Ah, GTA III. Ten years on and I can't even begin to count how many times I found myself taking a break from all the wanton carnage, and ending up parking my car in a quiet spot to sit for ages just listening to the radio stations. Happy times indeed.

@Little_Socrates said:

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...

Yeah, I used to think he was Tommy as well, until last year when I actually figured it out. I have all the GTA games, and although I've played many hours of each one, I've never beaten any. The only GTA-like game I've beaten was last years Red Dead Redemption.

My fave GTA game! too bad everyone already knew this. ^_^

I don't play with dollies, thanks.

Guys, I have a present:

iller. It's crazy watching this video so many years after. Like the calm before the storm.

@Jeff: Did you have any idea at the time that GTA 3 would become so influential?

I just realized how strange it is that there's no GTA HD Re-release contianing GTA3, Vice City and San Andreas. I'd love to give VC and SA another whirl. Fantastic games. GTA3 is certainly a landmark for video games, but I played so much of it back in the day I don't know if I can revisit it again.

Also: I thought everyone knew his name was Claude after San Andreas came out :|

thats pretty crazy. i spent hours and hours playing GTA3 and id actually buy it again if they decided to give it an HD facelift.

Great piece, Jeff.

Nice article. It's hard to imagine a world before GTA 3. I didn't like a lot of the gameplay, but the level of detail in the mechanics threw gaming into the next generation.

The only open world game that I think tops GTA in being open world is Just Cause 2. Even then, the gunplay and story in the GTA games are miles ahead.

We all know how influential GTA III is/was, but I still find it hard as hell to go back to any GTA game pre IV. I believe that has something to do with me being 15 at the time of III and my tastes in gaming have evolved drastically. The tone of those games is immensely immature.

Liked Tommy more.

That's a pretty badass figure. Happy 10th, GTA3!

@jasonefmonk said:

I liked his cameo in San Andreas.

I think you mean:

@jasonefmonk said:

Hey

Truly one of the greats of the 2000s, I can remember wasting hours just exploring the city. It was crazy that you were given so many side missions, like the taxi missions, cop mission, rampage side quests and even finding those packages. My favorite thing to do was starting a killing spree and holding your own against the army when you got six stars.

I loved this game but I don't know if I'll shell out 150 bucks for the figure maybe Rockstar will release an HD or Anniversary edition.

@dr_mantas said:

Hello Giant Bomb, this is Claude, I'm here to stay motherfuckers.

My name is Claude, I love my Wii, I love my goddamn Wii.

This.

Have had that goddamn song stuck in my head since reading the headline.

@Winsord: I never really thought I'd get that achievement. That's the kind of shit I had to pull when I saw no comments after I read the article.

The figure's face looks more like Max Payne (the new one). Anyways, I liked GTA III but Vice City was better in my opinion.

On the 20th anniversary they will reveal his last name.

The only GTA I ever finished, haha.

Ten years... that's crazy! GTA III was revelatory for me, and it's amazing to see how little the genre has changed since. The graphics and physics are better.

...The shooting got a little bit better with San Andreas and 4, right?

*sigh*.

All Claude's are deranged criminals.

I didn't have enough cash for a PS2 and a copy of this game at the time, so I rented both the console and the game and did virtually nothing else but play that game all week. Totally forgot that you used to be able to rent game consoles.

@Winternet said:

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

Personally I reckon Red Dead Redemptions the best GTA game.

@AndrewB said:

We all know how influential GTA III is/was, but I still find it hard as hell to go back to any GTA game pre IV. I believe that has something to do with me being 15 at the time of III and my tastes in gaming have evolved drastically. The tone of those games is immensely immature.

Lol - as someone 15 years older than you may I say - you need to pull the stick out of your arse.

@Artie said:

I'd love to give VC and SA another whirl. Fantastic games. GTA3 is certainly a landmark for video games, but I played so much of it back in the day I don't know if I can revisit it again.

