas) and it's mostly owing to the game's age, so I can't fault it too much. The shooting controls are, naturally, much better suited to a mouse and keyboard than a Dualshock 2.
GTA III's story is a fun, if simple, parody of New York gangster movies, but because it wears this so earnestly on its sleeve, and the characters, while incredibly archetypal, are nonetheless entertaining, I can happily overlook the rather limited mission variety. Running into Catalina again at the end of Portland's missions was a pretty cool "Oh shit" moment.
I think if you can get over this game's age there's a lot to love about it, especially if you're partial to early 2000s media like myself--the game is absolutely bursting with Y2K energy so it's a really neat time capsule for enthusiasts, and it's also just a pretty good time.
The City is bathed in litter, it always rains and it's full of murderous assholes, but they're fun assholes, considering none of them actually get much development. I was impressed at how well the structure of the game holds up--I was seriously blown away by the game's scale the first time I arrived on Staunton Island, and though Shoreside Vale didn't offer much in the way of story content, I feel like I spent a lot longer exploring it than either of the other two islands.
Of course, GTA III is not a perfect experience. It's marred by performance issues pretty much throughout and some of the missions can be seriously frustrating (maybe it's just a skill issue but I remember having some real trouble with Bomb Da Base Act II and Kingdom Come). The combat controls can take some getting used to as well but this was something that would be refined in Vice City (but mostly San Andreas) and it's mostly owing to the game's age, so I can't fault it too much. The shooting controls are, naturally, much better suited to a mouse and keyboard than a Dualshock 2.
GTA III's story is a fun, if simple, parody of New York gangster movies, but because it wears this so earnestly on its sleeve, and the characters, while incredibly archetypal, are nonetheless entertaining, I can happily overlook the rather limited mission variety. Running into Catalina again at the end of Portland's missions was a pretty cool "Oh shit" moment.
I think if you can get over this game's age there's a lot to love about it, especially if you're partial to early 2000s media like myself--the game is absolutely bursting with Y2K energy so it's a really neat time capsule for enthusiasts, and it's also just a pretty good time.
2019
This review contains spoilers
Incredible story, incredible characters, incredible music. Unparalelled action-turn-based combat (ATB doesn't even hold a candle) and a 40-hour, largely linear runtime that somehow doesn't drag or overstay its welcome. Genuinely one of the best games I've ever played full-stop and a real treat considering my virtually nonexistent expectations going in. I'll be thinking about Justin and friends for a long time to come.
My only knocks are that removing the pixel filter requires delving into the game files and that the port itself is based of the rickety PS1 port rather than the much more polished Saturn original.
Definite must-play otherwise; buzzing to start Grandia II.
My only knocks are that removing the pixel filter requires delving into the game files and that the port itself is based of the rickety PS1 port rather than the much more polished Saturn original.
Definite must-play otherwise; buzzing to start Grandia II.