Grand Theft Auto

To say that GTA3 has been critically well received is an understatement of gargantuan proportions. Since the short time of its release, the game is already being heralded not only as the game-of-the-year, but also a groundbreaking artistic masterpiece that qualifies for the ever-diminishing title of "greatest game of all-time."

As the years go by, video games constantly strive for higher levels of realism. The line between the real world and the video game world is starting to blur with the current level of technology in today's gaming hardware. The advancements in AI, heightened graphics, the ultimate switch to 3D, and the medium on which the data is carried are just some of the things that allow the video game industry to not just create games, but simulations.

According to ESRB, this game contains: Blood, Strong Language, Violence

Game Description: You've been betrayed and left for dead. Now you're taking revenge, unless the city gets you first. Mob bosses need a favor, crooked cops need help, and street gangs want you dead. You'll have to rob, steal, and kill just to stay out of serious trouble. Anything can happen out here. Grand Theft Auto III features a fully 3D living city, a combination of narrative-driven and nonlinear gameplay, and a completely open environment.

According to ESRB, this game contains: Animated Violence, Strong Language, Suggestive Themes

Before Carmageddon, Postal, or Kingpin shocked and mortified parents and congressman alike, a small title entitled Grand Theft Auto was released upon an unsuspecting public. Right off the bat, it doesn't take a genius to tell what the game is about; you play as bad guys who stole cars to do bad things with them. It quickly won the hearts of more than a few gamers, who reveled in this opportunity to be a common street thug out to do no good. This is not surprising, however, because to most, though they won't openly admit it, it was a dream come true.

Game Description: The sequel to the ever-popular car jacking game is here. Grand Theft Auto 2 sets you up as a novice criminal trying to make yourself infamous in a crime-filled world. The game has three levels, each inhabited by three different gangs. Pick up a pay phone and accept one of the odd jobs that the gangs offer you. Of course, you have to earn the gangs' respect before you can take the really good jobs. Try to impress them by wiping out their rivals. Once you do, you'll get the good jobs—delivering drugs, picking up bank robbers, and bombing office buildings.

I never cared for the original premise of car-jacking and thuggery for the sake of being able to do so, but in the sequel, the idea of operating in a consequential world with gangland loyalties was intriguing to me. Too bad the whole notion goes totally wasted on a game with so many defects that I barely know where to start.