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Grand Theft Auto III

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Grand Theft Auto III
GTA III North American Cover
DeveloperDMA Design/Rockstar North (PS2, PC)

Rockstar Vienna (Xbox)

PublisherRockstar Games
EngineRenderWare
Release datesPS2

United States Canada 22nd October 2001
United Kingdom Europe 26th October 2001
Australia New Zealand 26th October 2001
Japan 25th September 2003
PC
United States Canada 20th May 2002
United Kingdom Europe 24th May 2002
Australia New Zealand 24th May 2002
Japan 25th September 2003
Xbox
United States Canada 21st October 2003
United Kingdom Europe 2nd January 2004
Australia New Zealand 2nd January 2004
Japan 29th July 2004

PlatformsPlayStation 2
Xbox
Personal Computer
Ratings

ESRB: M
BBFC: 18
ELSPA: 18+ (PC only)
OFLC: MA 15+ (originally RC)
OFLC (NZ): R18
USK: 16+
SELL: 16
aDeSe: +18
VET/SFB: 18 (Square)
DJCTQ: 18
CERO: Z

ProtagonistClaude
LocationLiberty City
Year2001

Grand Theft Auto series
chronology of events

GTA 1 Era

1961London 1961
1969London 1969
1997Grand Theft Auto


GTA 2 Era

2013Grand Theft Auto 2


GTA III Era

1984Vice City Stories
1986Vice City
1992San Andreas
1998Liberty City Stories
2000Advance
2001Grand Theft Auto III


GTA IV Era

2008Grand Theft Auto IV
(The Lost and Damned,
The Ballad of Gay Tony)

2009Chinatown Wars


GTA V Era

2012Grand Theft Auto V

Grand Theft Auto III, also known as GTA 3 or GTA III, is the third installment of the Grand Theft Auto series and was released in 2001. The game is the first of the GTA III Era and introduced many new features and increased the fan base of the series. It was originally released on the PlayStation 2, PC, and Xbox.

GTA III is the first foray into true three-dimensional GTA gameplay, with the player taking control of the game via a third-person perspective, viewed from behind and above the player character, as opposed to the Top-Down Perspective in the earlier Grand Theft Auto 1 and Grand Theft Auto 2 games. The transition from top-down to full 3D has been widely regarded as a great maneuver, proven by its phenomenal sales figures.

The changes made for GTA III marked a defining point in the series' graphical representation and control scheme. More recent GTA titles have stuck with the same 3D control and visual scheme, and all other titles of GTA are likely to remain so, albeit improved in visual quality as hardware improves.

Contents

StorylineEdit

The protagonist of GTA III, Claude.
Ilan xdAdded by Ilan xd
From the official site

LIBERTY CITY, USA. The Worst Place in America.

You've been betrayed and left for dead. Now you're taking revenge, unless the city gets you first. Mob bosses need a favor, crooked cops need help and street gangs want you dead. You'll have to rob, steal and kill just to stay out of serious trouble. Anything can happen out here.

