A revolutionary game that paved the way for immature casuals everywhere!
Getting around the cities can be frustrating at times escpecially if you are new to the game but you get some help from an arrow that'll point you in the direction of your current objective. Each city is massive and they are loosely based on real cities, for instance, Liberty City bares resemblance to New York city in the way it's set out and some of the locations. to get around you can travel on foot or by stealing a car. There are a lot of differnt cars in the game that seem to have been modeled on real cars like the Doge Viper, VW Beetle and even yellow taxi cabs. There are also Buses, ambulances, fire engines and dump trucks. Some of these are actually involved in a couple of the missions.
As far as weapons go, there isn't a lot but they are pretty varied. There are four altogether, a pistol, machine gun, rocket launcher and a flame thrower. You can also use you fists but only to beat people up, you can't actually kill them.
The graphics in GTA are pretty decent considering the time it was released and the overall style. The game is played from a top down view and although this works well for the most part it usually results in smashing in to lots of cars. This is pretty entertaining but gets annoying when you're doing amission where you need to keep the car in top notch condition. The buildings are done in 3d but the people, cars, objects and street signs are all done using 2d sprites.This isn't that bad really and gives the game a pretty unique look. The actual cities look really good and there's always a lot going on making the cities seem quite life like.
GTA has a great soundtrack which really adds a lot to the game and makes some of the longer driving missions a lot less boring. The soundtrack is done like a bunch of radio stations that'll play when you get in to the cars (or you can set the music so it's constantly playing). The music ranges from rock and techno, to rap and various other genres. The radio stations are pretty cool to listen to as it's not just music. There will be a few different segments, like top 5 countdowns, commericals, and of course DJ's and show hosts. The music is definately a high point of the game.
The sound effects are also pretty good. There's a lot of sounds like explosions, gun fire, car noises and people shouting different things either to you or to other people. The sounds are pretty good and fit in with the game nicely.
Overall, Grand Theft Auto is a must have for people new to the GTA series or those that have played the newer 3d games thinking that GTA III was the first GTA game released. While it can get frustrating sometimes, there is enough variety in the missions, and cities to keep you playing for hours. And of course, there's an awesome soundtrack to go with it. If you haven't played it, do so now!