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| Old
News - October 2001 |
Contents
10-30-01
10-29-01
10-26-01
10-25-01
10-24-01
10-23-01
10-19-01
10-17-01
10-16-01
10-15-01
10-12-01
10-11-01
10-10-01
10-08-01
10-05-01
10-02-01
10-01-01 |
| Tuesday
- October 30, 2001 <11:40
PM CST> |
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GTA3
Cheats Are Here!
<11:40 PM CST - schu>
For all you people out there just itching to cheat, go to Gamewinners.com
for a partial GTA3 cheat list. Now then, I don't think they
have uncovered all the cheats yet, but according to a friend at
Rockstar, the forthcoming editions of Liberty Tree will have cheats
hidden in them.
***Possible
Spoiler***
Furthermore,
Insane2757 says that the following URLs are hidden in the game...
www.dma-design.com/GTA3/bonus.htm and www.dma-design.com/GTA3/secret.htm
According
to Insane2757, one is by Capital Auto sales and the other is somewhere
in Portland. Those pages are not up yet, but the current
rumor is that they will go live on tomorrow. Yes I know
this is hard to read, I did it purposely to avoid having anyone
who doesn't want to know this stuff from reading it on accident.
Highlight it with your mouse to make it easier to read.
Thanks
to Insane2757, Andy H, OutForBlood, Dave Walsh, LeX, FiReStArTeRo0o,
Richard S, James15, and MrKnifey for sending in codes and URLs.
Upcoming
Strategy Guide
<11:40 PM CST - schu>
I wrote the good people at Rockstar to see what the current status
the cheats is. I wasn't given any, of course :) , but they
did tell me that IGN will be posting a GTA3 strategy guide on November
1st and it will be updated all month long.
|
| Monday
- October 29, 2001 <8:00
PM CST> |
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GTA3
Is #2?
<8:00 PM CST - schu>
Yeah yeah, well at least it beat DMC... I guess I'm going
to have to go and rent GT3 and see what everyone it talking about,
I'm not much into straight racing games where you can't get out
of the car and fu*k sh*t up. Sure it's pretty, but can you
run down a senior citizen at 80 MPH and then jump out of your car
and gun down all of the witnesses? Anyway, if you're wondering
what I'm talking about, check out the results of the IGN Hottest
Games of 2001 poll thing... Apparnetly, GameSpot
thinks differently, based on site traffic, GTA3 is currntly at the
top of the charts. Thanks to Insane2757, BigRed, and Whes007
(GTA3
World).
GameSpot
UK Reviews GTA3
<8:00 PM CST - schu>
GameSpot UK posted their review
for GTA3, giving it a score of 9.7. I think this quote pretty
much sums it up:
"As
of now Grand Theft Auto III is the best game available for the
PS2 and if you have copies of Driver, Crazy Taxi, Silent Scope
or Syphon Filter to trade in we guarantee you won't miss them
once you arrive in Liberty City."
GTA3 Release Dates & Locations
<8:00 PM CST - schu>
So far it looks like GTA3 is out just about everywhere. Check
the list for locations confirmed by other fans.
Roisin
sent in another update from her EB location in Australia, here is
her report:
We've
fufilled about 75% of the orders by 1:30pm Monday. We 'should'
have some more coming in tommorrow and I'm getting phone calls
every second hour asking when its coming out. Most people have
removed their orders from 'Metal Gear Solid II' and 'Twisted Metal
Black' to get a hold of the game. You maybe want to make a web
site about MGS II and ease my misery? At the moment I'm picking
up the phone saying 'we'll have GTA3 some time this week' to every
caller. Not to mention every irate second customer yelling at
me since its out everywhere else too :P
I didn't
post all the reports because it seemed rather redundant, regardless,
I'd like that thank Roisin, dElAvA, Nicholas, Steven, and KANE79
for all of their contributions.
Liberty
City Inquirer
<8:00 PM CST - schu>
ZMän posted the first issue of his online Liberty City newspaper,
The Liberty
City Inquirer.
GTA3
Tips & Tricks
<8:00 PM CST - schu>
If I can ever rip myself away from this game I'll start adding these
to the appropriate section, this is a pretty busy week for me, so
it might not happen until next week. If you have any spoiler
reservations, please don't read these, I wouldn't call them spoilers,
but the more I play the game the harder it gets for me to spot a
true spoiler :). Here are today's tips:
- If
you listen to GameRadio in GTA3 you'll occasionally hear them
annouce the URL, www.hiphophoneys.com. Striderhiryu2557
went to take a look and the site does exist. It is not a
site created by Rockstar Games, but it does exist and it is of
an adult nature.
