Grand Theft Auto III

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Grand Theft Auto III
The GTA III cover art design that became standard for all regions in future games.
Developer(s)	PS2 and Windows DMA Design (now Rockstar North) Xbox Rockstar Vienna
Publisher(s)	EU / NA Rockstar Games[1][2][3] JP Capcom[1][2][3]
Series	Grand Theft Auto
Engine	RenderWare
Version	1.01
Platform(s)	PlayStation 2, Windows, Xbox
Release date	October 22, 2001 PS2[1] NA October 22, 2001 PAL October 26, 2001 Windows[2] NA May 20, 2002 EU May 24, 2002 Steam January 4, 2008 Xbox[3] NA October 31, 2003 EU January 2, 2004
Genre(s)	Action
Mode(s)	Single player
Rating(s)	BBFC: 18 CERO: D17+ (original) CERO: Z18+ (re-rating) ELSPA: 18+ ESRB: M OFLC: RC (original/uncut) OFLC: MA15+ (re-rating/cut) OFLC (NZ): R18+[4] PEGI: 18+ USK: 18+ (uncut) USK: 16+ (cut)
Media	1 DVD (PS2, Xbox), 2 CDs or download (Windows)
System requirements	Windows[5] 450 MHz Intel Pentium III or AMD Athlon CPU 96 MB RAM 8x CD-ROM drive 500 MB hard disk space 16 MB DirectX 8.1 compatible graphics card DirectX 8.1 compatible sound card Windows 98/98 SE/Me/2000/XP
Input methods	PS2 and Xbox: Gamepad Windows: Keyboard, mouse, gamepad (optional)

Grand Theft Auto III (abbreviated as GTA III or GTA3) is a sandbox-style action-adventure computer and video game developed by DMA Design (now Rockstar North), and published by Rockstar Games. It is the first 3D title in the Grand Theft Auto (GTA) series and the third original title overall. It was released in October 2001 for the PlayStation 2 video game console, May 2002 for Windows-based personal computers, and in November 2003 for the Xbox video game console. The game was preceded by Grand Theft Auto 2 and succeeded by Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.

The game centers on a nameless criminal^[2] who was betrayed by his girlfriend in a bank heist, and is required to work his way up the crime ladder of the city before confronting her. Like its predecessors, GTA III implements sandbox-like gameplay, where the player is given the freedom to explore a large city, complete missions, commit criminal acts, or complete side missions.

The game's concept and gameplay, coupled with the use of a three dimensional game engine for the first time in the series, contributed to Grand Theft Auto III's positive reception upon its release; it quickly became 2001's top selling video game^[6] and is cited as a landmark in video games for its far-reaching influence within the industry.^[7] GTA III's success was a significant factor in the series' subsequent popularity; as of 2008, five GTA prequels set before events in GTA III have been released, with Grand Theft Auto IV being the first sequel. GTA III's violent and sexual content has also been the source of moral panic and controversy.

[edit] Setting

Grand Theft Auto III takes place in Liberty City, a fictional city on the East Coast, which is loosely based on New York City, but also incorporates elements of other American cities.^[8] The timeline of the game was set at around the autumn of 2001, the present time around the first release of GTA III, October 22, 2001; this was indicated by the Liberty Tree website, which included plot points that connect to events in the beginning of the game, in its last existing monthly entry, dated October 18, 2001.^[9]

Throughout the story, the protagonist is never named and never utters a single word, though he is often referred to as "Kid" and sometimes "Fido"^[1]. However, he's referred to as "Claude" in the prequel to the game, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, in which he appears as an NPC.

[edit] Plot

The player character has robbed the Liberty City Bank with his girlfriend, Catalina, and a male accomplice. While running from the scene, Catalina turns to him and utters, "Sorry, babe, I'm an ambitious girl and you ... you're just small-time". She shoots him and leaves him to die in an alley; the accomplice is also seen lying nearby. It soon becomes apparent that the player character has survived but has been arrested and subsequently found guilty and sentenced to jail. While he is being transferred, an attack on the police convoy aimed at kidnapping an unrelated prisoner sets him free.

