Considering the fact that my house is a place where people come to party, there are times when people will bring things to my house for all of us to enjoy – and to make the party that much more memorable. On Saturday night, my friends Matt and Cheryl were kind enough to bring over their Playstation 2 game console, along with three games, a robot fighting game, Spy Hunter – and Grand Theft Auto III – which is such an amazing game that it is the only game anyone is playing.

As soon as the game system was turned on and Grand Theft Auto III was inserted into the system – it became evident that this game had the potential to become addicting. And in the forty-eight hours since Matt brought the game system over to my house – that fact proved to be evident – because I want to buy a Playstation 2 just for that game. If that is not enough to demonstrate the addictiveness of Grand Theft Auto III – how about the fact that yesterday, my friends Brian and Chris brought over Chris’ television so the game can be played all the time without having to worry if someone else wants to watch TV. And the fact that when I left for work this morning – they were still playing the game – and had no intention of leaving.

To be honest, I can not blame them one bit for not wanting to leave my house and stop playing the game – because in all my years of video gaming – Grand Theft Auto III is the overall best video game I have ever seen. From the graphics that are so realistic, you would swear you were watching a movie, to the countless missions, quests and options – to the fact that you can do anything you want in this game – from stealing a car, to beating up pedestrians, to taking people’s money – the possibilities are endless – and so is the game.

The object of the game is simple. You are an escaped convict that operates out of a hideout in the Red Light District. Your mission is to advance up the ladder of organized crime by going on “missions” for the local crime family. The more successful missions you go on, the more missions you get – and the more trusted to the mob you become. After each mission, you acquire cash, a few goodies – and a change in criminal status. Between missions, you can cruise the town and look for hidden treasure, rob a few pedestrians – or go have a little fun with the ladies of the Red Light District. The game is so vast that after completing at least a dozen missions – we only completed four percent of the game. If there is an end to the game – it will take a lot of time to get there, but the closer you get to the end, the more the game opens up to you. In other words, while the town may be huge – places in the town only appear on your map once you complete a mission there.

If all of that action is not enough reason to go by a Playstation 2 just for this game alone – then the mind-blowing graphics will certainly make you whip out your credit card. This game’s graphics are so realistic that leaves and papers blow in the wind as you walk and drive, sun glare impairs your ability to drive when the sun is rising – and you actually hear people’s conversations as you walk or drive past them. Couple that with the fact that you can travel around an entire City that is fully complete down to the docks by the River and the big City over the bridge – and you can see why my friends have moved in and have no desire to leave – or to shut off the game.

I realize that the game does portray violent scenarios and glorifies crime, but I think that my friends and I have the intelligence enough to understand that once the game is shutoff – you can’t steal cars – and I hope that everyone else that plays the game has the intelligence enough to understand that too.

I want to thank Matt and Cheryl for lending us their Playstation 2, and thank Chris and Brian for bringing over another TV so that my TV can be used for something other then video games – but I have a feeling that if we all keep playing this game – I will have to buy Chris a new TV – and Matt and Cheryl a new Playstation 2.