- It
turns out that you can pick up a hooker in the game. Someone
mentioned that a strategy guide mentioned it so I thought I'd
give it a try. They didn't say how so I just figured it
out based on my past experience picking up hookers (yes, I'm kidding...
no really). I'm not sure if it requires a specific car,
but I used the Esperanto since it looked like a pimp-mobile to
me. Just pull up next to the hooker of your choice and honk
the horn, they should then walk up to your passenger side door.
If you wait a few seconds she will get in. Then drive
somewhere secluded, and well, use your imagination from there.
No I haven't tried this in first person view but I don't
think there is really anything to see. You then get an extra
25 health (so you can get up to 125 health total) but it costs
you money.
- cHOAS
sent this in but I haven't checked it out yet. "Hey,
this is a little something I've noticed while playing GTA3! First
you go to Staunton Island, then you go to that internet cafe (the
place where you can smash through the glass to get in), after
you do that you gotta go to the two comps by the stairs, then
look through first person mode at the comps! You'll see something
very familiar ;)."
- Here
are a few tips from illspirit on melee combat, "I think hits
and kicks might have to do with how hard you hit the button. Also,
you can creep at slow speeds in car by holding down the x button
very lightly."
- If
you don't mind spoilers, Terran Redneck XII found a message board
for you, click
here for the GameFAQ's GTA3
message board. Whes007 (GTA3
World) also mentioned GameFAQs.com, apparently they have posted
a stategy guide you can view here.
- Tanks
got you down? Here is a GTA2 tip from LoneWolf that works
in GTA3, "If you actually manage to live long enough so you
have the Army after you, you've probably found that the Tanks
are pretty much invulnerable to bullets. Try and find a tight
alleyway, where the Tank has to fight to get at you. While it's
trying to get into the alley, pelt it with molotov cocktails (pretty
much the exact same way to beat the Tanks in GTA2). Pretty soon,
the Tank will be set on fire, and will eventually explode."
- inv
noticed that if you tap the L3 button while driving an emergency
vehicle it will turn the sirens on. I think I may have mentioned
that before actually. Anyway, after you have the sirens
on you can hold the L3 button to emit different siren sounds.
The sirens should make the cars in your path move out of
your way.
- stuntwill
found a way to pack more cars in the ShoreSide Vale garage, here
is his tip. "To [fit more cars in the ShoreSide Vale
garage] do this, you can either park the 3rd car in front of the
garage door (which isn't opening because you already have 2 cars
in there), then get out really fast, which causes the door to
open because you're near it. After it starts opening, you get
back in your car quickly and drive through the door before it
closes again. Another way to do it is to block the door
with a car you already have in the garage, then drive your 3rd
car inside while the door shakes around trying to close. However,
this doesn't work as well because the car jamming the door will
disappear if it leaves your field of vision, closing the door
in the process."
- Here
are a few from Insane2757:
"Kill Frenzys/Rampages can be passed more easily if you jump
on a car that is not moving. This way, the people with baseball
bats cannot hit you, and peds cannot punch you. (That is, until
you jump off the car.)"
"Taxi
missions can be MUCH MUCH easier if you do them in a row, because
the extra time accumulates after each drop-off. Also, the green
blip isn't the one YOU HAVE TO GET, you can drive past them,
and someone else will want a ride."
"Missions
that deal with taking out a certain person is very easy with the
Sniper Rifle. It can be bought in the Ammunation in Stuation Island
for $10,000. You get 20 or 25 shells, AND IT'S WORTH EVERY CENT."
- This
is a definite spoiler from Stom4571. "OK......after
you beat the game (all the required missions), go to Phil Cassedy's
army surplus. When you get there, there should be a tank
next to all the sand bags! When I went there to buy a rocket
launcher, it was there, and even after I (accidendtally) rolled
it over (dont ask). I went back to the surplus store and
it was there again......cool huh?
- This
might be a spoiler if don't know of all the power-ups in
the game. BadBoys1987 sent this in. "Hey
i found this cool combo. OK, first get the pill power-up,
then get the Uzi out the run up to a ped and punch him. He
should go flying in the air, and while he is in the air hold R1
and blast away."
New GTA Sites
<8:00 PM CST - schu>
Site Updates
<8:00 PM CST - schu>
- Roisin,
the EB employee in Australia is actually a She, not a He... Sorry
about the earlier update Roisin. I've made the appropriate
changes.
