Even now that the 10-year anniversary version of Grand Theft Auto III has been brought out for the Android, the original for the PlayStation 2 is still fun to play. It tries its hardest in order to still provide a fun and enjoyable time, and with good result. Even with GTA V now in stores, GTA III holds up surprisingly well.

The Graphics
Even though time has been rough on GTA III's animation, it manages to avoid being downright ugly. The rendering is showing its age, and is probably a reason why an anniversary version had to be made. What's more, I couldn't help but notice that the game had a really dark contrast at times. You could turn up the brightness, but it was till a little dark. Perhaps this was done intentionally, in order to complement the game's unprecented dark undertone, but I didn't like it, personally. The game's default visual setting has these graphic trails, which add to the atmosphere, and to make the current weather in the game look a little more authentic. But it also looks a little ugly, to my taste. Luckily, you can turn it off in the Option menu. Even though GTA III has aged quite a bit, the cutscenes are still very well animated, and made in really believable cinematic style, setting them apart from the rest of the series.

The Sound
The original soundtrack is really good. This, and the game's radio stations do a really good job of capturing the game's mood, and adds to the atmosphere. Especially Flashback FM does a good job of bringing out the game's dark and gritty story. Most of the songs on that radio station are from the Scarface movie soundtrack, which accompanies the story and setting really well. Although, that isn't to say that the radio stations are top-notch in GTA III. There's a big chance you don't recognize any of the songs played on the radio stations, if you haven't seen Scarface. There aren't any mainstream pop songs from 2001 (possibly due to licensing issues and such) and the songs played on the radio station aren't really that memorable either apart from the Scarface tracks. So if you're a casual music listener, you might find the music on the radio to be a bit lacking. However, the little details added when you're just taking a stroll are quite nice. You'll hear people having conversations with each other, and even though they're still obviously NPCs in an artificially created world, this adds to make for a believable world around you. The voice acting is believable, seeing as GTA III is a crime epic. It's not like you'd hear people talk in real life, but GTA never was an imitation on life. The voice acting makes every cutscene a cinematic experience, and that's how it should be.

The Addictiveness
It's pretty much a regular game now. Back in the day, when GTA III was new, it was revolutionary. You could do anything you pleased, there was nothing that held you back. I mean, Driver was the first game which featured full exploration in an open-world environment, but GTA III was the first game in which you could pretty much do anything you wanted, and that alone made it a very addictive (and controversial) game back in 2001. But, 13 years later, GTA III has obviously aged a bit. Everything is pretty much a standard now, from the main story missions to the side missions. It's fun, don't get me wrong, but with so many modern titles having built upon the 'GTA formula', GTA III has become nothing special.

The Story
The story is basically a small ode to the movie Scarface, but with a lot of original writing in between. The game starts out with a cutscene of a mute character (you) and a female accomplice robbing the Liberty City bank. After the duo make their escape after the successful robbery, the mute's accomplice points her gun at him, and shoots him down, mortally wounded, for the police to take into custody. He survives however, and escapes from a police van, together with another guy. From there, you take control. It's a tale of betrayal and vengeance. And believe me, the ending is to die for.

The Depth
There are over 70 missions to clear in the main story, and they're quite varied in gameplay. Granted, a lot of missions have you engaging in a firefight, but there are a lot of missions in which this is actually more of a non-option. Two missions require you to take a boat for a spin, others have you just driving from point A to point B, and there is even a mission in which staying inside your vehicle is a preferable option rather than to step out of it and mowing everyone down. When you're done with the main storyline, you're free to continue playing I order to beat various side missions. You're free to do these in the main storyline too, which might even be a better option, seeing as doing these missions give you bonuses which make this game a little easier. There are hidden packages scattered around Liberty City for you to find, finding so many of them each rewards you with bonus items and weapons at your safehouse. You can complete vigilante missions by finding a police car, completing these missions reward you with police bribes, useful for eascaping the police easily. You can complete taxi fares, in order to get a great car. Then there are the paramedic side missions, in which you drive wounded people to the hospital. Completing these missions will grant you the infinite sprint ability. There's a lot to GTA III, and doing everything there is to do is a good idea, to get the most out of the game.

The Difficulty
GTA III is quite a difficult game, if you ask me, it's still the hardest game in the GTA franchise. This is mostly due to the clunky controls and movement restrictions at the time. There's no crouch button to take cover more easily behind object, and there isn't a grab function to climb ledges. On the ground, your character isn't really in his element. The shooting is takes a while to get used to. It's as simple as pressing one button to lock onto a person, and pressing another button to shoot. But it there's a slight delay in the time you press the button to aim, and your character actually points his weapon on the person, so that takes a while for you to adjust to it. There are no mid-mission checkpoints, so when you die (and you'll die a couple of times, guaranteed) you respawn at the nearest hospital, and you need to do the missions all over again. Luckily, the missions aren't overly long, so the frustration doesn't really come from screwing up. Also, there's no map layout in the pause menu, so you'll need to learn the entire map into your head as you drive around. But, like I said, earning bonuses by completing side missions help make the game a little easier, so I advice you to do at least a couple of those. The paramedic missions, though. It comes with a really useful bonus, but it's without a doubt the most frustrating thing about GTA III. Once you've picked up the wounded civilian, you need to drive him or her to the hospital as quick as possible, but without driving too recklessly, or else they will lose health. This will become hectic very quickly, and it's just not very fun to do. I recommend you sit through the punishment though, and complete the side missions.

GTA III is a classic PS2 title that tries its hardest to still hold up to day. And, by narrowest of margins, it works. It's story is gritty, lengthy but not too long, and has a good ending. Many games have imitated and built on the formula, and and such, GTA III might have become more or less obsolete because of it. But it still is worth it to see what this oldie has in store for you.

the pros:

• long, gritty story

• the main soundtrack and radio station captures the mood of the story

• rewarding side missions to complete

• wreaking havoc in true GTA fashion is still fun to do

• satisfying ending

the cons:

• the paramedic side missions are hard, and too frustrating

• no detailed map in the pause menu

• the controls are showing their age