[Ehud]

Hi, I played GTA II, SA, VC & IV.
Is GTA III worth playing?

This post has been edited by Ehud on Thursday, Apr 5 2012, 07:46

[ClaudeSpeedRulez]

If you liked Vice City, then you may like III as well.

The city is bigger than Vice City, however, there's no helicopters and bikes.

The story is pretty awesome and impressive.
GTA III has characters like Phil Cassidy and Donald Love that appeared in Vice City.
You should give a try to GTA III.

[Kent Traffic Cop]

Yes!

You should also get I & II!

[MrMateczko]

QUOTE (Kent Traffic Cop @ Sunday, Apr 1 2012, 23:00)

Yes! You should also get I & II!

Especially if they're available for free legally.

[finn4life]

Play Grand Theft Auto III, it was the first proper video game i was really addicted to, at first it may be a little difficult to get used to the slightly aged graphics, but once you get past that, an interesting story with good voice acting and challenging missions lie ahead.
It really is a fantastic game and one you must play.

[lloydo]

It's a must play game, even if you're not a GTA fan.

One of the best ever made.

[The_Sorrow]

QUOTE (finn4life @ Sunday, Apr 1 2012, 21:49)

Play Grand Theft Auto III, it was the first proper video game i was really addicted to, at first it may be a little difficult to get used to the slightly aged graphics, but once you get past that, an interesting story with good voice acting and challenging missions lie ahead. It really is a fantastic game and one you must play.

+1

It is an amazing game.

[Byzantine]

GTA III was the first GTA I ever played, and I enjoyed it very much! It was the first GTA to not be top down, so it had lots popularity.

[sibs44]

This website started as a website for GTA 3. Play it man.

[Redketman]

If you have played many GTA games or call yourself a GTA fan I can't see that GTA III would be a bad game. In many ways the game is even better than the following game which is Vice City.

Personally I think GTA III is a classic game of the series and is a must-buy for GTA-fans. But if you have played just some of the older games I think it's a good choice too.

GTA III has a great story, soundtrack, city and overall it might be one of the best games of the series.

[Dr. John13]

QUOTE (finn4life @ Sunday, Apr 1 2012, 21:49)

Play Grand Theft Auto III, it was the first proper video game i was really addicted to, at first it may be a little difficult to get used to the slightly aged graphics, but once you get past that, an interesting story with good voice acting and challenging missions lie ahead. It really is a fantastic game and one you must play.

You are right. I was also addicted even if I played VC first. The story, the city and even our silent snake were awesome.

@OP: What response will you get from a fan site? I have many, many things to say about GTA 3. GTA 3 has trains which VC doesn't has (Until you use Back to Future mod). GTA 3 is the game which needs a lot of improvement and the Modding Section is the soul of GTA 3. Just because you can add so many things in it, we can turn this game into pure gold. If you are really not interested in modding then you will still enjoy the story, city and Claude himself. Yeah, I know that GTA 3 has bad quality and all but if we see, it is good for that time (2001). Many questions and many secrets are there for you waiting. And it's just for 5$. Once you buy it and enjoy it, then you will surely say I like GTA 3.

[Butters 2011]

QUOTE (Redketman @ Thursday, May 3 2012, 07:02)

If you have played many GTA games or call yourself a GTA fan I can't see that GTA III would be a bad game. In many ways the game is even better than the following game which is Vice City.

Regarding certain aspects of VC, I too would agree that III was by far the better of the two games, and that VC seemed like a step-back. VC had the lovely atmosphere and great gameplay, but most of my memories come from GTAIII, and not just because it made me become a GTA fan.

GTAIII was, and still is, one of the best games I've ever played, and will be purchasing it again when I get a PS2. The atmosphere of the game was the main thing I enjoy about the game - the gritty atmosphere and murky weather really helped create the whole immersiveness. Yes, going back to it after playing the more recent titles may seem abit off-putting at first, but when you respect the fact that it was the first 3D GTA game, you truly respect the great game that it is. Obviously there are certain things you'll notice that seem terrible in retrospect to today's games, but as mentioned, just remember it was the first 3D title.