- Really,
I'm trying to update more quickly but this game makes time disappear
like you wouldn't believe. Someone emails me a question,
and if I can't remember what the answer is I play the game to
figure it out. Four hours later I realize that I found the
answer three hours and fifty minutes ago, leaving me wondering
where all the other time went.
|
| Friday
- October 26, 2001 <7:30
PM CST> |
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New
GTA3 Videos
<7:30 PM CST - schu>
Well I said I'd get to the new GameSpot vids so here they are. The
first five are from Gamespot,
the last two are from GamesTicker.
The last two videos require the DivX
codec and the sound wasn't working, at least it wasn't on my
machine. Thanks to Whes007 (GTA3
World) for sending URLs to all the videos.
GTA3
Release Dates & Locations
<7:30 PM CST - schu>
I haven't heard from anyone from the UK lately so I assume GTA3
has been released there.
According
to S3KTOR and KANE79, GTA3 has been released in Australia. A
few of the locations they mentioned are Top
Shop, dStore,
and Tandy.
Those locations are all online stores, KANE79 says that most
local retailers are saying they will have it in stock on Monday
or Tuesday.
Andy
C. sent in an interesting conversation he had with a K-Mart employee
here in the US.
I
have a funny story to tell you, it is what a clerk told me over
the phone about GTA3. I had called all around town trying to find
stores that had it, Media Play, Wal-Mart, Target, Best Buy, and
finally K-Mart. When I had called K-Mart I asked the clerk if
they had it in. She told me to wait while she typed it in, as
she was typing she asked me again what it was called "Grand......
Theft..... Auto..... 3" I responded. She then stopped typing
and said, and I quote, "I'm sorry our computer doesn't say
that we are getting it in today.. And I highly doubt we would
ever sell a game with such a title.." *Click* I thought the
way she worded it was funny. Oh well. I ended up getting the game
at FuncoLand for $5 more than any place else."
GTA3 Cheats, Tips & Tricks
<7:30 PM CST - schu>
Once again I DO NOT KNOW ANY GTA3 CHEATS! However I know where
you can get some GameShark codes. Alfadog sent in this
URL where you can find some GameShark codes and Striderhiryu
sent in this
URL where you can find a lot of tips, some of which are spoilers.
Richard S. informed me that this
thread at GameShark is still worth checking. Apparently
someone on there is trying to come up with a GameShark code for
infinite health. Here are a few general tips:
- The
side missions in the police car, ambulance, fire truck, and taxi
are more than just a fun diversion, you can earn rewards back
at your safe house if you do enough of them.
- The
hidden packages are another way to get rewards in the game. Every
time you find ten of them, something new will appear at your safe
house. At the end of this list I posted a list of rewards
sent in by MrKnifey and zach. They are posted in grey, just
in case someone out there doesn't want to accidentally read the
list.
- Ok,
there definitely are ATMs in the game. I'm not sure if you
can use them, but I do know that peds can. Gun down people
around the ATM for a better payoff.
- If
you don't want to wait for the items at your safe house to respawn,
try going into your safe house, then when it asks you to save,
just hit cancel. When you come back out they should all be
there again.
- If
you need a police car there are a few ways to jack them successfully. The
first method is to try jacking the car from the driver's side,
then run to the passenger side and get in when the cop gets out.
You can also try jacking the cop car from the passenger
side, then run around some cars and peds to confuse the cop. Then
jump in his car before he can get back to you.
- Stand
in the street and wait for a car to come up behind you, the jump
on the hood. The car will drive around the city while you
stand on top. It's not always easy to stay on and if the
cops are looking for you they will ram the car and try to knock
you off.
- Badboys1987
mentioned that if you hit the CIRCLE button fast enough in melee
combat you can perform limited combos. Mainly a punch followed
by a kick to the face. Personally I think it is all related
to distance, because I tried this about twenty times and I could
never quite get the same combo twice, even when I did the exact
same thing over and over again.
