Grand Theft Auto 3 Official Strategy Guide :: Education by Design Store

Customer Reviews

Stay Away From This (PS2) Guide, Get The PC Guide Instead

2004-07-15
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This is one of the worst Official strategy guides you could ever buy. Sure it covers all of the missions, but some of them are not covered any more fully than what you get from playing the game itself. It briefly covers SOME of the side jobs and non-mission tasks, but an Official guide should cover ALL of them! There is no detailed information on the Rampages and Unique Jumps, and the Hidden Packages are only covered with a map and short sentence. Some of the other reviewers here go into detail about the deficiencies of this book, so I really don't need to say much more. DON'T BE FOOLED BY THE GOOD REVIEWS THIS BOOK RECEIVED, BECAUSE IT DOESN'T DESERVE THEM.

I own this guide and the one released eight months later for the PC version. Although the PC guide is smaller (but much thicker) and in black & white (there are color maps in the back), it covers EVERYTHING (except cheat codes) about the game and with much more detail. Even if you own the Playstation 2 version of the game, you'd be better off buying the PC guide. The only difference gameplay wise are the controls mentioned in the book and a few little things like rewards for some of the vehicle missions.

To wrap this up, here is an excerpt from the author in the Acknowledgement's section of the PC guide: "Beyond the satisfaction of playing the game a few more times, I was even more delighted to add features to this guide that I didn't have time to include in the PS2 guide. And with Tim Cox's phenomenal assistance, as well as his passion for the game, time was no longer the enemy. We are proud to bring you the most comprehensive Grand Theft Auto III guide in existence." So, that explains why this guide (PS2) sucks. The author was rushed to complete the book, in time for the release of the game, no doubt. Right there in black & white the author of both guides tells you that the PC guide is the most comprehensive guide, and thus the best one. (I have no idea if the X-Box Double Pack guide is based on the PS2 or PC versions, so proceed with caution when getting that one.)

A Good Strategy Guide

2003-06-26
Grand Theft Auto: Popular, violent, and in need of a strategy guide. A very good strategy guide that gives details about weapons, characters, general tips on things like police and shooting. It gives pictures and good advice on all 73 main missions and the side missions like Taxi Driver and Vigilante. It also gives maps and details on where all 100 packages are. The only flaws are it seems slightly dated with money totals and mission names being different. The other flaw is that the hidden packages are on a map from the game. The problem is the only in-game map is a small circular one in the corner of the screen. Overall, this strategy guide will help you out but you can probably beat Grand Theft Auto 3 without it.

Not near as good as the Vice City guide

2003-04-28
What can I say. I bought Vice City & the guide before I bought GTA3, the VC guide is really great with lots of info, cool pictures, & lots of helpful stuff.

This one isn't, it is really that simple.

is it worth it? maybe. maybe not. 2003-04-10
Grand Theft Auto 3 is a fun game to play. It's not as great as Vice City, but it is still one of the better games out there. But, unlike Vice City, which I enjoyed reading about, GTA3 isn't as much fun to read about. The missions are fairly simple, and there are multiple ways to complete them, so the guide isn't the end all be all that it is in games like Metal Gear. You do get good desriptions of weapons and vehicles. And what I find most valuable are the maps to the hidden treasures, rampages, bribes, armor, life, etc. If you are having trouble completeing the game because you can't find all your hidden treasures and rampages, then this guide will solve your problems.

Video-Gaming Girl 2003-01-04
Before I go into the review, what you have to understand about the game is that most of the missions have more than one solution (which is one of the best things about the game.) If you think that the guide will give you the only, or even the best, solutions for the missions, you will be disapponted. Besides, the fun part is to come up with your own unique solution, and to learn from your mistakes.

That being said, the book offers some great things. The maps were very helpful, especially for finding rampages, hidden packages, weapons, and other goodies. Also, in certain missions, where getting around quickly is a must, the strategies included maps of where to go and how to get there the most quickly.