With the help of a fellow escaped prisoner, the player character then takes on work as a local thug and rises in power as he works for multiple rival crime gangs, a corrupt police officer and a media mogul. In the process, Maria, the wife of a local Mafia boss, begins to take a liking to him. The Mafia leader, Salvatore, grows suspicious and lures the player to a death trap; but Maria saves him, remaining close to him throughout the storyline. He later goes to work for others, including the Liberty City Yakuza and media mogul Donald Love. Eventually, his exploits attract the attention of Catalina, now affiliated with a Colombian drug cartel, resulting in the kidnapping of Maria. This gives him the opportunity to face Catalina once more, which results in a large firefight and Catalina's death.

[edit] Characters

Main article: List of characters in Grand Theft Auto III

In addition to the exploits of the game's player character, the storyline, while not as integral to the game as its successors, depicts the character development of several non-player individuals and bosses, through cut scenes before the start of each mission, as the player progresses though the game. Most of the characters encountered revolve around corruption, crime and a fictional drug called "Spank," which is a growing menace in the city.

With the success of GTA III and its sequels, several of these characters or their relatives reappear in future GTA titles with major or minor roles, and their personal background expanded, particularly Leone family Don Salvatore Leone, media mogul Donald Love, Phil, the One-Armed Bandit, 8-Ball and Catalina.

The voice cast for the game's characters features several established celebrities. Notable voice actors include Frank Vincent, Michael Madsen, Michael Rapaport, Joe Pantoliano, Debi Mazar, Kyle MacLachlan, and rapper Guru.

[edit] Gameplay

Grand Theft Auto III inherits and modifies much of the gameplay mechanics from its predecessors, Grand Theft Auto and Grand Theft Auto 2, combining elements of a third-person shooter and a driving game in a new 3D game engine. The idea of using a 3D game engine in such a genre however is not new; the first game to combine elements of action, shooting, and multiple-vehicle driving in a 3D package was Hunter (1991). The first developed by DMA Design was Body Harvest (1998), for the Nintendo 64. Publicly debuted in 1995 at Nintendo's SpaceWorld video game trade show, Body Harvest was revolutionary for its time, but despite above average reviews,^[10] the game sold poorly.^[11] GTA III takes the gameplay elements of Body Harvest and combines them with the GTA series' open-ended game design to create a level of freedom and detail that was unprecedented in 2001.^[12]

On foot, the player's character has the additional ability to sprint (but is incapable of swimming), as well as use weapons and perform basic hand to hand combat; he is also capable of driving a variety of vehicles, (with the addition of watercraft and a fixed-wing aircraft).

A screenshot of Claude running with a pistol in hand (PC version)

Criminal offences, such as carjacking, murder and theft will result in increasing levels of resistance from the authorities. If the player's "wanted" level reaches certain levels, the police, FBI, and army will respond accordingly. When the player character collapses from his injuries or is arrested, he will re-spawn at a local hospital or police station respectively, at the expense of losing all weapons and armor and an amount of money for medical expenses or bribes. While this is similar to previous Grand Theft Auto games, the player character is essentially offered unlimited "lives," as opposed to the limited number of lives in GTA1 and GTA2. This allows the player character to "die" as many times as he pleases, and render it impossible to indefinitely lose in the game.

A major feature in GTA III's predecessors that allowed the player to obtain cash by committing petty crimes has been downplayed in GTA III, encompassing only car ramming, vehicle destruction and pedestrian killing. The amount of money in the player's possession is no longer a requirement to unlock new areas in GTA III. Instead, the completion of missions and unfolding of the game's storyline are now responsible for this role. Additionally, the player is allowed to return to all unlocked areas of the city. However, as new areas open up, access to other, previously available areas becomes more dangerous or less accessible, due to hostilities from enemy gangs.

