Grand Theft Auto 3 lets you explore the fully realised universe that is Liberty City, and complete gangland missions. You can steal any car you see, from sports cars to taxis, and even boats. There are over a dozen ways to take out other characters, including fist-fighting, baseball bat, handgun, Uzi, rocket launcher, and Molotov cocktail. The game world has unpredictable weather, a variety of pedestrian types who act in unique ways, changing times of day and night, and a multi-tiered, fully corrupt police force. The revenge plot offers strong story elements that are balanced with the game's non-linear freedom-of-movement.
The game that practically started the 3D sandbox genre.
Well detailed and full of life at the time of it's release, the game was a hard, blood-soaked romp through a pseudo-New York City at a time where America and much of the world was experiencing untold Paranoia and Anger the likes of which the world hadn't seen since the cold war.
Reception from gamers was staggeringly positive and the negative response from rights-groups, politicians, parents and big-brother alike was out of this world.
GTAIII officially kicked off the GTA series as a best-seller with new methods of gameplay and atmosphere not many folks had seen before and a level of exploration that kept players glued to their controllers and PC's for hours on end.
But has it aged well?
After playing the previous games, coming back to GTAIII was a punch to the gut. I simply forgot how hard the game was and how wonky the car physics were!
And while the game offers a lot to do, the player is given buckets of money with not a whole lot to spend it on.
These little cons don't change that fact the game is a blast, even though most players today will be begging for a break from the hard difficulty and the wonky physics can ruin a mission at the last minute and incite rage in the most hardened GTA fans.
One hell of a blast down memory lane!