Grand Theft Auto III

Grand Theft Auto III, or GTA III, is a video game developed by DMA Design, published by Rockstar Games in October 2001 for the PlayStation 2 video game console, May 2002 for Windows-based PCs, and in November 2003 for the Xbox video game console. It is the third in the Grand Theft Auto series.

Setting

The game takes place in Liberty City, a fictitious East Coast city (based on New York City and Chicago). Throughout the story, the main character is never named (though he is referred to in the fan community variously as "Fido", "The Kid", or "Mr. Black". He received the name "Claude" in a brief cameo in the series' later game '; because of this name he is theorized to be "Claude Speed" from GTA2). He is double-crossed by his partner/girlfriend, Catalina, during a bank robbery and sent to jail. While he is being transferred, an attack on the police convoy sets him free.

Related Topics:
Liberty City - East Coast - New York City - Chicago - Claude Speed - GTA2

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He then takes on work as a local thug and rises in power as he works for multiple rival crime gangs. The principal activity in the game is carjacking: the player may walk up to the side of a passing car and press a single button to yank the driver out of the car, get in, and start driving. Each car has its own particular performance characteristics; for instance, a "Mafia Sentinel" car is much faster and able to corner much better than a minivan. However, attempting to car-jack a Mafia vehicle often results in pursuit by the former occupant (who is invariably armed). These risk-reward balances give the game more subtlety than the nature of the in-game actions would suggest.

Related Topics:
Crime gang - Carjacking - Minivan

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The Liberty City Police Department (LCPD) is the city's police agency that the player must be wary of. Minor infractions such as carjacking or fighting will have a cop give chase, gunning down pedestrians and destroying cars will raise the character's "wanted level" and bring increasingly stronger law enforcement in the form of SWAT teams, FBI agents, and the National Guard. The only way to get rid of wanted levels is to pickup "bribes" or respray the vehicle the player is driving at the Pay'N'Spray. Unfortunately, it is often inevitable to attract police attention in order to complete certain missions. The police AI is also somewhat subpar; if the main character is attacked by pedestrians or gang members, a patrolling cop will ignore that incident; however, if the main character attacks pedestrians or gang members, the cop will give chase.

Related Topics:
SWAT - FBI - National Guard - AI

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