The interface of the game has been significantly overhauled. The player-centered compass is replaced with a separate mini-map that also displays a map of the city and key locations (safe houses and contact points) or targets. Armour and health levels are now indicated in numbers, and a 24-hour clock is added. Gang behaviour is no longer dictated by "respect" meters used in GTA2; instead, the player character's progress through the story affects his view in the "eyes" of gang members. As the player completes missions for different gangs, rival gang members will come to recognize the character and subsequently shoot on sight.

Multiplayer modes from previous GTA titles were dropped, favouring single player gameplay only. However, third-party multiplayer modifications developed by members of the community are available.^[3]

[edit] Missions, non-linearity and narration

A pre-release screenshot of the PlayStation 2 version depicting the player character, Claude roaming about outside Kenji's Casino.

A common trait GTA III shares with the rest of the GTA series is the considerably non-linear gameplay. Missions that are offered to the player primarily fall into two categories: storyline-based and side missions. While the game's linear set of storyline-based missions are required to advance the plot and unlock certain areas of the map, the player can choose to complete them at his or her own leisure. Additionally, many of them are not mandatory. Alternatively, it is possible to ignore the main missions and only play side missions. If the player acquires a taxi cab, he can pick up designated non-player characters as fares and drop them off at different parts of the city for cash; obtaining an ambulance allows the player to pick up injured non-player characters and drive them to the hospital for cash. Fire fighting and vigilante police missions are also available. However, if the player wishes, he or she may avoid all missions and instead choose to explore the city, stealing cars, running over pedestrians, and avoiding or opposing the police.

A new inclusion into GTA III's storyline is the use of cut scenes, which are triggered after entering a contact point, or during certain missions. The cut scenes exist for multiple purposes: as a visual narration of the storyline, as formal directives of a mission, and as a visual assessment of a scene and objective. During gameplay, mission updates and messages are relayed through text-based instructions given in the form of on-screen subtitles, or on a few occasions, the player character's pager. GTA III also includes one-time tutorial directives to familiarize the player with the game's controls and features.

[edit] Weapons

A pre-release screenshot depicting the player character aiming for a drive-by shooting, a new feature in the series.

The selection of weapons provided in the game consists of firearms and explosives, with the addition of two forms of mêlée attacks (hand to hand combat and baseball bat). The weapons themselves are largely similar to the selection of weapons from GTA1 and GTA2, such as the pistol, the submachine gun, an AK-47 and an M16, the rocket launcher and the flamethrower from GTA1, and the shotgun and thrown weapons (Molotov cocktails and hand grenades) from GTA2. The porting of GTA III into a three dimensional environment also allows access to a first-person view, making the inclusion of the sniper rifle and first-person aiming of the M16 and rocket launcher possible. In addition, it becomes possible in the game to perform drive-by shooting using the submachine gun, while the inclusion of magazine-based weapons introduces the need to reload weapons after a magazine has been depleted. Additionally, wielding certain weapons now restricts movement. Weapons may be purchased from local firearms dealers and businesses, retrieved for free from certain dead gang members, mission-specific characters and law enforcers, or picked up in certain spots in the city.

All versions of GTA III allow the player to auto-aim using a gamepad with the push of a button, holding human targets at gun point using most firearms, with the exception of first-person aiming for the sniper rifle, M16 and rocket launcher, which are aimed using the analog stick or mouse as the player presses the same auto aim button. The Microsoft Windows version includes the additional ability to look around and aim freely with a mouse while on foot; this control difference is seen in the console and Microsoft Windows ports of Vice City and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.

[edit] Radio stations and other media

Main article: Grand Theft Auto III soundtrack

Stealing a "Stallion" car in the Microsoft Windows version.

One of the game's subtler inclusions was a variety of radio stations. The stations feature music specially written for the game (as well as many songs originating from the first two GTAs), but also includes licensed music, some of which were excerpts of several actual music albums; this combination differs from those of the game's predecessors, which featured entirely original soundtracks. One of the stations is a full-length talk show, and many of the callers are actually characters from the story missions, often demonstrating the same views and eccentricities that become apparent to the player during the missions. Another station "Flashback FM" features music heard throughout club scenes in the film Scarface, which had heavy influence on the game's sequel, Vice City.

Additionally, an online format of the fictional Liberty Tree newspaper, dedicated to events that took place within and outside Liberty City between February 2001 and October 2001, was made available months ahead of GTA III's release. The website, working in tandem with the official map-based website and sub-pages, also served to provide a back-story to GTA III, while evoking a sense that the reported events had actually taken place in real time, releasing monthly issues in its nine months of activity. The site also includes articles on criminal activities in the city and city development (i.e. delayed tunnel completion and the growth of Love Media in the city), and various advertising to fictional products. Pre-released screenshots of gameplay, the city's environment and characters were used as photographs for certain news articles.

Various commercials are featured on both the radio stations and the Liberty Tree website. Certain ads often referred to their advertisers' official websites, such as Petsovernight.com. All of these sites actually existed; they were set up to tie in with the game. However, although looking very much like genuine online stores, all links to purchase or order the products actually led to Rockstargames.com.

[edit] Game engine

Grand Theft Auto III's new game engine and graphics are significant departures from its predecessors, most notably for its use of a forward viewing perspective as the default view, similar to a majority of third-person shooters and driving games, and improved street-level graphics. The game also includes several additional camera views, including top-down perspective similar to that of GTA 2, and a cinematic view. The game is the last major title in the GTA series, with the exception of Grand Theft Auto Advance, to include top-down camera views. For console versions of GTA III, the game runs under a lower display resolution dictated by the console, while the Microsoft Windows version permits resolutions of up to 1600 by 1200 pixels.^[13]

The environment in-game is primarily displayed through the use of level of detail (LOD), applied by allowing only areas directly surrounding the player to display objects in higher polygon counts (including vehicles, buildings and terrain) or minor props (e.g. street furniture), while areas far from the player are displayed with lower polygons and the lack of details. As such, LODs aid GTA III in displaying a large environment with a further draw distance, while ensuring that the game's performance remains optimum. When travelling within an island in the city, the game consistently swaps models of varied detail as the player moves from one area to another. As the player travels into another island, the game is required to load detailed models files of the entire destination island while also loading low detailed models for the islands the player is leaving, requiring substantially more processing time; in the process, the game displays a "Welcome to..." screen for a short amount of time, before gameplay can resume.

As is the environment, vehicles and pedestrians are depicted in full three dimensional models, compared to flat top-down sprites in previous games. Both vehicles and pedestrians are constructed from individual polygon parts with a central "core" (the wheels, engine, chassis and body of vehicles, and the torso of pedestrians). The damage system of vehicles consists of representing the minor vehicle parts (doors, frontal quarter panels and bumpers) as undamaged, damaged or missing, based on the types of collisions detected on the vehicle; the core of each vehicle, remains visually unchanged despite heavy damage. As pedestrians in GTA III are made out of separate polygon parts (limbs, a head and a torso), it is possible to detach the limbs of a pedestrian or effectively "popping" the head of the pedestrian (through heavy firearms or explosives). This feature is evident in the Microsoft Windows version, but is not included by default in the PlayStation 2 version, It is unlocked through a cheat implemented into the game.^[4]

As the game runs in a 24 hour cycle and includes changing weather, the game engine is also required to simulate day and night periods, as well as weather effects. This is possible by adjusting surrounding visual effects and details in accordance to the time of the day and present weather. Other minor details, like a rainbow after a rain, and the sun, which moves from the northeast of the city in the morning to the southwest in the evening, are also present.

The game is the first in the series to use motion blurring (dubbed "Trails" in the Microsoft Windows and Xbox versions of the game), semi-transparently rendering the last in-game video frame to the current frame; the feature could be toggled on and off.

