Grand Theft Auto III

Grand Theft Auto III was first released in October of 2001 for Playstation 2 & has expanded to PC, Xbox, Mac, PSN, iOS, & Android systems over the decade from 2001-12.

What made Grand Theft Auto III such a revolutionary title that made Playstation 2 great & golden while at same time stirring controversy over violence?

Grand theft Auto III to me is the very first real open world game where is resembles real life. I was amazed as a kid by this kind of gameplay. The concept of freely driving around in a city in CGI graphics was amazing.

Story would take place round the same time at a Liberty City Bank where silent Claude Speed is betrayed by Colombian Cartel girlfirend Catalina & he(Claude) ends up going to prison. He escapes however due to a raid on a prison convoy by Colombian Cartel gangbangers seeking an Oriental man. Claude ends of escaping with African-Yankee 8-Ball who is also a prisoner being transported. Claude & 8-Ball drive off together in a dark green sedan & begin a new life.

Liberty City has three islands: Portland, Staunton Island, & Shoreside Vale. Claude starts off in Portland just behind the destroyed Callahan Bridge connecting Portland to Staunton Island. Claude must complete Portland Main missions in order to advance to Staunton Island with the same thing there for unlocking Shoreside Vale. Liberty City is based off of New York, Pittsburg, & Detroit.

Claude's activities involve many missions & side quests such as Taxi, Vigilante, Fire, & Ambulance which require that type of vehicle. Claude also makes money which was added more vividly as it adds to realism here. When driving a car, you felt it was for real. Use of firearms & weapons were more detailed but free aim was still not an option. Numerous mini-games & optional pay phone missions are available.

Claude appears to be in his late 20's to early 30's & does not have one line of dialog whatsoever. He runs "errands" for numerous gangs & many of them can be found around Liberty City in their respective turfs.

Graphics for it's time were fantastic comparing it to preivous Grand Theft Auto games. Stealing cars, shooting enemies, & exploring a real like city never felt like so much fun for someone in 2001. Radio soundtracks & real like sounding radio in cars became something new for any game.

Controversy was stirred involving this series as it was slammed for it's violence & sexual themes. Freedom of speech is alongside the right to keep & bear arms the most important of rights for gamers with due process being the runner up & while this game offends, it does not act or incite violent acts or depict child pornography. This is an M-Rated game BTW. There were even some lawsuits concerning this but failed due to free speech claims. This would make sense since free speech draws a line between mere speech(regardless of offensiveness) vs. action or incitement of action such as threats, false alarms, & intent to incite riots.

Grand Theft Auto III gets a rating of 9.5 out of 10.