I was able to fly for about 15 seconds -- I was able to cross the sea and crashlanded in the middle of stauton island. It's supposedly possible to get good at flying the thing, but I haven't put a lot of time in it. Don't know what kind of mayhem you could cause, though.

(speaking of the PS2 version)

I'm actually getting pretty decent at flying the plane. I can get it off the ground, and keep it in the air now. I usually either end up crashing into a building or flying it off the edge of the map and crashing the game. I very rarely lose control of the plane and cause a crash that way -- provided I'm not trying to turn. That's my next goal, and I am getting better.

However, while it's very cool to fly the plane and look at the city from another perspective (and reach the areas you can't reach in cars or boats), there's not much mayhem you can cause. The plane isn't flyable in the strictest sense of the word, even when you finally learn to control it. It's more like driving one of the big busses than it is like driving one of the sports cars. You don't fly it like a stunt plane or a fighter jet, you mainly just work on coaxing it to do what you want and go where you want. If you force it, or try to do something fast, you are almost certain to crash shortly thereafter. It requires a very light touch. Add to that, the plane is very light, very fragile, and has no weapons. You can use the Uzi out of the window, but actually hitting something is going to be more than a little difficult. So, while you can fly it, and you can get good at keeping it off the ground for an extended period of time, don't count on using for anything other than sightseeing or transport.

I'm very disappointed in this game so far. Although the driving is very cool, other parts just seem graphically dated. Also, even though you can run around for hours you really can't go inside buildings or do much when you're not on a mission. I'm early in the game so we'll have to see.

Maybe I'm spoiled after just finishing MOHAA and RTCW......

It's called the Super PSJoy. IGN really liked it, gave it a 9.2.

Their review here. I don't think it's locked.

You can buy it here.

I'm still on the first part of the SP also and am trying to get the next section opened up. I had a hard time with one of my games because I answered the phone and had to do a mission for the guy that caused the Triads to come after me. From that point on I could not set foot into their part of the town without getting killed by gunfire (unless I was in a car). But this basically took all missions to that part of the town out. Anyhow, I finished SoF2 so now I have time to get back into GTA3.

I love the mouse/keyboard for FPS's and it's fine for on foot in GTA3, but for driving/flight sims etc I need a joystick, preferably analog

as for the plane, not sure in the PC version but I don't think it can be flown very far in the PS2 version

I think it depends on what you're expecting. While it doesn't have the sheer graphics quality of MOHAA and RTCQ, the game world is SO much bigger and features many more objects. I think it looks fine- it just doesn't have much in snazzy graphical features or effects. I think if your approach it as too much of an FPS type of game, you'll really dislike it.

I had this problem the first time I played the game. I played it at my brother-in-law's house, and he said the same thing. Then I played, and said "yeah, you just can't cause death and mayhem and destruction like you could in the first ones." It seemed to me that there was a whole lot of doing nothing combined with some very cheezy missions.

Then I bought it. I don't know why exactly, but hearing all the good things people were saying about it, I decided I had to have it if it was even half the game they claimed it was. Once you get about halfway through the first island, you'll start noticing clever touches. Then, you'll start noticing how free form the game really is, and how much freedom you really have. Once you put those things together and start doing things like killing Chucky Chong by placing bombs in his car rather than chasing him down (as the game wants you to do) or using another car as a ramp so you can chase him down with a car in the "no cars allowed" area. Or, when you learn to fly the plane they never intended to be anything more than a small diversion and pretty much useless. Or, when you find the sign that says "You aren't supposed to be able to get here, you know." It's the stuff that's in there that they didn't think about you doing, but they made the proper programming to accept it.

The game is so different than anything you've played it will take you some time to get your mind around what it really is.

I've continued to play and it's definitely getting better.......

Every time I play it I almost always find a new detail that I missed before. For example, tonight I noticed that the walk/don't walk signs at crosswalks actually work. I've always been too busy running from police or in a firefight with gang members to notice. To me that's just another thoughtful touch to make this game a little more realistic and more immersive.

Chris

I stole one of the mafia cars and stashed it in the garage at my hideout. Will this cost me later?

The only downside I can see is that if you need to get into the garage of the hideout quickly, as in being pursued, it'll be a problem since you already have a car in there. But otherwise there's a brand new car whenever you need it sitting there waiting for you to use it.

Chris

next question
I just got a thrustmaster usb game pad with 2 analog controls. How can I get GTA3 to use both analogs? I wan't to be able to use the left analog or touchpad like I would use wasd, and use the right analog like I would use the mouse, but only the left analog seems to work in GTA3

No, in fact, you may want to save certain rare cars for use later in the game. Currently my (PS2) garages hold the following cars:

Portland: The "Skunk in the Trunk" Manana with the dead body in the trunk. Kept because it's cool.