I did notice a few bits of wrong information (such as, what time the BF Injection Buggy would be available,) but overall, it's a worthy purchase. Just don't buy it thinking it will solve all of your missions for you.

Not worth it 2002-09-12

BradyGames Grand Theft Auto 3 Official Strategy Guide provides detailed strategies for the gangland missions and side missions in the game. Comprehensive walkthrough including in-depth coverage of weapons, character moves, vehicles, and bosses. Secrets and cheats revealed to uncover mysteries and multi-layered missions interspersed in the game story.

Some of the information is commom sence.... 2002-08-05
This guide is somewhat helpful. Some of the information is commom sence. They didnt over do anything because gta3 is a very comples game. The only reason why i gave this book 4 stars instead of 5 is because some of the info is allitle off, and the maps arent detailed enough. In the mission "Bomb Da BAse" this book says that i need to pay 50,000 in expenses, and the payoff is 100,000. The real informarion is that i need to pay 100,000 in expenses, and the payoff is 200,000. Also, at the end of one mission in the first Island u get a wanted level of 3. I couldnt find pay and spray (it was my 1st day playing). I turned to this book. The maps are terrible. U have to match the north side with the radar and then find out at whcih altitude ur in which is too complecated when ur heart is beating SO hard because u dont want to lose the mission. So.. i say buy this book as a back up if u cant pass a mission, but dont depend on it.

A few spoilers won't kill you... 2002-07-29
Grand Theft Auto 3 is such a fun game, that even reading about it is fun. I bought this guide in hopes of getting through some of the more serious missions that happen towards the middle of the game. These are the ones where I got wasted on every single attempt. For that purpose, this guide was well worth getting.

The book is very easy to follow, and can be used in a glance when you are mid-mission. It gives the simple details, as well as strategies for completing the missions with as little expense to yourself as possible. It outlines all the missions, including the random ones that get offered throughout the game. It is very useful for someone who likes to discover every little detail in the game. It has full page maps which list all the hot spots, which really helped me when I needed to find Ammunation on Staunton Island. It also gives the locations of all the hidden packages, all the rampages, and all the hidden goodies.

There were a few annoyances with this guide in particular, though. For startes, the icons on the main maps are microscopic. Even for someone with 20/20 vision, making out where the important areas are is difficult. There is also the problem with incorrect information given in the guide. On the mission "A Drop in the Ocean", the book said that I had to pick up 8 packages, but in fact I only needed to get 6. So I spent 20 minutes circling in a boat looking for something that wasn't there.

With a game as big and complex as GTA3, you will probably want a strategy guide so that you can squeeze every last ounce of gamplay out of it. Sure, it's a spoiler, but who cares? A little nudge in the right direction never hurt.

Just what the Dr. ordered! 2002-07-09
For those of us too in love with GTA3 to give it up but not quite able to get past a few missions, THIS is the book to buy.
No, it will not give you any secret codes or insights that you haven't already thought of. What it DOES do is save you hours of cussing and throwing the controller.
This book gives you mission ojectives in order and detail so that you don't miss any by mistake. Some of the info is just common sense, but after trying to sniper-shoot a dozen guys on a ship before realizing that I could climb the stairs to the building top, I tell ya, this book came to my rescue.
You won't need it for every mission, but i find it useful to keep nearby for when I just get STUCK!! You can cheat and use it BEFORE every mission, or just use it as an aid for when you get really stuck. This book can do all that. It's a nice, solid description of the game. Nothing more...nothing less.

If it's "official," they talk to the wrong official 2002-05-21
The maps and mission hints are great, but if you are counting on it for any of the extra's (unique stunts, hidden packages, rampages), look somewhere else. Several are depicted in the wrong locations on the maps, plus, the icons are so small it's difficult to tell which item is which. Plus, the numbers for the ambulance, vigilante, and fire missions are all wrong.