GTA 3 Review | A First-Timer's Look at Where It All Began
Playing the original open-world crime classic for the first time ahead of GTA 6, here's how its story, combat, and driving hold up today.
REVIEWS
Caljb03
7/31/20267 min read
I'm not too sure if you’re aware, but there’s this small indie game called Grand Theft Auto VI releasing later this year. It’s apparently from a long-running franchise that people on and off the internet seem to absolutely adore.
This is a franchise I have not touched at all. And I think, being an indie gamer, I should finally end this gaming blind spot I’ve cursed myself with.
All jokes aside, yes, as I’ve said. I’m going to play the GTA series for the first time, and I want to take everyone along with me. So I’ll be reviewing my experience with each of these games, from the perspective of a complete newcomer. All, hopefully, culminating in a review (if I’m allowed!) of the big whale GTA 6 itself.
As one little clarification, I’m starting this with GTA3. We’ll be working onwards from that. I would love to add the originals and Chinatown Wars; I’ve heard they’re great experiences. But unfortunately I decided on this far too late, and I need to ration my time!
Also, this review was done through the Definitive Edition of GTA 3 (This will be the case for Vice City and San Andreas too). I’ve no interest in stoking the fire on that discussion, so all I can say is I won’t be comparing these to the original counterparts since I have no experience of them to compare to. I would love to play the originals at some point, and I do plan to. But due to Rockstar being incredibly anti-consumer, this was the most accessible way for me to play.
Now that introductions are out of the way, time to start at the beginning with a game many claim to be what made the open world genre what it is today. After announcing I was starting this journey, I had a LOT of responses along the lines of “This one did not age well”. Basically a lot of wishes for my health.
After 15 hours of gameplay and seeing the story through to its conclusion, I do have to say, it’s really not too bad.
A Story That Doesn’t Stick Out
In GTA 3 you play as Claude. A criminal who, after being betrayed by his own girlfriend, winds up in jail. After a series of events, you’re broken out and now working for one of the many crime families in Liberty City.
The majority of your time in GTA 3 will be spent doing jobs for a crime family, that group eventually getting mad at you for something and then you moving on to the next. That’s definitely a bit of a summary, but the main takeaway is that this game isn’t remembered for its narrative.
Claude is a silent protagonist, so it often feels like he’s just being thrown around by these criminal bosses without a care in the world. Plot points around him just kind of develop without you really noticing.
I don’t think it’s an incredible story, not on the level I’ve heard that the future Rockstar games are. But that’s not to say it doesn’t have its redeeming qualities. I think it does a great job of driving gameplay. Being a fairly standard mob drama, there’s plenty of missions that give you a good excuse to get your guns out, or burn some rubber.
And speaking of gameplay…
Frustrating Yet Fun
How does the game feel though? Not bad! I really did expect much worse going into this with how many people warned me about the game. I think it has a fair few areas of frustration, but at the end of the day it feels pretty damn good to play.
GTA 3 is, to be expected, a fairly average open world game in terms of mechanics. With some small differences in controls but nothing that can’t be easily adjusted to. So going into it, you can quite quickly get used to how it feels to actually play.
Claude has a good amount of weight to him that helps make him feel grounded with the movement; guns are definitely a bit dated (such as some assault rifles zooming into first person and stopping your movements), but I don’t think you’ll have much trouble getting used to its nuances.
You aren’t a tank either. Nowadays you can quite easily run into a shootout and come out unscathed; in this game, if you try that, you aren’t making it 5 seconds. You need to stay back, stick to corners, and make sure you’re avoiding shots at all times. It can get frustrating absolutely, but I think there’s something seriously satisfying about slowly making your way through a compound of enemies and coming out on top.
One of my biggest gripes comes from the driving. There’s a wide variety of vehicles in Liberty City, and they each feel unique in how they control, which is great. But the overall driving mechanics at times feel like you’re working against the game to get to your destination.
You can quite easily spin out from a tiny tap on your side; you can find your car moving in a direction you’re not planning. Cars have a minuscule amount of health, it feels, and you can’t even bail out when it starts to explore, just come to a halt and slowly step out. It’s a lot of smaller things that add up and make your time on the streets of Liberty City become more of a chore than it needs to be.
The mission structure at times can add to that frustration too. There’s no mission checkpoint system, which isn’t much of an issue since most of these missions are short. But there are some times where it really works against you. Some of these missions can be downright rage-inducing due to how some of the game's systems work, very often being the cars and how easily they get destroyed. Let's say that happens; you’ll then need to go back to the mission giver, drive back to the mission area, try the mission again and hope you succeed. It’s not the end of the world, but there’s a lot of unnecessary downtime that just adds to your annoyance.
But even with that, this isn’t a crazily unplayable game. It doesn’t jump out as an incredible feeling experience, but it works and at times can be a lot of fun.
The Bustling Streets Of The Big Apple
Being the daddy of the open world crime genre as we know it today, you need an open world. And GTA3 seriously delivers.
You’re in Liberty City, Rockstar’s take on New York City. And you can feel the inspiration in droves. The distinct islands, the big obvious park in the middle, the grimy feeling. It has that big bustling American city feeling down.
The open world is compact enough that you’re driving over the same streets for most of your playthrough, but not so small that you get tired of it. By the end you’ll find that you’re knowing exactly how to get to your destination without even checking the minimap.
The world can fight against you though, and not in a fun way. The driving AI isn’t exactly the sharpest knife in the drawer. You’ll do a mission where you need to get to the other end of Liberty City in a few minutes, no problem, right? Well, it is when you’ve got AI that randomly chooses to ram into you for no reason, or change lanes into you because they felt like it. Which doesn’t help with the hit-or-miss driving as mentioned earlier.
Though some areas, due to story progress, essentially become cut off entirely. Due to their factions being turned against you, you’ll find that heading to one area you’ll have a range of criminals out for your guts. It’s a really great way of helping the world feel alive and that there’s genuine consequence for Claude’s actions (or actions of others) in the story.
A Great Start To Build From
I can fully understand why GTA 3 gets the reputation it has now. While I don’t fully agree that it’s aged so poorly it’s a pain to play, it still feels relatively fine. But you can see how this laid the groundwork for not just this series, but the industry as a whole.
It’s a great foundation for future titles, so I’m really excited to get my hands on Vice City and see how much they actually build upon it.
I think GTA 3 is something well worth playing, maybe not at full price but on a good sale. It’s worth experiencing. It can be daunting playing a game from some time ago, but I think it’s just great to see where the games you love today actually grew from.