At the beginning of the game, a getaway car pulls up at a bank. Three people are escaping after committing a robbery: three men, one of whom is the protagonist (whose name is later revealed to be Claude in GTA San Andreas), another robber, the getaway driver, Miguel and one woman, Catalina. Catalina kills the other robber, injures Claude and takes the money for herself and Miguel and flees with him. Claude soon gets arrested and takes the blame for the robbery, however while crossing the bridge to Portland Island, the police convoy is ambushed by the Columbian Cartel who kidnaps the Old Oriental Gentleman and blow up the Callahan Bridge; leaving Portland isolated from the rest of the city. Claude is set free with 8-Ball while the convoy is ambushed. Claude and 8-Ball escape the bridge and hide out in Portland. 8-Ball introduces Claude to Luigi Goterelli and Claude works for him to prove himself useful. Luigi soon introduces Claude to Joey Leone and works for him against the Forelli Family. Joey soon introduces Claude to Toni Cipriani and helps him take revenge on the Triads. Toni introduces Claude to the Leone's big boss Salvatore Leone who has him help out his wife Maria Latore. Salvatore soon believes the a bartender named Curly Bob is selling information about the Leone's to the Cartel in exchange for SPANK. Claude then tails Curly Bob to the harbor where he overhears a conversation between Curly Bob and Cartel Leaders Catalina and Miguel causing Claude to whack Curly Bob even though Catalina and Miguel escape. Salvatore plans to take revenge on the Cartel by having Claude and 8-Ball blow up the Cartel Ship supplying the SPANK. Before celebrating Salvatore asks Claude for one last favor to get rid of a dirty car. Maria warns Claude by pager that the car is a trap and meets her at the docks. Maria explains that Salvatore didn't trust Claude and wanted to offer him to the Cartel for free. Maria introduces him to the Yakuza (enemies of the Leone's) leader Asuka Kasen and they move to Staunton Island to escape the Leone's. Soon Asuka wants Claude to prove that his ties with Leone's are completely broken by sniping Salvatore as he's leaving Luigi's club which he successfully does. Claude works for Asuka against the Leone's and the police to help the Yakuza. She soon introduces Claude to her brother and waka-gashira Kenji Kasen and corrupt cop Ray Machowski. Claude works for Kenji against the Yardies and the Cartel and works for Ray to keep his connections to the Yakuza secret from the rest of the police such as killing his partner Leon McAffrey. Ray soon introduces Claude to billionare Donald Love and Claude soon begins to do work for Love. Claude first rescues the Oriental Gentleman from the Cartel and also to start a war with the Yakuza and Cartel by whacking Kenji with a Cartel Car. Claude also gets some packages for Love as a plane drops them in the ocean but Love soon reveals those packages were a decoy and the real packages were on the plane itself. Claude then heads to the plane hangar only to find the package already taken by the Cartel to Fort Staunton. There Claude finds the package in possession of none other then Catalina and Miguel, as they attempt to escape Claude is able to stop and surprise them with two warning shots. Miguel attempts to negotiate with Claude only to get shot in the back by Catalina who escapes by jumping into a dumpster. Asuka appears still thinking that the Cartel killed her brother and begins to torture Miguel for information as Claude leaves to get the packages back to Love. After doing some more more work for Love, Claude finds Love has disappeared and leaves the building. He then does some work for Asuka against the Cartel in "revenge" for Kenji's death but Claude soon finds Asuka and Miguel both dead and a note from Catalina saying that she has kidnapped Maria and will kill her unless he brings $500,000 to the Cartel Mansion. However it is revealed to be an ambush and Catalina orders her men to kill him and she takes Maria away in a helicopter. Claude escapes the ambush and follows the helicopter to the dam where he rescues Maria but Catalina reboards the chopper causing Claude to shoot it down killing Catalina. As he and Maria leave the dam she keeps talking to him and stops as a gunshot is heard.

CityEdit

Main Article: Liberty City in GTA III Era

There are different districts in Liberty City. It consists of three islands - Portland Island, Staunton Island, and Shoreside Vale. Liberty City is based on New York, so the three islands are comparatively similar to Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Staten Island, respectively.

Portland IslandEdit

This is the old industrial district, consisting largely of workmen in old cars, the Leones, Triads, and Diablos.

The manual's description:

Here you will find the docks, the Red Light District, warehouses, factories, markets, garages as well as some useful suppliers. The area is populated with hookers, pimps, laborers, dockworkers, politicians and general scum. Crime is rife in Portland and it has a long history of Mafia control. But this is being challenged by the Triads. A bloody turf war has been underway for several months. A delightful district with something for everyone.

This is the first area you interact with in the game.

Staunton IslandEdit

This is the business district. Lots of rich people can be found here, along with their nice cars. The resident gangs are the Yakuza, the Yardies, and the Colombian Cartel.

The manual's description:

This is the central business district. This is where all the big business takes place in Liberty City and is dominated by the rich, powerful and corporate. During the day the area is bustling with businessmen doing their 9-5 thing - insider trading, taking bribes and selling their grandmothers for ten bucks. At night it is dark, desolate and very dangerous.

Staunton Island is the second of the three districts you will see in the game.

