Grand Theft Auto III

 PlayStation 2
User Score
8.4

Generally favorable reviews- based on 1185 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 953 out of 1185
  2. Mixed: 150 out of 1185
  3. Negative: 82 out of 1185
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  1. Alex_Pilgrim008
    Apr 2, 2023
    9
    "Grand Theft Auto III" revolutionized the video game industry with its introduction of the 3D open world. At the time of release, it was highly controversial since it allowed players to engage in all sorts of major criminal activities. Nevertheless, GTA III was a huge hit and has been named one of the greatest video games ever made by several critics. This is a satirical action-adventure"Grand Theft Auto III" revolutionized the video game industry with its introduction of the 3D open world. At the time of release, it was highly controversial since it allowed players to engage in all sorts of major criminal activities. Nevertheless, GTA III was a huge hit and has been named one of the greatest video games ever made by several critics. This is a satirical action-adventure influenced by Hollywood mob films. It's a tasteless guilty pleasure meant for a mature audience. Great wicked fun. Despite its flaws, this is the first GTA that set up the template for future entries and inspired countless of open-world games. I would rate it with a 9.6 out of 10.… Expand
  2. LasPlays
    Mar 1, 2018
    9
    Bueno que decir de una de las sagas mas famosas del mundo mundial, alguien que no haya escuchado sobre GTA en la actualidad no es un gamer.
    Este fue el primer juego de la saga que se puso en 3d y en tercera persona, ya que las dos entregas anteriores se veía desde arriba, no se muy bien como se le llama a ese tipo de genero de videojuegos.
    En la radio hay bastante variedad para escuchar    Bueno que decir de una de las sagas mas famosas del mundo mundial, alguien que no haya escuchado sobre GTA en la actualidad no es un gamer.
    Este fue el primer juego de la saga que se puso en 3d y en tercera persona, ya que las dos entregas anteriores se veía desde arriba, no se muy bien como se le llama a ese tipo de genero de videojuegos.
    En la radio hay bastante variedad para escuchar y el juego en historia por lo menos a mi me lleno, no quiero comentar mucho sobre eso porque no quiero que allá Spoilers.    … Expand
  3. md5fungi
    Jan 5, 2019
    9
    Grand Theft Auto III is an extremely ambitious attempt to bring the series' ultraviolent mayhem to the 3D world for the first time. In 2001, no one yet had really tried making a game like it, with the exception of Driver, which was an intense chase game with less grandiose expectations for itself than GTA III.

    You play as the silent Claude, a recently escaped prisoner who ends up taking    Grand Theft Auto III is an extremely ambitious attempt to bring the series' ultraviolent mayhem to the 3D world for the first time. In 2001, no one yet had really tried making a game like it, with the exception of Driver, which was an intense chase game with less grandiose expectations for itself than GTA III.

    You play as the silent Claude, a recently escaped prisoner who ends up taking all sorts of dirty jobs around town. Even though Claude doesn't say anything or really have much of a personality (I suppose you get to choose what kind of person he is), the other characters in the game do. Most everyone you meet has a few screws loose and is up to no good. The darkly humorous exchanges you'll have with these characters adds to the atmosphere and style of the game.

    The main premise of GTA III is that you wander around a living, breathing world in which any car is free for you to take (though not necessarily with the blessing of the owner or police). There are no rules.

    There are a lot of different vehicles in the game, and they all drive differently as well. You can drive a blazing fast sports car or a dangerously heavy-duty fire truck (with which you can spray out fires, or just harass pedestrians with the hose). Almost everything is fun to drive, thanks to a solid physics engine. Your car will realistically spin out of control when a cop rams you, and when you're going fast, you FEEL it.

    Even if you're going for a relaxing drive across the incredibly immersive city, cruising is still fun thanks to the ability to listen to a variety of in-game radio stations. There's hip-hop, 80s pop, classical, and more, and a lot of the stations are straight-up infectious. Listening to talk shows or radio DJs is hilarious, due to the care Rockstar has put into the pervasive satire and dark comedy of this game. I found myself laughing a lot when I first started playing. The game does irreverence perfectly.

    GTA III has missions scattered around the city for you to find. Most of the missions involve driving around town, often killing rival mob members. While the third-person shooting mechanics are much more difficult and clunky than most first person shooters from this era, the ridiculous, over-the-top violence makes it tolerably satisfying. You can easily dispatch other characters into bloody corpses on the streets of Liberty City. If you lose all your health, you end up outside the Liberty City hospital - a nice touch. This game is full of little touches that improve immersion.