[edit] Cuts, changes, and the 9/11 effect

Prior to the 2001 release of the final game, several modifications were made on Grand Theft Auto III. The changes were apparent as several promotional materials had previously displayed features that would be absent in the final version of the game. While cuts and changes are frequent during game development, the changes in GTA III were of note as they were made around the time when the September 11, 2001 attacks occurred; this led some gamers to speculate that at least some of the changes were motivated by the attacks. Although little was disclosed about the types of changes to be made and when they were conducted, Sam Houser, the president of Rockstar Games (based in Manhattan, New York City), was quoted September 19, 2001 in mentioning a review would to be undergone for GTA III, in addition to confirming the delay of the game's release by three weeks^[14][15][16] (the original, rough release date was suggested by Houser to be on October 2, 2001):^[17]

A comparison of the same present pre-release screenshot (as of April 2006) from GameSpot (top), among several gaming websites, and the official GTA III website (bottom). GameSpot's version depicts police cars resembling those of the NYPD pre-2000, while the official, edited version resembles those of the LAPD.

The only change on the game that has been suggested to have been made shortly after 9/11 was of the police cars' paint scheme; the new color scheme of the LCPD is modeled in a panda-like black-and-white design similar to the LAPD, while the old color scheme of blue with white stripes (seen in previews and the manual map) resembles that of the NYPD. Pre-release screenshots in the game's official website depicting police cars had also undergone modifications, around a week after September 11.^[18] The NYPD-like paint scheme would eventually be reintroduced in Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories and Grand Theft Auto IV.

Another cut is that of Darkel^[19][20], an in-game character, for the final version of the game. Mentioned in several early video game publications and websites, Darkel was to be a revolutionary urchin who vowed to bring down the city's economy. One mission involved stealing an ice cream van, using it to attract pedestrians, then blowing it up^[21] (this mission would eventually be given by El Burro instead in the final version of game to kill a group of gang members). Darkel was also originally expected to give out Rampage-like missions,^[22] and even had his voice recorded for this part.^[23] Rockstar later decided that they would like to go back to the original system of giving out rampages as featured in Grand Theft Auto and Grand Theft Auto 2. Although Darkel and his missions were removed indefinitely, the character remains listed in the manual's credits, as well as having a character texture retained in the game's data files.^[24] Another reminisce of Darkel's existence is an abandoned tunnel in the city, associated with the character in the official website, and includes four homeless people in a group wielding Molotov cocktails. Both the tunnel and the four homeless people are retained in the final version of the game.

The Dodo airplane, the only flyable aircraft in the game, was also a point of discussion; the wings of the vehicle were significantly short, while an uncontrollable full-winged version has been seen flying around the city. However, the plane, for months before 9/11, had a short wingspan, as evidenced from a preview in Game Informer (Issue #95), which indicated that the plane was to be used in a (now abandoned) mission to loft the plane high enough in its brief flight and reach new areas of the city.^[25] The Dodo is considerably difficult to control, usually resulting in short flights (although it is possible to fly the plane continuously around Liberty City when properly trained). Mods exist to give the Dodo a wider wing, though the outer sections are not solid. Otherwise, the aircraft would not be able to fit into the import/export garage at the docks in Portland Island.

Other changes included stopping the selection of certain character models when using cheat codes, removing the aforementioned ability to blow limbs off non-player characters in only the PlayStation 2 version of GTA III,^[3] elderly pedestrians with walkers, school children as pedestrians (from GameSpot UK's preview^{[citation needed]} and the Gouranga fansite^{[citation needed]}) and a school bus (seen in eight screenshots^[26]).

