MobyGames Classic: Grand Theft Auto 3
MobyGames Classic continues with our third selection: Rockstar's 2001 smash-hit Grand Theft Auto 3 for the PS2 (and eventually PC, Mac, Xbox, mobile, and more). Tell us your Grand Theft Auto 3 stories below for a chance to see it in a future story.
In October 2001, DMA Design (now known as Rockstar North) changed the landscape of game world design and helped create an entire sub-genre of video games that still exists today with the release of Grand Theft Auto 3. Lauded for its sandbox-like environment, the game was an immediate commercial and critical smash-hit for Sony's year-old PlayStation 2 system. Whether it truly is the granddaddy of open-world titles is inconsequential, Grand Theft Auto 3--and the franchise--has left its mark on the industry and is remembered ten years later as one of the best games ever made.
"The greatest attention is [paid] to the tiniest of details to make the world seem as real and immersive as possible," MobyGames.com user Matt Neuteboom wrote in his 2005 review, describing the details that make Liberty City seem like a living, breathing world.
Though the game is most fondly remembered for its ability to melt the hours away with stretches of mindless violence, it also offered commentary on the worst aspects of our own society: "GTA3 brings a strong and irreverent sense of humor, making fun of the stereotypes people have of gangs and city life. Each neighborhood lampoons neighborhoods straight out of various gang movies such as The Godfather, Colors, and Do the Right Thing," MobyGames.com user Dwango wrote.
A staple in Rockstar's portfolio, Grand Theft Auto is a series that continues to excite fans and earlier today the developer revealed the franchise's next escapade with the first trailer for Grand Theft Auto 5.
Tell Us Your Stories! We want to hear about your experiences with Grand Theft Auto 3. Tell us your stories. Why did you love it? What drove you crazy? Remember it fondly with us in the comments below. We'll select some of your thoughts and memories and add it to a Weekend Update to this feature.
Grand Theft Auto 3 on MobyGames.com
After leaving San Andreas and going on a crime spree throughout the country, the GTA3's protagonist (Claude) and his girlfriend Catalina head to Liberty City to continue a life of crime. During a bank heist, Claude is betrayed, shot and left for dead. After recovery he finds himself in prison but soon breaks free when a Colombian cartel ambushes the prison van to free an ally secured with Claude. With his new found freedom, Claude goes on the hunt for revenge on the mean streets of Liberty City.
MobyGames Classic is our chance to look back at the games that helped shape the video game industry with the help of our sister site MobyGames.com. It combines a short history lesson on the title and anecdotes from the Shacknews community.
-
Shacknews
replyShack Staff posted a new article, Moby Games Classic: Grand Theft Auto 3.
Moby Games Classic continues with our third selection: Rockstar's 2001 smash-hit Grand Theft Auto 3 for the PS2 (and eventually PC, Mac, Xbox, mobile, and more). Valve's 1998 hit Half-Life. Tell us your Half-Life stories in the comments below and we'll ad-
I've been playing through it recently, as it just became available on the Mac App Store. I'm pretty sure that I didn't get to play it until the PC release, which was close enough to Vice City that I didn't even make it past the first island in GTA 3. Still pretty fun, though! Hard to concentrate on missions because I keep on getting distracted with just screwing around.
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/grand-theft-auto-3/id424714589?mt=12-
It's one of the first games I remember that could melt away hours of your time and you don't really do anything.
-
-
What about half-life?
-
Did it last week.
-
This is our third entry. So far, we've included Deus Ex and Half-Life.
http://www.shacknews.com/tag/moby-games-classic/news
This is a weekly column.
-
-
Maybe I'm remembering it wrong but I remember GTA3 being a lot less scripted than later games. You didn't have crap like a mission where you have to kill someone but first you have to chase them on motorcycle first and any damage you do to them during the chase doesn't count until they get off their bike or whatever.
Basically the series went in the opposite direction it should have gone in which is a huge shame.-
The reason you're remembering it like that, is because the mission structure was pretty straight-forward. Basically just boiled down to two types of missions:
Go to 'X' (and occasionally a bunch of X's were involved), kill dude, or
Go to 'X' and steal car, bring back to garage.
The side missions were where some more of the variety came into play.
-
The first time I ever played GTA3 was with my skeptic brother watching, and one of the first things I did was knock over a chain link fence (showcasing the amazing looking pseudo-physics,) and then steal a Patriot, and the radio switched to Head Radio, just as "Fade Away" by Craig Gray came on, I can think of no better way to enter such a virtual world.
Once, I was driving an Enforcer on Staunton Island, and I drove off the circular on-ramp to the lift bridge. The truck did something comparable to a 360 flip in skateboarding, and landed perfectly. I got an insane stunt bonus, but really my face showed more than enough of a response to what had happened.
GTA3 gave you money when you got in accidents. For those obsessive enough to maintain an even, round number of income, this was a penalty. Once, I was driving one of my favorite vehicles (the Sentinel in dark green,) against traffic on Staunton Island, right next to Belleville Park. My brother walked in, and saw me playing, with a mastery of the brake, handbrake, and steering, weaving in and out of harm's way, and when I made it through unscathed, both of us somewhat in awe, he summarized it quite succinctly with "well, that was cool."
-