    While the game's missions are straightforward, there's a lot of freedom when it comes to approaching them. You may choose to kill a target with a grenade... but then there's the Uzi... or perhaps, just run him over a few times for good measure. The game gives you multiple options, and the missions are usually a lot of fun (especially when they involve explosives). The unfortunate aspect about the missions materializes when you fail them: you are forced to find the mission giver again, and go through the entire process. This starts to get annoying quickly, especially as many missions will have you driving all over town. The missions are hard enough that you will be going through a lot of retries to beat them, but luckily there are nearly always multiple missions to choose from.

    Another problem with the missions is that you frequently need to quickly get to locations that aren't on your map. A paint shop that disguises your car is extremely useful when the cops are on your tail, but where is that shop again? Leaving these locations unmarked makes these situations frustrating.

    The amazing thing about GTA III is the freedom. The tools it gives you to cause mayhem are varied, and you can get pretty creative with all the options. Sure, you can go to the gun shop and buy something, but you can also equip your car with a bomb. Maybe you feel like stealing a vehicle and throwing it into a trash compactor. The game continually reveals differing means of destruction, and then let's you use them as you like, even if you have no goal in mind. If you really feel like being a productive member of society, you can charge cab fare to take people to various locations or put out fires with a fire truck. This truly is an open-world video game.

    Besides your chaotic influence, computer-controlled cars will ram into each other, gang members will start shooting, and the game generally does a fantastic job of convincing you that it's real while making fun of the real world at the same time.

