Rockstar Games’ kick-ass new Xbox offering, the Grand Theft Auto
Double Pack, gives you both the best-selling original
Grand Theft Auto 3 and the wickedly funny 1980s Grand
Theft Auto: Vice City. Each open-ended game is a huge world in
and of itself, broken up into districts that give some shape to an
almost wholly nonlinear story line. The sheer number of options
available at the start might soon have you driving around in
circles—use these Grand Theft Auto 3 tips to get your
criminal career in Liberty City off on the right lead foot.
Suh-weet City of Liberty The Grand
Theft Auto 3 half of the Double Pack casts you as an
ambitious but low-ranking thug in crime-ridden Liberty City. It’s
not a pretty place, but for an up-and-coming crook like yourself,
it’s the perfect town to make your rep.
The living City is a character itself—maybe the most important
one other than you—filled with mobsters, gangbangers, harlots,
cops, and even the “average citizen.” Not one of them is
window-dressing, and each will interact with your character on
varying levels of complexity. Navigating the maze of Liberty’s
population is almost as complex as racing through her streets.
Liberty City is also fully equipped with fairly efficient and
determined law enforcement. The stars under your health meter
determine how wanted you are by the cops.
Before you take on your first big mission, take some time to
explore Liberty City and get to know your fellow scumbags. Along
the way, keep an eye out for shortcuts that will make your future
missions successful. A streetwise thug is sure to be a successful
criminal.
Carjacking is so easy, it should be criminal (okay, it is
criminal). But don’t dawdle; the driver isn’t going to wait around
for you to take his vehicle.
Odd Job Offers
Liberty City is packed with folks who need heavy criminal lifting
done, and that’s how you’re going to break into the business. Look
for some of these folks in Portland:
8-Ball helps you bust out of jail, and he’ll also help you get
started by introducing you to the right lowlifes in Liberty City.
He’s also got a knack with explosives and runs a few bombs
shops.
Luigi Goterelli is the first criminally-affiliated
Italian-American you’ll encounter after 8-Ball vouches for you.
Luigi, voiced by Matrix and Sopranos alum Joe Pantaliano, is one of
the major movers in Liberty City’s burgeoning free market
enterprise system. Most of your missions for Luigi will involve
chauffeuring his girls from place to place or taking out competing
pimps.
Joey Leone is a blood member of one of the city’s most powerful
crime families. He’ll want you to pull off a bank job or two.
Salvatore Leone, Don of the Leone family, has got some tough
missions for you and a lovely young girlfriend named Maria who is
bound to get you into trouble.
The Land of Make Believe Some vehicles
roaming the streets come with their own special missions.
Taxi! Taaaxi! Jack a cab and earn cash by giving rides to
unsuspecting citizens.
Where’s the Fire? Put out enough fires with a borrowed fire
truck and you’ll get a special bonus weapon. Hint: It involves
flames.
Rescue 911. A stolen ambulance gives you the opportunity to
play paramedic and deliver the sick and maimed to the ER. With
sufficiently heroic performance, you’ll get the ability to run
without getting tired.
Maniac Cop. Even the cops get jacked in Liberty City.
Successfully steal a police car and turn the tables by—get
this—preventing crimes (how come Ted Koppel never mentions
this part?). Make the most of your vigilante role, and
you’ll always be able to knock a star off your wanted ranking at
one of your hideouts.