Truly a great game, and I can't wait to play it again.

[sibs44]

QUOTE (Butters 2011 @ Friday, May 4 2012, 17:50)

QUOTE (Redketman @ Thursday, May 3 2012, 07:02) If you have played many GTA games or call yourself a GTA fan I can't see that GTA III would be a bad game. In many ways the game is even better than the following game which is Vice City. Regarding certain aspects of VC, I too would agree that III was by far the better of the two games, and that VC seemed like a step-back. VC had the lovely atmosphere and great gameplay, but most of my memories come from GTAIII, and not just because it made me become a GTA fan. GTAIII was, and still is, one of the best games I've ever played, and will be purchasing it again when I get a PS2. The atmosphere of the game was the main thing I enjoy about the game - the gritty atmosphere and murky weather really helped create the whole immersiveness. Yes, going back to it after playing the more recent titles may seem abit off-putting at first, but when you respect the fact that it was the first 3D GTA game, you truly respect the great game that it is. Obviously there are certain things you'll notice that seem terrible in retrospect to today's games, but as mentioned, just remember it was the first 3D title. Truly a great game, and I can't wait to play it again.

I hear you! I just bought a ps2 with the gta trilogy! I have the games on PC but R* ruined the feel of the games when they port over

[thatstupidbug]

you must play GTA III, but be aware, it was the first full 3D game of the series, so it has its flaws.

* car handling isn't perfect at all
* car damage is too high...you'll explode easily than other games
* aiming (on ps2 it's a pain in the ***)
* some missions are pure luck-based
* no in-game map
* there's the possibility to screw the game badly and made impossible to reach 100%
* you can't shoot people in cars trough the front wing
* you can't jump out of a moving car (so if the car is on fire you're screwed)

those are the problems, but after 3-4 hours you'll be totally immersed in the game, and you won't notice the flaws

[Butters 2011]

QUOTE (thatstupidbug @ Saturday, May 5 2012, 18:41)

those are the problems, but after 3-4 hours you'll be totally immersed in the game, and you won't notice the flaws

These aren't 'flaws' though, just stuff that got added in as the series progressed. That's why I stated that going backwards may make the game hard to get used to at first, but when you see it as this was the first of the 3D titles, then all this stuff never really mattered to us, since we didn't see it till the later titles.

[Heihachi_73]

Car damage is probably more realistic then, if you get damaged more for accidents. Actually, I believe the cars in GTA3 have the same 'endurance' as they do in Vice City; the fact that you can't get your tyres popped makes it a bit easier to get away (however, you can't shoot at the cop cars to make them bail, so it evens out). You shouldn't be able to smash into a building or another car at 80MPH and drive away with only a bent front bumper. GTA has always had very strong, slow cars - I say slow since the fastest car in the game, the Infernus, tops out at only 110MPH* (~176km/h). Ironically, the only maximum speed which is seemingly realistic is with the slowest vehicle, the Rhino - 56MPH* (~90km/h).

* Assuming the speeds are the same as Vice City (I don't have a GTA3 speedometer mod) - the maximum speed displayed inside handling.cfg is *not* the car's actual in-game maximum speed.

Aiming and firing at people on the PS2 (or in classic mode) is an order of magnitude easier with its auto-aim feature - even the pistol only takes 3-4 shots to take someone down when locked on. Of course, aiming at objects like cars or aiming in the first-person view with an analog stick will always be harder than using a precision device like a mouse. I don't know why they didn't let you lock into NPCs inside vehicles - it's obvious that NPCs (gangs, police etc) can lock onto you inside your car.

GTA3 didn't need an in-game map, they gave you an A3-sized printed map with the game itself, which doubles as a poster on the back of it. As with Vice City, San Andreas, Liberty/Vice City Stories, Chinatown Wars (and probably GTA IV and later too, but I don't have any of these). Although, it would have helped if they had kept telling you where the car was in Vigilante mode rather than only at the beginning of each level, and maybe what the car itself was (e.g. "Suspect was last seen in south-west Bedford Point, suspect was last seen driving a red Stallion").