Also: I thought everyone knew his name was Claude after San Andreas came out :|

I agree with you completely.

Why would people care what he's called? he's a silent protagonist he is supposed to be the player. That figurine looks pretty amazing, I remember hearing about GTA III people were like dude it's like gta 2 but you see the character from behind! and my mind was blown.

I wouldn't mind a 360 port of the game with some chevos. But my mind would probably pop if the announced Vice City next year as a similar port.

All Claude are ass holes in my mind... great now I hate this game.

10 years already? Man...

I was a senior in high school when this game came out. I spent my entire final high school Christmas break glued to this game.

I've known this for a while, but I ignore it, because I'm always going to think of him as the nameless character that I molded into whatever I wanted to do with him at the time. GTA III is always going to be my favorite game in the series, because I played it so much. I really, truly loved it. No other game in the series hooked me like this one, and I think some of the magic was because the character was nameless, and never spoke a word. I felt like it was MY character, and I did with him as I pleased, something no other GTA has been able to offer, at least to me.

Time flies, damn.

been a long time gta 3, been a real long time.

Cool, 'cept for the neon shoes on the figure, nothing a little black paint wouldn't fix. But man, 10 years, you can run it on a cell phone, and you still can't play it on your PS3. My how this has changed (first paragraph): http://www.1up.com/news/microsoft-ditching-compatibility

Now it's more like, "MS cashing in with last gen Games on Demand, Sony still trying to extend PS2 'Life-Cycle' at the expense of developers".

Is this off topic? Maybe...but I'm only thinking about it because I actually really wanted to play this again on my Playstay-shone, and can't.

Now, let's hope for an Grand Theft Auto III series HD Collection, including all five games (the 3 main games, GTA 3, Vice City and San Andreas, as well as the PSP/PS2 titles Liberty City Stories and Vice City Stories).

I vastly prefer the GTA 3 series to GTA IV, though the top down GTA's will always be closer to my heart.

good lawd @ $150

You know what, mute protagonists are so fucking dumb.

Yes, that includes Gordon Freeman.

$150? Buy 2 games, or 1 game w/ DLC

No way.... it's Smersh!!

I played the first GTA for hours and hours, thought GTA2 was a bit of a let down and while GTA3 was a big leap, it felt kinda hollow. Vice City though, man, that game was golden and still rate it as the best GTA game to date.

I feel like this is 10 years to late

I was at the Rockstar booth this year for NYCC, and I saw the figure in the glass display (looked just as sweet as in this picture). They also have other merchandise soon to be release too, like a baseball bat, coffee mug with brass knuckle handle, and more. Also, the game looked really good on the tablets.

Best Article I've read on GiantBomb

@Jeaz said:

I played the first GTA for hours and hours, thought GTA2 was a bit of a let down and while GTA3 was a big leap, it felt kinda hollow. Vice City though, man, that game was golden and still rate it as the best GTA game to date.

It was groundbreaking for it's time.. and alot of the things we take for granted now, like fully voiced characters, different radio stations, a completely seamless world, and the obvious freedom and carnage that the GTA games are known for, but on a much larger scale.

I agree with you though, Vice City had a lot more personality than the other games. It could just be because the 80s was such a vibrant and crazy time in music, and in fashion that the game stood out like it did. Could be the reason I didnt enjoy SA very much, due to it's dull 90's-2k's atmosphere.

..But yeah everyone knew this guy was Claude, but is it THE Claude from GTA2 London?

Here's hoping for an HD release on XBLA/PSN

It would be like giving R* a licence to print their own money!

Can't believe this game is ten years old! I remember buying it when it came out. I played the original games but didn't really know anything ablout this one so i presumed it would be another top down game with better graphics....man was i wrong! Popped it into my Ps2 and was blown away. At the time i'd never seen anything like it. Has to be one of the most influential games of the last decade.

Love how the name was just a jumping off point for a great story. Would love to see more articles in this same vein. Only $150 you say...

You should get the statue for um, research purposes.