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#5 Grand Theft Auto III (PC – 2002)

What it’s about: You, as the main character (unnamed, and you never say a word through the whole game) are left for dead after your partners turn on you during a robbery. The police van escorting you to prison crashes, leaving you loose in the fictional burg of Liberty City. Now you work your way up the ranks of crime, dealing with the Mob, the Yakuza, a crooked cop, and plenty of gangs, and maybe get some revenge on your ex-partners.

Why it’s here: God, where to start? This game totally blew me away when I picked it up on the PC (didn’t have a Playstation then, and got so used to the controls I picked up the sequels on the PC as well, even after buying a PS2).

GTA III created its own interactive world. You hear that a lot with game, but Liberty City was a real place. Time would pass and it would be day or night, depending on the time. It could rain or be a sunny day, and the weather would affect your driving. Liberty City was filled with traffic lights, bad drivers, and pedestrians walking the streets (and streetwalkers too). If you pissed off a gang and wandered into their territory, they would open fire on you. You could listen to different radio stations, complete with DJ’s, or load your own MP3’s. Punch a cop and your wanted level goes up.

Missions vary from beating up pushers, planting car bombs, assassinations, car theft, and so much more, each mission different from the last. You can also collect special tokens throughout the city, try to pull off special jumps, and race obstacle courses. This isn’t a game you beat in a weekend.

If you didn’t feel like committing crimes, you could just hop in your car and explore the city and try to do crazy tricks with your car. Or you can create mayhem and just open fire into a crowd of people and see how long you can avoid the SWAT teams (I would spend hours doing this).

Downsides? Not much. There were a few minor problems they improved a few things in the later sequels (letting you swim, adding better music, importing well known actors for the various characters), but the game is pretty flawless.

Personal memories: Playing the game for the first time. Finally beating El Burro’s race after a thousand tries.

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