- zach
sent in a rather complex and dangerous way to get a tank, read
on and find out how. "My second tip is how to get an
army tank, to get one max out your warning level and steel it
when the military come for you, its easier if you have at least
50 hidden packages then go to your house in the second part of
Liberty City and collect all the items, then go up and shoot pedestrians,
and cops with your Uzi’s in front of the ally that goes to
your house until you get 5 warning stars. Then jump in a car and
the FBI should be after you. You should blow up the FBI cars by
drive by shooting them, its easier that way cause if you get out
of your car they'll gun your ass down. After you blow up about
3 or 4 FBI cars you will have 6 warning starts, this is when the
military come for you. Try to lure a tank down to your garage
and try to get them to come out of the tank, then shoot them down,
and if your lucky you can get their tank then drive it into your
garage and save because it's fucking hard as hell to do, and once
you've done it you won't want to do it again. I spent several
hours trying to get one but I finally got one and its bad as hell
and was well worth all the time spent getting it."
Thanks
to Richard S., barry, MrKnifey, LoneWolf, zach, and Badboys1987.
Hidden
Packages (replenishing item in hideout):
- 10=handgun
- 20=uzi
- 30=grenades
- 40=molotovs
- 50=armor
- 60=shotgun
- 70=AK-47
- 80=sniper
rifle
- 90=M16
- 100=rocket
launcher and $1,000,000
Vehicle
Missions:
- taxi=complete
100 taxi missions and a new taxi will be
created!
- ambulance=save
50 people and health powerups will be
created at your hideout, save 100 people and
adrenaline is created at your hideouts, complete
ambulance level 16 and infinite run is awarded,
- fire
truck=complete 30 missions and the flame thrower
is created at your hideouts.
- police
car or tank=kill 40 criminals and police bribes
are created at your hideouts!
Crazy Sh*t
<7:30 PM CST - schu>
Don't ask, just
click! OK, some of the stuff on this site isn't exactly
intended for any of the younger readers out there, you have been
warned. Personally I don't know much about this site, but
the Audio section has some pretty good stuff, try the British Telecom
mp3 on there, from what I've heard, almost anyone living in the
UK should really appreciate this one. Other quality picks
are the Ebonics lesson, StopNGo, Barney, and the ThunderCats Bloopers.
|
| Thursday
- October 25, 2001 <7:30
PM CST> |
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|
GameSpot
Reviews GTA3
<7:30 PM CST - schu>
Gamespot posted their review
of GTA3, giving it a rating of 9.6 (superb). The review is
two pages long and includes seventeen new screenshots, five new
videos, and a video review. I don't have time to get to the
movies right now, but I'll work on getting some comments on them
for tomorrow's update. The new screenshots are posted here
at G! starting on the twenty-ninth
screenshot page. There are some very nice shots in there,
including shots of the new SWAT van and a nice overhead shot of
Bush Stadium. Thanks to Whes007 (GTA3
World) for the email on this.
GameSpot
UK's GTA3 Interview
<7:30 PM CST - schu>
GameSpot UK interviewed
DMA's own, Leslie Benzies (GTA3's producer). The interview
is two pages long and gives some insight into the creation of GTA3.
GTA3
Release Dates & Locations
<7:30 PM CST - schu>
I'll keep updating on the release dates and locations as I hear
new information. For actual locations and URLs, check the
update I posted yesterday, I will continue to alter that list
as I hear more.
Netherlands:
Erik wrote in from the Netherlands and said that his local Free
record shop was only getting eight copies, and he reserved their
seventh copy, leaving one left. The moral of the story, you
better reserve it or buy it early in the morning if you want to
play it on Friday. I'd imagine that this same story will stand
for all of Europe and Australia. Obviously the larger the
city you live in the better chance you stand of getting a copy.
Australia/New
Zealand:
Roisin works at an EB in Australia and she is reporting that Australia
and New Zealand should be selling GTA3 on Friday or possibly Saturday.
She also mentioned that if you don't reserve it will be very
difficult to get a copy, apparently they have five or six new orders
placed every day at his location. I've also been getting some
other conflicting reports from Australia, some say they've seen
it on the shelf at EB, while others say it won't be out until November
2nd. The November 2nd release date was sent in by troy who
saw that date on the official Australian PS2 site and also heard
the same from many retailers. I suppose it's possible that
some of the bigger software store chains will have it this Friday,
while the smaller stores and the department stores might not see
it until November 2nd.
Canada:
Sean is reporting that Toronto has a wealth of copies, his local
EB and others are apparently well stocked.
UK:
I've added some new locations to the list...
Thanks
to Erik, Roisin, BUStED, troy, Alfadog, Sean Daniels, JCronic, Andy,
and Nicholas.
GTA3 Strategy Guide
<7:30 PM CST - schu>
Insane2757 wrote in saying that the Brady Games strategy
guide doesn't have any cheats, but it does have some other good
stuff. It's mainly a big book of spoilers, so if you want
to find everything out for yourself, you'll want to avoid it. If
you want a road map through the game and don't want to experience
any of the excitement of finding new things, then by all means,
buy it...