Stauntion Isle: Bulletproof Securicar, Bulletproof Barracks OL, destruction-proof Mafia stretch limo (bug in the PS2 version, you really aren't supposed to ever get this car, but you can't destroy it unless you flip it, it simply doesn't take any damage). Yes, there are three cars in this garage, I've had as many as six in there, but it's difficult to store more than these three now, since they are all oversized vehicles.

Shoreside Vale: Bulletproof Patriot, Bulletproof Cheetah. Used to also hold the other bulletproof vehicle, the Bobcat, but I lost it and there's no way to get it back now. I just use the extra storage space for various cars I want to keep for a brief period of time.

I don't need to store Tanks, because they seem to be persistent, and don't vanish unless you destroy them. I also unlocked the Emergency Vehicle crane, so I can get new ones any time I need them. I can also get most of the common and many rare vehicles from the two import/export garages. I've only chosen to keep the cars that come along once in the game and then are gone forever.

I love this game. I've been addicted for about 2 weeks now. But how do you get all the porno's that fall out of the guys van, and how do you blow up the triad vans. I am stuck and frustrated.

The porno's is a tough mission but it is possible. You just have to be careful in your driving and make sure that you don't do too much damage to the van and also that you don't miss one along the way. Best bet is to just take it slowly and don't try to drive as fast as you can. Speed is a necessity, but it's not going to do you any good if you get into an accident or spin out and flip over. Keep at it...

As for the blowing up of the triad vans, you have to use the grenades if I remember correctly. If you get out when a van nears you, chuck a grenade at it and watch it explode. I think the longer you hold onto a grenade the further you will be able to throw it. There's a good walkthru of the game at Gamespot if you want to check it out. I'll have to dig up the URL though...

You can go to gamefaqs if you want walkthrus:

http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/ps2/game/31127.html

The porno run, I've found, is easier if you don't try to be too perfect. That is, don't go as fast as you can, and don't try to pick up each and every mag. If you stay in control and go just fast enough to get like 90% of the mags, you should be able to keep the mission going. The most annoying part of this mission is that you will sometimes lose the trail and won't know where to go next. Basically, it's the same route each time, but whenever you lose the trail, you'll have to scramble in circles looking for it, and hopefully spot where it picks up again before time runs out. By memorizing the route and learning more of it each time you try the mission, you'll eventually progress to the end.

IIRC, the route starts by the park with the payphone, heads over by the big crane, goes uphill towards that restaurant where you planted the car bomb, down to chinatown, then under the Callahan bridge, and finally over to the docks where it ends.

That should give you a general idea of the route and at least let you know how close you're getting to finishing the whole mission.

sweet thanks

Re: Porno runs.

#1. Do this mission early. It's near impossible to do if all the gangs in Portland are trying to kill you.
#2. Save your speed for the long straight-stretches.
#3. Do this mission at night, when there are fewer cars on the road (and in your way)

Re: Porno Runs

Learn car control. This mission is difficult, but it is by no means the most difficult mission driving-wise that you will encounter.

If you're having problems with car control, try some of the extra missions, like vigilante (I highly recommend doing these, they are easy and give you police bribes at your hideout) or paramedic (you will learn car control doing these, and if you finish level 12, infinite run) or taxi (eh, the Borgnine taxi sucks) or firefighter (gotta do 20 on each island, but you get a flamethrower at your hideout).

Not to sound cocky, but most people I've seen that have trouble completing missions like Porno Run either have problems with car control or with navigation. Unfortunately, I don't have a solution for the nagivation part. Your car control skills will get better with practice, especially if you work with that goal in mind. I used to think the Dodo was impossible to fly, but I'm rapidly proving myself wrong -- but I've had to deliberately practice a lot.

Hey does anyone know how to get a frame rate counter running in GTA 3? I'm running it on a P3 933 with the GF 2 64 MB. It was running well at 1024x768. I installed new drivers for the GeForce and now it seems worse. I want to check and see what kind of fram rates I'm getting.

Also, what are the "Trails" that you can turn off in the display prefs. (It's not bullet tracers since I still see those). And soes turning them off help your performance.

I'm kinda disappointed that you don't have more control over graphic settings. Other than that, this game rocks.

One more thing, can you use both analog sticks with the Logitech Wingman Rumblepad?

I have the almost exact same setup and had to bump it down to 800x600 and its still lags some what. Time for a new computer!

I think the "trails" are the tracers that lights make when you move around in the city.

I have a P3 500, 256MB RAM, Geforce 2 Ti 64MB win98se and it runs fine, not sure of a frame rate, but I don't notice any lagging
1024x768

any tips for the first mission for the Diablos, where theyhave you race 3 other cars? good car to use?
I'm thinking of getting a truck and just intercepting them at a later checkpoint and running them off the road. would that work?
my driving skills are decent, but I haven't found a car that can keep up speed wise