    Rockstar created a dense, smart, cool, and awe-inspiring world with Grand Theft Auto III, and it still shows today.    … Expand
  4. Flashyboy89
    May 19, 2023
    9
    GTA 3 was a groundbreaking achievement in gaming history that was so fresh. It blew everybody's mind back in the day.
  5. Soldier1stClass
    Jul 23, 2020
    9
    When I was younger GT3 blew my mind when it 1st came out. It was my 1st experience with the GTA franchise and the game was an amazing product for it's t's time. I still play it every once in awhile.
  6. Ardho
    Aug 30, 2021
    9
    The game is so good, that other games feel outdated, what a big step for the game world
  7. CloudStrife05
    Aug 21, 2021
    9
    And the world was never the same again... That is what should be said whenever talking about GTA3.
  8. Jattaman
    Oct 3, 2022
    9
    Il terzo capitolo rivoluziona la serie con il 3D.
    Perde l'originalità e la crudezza del primo episodio, ma stravolge in positivo per impatto grafico, giocabilità e maestosità del progetto.
  9. Runatikku
    Feb 1, 2022
    9
    This game is a groundbreaking game in the gaming world. I remember my brain stopped the first time I played it. I don't remember any game I've played before that gave me so much freedom. And the graphics, oh my god, my eyes melted when I saw the graphics of GTA 3, which had spent my life with NES games until then. The game I begged my family to buy a ps2. Generally speaking, it is not theThis game is a groundbreaking game in the gaming world. I remember my brain stopped the first time I played it. I don't remember any game I've played before that gave me so much freedom. And the graphics, oh my god, my eyes melted when I saw the graphics of GTA 3, which had spent my life with NES games until then. The game I begged my family to buy a ps2. Generally speaking, it is not the strongest game in the GTA series, but we have to accept that it is the game that started the legend. As I said, the graphics are very good for its time, the gameplay is also the same, even today I think it's still comfortably playable, the scenario is not very good, it's a classic revenge story, but because Claude is a total dull, he can't make us feel this feeling of revenge. Other than that, freedom, stealing cars, entering cheat codes, and attacking people are all as expected from a GTA game. I think it's a game that everyone should experience. The missions are generally pretty easy and short with a few exceptions. So I suggest you give it a try.… Expand
  10. DanThePerson
    Aug 27, 2022
    9
    once again this game has a cool premise and atmosphere, and bunch of other cool stuff, and the music/radio stations are one of my favorite things about the game.. but there's a inconsistent difficulty yet again, and also yet again it caused me to never beat this game.. I guess maybe the older a GTA game is, the harder it becomes..
  11. dr-kenobi
    Sep 6, 2022
    9
    The case when the first real try is not a mess, but a huge hit. Truly the origin of the future best seller of the gaming world
  12. 3ls0ul
    Mar 6, 2023
    9
    Este juego aún no lo eh jugado o completado, así que pondré una reseña y nota diferentes cuando lo haga.
  13. Yojimbo2015
    Jul 28, 2023
    9
    Inevitably a little simplistic and crude compared to the later incarnations and some of the missions are frustratingly difficult thanks to the combination of dodgy AI and vehicles that are far too fragile, but it was a game changer at the time and was the genesis of the modern sandbox game.
  14. Warrior_of_Doom
    Jul 19, 2023
    9
    The overall score is based on how much fun I personally had with every component of the game
    and the overall experience.
  15. VLG
    Aug 22, 2023
    9
    What can i say that has not been said a thousand times. Despite its obvious old age and crappy graphics, I have such good memories about it.
  16. B.S.
    Oct 8, 2002
    8
    You know what I hate people using critic sites like this as a chat room, so I'm not replying to any messages! there is a fourth city but it has nothing to do with a black smith! The graphics are shooty and the game has a cumple glichs other than that it's perfect ( and I should know I'm a real hard ass).
  17. SquirtB.
    Nov 6, 2004
    8
    Dyam.This Game Is F-ed Up Good.Although Having To Feed The Character Every Once In A While Is Quite Annoying,But Overall Its Good.Story Line Is Great.Graphics Are Neutral.Met Up To My Expectations.But They Really Have To Do Something About Those Ugly Characters Of Theirs.Well,Basically.This Game Is Definitely Worth Playing.
  18. AndrewD.
    Oct 9, 2004
    8
    Doesn't get 10 from me because it gets a bit repetitive (kill that guy, run from cops,etc...) and I think that the fisrt island gets boring after being stuck on the same mission on shoreside vale for 1 month.
  19. JasonB.
    Nov 16, 2005
    8
    The criminal underworld backdrop is always fun to have as a storyline, but the gameplay of GTA 3 is fun with or without it.
  20. JohnS.
    Feb 24, 2007
    8
    This game is pretty good, but not perfect. Good use of open-endedness though. Cool Am Ivan, there is no Boggsville. Theres a ghost area that was used for the opening act of GTA 3, but it isnt solid and can be gotten there by dodo going north of shorside vale. There is no blacksmith and no swords and no boss battle there. Don't believe this liar. And the game doesn't suck, either.
  21. Jack97
    Jan 1, 2014
    8
    Grand Theft Auto 3 was a huge leap forward for videogame history as it featured one of the first fully 3D open world environments and a good story mode.
  22. joao1198pedro
    Oct 30, 2013
    8
    the two firsts gta games were nothing special,but in the third game and with another generation they made something really special and terrific,this game would change this series forever.
  23. VALVeY
    Nov 18, 2014
    8
    THIS GAME IS SO AWESOME ! The only thing I complain about is the controls other than that this game is awesome ! It has cool graphics great gameplay and variety for weapons ! GET THIS GAME ON THE PSN
  24. Scytherax
    Aug 15, 2014
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Grand Theft Auto III is one of a kind. With a 3D and 2D Third Person View, epic artwork for the Heads Up Display and 3D models like no other in the time, Grand Theft Auto III has nailed the best Graphic Design I have ever seen that comes from the year it was made. Sure, there are other good designs like the Elder Scrolls at the time but the artwork on the box and in game makes me go "Holy f*ckin' ****

    The gameplay has again, a 3D and 2D Third Person View, making this as view-customizable as Fallout. The free roam is quick but locked places can take time to UNlock the locations. Although there aren't many character customization options (-1), there is quite an array of weapons available to the player. Unlike San Andreas, it was a shame that the game had a garage without any modification options, making the vehicles barely customizable (-1).

    However, I like the way when you kick someone, you actually get money unlike the nowadays Grand Theft Auto where it automatically drops out of the victim's wallet after being killed. Not to mention geting stacks of money only worth up to $50.