GTA3
Cheats & Tips!
<7:30 PM CST - schu>
None have been released, so PLEASE STOP ASKING. Trust me,
if I knew any I'd post them in the GTA3 Tips & Cheats section.
I do have something for you GameShark owners out there though,
check this thread
at GameShark.com for some GameShark codes. Thanks to Richard
S. for finding that thread.
While
I'm on that subject of tips & cheats, feel free to send in any
tips you might have, if I have time I'll start building that section.
Please stick to general tips, I'd rather not post spoilers
in there yet, mainly because I don't want to spoil the game for
myself or others. I'm working on an alternate solution where
you can post spoilers with warnings. Here are a few tips that
have been sent in or that I've been using while playing (the last
one is a possible spoiler).
- Eric
sent in the following tip that most of us used in GTA, "you
should try out some of the old skool tricks in this new version.
i.e. like causing a traffic jam in the middle of a huge intersection
and then blowing everything up. Everything catches on fire and
blow up in succession. It's awesome! we used to do that in GTA
1 and 2 cause it was the quickest and easiest way to get money
to progress in the game. There's not much need to do this in GTA3
since much the progress is story driven but it's still cool. Plus,
the city and its drivers and pedestrians all react in mayhem anytime
there's a massive explosion like the ones you orchestrate."
- Walking
or driving around on the elevated rail tracks can give you a birds
eye view and will help you track down hidden weaponry and power-ups.
JWeb sent in a more specific tip but believe me, its more
fun to track this stuff down on your own.
- If
you played GTA, try some of the same stuff in GTA3, a lot of the
same vehicle stunts still work in the same way (L1, the handbrake
button, is your friend).
- To
perform at drive-by in GTA3 you must have an Uzi. When you
get into a car your weapon will automatically change to the Uzi,
then you just hit the R2 or L2 buttons to change to a side view,
and then hit the CIRCLE button to fire. You can only do
a driveby with the Uzi.
- Hydraulics
are only on certain cars, when you get into a car with Hydraulics
it will tell you how to use them. Basically you hold down
L3 (the horn button/left analog stick) and then adjust tire height
using the right analog stick.
- ***
Possible Spoiler *** Keep an eye on
what people drop, some of the homeless people living in the tunnel
behind 8-Ball's bomb shop drop some very useful items. Also,
some peds are richer than others, especially if they recently
visited an ATM machine (no I don't know where it is or if it even
exists, this was something the R* guys mentioned to me after I
noticed that one ped dropped a lot of cash - if you find it, let
me know)...
New GTA Sites
<7:30 PM CST - schu>
Site Updates
<7:30 PM CST - schu>
The new server move is going rather slow, apparently it's still
being built so I'm not sure how soon the forums will be reopened,
but I'll keep on them....
|
| Wednesday
- October 24, 2001 <9:00
AM CST> |
<Top> |
|
Limited
Edition GTA3 T-shirts
<9:00 AM CST - schu>
Rockstar Warehouse just started selling limited edition GTA3 T-shirts
this morning. My personal favorites are the white shirt and
the navy shirt. Get over to Rockstar
Warehouse and check them all out.
Rockstar's
GTA3 Giveaway Frenzy
<9:00 AM CST - schu>
Rockstar is holding a GTA3 contest in honor of GTA3's release. Prizes
include:
- 5
GTA3 Baseball Bats
- GTA3
T-Shirts
- GTA3
Posters
To
enter, just go to rockstargames.com/grandtheftauto3/contest
and fill out the form. Thanks to ElBazo (GTA
Scraper) for posting on this.
GTA3
Release Dates & Locations
<9:00 AM CST - schu>
According to numerous Canadians, you should be seeing copies of
GTA3 on shelves today, not on the 27th. Everyone who wrote
in from the UK said Friday is the day, both EB and Game were the
only locations mentioned so far. No word from Australia or
New Zealand but I'd suggest calling around, it might be Friday there
as well. If you'd like to compare prices, try here
or here.
They are both links to shopper.com, but one is a search for
'grand theft auto 3' and the other is for 'grand theft auto III'.
The
listing below shows what stores are reported to have GTA3, however
just because the EB in Virginia has it, doesn't mean the one in
Arizona will, nor does it mean it will be in stock, it's always
best to call first. Toys R Us here in Milwaukee sold out in
a matter of hours, the guy who worked there told me he had to sell
the copy he had reserved for himself. I'm not sure about you,
but if that was me I would have told the customer to go screw himself,
they'd have to pry that copy of GTA3 out of my cold, dead hand.