Shoreside ValeEdit

This is the suburban area of Liberty City. The wealthy live here, along with the middle-class residents and gangs. The Francis International Airport is also located here. The local gangs are the Southside Hoods and the Colombian Cartel.

The manual's description:

Suburban bliss and tranquility Liberty City style. Home to many of Liberty City's more affluent gangsters, Liberty City's commuter-belt is a patchwork of swimming pools, picket fences, backyards, basketball nets, street gangs and five car garages. It's littered with ostentatious mansions paid for with blood money, protected by high security guards and gates to keep out gangs of bored teenagers looking for something to do to bring some excitement to their middle class existence. The designer dogs and the station wagons give a shallow serenity to suburbia, but don't be fooled. Violence and corruption are at the heart of every home.

This is where the ending of the game takes place.

10th Anniversary EditionEdit

Claudetenyears.jpg
Ilan xdAdded by Ilan xd
The 10th Anniversary Edition was announced by Rockstar Games during October 2011. The edition was released for mobile phones and tablets, such as iPod, iPhone and Android. The game was released in fall 2011.

A limited edition of Claude action figure is available for pre-order for $149.99; only 1,500 pieces were made.

Alternate ArtworkEdit

In some PAL territories, Grand Theft Auto III was released with different cover artwork, despite there being no major differences in the game itself. Below are examples of several box arts.

TriviaEdit

  • The first four cars seen in the mission " Give Me Liberty " ( Rumpo , Police, Enforcer and Patriot) have no drivers.
  • GTA III was the first GTA title to feature a third-person perspective.
  • GTA III was the last game to have a top-down camera view in third-person perspective.
  • GTA III was the last game to have the artwork on the cover not be a collage of different images (though only for Europe (excluding Germany), Australia, and New Zealand).
  • GTA III for PC was delayed one year because it shipped with high quality radio and textures. However, Rise FM wasn't remastered, and shipped with the PS2 quality. Differences in quality between Rise and other radio stations are quite audible.
  • Some early copies of GTA III still featured the logo of DMA Design, the original name of Rockstar North, during the opening credits.
  • The cash rewards for missions are very rewarding, although there isn't really anything to buy with the money; except weapons, vehicle bombs, and Pay 'n' Spray (even though Pay 'n' Spray cost an amazing $1,000 per use, the highest ever in the GTA series). Money can also be spent through healthcare when the player is wasted, or by police bribes when arrested.
  • In GTA III, when you bump the cars, you get money, like in previous GTA games.
  • On the radar, there are no Ammu-Nation "gun" icons, nor are there any Pay 'n' Spray "can" icons. These icons only appear during certain missions.
  • When Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories was released several years later, the designers took the unusual step of maintaining continuity with the earlier game by keeping the layout of Liberty City very much the same as it is in GTA III. This gave an advantage to players familiar with the city from GTA III when they moved on to the later game, and vice-versa for players who are playing the games in chronological order (LCS first, then GTA III). However, those familiar with the control scheme of LCS and other later games may find GTA III more challenging to play: the right analog stick (on the PS2) cannot be used to move the camera around while driving, and there is no on-screen map to plot routes (the radar is all there is, and it only shows the immediate area).
  • Grand Theft Auto III is now celebrating a 10th year anniversary, releasing a few GTA III toys and games for Apple iOS and Android Market for Mobile Phones.
  • This is only game in GTA III era that doesn't have the tracksuit outfit.
  • It was rumored that many features of the game were scrapped after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. However, Rockstar denied this and claimed that only about 1% of the game was changed. A reference to terrorists was removed, and a few cosmetic details like cars and certain civilian comments were changed. A major change was a remix of the US packaging, which would eventually become Rockstar's signature style.[1]

See alsoEdit

TrailersEdit

Grand Theft Auto 3 Trailer


Grand Theft Auto 3 Trailer 2


10th Anniversary TrailerEdit

Grand Theft Auto III 10 Year Anniversary Trailer


GalleryEdit

ReferencesEdit

  1. http://www.rockstargames.com/newswire/article/19981/grand-theft-auto-iii-your-questions-answered-part-two-911-the-gh.html

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