[edit] Reception, awards, and sales

Upon its release, Grand Theft Auto III received very positive reviews; while minor problems and comments pertaining to graphics, performance and controls were noted, GTA III was touted as revolutionary by several game review websites and publications. With reviews of 9.6/10 from IGN^[33] and GameSpot,^[34] 8/10 from Edge, 10/10 from Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine, 9.4 from GameSpy^[35] and an average score of 95%, according to Game Rankings,^[36][37] the game won several awards, such as GameSpot's Console Game of the Year, Game of the Year from GameSpy and Cheat Code Central, and Best Action Game of 2001 by IGN. The game's average review score of 97% on Metacritic^[38] ties it with Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 for the highest ranked game in PlayStation 2 history. It was also inducted into GameSpot's Greatest Games of All Time list.^[12]

GTA III unexpectedly emerged as a smash hit at its initial US$49.95 price and became the #1 selling video game of 2001 in the United States. Later discounted to $19.95 as part of Sony's "Greatest Hits" program, it continued to sell well and went on to become the second best-selling video game of 2002, behind only its sequel, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. GTA III was bundled with Vice City for the Xbox Double Pack, which enjoyed strong sales in December 2003, even though GTA III was two years old. The Double Pack's success for Xbox was due to several factors; the critical acclaim and controversial game content for the games, the graphical improvements specifically for the Xbox, and having two games in one, which led to GameSpy giving it their Best Value Award.^[39]

As of September 25, 2007, Grand Theft Auto III is the ninth best-selling video game in the United States with 5.7 million copies sold, behind its successors Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, according to the NPD Group.^[40] As of September 26, 2007, Grand Theft Auto III has sold 12 million units according to Take-Two Interactive.^[41] As of March 26, 2008, Grand Theft Auto III has sold 14.5 million units according to Take-Two Interactive.^[42]

Although the Grand Theft Auto series had been an underground hit prior to the release of GTA III, it was this game that first brought the series mainstream success and widespread accolades. The success of GTA III resulted in two console and Microsoft Windows sequels (Vice City, San Andreas), both of which were able to build upon GTA III's success, as well as three additional titles for handheld consoles (Grand Theft Auto Advance, Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories). The next generation in the series, Grand Theft Auto IV, was released on April 29, 2008.

GamePro recently called GTA III the most important video game of all-time, explaining that the game's open-ended gameplay elements have revolutionized the way all video games are made.^[7] Similarly, IGN ranked GTA III among the Top 10 Most Influential Games.^[43]

Video game critics and players have used the term "GTA clone" to describe the slew of video games released which attempted to emulate the sandbox gameplay of GTA III.

Reviews of the game had been generally positive; while minor problems and comments pertaining to graphics, performance and controls were noted. There are some glitches such as clipping (when characters and objects get "half-stuck" in walls and the ground), a bug which caused vehicles to disappear, relatively poor AI for NPCs; many of these issues were not fixed in Vice City. Other complaints have come up when GTA clones have been released; GTA III and Vice City have comparatively fewer cars or pedestrians on screen, short view distances and "disappearing" cars, and very short-term street damage, when measured against Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven which featured many cars and pedestrians on screen at once, along with collateral damage lasting the length of a mission.

[edit] Controversy

Police trouble, Microsoft Windows version. The ability to kill police officers was one of the points of controversy for GTA III.

Grand Theft Auto III was and remains very controversial because of its violent and sexual content, and it generated outrage from many upon its release. Various critics hypothesized that if children were to play the game, they might acquire sociopathic attitudes toward others.

For examples of video game violence, many TV news channels often show a play session of GTA III where the main character is gunning down pedestrians and blowing up police cars. The player is rewarded with cash for various illegal and immoral actions. Frequently cited in the press is the opportunity for players to carjack a vehicle, pick up a prostitute, have (implied) sex with the prostitute, and then kill her and steal her money.^[44] This action, while permitted ("sex" restores the player's health, up to 125% of its normal maximum), is never actually required, nor is any particular suggestion made in the game that the prostitute should be killed. In addition, all in-game crimes incur the wrath of the police.