If you live in the UK, I would highly suggest that you try
and reserve a copy at your local software store to avoid getting
screwed.
US
(does not apply to all locations - other locations can be found
here
and here)
Canada
(does not apply to all locations)
- Best
Buy
- Electronics
Boutique
- MicroPlay
UK
(does not apply to all locations)
Australia
(does not apply to all locations)
Thanks
to all the following people for their contributions to this list:
dElAvA, illspirit, James15, Nicholas, Ayatollah, DennyKoo,
Richard S, Damnation, JWeb, Rich, Erik, Roisin, BUStED, troy, Alfadog,
Sean Daniels, JCronic, Andy, Andy C, S3KTOR and KANE79.
GameSpot UK PlayTest - Part Four
<9:00 AM CST - schu>
Gamespot continues their GTA3 playtest coverage with the fourth
installation of their article. This part mainly covers some
of the ambient details in GTA3, including weather and peds. This
part also includes ten new screen shots, I've posted these shots
on the twenty-ninth screen
shot page. If you haven't done so already, I also suggest
you read the other three parts of their article, there are links
to them in the headlines (above). Thanks to Phil for the email
on this.
Movies
& MP3's @ GTA Scraper
<9:00 AM CST - schu>
ElBazo has three mp3s from GTA3 and a new movie on his site, GTA
Scraper. All the mp3s and the movie were taken from Play
magazine and are online exclusively at GTA Scraper.
GTA3
Poster In PSM
<9:00 AM CST - schu>
The December issue of PSM includes a GTA3 poster showing lots of
the caricatures from the game. Thanks to Caustic for the email
on this.
GTA3
Press Quotes
<9:00 AM CST - schu>
Rockstar sent out a newsletter with some GTA3 quotes from the press:
- Stuff,
November 2001
GAME OF THE MONTH
"The Grand Theft Auto series has always let you play bad
guy across giant cityscapes. All the games feature realistic civilian
behavior, insanely violent game play and steal-anything-on-wheels
driving action. But now the living, breathing, belching city is
rendered in brilliant over-the-shoulder 3-D vision."
- MAXIM
BLENDER, November 2001
* * * * (FOUR STARS)
"As you claw your way down the lurid ladder into the car
theft underworld, bribing cops and back-stabbing gangland rivals
(sometimes literally), missions develop progressively conflicted
interests with constantly shifting alliances... Rather than creating
and peddling lame sequels, game publisher Rockstar improves each
version, and GTA3 represents the most marked advance in play and
detail..."
- IGN.com,
October 22, 2001
EDITORS' CHOICE AWARD
9.6 / 10
"Having taken advantage of PS2's new technology to expand
and develop their vision, the makers of Grand Theft Auto 3 have
created a complete videogame experience like few, if any, before
it... The game is absolutely, insanely good, and is truly one
of the best titles of the year, on PlayStation 2, or on any system...
Grand Theft Auto 3 is a massive scale operation that just gets
better and better as players dig into it."
- ROLLING
STONE: "A satisfying, sophisticated gaming experience"
- IGN.com:
"One of the most important games of the year." "Grand
Theft Auto 3 expands the very idea of what a game has traditionally
been."
- PSM:
"Frankly there aren't any other titles like it out there.
Even if there were, I have a feeling that they couldn't even begin
to compete."
- EGM:
"...People will be talking about this game for a long time
to come"
- PSE2:
"One of the PS2's must have games of this year"
- GAME
INFORMER: "One of the most explosive titles ever to grace
a home console."
New
GTA Sites
<9:00 AM CST - schu>
Site Updates
<9:00 AM CST - schu>
- Just
as I finished writing this my copy of GTA3 arrived. The
game includes a GTA3 poster with maps of the three different sections
on the back, a manual, and of course the game itself.
- About.com
has a few GTA3 tips posted right
here. I'm not sure about all the tips, but at least
some of them seem legit. There are spoilers in there so
don't go there if you want to discover everything for yourself.
- Shaggsnasty
is reporting that the strategy guide does not contain cheats,
I'm not sure if this is true or not but I thought I should mention
it, just in case someone was going to buy it mainly for the cheats.
I think Rockstar probably has some sort of deal worked out
and we'll see the cheats either in a print mag or on IGN or something.