As for "car on fire = screwed", only if your car went on fire on impact and started flipping over multiple times and/or being pushed relentlessly by a police/FBI car. Usually you have time to stop the car and bail/crawl/jump away just before it explodes (as long as you're on foot with full health, you won't get wasted, even if you're standing right on top of the car when it explodes - if you're still classed as 'in car' by the game, even if you're 99% of the way out of the car, you will be wasted instantly, regardless of how much health you have). Of course, having to come to a dead stop to get out is detrimental when it comes to car chases, as per the "cops-constantly-ramming-your-car" example; in that case you can't stop at all unless they crash or spin out, since they will continuously ram you until your car stops, even if they are the ones causing you to move/roll/slide on roof from their ramming!

[Dr. John13]

QUOTE (thatstupidbug @ Sunday, May 6 2012, 00:11)

you must play GTA III, but be aware, it was the first full 3D game of the series, so it has its flaws. * car handling isn't perfect at all * car damage is too high...you'll explode easily than other games * aiming (on ps2 it's a pain in the ***) * some missions are pure luck-based * no in-game map * there's the possibility to screw the game badly and made impossible to reach 100% * you can't shoot people in cars trough the front wing * you can't jump out of a moving car (so if the car is on fire you're screwed) those are the problems, but after 3-4 hours you'll be totally immersed in the game, and you won't notice the flaws

This brings the challenge pal. People say GTA 3 is boring because they couldn't fight the challenge. If you are screwed, just replay the game. I completed this game easily within 6 days.

[NateShaw92]

if you want to witness the game that pretty much rocketed the open world gnre into mainstream then yeah

[ccrogers15]

Loved GTA 3, but now it seems dull, but everytime i do play it or see it i get nostalgic. Still one of the best games of all time.

[Redketman]

QUOTE (Butters 2011 @ Friday, May 4 2012, 23:50)

QUOTE (Redketman @ Thursday, May 3 2012, 07:02) If you have played many GTA games or call yourself a GTA fan I can't see that GTA III would be a bad game. In many ways the game is even better than the following game which is Vice City. Regarding certain aspects of VC, I too would agree that III was by far the better of the two games, and that VC seemed like a step-back. VC had the lovely atmosphere and great gameplay, but most of my memories come from GTAIII, and not just because it made me become a GTA fan. GTAIII was, and still is, one of the best games I've ever played, and will be purchasing it again when I get a PS2. The atmosphere of the game was the main thing I enjoy about the game - the gritty atmosphere and murky weather really helped create the whole immersiveness. Yes, going back to it after playing the more recent titles may seem abit off-putting at first, but when you respect the fact that it was the first 3D GTA game, you truly respect the great game that it is. Obviously there are certain things you'll notice that seem terrible in retrospect to today's games, but as mentioned, just remember it was the first 3D title. Truly a great game, and I can't wait to play it again.

I also think GTA III is one of the best games of all time and agree that some features and parts of the game looks strange if you play the game today. For example, when you played the game back in 2002 you don't realise that Clade runs quite strange, that the handling of the car is pretty simple and that there aren't that many extra missions and features like there are in the newer GTA Games. But since GTA III is a very nostalgic game to me, these things don't really bother me. Heck, I just beat Alien Trilogy, a PS1 game from 1995 and is well aware of that era's limitations. If you aren't too much of a graphics whore you don't care about graphics and all that stuff anyway, at least if you like retro games. GTA III is about to become a retro game I believe. The game is almost 11 years old and it's a very nostalgic game for many gamers.

I bought Vice City some months after it was released but thought GTA III was a way more memorable game. I think the reason is that GTA III had a greater atmosphere (this is a personal opinion) and because GTA III was the first GTA game I ever played. I didn't think Vice City was superior in many ways except that the game had motorcycles, new weapons and stuff like that. San Andreas on the other hand, had a big map, MANY side missions and new functions and around 100 main missions. The game also had three different cities with other cool stuff like lakes, deserts, mountains and countrysides.

San Andreas is the most memorable game of the GTA series in my opinion. GTA III is in second position.