    Grand Theft Auto III will always be one game withing my heart, even in this year of 2014.    … Expand
  25. DailySalesman
    Mar 22, 2015
    8
    The days before Grand Theft Auto became a world of sexual themes was certainly a good one even if I am now shaking my head at the amount of strong language featured here. The graphics here are a bit under par if I do say so myself but the gameplay itself is top notch. Grand Theft Auto III is quite simply put a fun romp through a huge city. It's incredibly innovate yet outlandish at theThe days before Grand Theft Auto became a world of sexual themes was certainly a good one even if I am now shaking my head at the amount of strong language featured here. The graphics here are a bit under par if I do say so myself but the gameplay itself is top notch. Grand Theft Auto III is quite simply put a fun romp through a huge city. It's incredibly innovate yet outlandish at the same time and that is what defines GTA.… Expand
  26. Duke_Nukem
    Sep 30, 2015
    8
    When the game Grand Theft Auto (1997) came out on the original Playstation, it was an amazing game but with a top down view which I really didn't like. A few years later the amazing game Driver (1999) came out and I remember how impressed I was with that game's freedom to drive anywhere you want in the city in full 3D! Then came GTA III for the PS2, which combined the excellent gameplay ofWhen the game Grand Theft Auto (1997) came out on the original Playstation, it was an amazing game but with a top down view which I really didn't like. A few years later the amazing game Driver (1999) came out and I remember how impressed I was with that game's freedom to drive anywhere you want in the city in full 3D! Then came GTA III for the PS2, which combined the excellent gameplay of GTA with the 3D view of Driver.

    The graphics and sound were great for that time. I loved the many radio channels in the car (opera music!).
    The camera position was sometimes annoying; I particularely didn't like how the view changed to first person view when you wanted to look around. The controls were decent but a lot of times i was shooting at another person than the one i intended to shoot.

    The game has aged quite well and is still a lot of fun to play, but it was surpassed in every way by its successors GTA Vice City and GTA San Andreas.

    I didn't like the dark and gloomy colors of GTA III, it looked like it was dark and raining almost all the time. GTA Vice City threw the darkness out of the window and chose for bright colors. GTA San Andreas added the great multi-player option for two gamers on one screen, swimming, more vehicles and planes etc... but GTA III was the game that made the first step towards the title of best game series in the history of gaming.

    For that reason I rate this game 8 out of 10.    … Expand
  27. SSJGodku
    Jul 18, 2023
    8
    This was my introduction to the GTA series. I enjoyed the story & characters. I also liked just driving around and reeking havoc on the civilians.
  28. tomflanders
    Dec 3, 2021
    8
    Groundbreaking game and decent storyline. Would definitely recommend for those who haven't played a GTA before
  29. MicroscopicMoon
    Jan 12, 2019
    8
    The best part of the series, the atmosphere of real city. The main character is like a hipster, but in fact it is a very charismatic character.
  30. hundead309
    Jun 1, 2020
    8
    I know that this was one of the gtas and one of the most important games in the world, but unfortunately it has aged a lot, not only in the graphics that were a little out of date for the time, but also in the very slow and primitive gameplay. In addition, he is very difficult, seriously, he must be one of the most difficult gtas I have ever played, missions like "bomb base 2", "expres 2I know that this was one of the gtas and one of the most important games in the world, but unfortunately it has aged a lot, not only in the graphics that were a little out of date for the time, but also in the very slow and primitive gameplay. In addition, he is very difficult, seriously, he must be one of the most difficult gtas I have ever played, missions like "bomb base 2", "expres 2 go" and "SAM" are almost impossible and I couldn't finish this game without codes.… Expand
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Awards & Rankings

2
#2 Best PS2 Game of 2001
4
#4 Most Discussed PS2 Game of 2001
1
#1 Most Shared PS2 Game of 2001

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
97

Universal acclaim - based on 56 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 56 out of 56
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 56
  3. Negative: 0 out of 56
  1. Voodoo Extreme
    98
    The end-all, be-all of console action games. Period...For me GTA3 is the best action game I have ever played on a console system and I highly recommend it to adults (the intended audience of this game) who know the difference between good and evil.
    Read full review
  2. Into Liquid Sky
    100
    An insanely deep game that offers a lot to do outside of the 70+ missions. If you understand that it's just a game and that these selfsame actions are not healthy in the real world, you'll enjoy a well-developed world disguised as a deviously fun game.
    Read full review
  3. Next Generation Magazine
    80
    Adding to the frustration is the fact that your targeting system is practically useless, and the vehicle physics model is annoyingly floaty. [Jan 2002, p.78]
See all critic reviews »