- I
changed the "Vote GTA3" link to read the "25 hottest
games of 2001" instead of the "25 best games of 2001."
O.Krogius pointed out that IGN does a separate article later
in the year about the BEST games of 2001, this vote is for the
hottest/most anticipated games.
|
| Tuesday
- October 23, 2001 <9:00
AM CST> |
<Top> |
|
Vote
GTA3
<9:00 AM CST - schu>
IGN is holding a reader poll for the 25
best games of 2001, show your support and cast one of your votes
for GTA3. If you're still looking for something else to vote
for, why not drop in a vote for State of Emergency as well :). Thanks
to Insane2757 for the link.
GTA3
Reviewed
<9:00 AM CST - schu>
Surprise, surprise, IGN is the first out the door with an online
GTA3
review. I bet you didn't see that one coming a mile away.
IGN gave GTA3 a score of 9.6 which is the second highest score
ever awarded on IGN, tying it with Twisted Metal: Black and Devil
May Cry, and beaten only by GT3. Personally I think it deserved
a 9.7 or 9.8, but that's just me :). Here are some quotes
that cover things the previews never covered, things that I was
never allowed to mention, or just stuff that I thought you'd all
find interesting:
"What
creates an even larger sense of scale is that nearly everything
can be explored. Adding to that, little things can be found in
the most remote places. One hundred "secret packages"
are located throughout Liberty City; and Slowdown pills, Frenzy
icons, Health icons, Cop Stars, Secret Instant Stunt Jumps, and
loads of weapons are scattered everywhere. There are hidden alleyways,
second-story rooftops, and secret locations placed in every nook
and cranny of the game. I just can't find enough words to describe
the immense, fantastic sense of freedom and size in GTA3; it's
simply mind-blowing."
"The
biggest learning curve is really in discovering where the secrets
are. Things like Cop Stars (which remove stars off the Wanted
Meter), health power-ups, weapons, and paint-and-spray garages
take some time to locate and remember. Grand Theft Auto III is
shown through nine perspectives, four while on foot (first-person,
close, far, and top-down), and five while driving (first-person,
close, far, top-down, and cinematic, which is a low, beside-the-car
side-view), and it offers a small circular map/radar with colored
icons to distinguish important areas, such as Save Places, Mission
Hubs, etc., and a Compass. "
"Players
drive cars, and have a huge list of car-related things to do (carjack,
jump out of a burning car, steer, accelerate, brake, power slide,
etc.), but they get to do lots of things on foot, too. One can
walk, run, sprint, jump, pilot a boat, handle 11 weapons, open
doors, and carjack any one of 81 (yes, 81) vehicles in the city.
It's all handled with a simple interface and an ease of use that's
instant and gratifying."
Thanks
to Insane2757, ZMän, Chad Finch, inv, and James15 for sending
in email on this.
GTA3
Out Today
<9:00 AM CST - schu>
Well since GTA3 shipped yesterday it only stands to reason that
it should be in some software stores today, if you happen to see
it anywhere, please let me know and I'll try to compile a list or
something. IGN
has also confirmed that GTA3 did indeed ship yesterday. I'd
suggest trying software specialty type stores, as opposed to huge
electronic stores or department stores, typically the first places
to get these newly shipped titles are the specialty stores. As
you may have heard, some people got
the game early, I spoke with Rockstar about this and their only
explanation is that some copies may have been swiped during delivery
or production. To their knowledge, no stores should have had
the game prior to the 22nd. Thanks to Striderhiryu for the
link to the shots.
I got
some other email from people around the world with some different
release dates. Keep in mind that these are not official release
dates, they are probably retailer estimates.
- Europe
- October 26th
- Canada
- October 27th
- New
Zealand / Australia - October 29th
Personally
I think Canada will have it earlier than the 27th, but who knows.
Thanks to marp and samir for the release dates.
Four
New Movies @ IGN
<9:00 AM CST - schu>
Yes, this is old news from Friday, but since I wasn't here most
of Friday I thought I'd give it a mention. IGN posted an article
that expands on Liberty Tree's coverage of Liberty City's more famous
denizens. I thought it was funny how the interviewee was slamming
soccer, since it was probably Rockstar's Dan Houser who gave the
fictitious interview :) (Dan Houser being from the UK and no doubt
a rabid soccer fan). Personally I prefer ThunderBall
myself. If it doesn't have a "gun circle" and a
car on the field, it's not worth watching in my opinion. Now,
on to the movies:
Thanks
to Insane2757, Pie427, GtA3GaMeR, Naked Alfonso,
New
GTA Sites
<9:00 AM CST - schu>
Crazy Sh*t
<9:00 AM CST - schu>
Grr... I was so ass tired by the time I finished the update
on Friday that I completely forgot about this, so here it is. Don't
ask, just
click! If you've ever seen the show, Upright
Citizens Brigade you'll recognize these clips. Unfortunately
half the damn things don't work. Oh well, you can also check
out the selection oz sent in, mofo.com.
