My word this caused a stir at release - Old people all over the place threw up their arms (or got their carers to do it for them) in protest. Politicians and other kill joys, jealous of the choice in options for younger people these days decided that seeing as they didn't like the game then no one else should be allowed to make up their own minds. Jeremy Paxman even got in on the act on Newsnight. Thankfully for us of the free world, these idiots didn't get their twisted way and now we can all warp our minds and indulge in a little GTA.

Gameplay.

Basically you start the game as a small time petty criminal on the streets of a city known as Liberty City. A crime syndicate contacts you through your pager, mobile and public phones which are dotted around the top down pseudo 3D play area. Jobs ranging from murder, Grand Theft Auto, bombings, drug dealing and protection are all on offer but it's usually up to you if you want to take on specific jobs. Out to stop you are of course the police and other mobsters and some of the missions can be incredibly tricky to get right. As you make more money you move on to other cities and other missions - working for the mob in Liberty City (New York), the Chinese Tongs and a Mexican weirdo in San Andreas (San Francisco) and a crooked Drug Squad cop and the Rastas in Vice City (Miami).

Graphics.

Generally quite basic although the range of landscapes throughout the three cities is quite diverse - Liberty City is one big sprawling and congested slum, San Andreas is a green and pleasant bay city with it's own Golden Gate bridge and Vice city has Latin American inner barrios through residential and commercial districts to the stupidly rich Vice Shores beach area. There are different vehicles for you to steal from buses and taxis to Ferrari like sportscars and motorbikes. All the vehicles show damage where you've had a bump or where you've driven straight through a police roadblock. The people of the city all look alike with differing colours of clothes although if you see someone in a black suit then that usually means trouble.

Sound.

The sounds of the city have actually been recorded onto the CD as a playable track with cars starting, general traffic sounds and horns etc and people cry out all kinds of curses and screams when you start a gun fight down town. The car sounds themselves are a little disappointing but they all differ from vehicle to vehicle such as the high pitched whine of a Penetrator sports model down to the throaty rumbling and reverse beeping of an oil tanker. Freeze, Hold it and Spread Em are all bellowed at you by the cops and you can play the sirens on stolen police cars, ambulances and Fire trucks to your hearts content but where the game really wins is it's fantastic musical score. The tunes on offer are wide and varied and have been made specially for the game.

General. I love this game. Even if you aren't planning on completing the missions it's fun to grab a car and cause chaos around the city leaving a trail of burning cars and dead cops in your wake (God it's morbid). The other great thing is the sheer range of vehicles you can steal.

Heres some:

F19 - Closest thing to a Ferrari in the game. Penetrator - Changes from city to city but very quick although fragile. Beast GTS - For some reason the Liberty City models suck but elsewhere fast and furious.

Police Cars - Different in each city but the fastest cars in the game. Very fragile though. (I like the San Andreas ones best!)

Buses/Coaches - Strong and sturdy and while they have low acceleration for some reason the top speed is better than most of the cars!

Jugular - Very strong and can take a few hits whilst still quite quick. Really ugly though.

Impaler - Roof up in Liberty City but down elsewhere, your basic sporty car.

4x4 - Dull, slow and easily destroyed.

Portsmouth - Dirty Harry style 70s grunt mobile. Terrible handling.

Brigand - One of my faves - Sturdy and fast.

Limo - Loooong, fast and crystal handling.

Itali - Goes through a couple of incarnations but usually quite reliable.

Juggernaut - Perfect for smashing through roadblocks.

Porka - Aka Porsche. Comes in classic and turbo finish.

UP POINTS

2. The music. The car stereo idea playing different stations with jingles and even a chart countdown is totally inspired.

3. Completely non linear. Do what you want to who you want.

4. The weaponry ranges from machine gun to flame throwers.

5. In-game surprises (And there are a few.)

6. The fact it was given an 18 rating instead of being watered down in any way.