The Blueprint
It was one of the most notable releases in an overwhelming year for video games, stands out as one of the largest names when looking back at the previous decade, and will continue to receive premier accolades as long as video games exist. The quality of storytelling in games, the concept of sandbox gameplay in a well realized environment, and developers and publishers who aren’t afraid to flip off tight asses all have GTA3 to thank for setting a towering benchmark.
Your nameless, voiceless character begins the game double crossed and left for arrest or death, whichever comes first. His climb up Liberty City’s crime ladder begins the moment he breaks out of a police van with fellow convict 8 ball and the player is told to jack their first car. With a GPS map to keep in sight, a radio to fidget with, an open city at your helm, and a deadly weapon at your disposal, the game is officially underway. Some may argue that it doesn’t begin until you run over your first pedestrian and earn your first police star.
GTA 3 is played out through a set of branching storyline missions provided by crime life hotshots wanting you to do their dirty work. You'll build a name for yourself, ironic yeah, and the amount of available missions to choose from will continue to grow. Each mission progresses the story and builds an intriguing narrative of crime life in the big city, which is inhabited by a crowded cast of colorful law-resisting characters.
Liberty City itself is broken up into three diverse districts, and is established extremely well for a fictionalized metropolis without any glaring influences. You get the feeling that this is the New York City of this game world without it directly aping any of New York's landmarks. It's quite impressive,and Liberty City's balanced design is perfect for a game that steals scores of hours from the player.
While it's easy to see what makes GTA3 such an important and celebrated game, it tends to fight a losing battle with unnecessary frustration. Matters are made exponentially tougher by an archaic health system, weak weapon targeting, and an overall sense of clumsiness. Mission progression and sandbox dickery are limited by the gameplay design, but it certainly doesn't ruin the game, just hinder it. Otherwise, GTA3 stands tall as a contemporary classic.
