First-person view is a viewpoint as seen directly from the eyes of the player character. The feature has seen usage in Grand Theft Auto III and later (with the exception of Grand Theft Auto Advance, and Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, which top-down perspective does not allow true first-person view).
Description
With the advent of improved 3D graphics and detailing, first-person view was introduced in Grand Theft Auto III in two forms, the ability to look around in first person view, as well as the ability to aim a weapon.
First-person aiming with a gun is crucial, particularly for sniper rifles, allowing the player to accurately aim and shoot at targets from afar, while avoiding the use of an auto-aim. Similarly, certain assault rifles (i.e. the M16/M4 and Ruger) and rocket launchers allow the player to aim in first person view as they hold the aiming button or key. Similarly, the camera introduced in GTA Vice City allows the player to take pictures from a first-person viewpoint. First-person view for assault rifles was eliminated in favor of a over-the-shoulder aiming system, but the feature was retained for other weapons, as are in later games.
Standard first person view was also available when the player is unarmed. By moving the right analog stick in console versions or pressing appropriate directional keys in the PC version (possible only if the control scheme is set to "classic"), players can look around from the player character's position. Like first person aiming for assault rifles, this feature was removed in favor of a camera that rotates around the player. For GTA IV, however, the player's camera phone can be used to look around in a first-person view.
First-person view is also standard as an available viewpoint when the player is inside a car since GTA III (with the exception of Grand Theft Auto Advance and Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars.