I'm assuming this anniversary addition is just the original GTA3 rather than some HD remake or something, which would make it a better collection. Still, Claude figure is pretty good.

@Rihanna said:

You can tel the game is 10 years old since the main character is wearing cargo pants. Cargo pants are no longer fashionable. Cargo shorts are still acceptable though.

One of my professors wore cargo shorts yesterday.

Yeah, that's the end of my story.

@Rihanna said:

You can tel the game is 10 years old since the main character is wearing cargo pants. Cargo pants are no longer fashionable. Cargo shorts are still acceptable though.

I wear cargo pants everyday, it's like saying jeans are no longer fashionable, last i checked fashion is subjective.

@Rihanna: Are we not wearing cargo pants anymore? I should let me coworker know.

Pretty sure it was already 100% confirmed his name was Claude.

Think about the number of open world games you've played. Now think about how many of them actually managed to make you feel like you were a part of a living, breathing world.

This is so true. I remember getting GTA3 on release morning, before it had all the hype. And I remember, after a day of nonstop playing, just standing at the docks on the first island watching the sun rise, and thinking, "Wow. This is amazing." Never really had a moment like that with a game since then.

Wasn't it implied at the end of GTA 3 that he shot her?

@Styl3s: No. Taste is subjective.

I get that cargo pants are comfy and utilitarian, but don't think for a second that you are doing your appearance any favors.

But then again, this is still a videogame website, and I'd guess that "looking fashionable" isn't high on anyone's list of priorities on here.

I was so hyped for GTA3 before release and it is still one of my favorite gaming experiences. Such a milestone.

Retro Quick Look, anyone?

@avidwriter: Yes, he did. San Andreas takes place before GTA III.

The weapons are the most impressive part. Such tiny details!

I can still play GTA III and somehow get more of a living city feeling than I do from Vice City or San Andreas. I don't really know why. I think the more detail you add, the more you notice the flaws, and without any strong parody stuff that you find in later GTA games, the city felt less like a New York clone and more like its own thing.  Maybe it's a nostalgia thing? Maybe it's just a proper sound mix? 
 
I know that in San Andreas, you could sort of tell that a lot more was being squeezed into the game; I never felt that the world was quite as THERE somehow. And with Vice City, the whole Miami Vice parody thing felt a bit thick. I know people like it, and I did too, but GTA III felt less self-aware somehow. Added features, but not quite solid. Not even sure if that makes sense.
 
You can never go home again, or to your old safe house, I guess.

Jeff unboxing of this, oh please oh please!

He looks just like Tommy Tallarico

They never said his name in GTA III, but they did call him Claude in San Andreas.

GTA 3 <3
 
The soundtrack, the ambiance, the atmosphere, the pedestrian dialogue, the sound design... 
 
Love you GTA 3.

I never really played GTA III, I was unfortunately too young, I jumped on the GTA train with Vice City. I was still too young but at that age where killing a bunch of people with a tank made me feel like an adult. I bought it some time after San Andreas, but I couldn't play it because I had been spoilt by Vice City and San Andreas. I still appreciate the influence it had on todays games and the gaming industry as a whole.

I'm about to order this guys! Stop me!

Edit: Too late......

I did a 100% run in gta3 2 years ago.  That game is hard.  Like, if it came out today reviews would demolish it for being unfair.
Once you unlearn all of the stuff GTA games have taught you since then, it's still really fun, but doing that isn't easy either.  I think a re-release of the actual game probably wouldn't fly these days.

Id love to get the figure but not at that price.

Still the best GTA protagonist and still the best GTA game.

I'm pretty happy their premium action doll is way too goddamn expensive, otherwise I would probably buy one and watch it collect dust for the rest of my life.

I do have to agree, no open world game since GTAIII ever matched that feeling when you first played GTAIII. I played it for the first time at a cousins house and it totally blew my mind away. I couldn't believe it existed; being able to drive wherever you wanted, exit and enter other vehicles at will with actual physics and damage modeling, and explore an entire city with few barriers in a three dimensional world. It was so groundbreaking to me.

Not even any other GTA game gave me the same feeling. I suppose once you've played one open world, you've kinda played them all.

Although I enjoyed my time with Vice City, the sheer amount of hours in GTA III probably won't be surpassed by any new GTA game ever again.

That is kinda cool, for a doll...

GTA III was pretty special and it is its birthday, but come on. Vice City is "the" best GTA game.

Tommy Vercetti.

Best protagonist, in the best game. Sure San andreas had a much better setting/landscape than all of them, though. Gameplay wise all of the games in the Franchise have surpassed GTA 3. Its just GTA 3 was your first time experiencing it. There is that nostalgia factor, but the game is not actualy better than the others. They are all the same.

After Vice City i pretty much grew out of GTA. I knew it would essentialy become the same game with a characters racial background changed. I can't play it anymore or games like it (Saints Row, Mafia) all them same ol open world mafia types. I want more in my sandboxes nowdays than random mayhem. Probably why i couldn't get into Prototype either.

Man Barbies.

@Buckfitches said:

@Styl3s: No. Taste is subjective.

I get that cargo pants are comfy and utilitarian, but don't think for a second that you are doing your appearance any favors.

But then again, this is still a videogame website, and I'd guess that "looking fashionable" isn't high on anyone's list of priorities on here.

So the way i look isn't important because i wear cargo over jeans? I guess GQ has no fasion sense either sense they did multiple stories how "cargo" is back this year.

like i said, it's subjective, not just taste but your fashion, just because more men wear jeans doesn't make people who wear cargo less attractive or they don't care about fashion and the fact that you try to link people on video game forums not caring further shows your ignorance on the subject. Also judging people by what they wear? incredibly pathetic.

Awesome article, Jeff. I didn't know they were doing anything for this anniversary. Might have to see what the iOS versions are like, would be awesome to have a decent portable version of the game.

It's crazy that GTA has been around for 10 years. For me personally, every game in the series since III has been just as memorable, and I can't wait to see where Rockstar takes the series next. It's probably the series I get the most excited about even after all these years. There's just nobody that does it quite as well as R* in my eyes.

Would the real Claude please stand up?

i always considered gta 3 a classic it's my favorite gta game ever and its really the only one i've sunk serious hours into

@Styl3s: Calm down. I don't judge people on what they wear, I judged you on what you wrote. Too quick, might I add.

Maybe you do actually know what you are talking about, and I apologize for the snarky comment. I just got irked a bit at the mention of wearing cargo pants every single day, and "fashion" in the same sentence.

Let's hug it out.

So when are they gonna rerelease the GTA3 trilogy as a "HD remake"? That's one I'd actually buy without any changes other than widescreen and high resolution support. Optimally, I'd prefer the controls for all three games to be updated to those found in the xbox version of San Andreas... but asking for any modern features in an "HD remake" is downright silly considering how well the others are selling without doing a single thing.

I hope the 360 and PS3 are included in those "other devices"

@Fjordson said:

It's crazy that GTA has been around for 10 years.

14 years actually. It's just the third person series that's 10 years old.

To me Vice City was the very clear winner in the series BTW. None of the others had that strong an identity.

WAIT... nobody knew his name was Claude?

@Mumrik said:

@Fjordson said:

It's crazy that GTA has been around for 10 years.

14 years actually. It's just the third person series that's 10 years old.

To me Vice City was the very clear winner in the series BTW. None of the others had that strong an identity.

Identity isn't everything. I prefer SA's map to any of the others. Though I will say, the new Liberty City is my favorite, in terms of "feel".

@Mumrik said:

@Fjordson said:

It's crazy that GTA has been around for 10 years.

14 years actually. It's just the third person series that's 10 years old.

To me Vice City was the very clear winner in the series BTW. None of the others had that strong an identity.

Well yeah, I should have said 3D GTA. Not really a fan of the earlier ones.

And I love all of them, but Vice City is probably my favourite as well. Great setting and soundtrack for that game.

Very much a classic game, but I have no interest in playing a remake. A new Vice City? Sign me up.

I have a feeling that our very own Giant Bomb user Claude is going to be very happy about this.

I was SEVEN when this game came out. I was nine when I first played it. Yeah, I didn't really know how sex works, but I was already driving over pedestrians and helping to sell cocaine.

Life's cool.

This pleases me greatly. I can't wait until Claude sees this.

Always loved GTA III, if I had the scratch I would get that figure but 150 is way to pricey.

Somebody get on the Photoshops! I want to see this guy wielding a Wii Zapper!

The GTA games have all delivered an awesome open world and a storyline with totally memorable characters. III, Vice City, San Andreas, IV. Easily some of my favorite games of all time.

I can jump into all of those games and play for hours without even doing a mission and find my own fun.

I think one of biggest reasons I love them is the driving. I love the way they do driving. You can create some amazing action movie moments whenever you want.

Shoot at a citizens car to get him going and chase him all over the city. Get a bunch of cops on your tail and fire out your window at them. Get a headshot and watch their car swerve violently and flip while other coppers crash into them. Drop a grenade out your window and watch a cop car explode and launch into the air behind you. Tonnes of awesome slow motion stunt jumps. Plus, it's super easy to do a wicked awesome fish tail.

So much to love. It is so awesome that they take as long they need in between games to create another GTA world. The series is so well know they could pump out a game every year and it would sell.

His full name is Claude Speed

I do not know why I thought he was just an older Tommy Vercetti. I was told this as a youth, and I guess I accepted it blindly and never questioned it? I haven't played either game since 2004 when I was about 12, so that's not that shocking to me...

I really hope Claude commented on this...

I never knew that people were speculating about his name. It seems like everyone always knew it was Claude.