It was because of GTA III that the Wal-Mart chain of retail stores announced that, for games rated "M" by the ESRB, its stores would begin checking the identification of purchasers who appeared to be under 17.^{[citation needed]}

After its initial release in Australia, the game was banned for a period and a censored version of the game was to be released in its place.^[45] A key reason why this course of action was taken was that Rockstar did not submit GTA III to the Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC), the body that, among other things, rates video games according to their content in Australia. Lacking a suitable R18+ rating (the highest rating being MA15+), the game was "Refused Classification" and banned for sale because they felt that the game was unsuitable for minors. Australia still does not have an R rating for video games like it does for movies. Among other things, the censored version had the gore (except for the “Gore Mode” cheat) and the ability to kill prostitutes immediately removed; however, it was later found that the uncensored version was also playable by changing the computer's time zone to that of the United States.^{[verification needed]}

While the Australian version of the sequel Grand Theft Auto: Vice City was censored by Rockstar, the next sequel Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas was not, despite featuring more "mature" content (although, later, San Andreas was once given a Refused Classification rating amid the "Hot Coffee" controversy).

On October 20, 2003, the families of Aaron Hamel and Kimberly Bede, two young people shot by teens William and Josh Buckner (who in statements to investigators claimed their actions were inspired by GTA III) filed a US$246 million lawsuit against publishers Rockstar Games and Take-Two Interactive Software, retailer Wal-Mart, and PlayStation 2 manufacturer Sony Computer Entertainment America.^[46][47] Rockstar and its parent company, Take-Two, filed for dismissal of the lawsuit, stating in U.S. District Court on October 29, 2003 that the "ideas and concepts as well as the 'purported psychological effects' on the Buckners are protected by the First Amendment's free-speech clause." The lawyer of the victims, Jack Thompson, denied that and is attempting to move the lawsuit into a state court and under Tennessee's consumer protection act.^[48]

[edit] Ports and remakes

Microsoft Windows version screenshot: from Dodo cabin, one may see all the three islands at once

Six months following the initial PlayStation 2 release of Grand Theft Auto III, versions for the Microsoft Windows and Xbox had been made available. GTA III is notable for being the first game in the series to be released on a video game console before a PC version was available. Following GTA III, PlayStation 2 GTA games generally followed GTA III release pattern, in which the Microsoft Windows port is released within seven to eight months after the PlayStation 2 versions' release.^[49][50][51]

The Microsoft Windows version of the game, released on May 21, 2002, has been criticized for performance problems, especially in light of the much smoother performance of Vice City. This was due to technical issues; the game engine rendered everything within the draw distance, even things hidden behind buildings or trees, whereas Vice City only rendered what could actually be seen.^[52] The Microsoft Windows version does, however, support higher screen resolutions, has more detailed textures, a customizable player skin, and a custom option for MP3s playback in cars.

The Xbox version was initially supposed to be released in spring 2002 but it was shelved when Sony signed an agreement with Take-Two Interactive (Rockstar Games' parent company), making the GTA series a PlayStation 2 exclusive until November 2004. However, the agreement was amended in 2003 and the Grand Theft Auto: Double Pack containing both GTA III and Vice City was released for PS2 and Xbox in December 2003. The Xbox version of the Double Pack has improved audio, polygon models, and reflections over the Microsoft Windows and PS2 versions of the game. The Double Pack was not released for the Microsoft Windows. In November 2005, GTA III was re-released again for the Xbox and PS2, this time bundled with Vice City and San Andreas in a trilogy compilation, dubbed Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy. There were no new changes, though the set retained Double Pack's graphical improvements for GTA III and Vice City. A Nintendo GameCube port of GTA III was also planned to be released alongside the Xbox version,^[53] but was cancelled for unknown reasons.

Two handheld titles based on GTA III have also been released. Grand Theft Auto Advance was initially intended as a Game Boy Advance port of GTA III, but has since introduced a new storyline set in Liberty City, roughly one year before the events in GTA III. Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories was released for the PlayStation Portable in 2005 and later ported to the PS2. The game, which is also set in the same location as GTA III, takes place in 1998, three years before the events in GTA III.

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

[edit] See also

• Hunter, a 1991 computer game with gameplay similar to that of Grand Theft Auto III.

[edit] External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Grand Theft Auto III

• Official Grand Theft Auto III website