The action-adventure game GTA Liberty City Stories is a new part of the successful "Grand Theft Auto" series series, GTA for short, which is essentially about playing a certain character in a virtual city. Fans will experience in Liberty City Stories a déjà vu. As in the predecessor "GTA III", the frame of action is provided by a new, The Liberty City region. This is only true at first glance, because the story takes place in "Liberty City Stories" Timed three years before "GTA III, on the other hand received "Liberty City graphically a new makeup. Some of the buildings featured in GTA III are already an integral part of the city, will be in "Liberty City Stories" are still being built, and some stores are located in other places. Even otherwise, old hands will quickly find one or the other difference in detail. Despite the striking similarity, Liberty City today is, or rather is… In the game yesterday, another city. Graphically state of the art, it's the amount of little things that makes revisiting the familiar scenery not boring. There are also similarities in the story. The game tells the story of Toni Capriani, a member of the mafiosi family Leone. In GTA III you could already make acquaintance with Toni and his family. He was given a small supporting role as a bar owner. Now in the focus of the narrative structure, after a short introductory mission, it is a matter of finding one's way in Liberty City, which is characterized by mafia wars, corruption and drug trafficking. A short video sequence introduces the player well to the above game action. Toni can accept different missions in the course of the game, which help him in different ways, be it in the form of money, weapons, items or recognition by certain parties. The protagonist works his way up the career ladder of the mafia hierarchy in this way, always working for different clients. Who you work for ranges from your own mother to a quirky pimp. However, all jobs have one thing in common: strictly in the old Mafiosi manner, it's always about crooked things and racketeering. The special thing about GTA was, and still is in this case, the immense freedom of action that the game offers the player. The three playable virtual island cities of "Liberty City" are still being built suggest to the player a gripping feeling of freedom of action. Large scale, every corner of the maps can be driven or walked on. There is also a wide range of vehicles to choose from, because if you're a real mobster, you don't buy a car with a building society contract. Simply pulling the owner from his seat at a traffic light. Toni is mobile again. Law enforcement rarely gets in his way, and if they do, it's usually enough to drive around the block to lose the police car chasing him.
As the game progresses, the missions get harder and harder, encouraging the player to be tactically smart and deliberate. However, after a few hours, as with all games from the GTA series, an effect of routine sets in, as most tasks are very similar in their basic features. Often it is a matter of first getting a suitable car somewhere, and then driving it to a certain place in Liberty City. Once you reach your destination, you either have to teach hostile gangsters a lesson, or get a certain item, or drive a person from A to B. As a reward there is money and/or further orders and recognition afterwards. In rare cases, the missions include a varied component, as the narrative network in the game is manageable and focused on a concrete goal. The controls of the game are ergonomic and intuitive. The player quickly finds his way around the game world and learns to use the options available to him here and to use them in a strategically sensible way. A day-night and weather change suggests the advancement of time, even if there is no real time limit, mission-related exceptions aside. The environment varies according to these factors. Not only can certain missions only be carried out at night and others during the day, but also the environment changes according to the time of day and the weather. In this way, the game world gains a varied face. Conveys a sense of realism.
Despite the immense freedom of action and the manifold possibilities to choose from in order to accomplish certain tasks in the most diverse ways, the game's content remains problematic. Notwithstanding a recognizably ironic veneer, the plot essentially thrives on a stereotypical orientation. GTA only superficially offers a wide range of choices. Only those who follow certain patterns of action, which unfortunately all too often amount to violence and other criminal acts, can survive. The game does not offer a real choice between morally right or wrong alternatives. Furthermore, it is extremely problematic that the game does not punish violent or antisocial behavior on any level, neither on a legal nor on a moral level. Although there is a "police" in the game, there is a "police" in the game, which also intervenes in certain situations. However, this does not represent a real obstacle, since in the case of successful capture, e.G.B. After a car theft on the open road, nothing happens in the game except that the player finds himself at a new starting point in front of the police station, and he has to pay a small amount of money as punishment. The game is an enticement to deliberately commit illegal acts. Lastly, it should be noted that "Liberty City Stories" has a very unique environment was certainly provided with a good portion of irony. The overall look of the game reflects an American culture shaped by media and consumerism in a satirical, clichéd way. Here, however, it has to be judged individually to what extent young people over the age of 16 are capable of recognizing and evaluating this aspect.
Educational Assessment:
Due to the fact that in the case of "GTA Liberty City Stories" an already known concept has been given a new dressing, we refer to the pedagogical assessment of the predecessor "GTA San Andreas" at this point. Here is more information on how the game works.