# Grand Theft Auto 3: What's the big deal? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 14, 2002, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grand-theft-auto-3-whats-the-big-deal/109074 "2002-05-14T20:22:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2002, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grand-theft-auto-3-whats-the-big-deal/109074/21 "2002-06-03T08:21:35Z")
I’m not a gamer myself (imagine that: A nerd who doesn’t play video games. :)) but I _still_ like GTA 3. It’s fun to watch it being played. I’ve seen the guy blow helicopters out of the air with a rocket launcher, detonate entire platoons of police cars with a single hand grenade (Where are the sniping binges of yesteryear?), turn a crosswalk into a blazing inferno with a Molotov cocktail, and do a classic ‘drive-by’ with an Uzi and a Porsche. Seriously, it’s better than Fox. 😃 I like the Vigilante missions: Steal a police car and you’re hunting the scum of the city. This is easy if the scum likes small vehicles, but if you’re chasing a van things get tougher. Has anyone here tried to knock a van out with a squad car? Even with the beefed-up engine and handling (truly, cop cars rule), it’s goddamned hard. Watching it is like watching a gnat ram into a wildebeest: A lot of fury to no effect. Well, there’s always pedestrians to mow down. 😃 And if the car gets too banged up, leave it (at speed, if it’s going to explode) and steal another one. Damn, it feels good to be a gangster. Sure as hell looks good. (Am I the only one who is surprised at how far the GTA series has come from the first installment? Damn!) ---
**Author:** ![Silentgoldfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Silentgoldfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silentgoldfish)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2002, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grand-theft-auto-3-whats-the-big-deal/109074/22 "2002-06-03T09:58:52Z")
Plus the music rules! I like the stuff on the trance station so much that I downloaded some mp3s of it and have been listening to them more than I’ve been playing the game (I only got it a couple of days ago). ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2002, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grand-theft-auto-3-whats-the-big-deal/109074/23 "2002-06-03T15:46:21Z")
There are plenty of hints on this game @ [gamefaqs.com](http://gamefaqs.com) if you need them. I heard some people got the prostitutes to come into their cars but I haven’t yet. ---
**Author:** ![andrew\_dupont](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ea666f/32.png) [@andrew\_dupont](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andrew_dupont)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2002, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grand-theft-auto-3-whats-the-big-deal/109074/24 "2002-06-03T16:02:28Z")
Getting “services” from hookers is quite easy. Just pull up to one (when you’re not in a mission or being pursued by police, of course) and she’ll stick their head in the window and talk to you for a little bit…then she’ll get in your car. Take her someplace secluded–like your hide-out–and park it. The car will start shaking, your money goes down, and your health goes up. Best part–after everything is done and she gets out you can run her over and take your money back. This whole process is quite comical in a convertible, since you can clearly see that nothing is happening during the…act. The two of you remain comfortably seated. And yet you magically get healthier. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2002, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grand-theft-auto-3-whats-the-big-deal/109074/25 "2002-06-06T03:31:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by handy \* > \*\*I heard some people got the prostitutes to come into their cars but I haven’t yet. \*\* Going to Times Square used to be a good place to start. 😃 In the game, just stop near a likely-looking girl in the red light district. She’ll come to you. ---
**Author:** ![Angband](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@Angband](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angband)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2002, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grand-theft-auto-3-whats-the-big-deal/109074/26 "2002-06-06T04:06:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SPOOFE \* > \*\*Heh… I guess I’m the only person who wishes that GTA3 was even _more_ detailed. I’m talking about “rent a hotel room thirty floors up and snipe someone out from half a kilometer away” detailed. I’m talking about “pick out which boxes of virtual cereal you want to put rat poison into” detailed. > > But I’m very anal about games. I haven’t yet found one that reaches my preferred level of micro-detail… ah well. \*\* SPOOFE, ol’ buddy ol’ pal. 😉 If you’re into PC games at all, you need to give Morrowind a shot. I assure you, it’ll reach your level of micro-detail. In fact, I g’damn guarantee it. The game is made by BethesdaSoft…and it’s incredible. It’s a single-player RPG but made for us freaks who love to ‘get away’ for a while. ---
**Author:** ![Eternal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@Eternal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eternal)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2002, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grand-theft-auto-3-whats-the-big-deal/109074/27 "2002-06-06T06:31:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SPOOFE \* > \*\*You just described my friend Chris, Mr. ZZZ. He ranted and raved about the greatness of this game, and when he showed it to me… all he did was steal a car, run over a few pedestrians, get chased by the cops (and, eventually, a helicopter), and then die. Repeat _ad infinitum_. > \*\* That’s basically what you do if you’re not playing for missions , and it’s fun as bustin kittens. Obviously you didn’t play, or you would have gotten hooked to you if you were into this kind of game. What I liked to do was see how many cops I could kill and mayhem I could create, and still get away to wreak havoc another day. Though I found just driving around oddly appeasing, because not only is the game rather pretty, but the sound -the street noise and the radio- immerses me in the game very well. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/grand-theft-auto-3-whats-the-big-deal/109074.md?page=1)