Site
Updates
<9:00 AM CST - schu>
- Blame
my ISP
- I
added a link to the grandtheftauto3.com sub-site, MSX
FM. Thanks to AndyH for pointing that one out.
|
| Friday
- October 19, 2001 <2:00
AM CST> |
<Top> |
|
GTA3
Official Sites Updated
<2:00 AM CST - schu>
Both GrandTheftAuto3.com
and Liberty
Tree have been updated! Liberty Tree has four new screenshots
and some great new stories. All of the shots are of characters
in GTA3 that go along with news stories relating to them.
GrandTheftAuto3.com
has a wealth of new shots and sound clips in the ShoreSide Vale
section. For some reason I can't get the viewer in the Screens
section to work, but there are twenty new shots there (sixteen are
actually new, four of them have been posted previously). I've
posted them here on G!, starting on the twenty-seventh
screen shot page. I also found two new sub-sites, Francis
International Airport and Game
Radio. You can find the rest of the sub-sites in the Links
section. There are no new movies, but they did expand the
characters section to include a lot of new character images so be
sure to take a look at that. Thanks to SavSat, illspirit,
Big_Red, stuntwill, blunt, Jordan, QuikSilvrX, SavageSatan, and
DigitalD for sending email on this. Thanks guys...
GTA3
Hands On Part Nine
<2:00 AM CST - schu>
This is the final part in my GTA3 hands on series. Here I
will present you with all the remaining Q&A, the full GTA3 button
layout, and three exclusive screens. I was going to do this
over Thursday and Friday, but since I skipped Thursday I decided
to just dump it all on you now.
Q&A:
Q:
Are there cars with more than one person in, a driver and
a passenger?
A: Yes
Q:
When is it coming out?
A: Grand theft auto 3 will ship October
22nd
Q:
Also in one of the movies at gta3.com there is a Laundromat
in the background..is the inside fully rendered?
A: There is a full scene that takes
place inside the Laundromat
Q:
Can the boats be damaged?
A: Yes they can be damaged and will
eventually explode
Q:
Is there any verbal interaction with store clerks?
A: Yes
Q:
How long will a day be?
A: ½ hour real time is 24hrs
liberty city time
Button Layout:
| Button |
Action
- On Foot/In Vehicle |
| Square |
Jump
/ Brake |
| Circle |
Hit
/ Fire / Activate Car Bomb |
| Triangle |
Enter
/ Exit Vehicle |
| X |
Accelerate
/ Sprint |
| |
| R1 |
Target
Lock / Hand Brake |
| R2 |
Change
Weapons / Driveby View |
| R3 |
Look
Behind / Toggle Vehicle Mission |
| |
| L1 |
Change
Radio Station |
| L2 |
Change
Weapons / Driveby View |
| L3 |
Horn
/ Sirens |
| |
| Left
Stick |
Movement |
| Right
Stick |
First
Person View |
| D-Pad |
Movement |
| |
| Start |
Pause
Game / Access Options Menu |
| Select |
Change
Camera Angle |
Screenshots:
Thanks
to Rockstar for making all of these "hands on" updates
possible.
GameSpot
UK PlayTest - Part Three
<2:00 AM CST - schu>
GameSpot UK has released part
three of their GTA3 playtest article. This portion of
the article is a great read and covers the missions in GTA3. There
is a lot of good information on how the GTA3 mission system works
along with something most gaming sites don't give you, details.
Along with the article there are seven new screenshots and
a total of three movies. The first two movies on their movie
download page are smaller and larger versions of a movie previously
released on IGN. The third is the only one exclusive to GameSpot
UK, I did a write up on it on October 15th. You can find the
new screenshots on the twenty-seventh
screenshot page. Thanks to GtA3GaMeR and QuikSilvrX for the
heads up.
Four
New Movies @ IGN
<2:00 AM CST - schu>
IGN updated their GTA3
preview with four great new movies, check below for the movie
links and descriptions. All of these movies are pretty good
but the first and the third ones are my favorites.
| |
