Company / Developers – Rockstar Games / DMA Design Limited Homepage Genre – Action / Driving Note: Game is rated for those of 18 years of age and over
Introduction
I borrowed the original GTA from my buddy years ago. It was a great game at first. ‘Original’, ‘controversial’, ‘exciting’ were all apt words to describe GTA. But after that first initial rush problems and limitations started becoming apparent. Missions were all too similar, game play repetitive, and cities that all looked the same. It was still fun, but that initial thrilling edge was quickly lost.
I always hoped I could design a city for it, and later in life I found an editor to do just that. My mission was to design a more exciting city, one which had lots of detail, and felt more lifelike. Alas, I gave up when a bug in the program meant I couldn’t continue.
But all was not lost, as news of GTA3 started emerging. “A living city? And in 3D???” I thought to myself. I couldn’t wait!
Now the wait is over. But does it offer everything I hoped a sequel would bring? Did it add that realism I craved for? And therefore has it retained the ‘fun’ aspect that only the first game brought along also in the process of bringing this much hoped for realism?
Compatibility
You may have noticed I haven’t included a minimum specification table this time round. That’s because even the recommended values are highly optimistic! I originally had about the recommended specs and at times the game’s frame-rate drops badly, almost to the point of being unplayable. Even on 800x600 I still got choppy frame-rates and lag. It is just playable in my opinion, for those that can accept such low resolutions.
GTA 3 resolutions at my specs
However, I was one of the lucky ones believe it or not! Some have much higher specs and the game doesn’t even work! Let alone the ones having severe lag problems. So I really suggest paying a visit to GTAForums.com before buying.
How people define terms like ‘severe lag’ and 'unplayable' is another matter. Some people, not quoting names, have often scoffed at a game which I would consider 'playable', yet they say was totally 'unplayable'. But I do suggest reading through a few threads to see if you might have an issue.
If you have a better computer (like my recent upgrade), and the game likes your chosen hardware, then you have a glourious game to behold at 1028x786! In fact, I currently play at 1280x1024 and it plays wonderfully! So now I have next to no slowdown, and it looks lovely :-)
