From its conceptualizing in 1999, to its release in October 2001 (after a three-week delay to allow for some minute last-minute changes following 9/11), GTA III's landscape-changing impact on the face of gaming stemmed from a roughly 23 man team working in a small studio, grinding the whole thing out over 2 years.
The core through-line of the plot is a by-the-numbers revengeamatic: betrayed and left for dead in the opening cutscene heist, our protagonist Claude (contrary to poular belief, yes, he was always named Claude; his name's never stated in-game, but he is referred to by name in the game's script) makes it out when his prison convoy gets derailed by a Colombian kidnap job (which serves a purpose later in the plot, a wrap-around I didn't appreciate when I first played the game), and after that, you're let loose on Liberty, a hired gun who will (quite literally) turn on people the second a better (or better-paying) opportunity comes up.
A major gripe, though, I realized - looking at the game again - that about half the missions are just empty filler that serve zero purpose in advancing the narrative. It's like watching a hamster go round and round on a wheel - go from point A to point B, whack someone or steal a vehicle, and do the same a couple dozen more times. The mission structure is extremely repetitive and lacks the diversity of gameplay later titles would introduce. And a lot of the missions aren't just gruelling, they're unnecissarily unforgiving; there's challenge and there's sadism for sadism's sake (I literally had to use cheats to beat that damn 'Panlantic Land Grab' Mission - those who've played the game know exactly what I'm on about).
Personally, I really dig the protagonist. Claude's character design is simple but iconic, and - since Rockstar was pressed for time and finding a voice-actor for Claude was low priority, we were left with a mute protagonist - his quiet disposition makes him all the more mysterious and projectionable.
The game is richly detailed and the city design is - at least in comparison to Liberty City's GTA IV itteration - where Rockstar focused too much on reflecting the real New York - unique (a common (and fair enough) complaint is that Shoreside Vale (the third island in the game) has a convoluted map that's confusing to navigate; but even that I love, since it just gives the city a more unique character).
GTA III's HUD display, lock-on systems, world exploration and approach to non-linear story progression have become standard, and those are just some of the ways open-world gaming has followed in Rockstar's wake.
GTA III may not have been the first-open world game, but it was the first open-world game to do Something with that premise, and in doing so, laid the groundwork for sandbox gaming going forward.
The core through-line of the plot is a by-the-numbers revengeamatic: betrayed and left for dead in the opening cutscene heist, our protagonist Claude (contrary to poular belief, yes, he was always named Claude; his name's never stated in-game, but he is referred to by name in the game's script) makes it out when his prison convoy gets derailed by a Colombian kidnap job (which serves a purpose later in the plot, a wrap-around I didn't appreciate when I first played the game), and after that, you're let loose on Liberty, a hired gun who will (quite literally) turn on people the second a better (or better-paying) opportunity comes up.
A major gripe, though, I realized - looking at the game again - that about half the missions are just empty filler that serve zero purpose in advancing the narrative. It's like watching a hamster go round and round on a wheel - go from point A to point B, whack someone or steal a vehicle, and do the same a couple dozen more times. The mission structure is extremely repetitive and lacks the diversity of gameplay later titles would introduce. And a lot of the missions aren't just gruelling, they're unnecissarily unforgiving; there's challenge and there's sadism for sadism's sake (I literally had to use cheats to beat that damn 'Panlantic Land Grab' Mission - those who've played the game know exactly what I'm on about).
Personally, I really dig the protagonist. Claude's character design is simple but iconic, and - since Rockstar was pressed for time and finding a voice-actor for Claude was low priority, we were left with a mute protagonist - his quiet disposition makes him all the more mysterious and projectionable.
The game is richly detailed and the city design is - at least in comparison to Liberty City's GTA IV itteration - where Rockstar focused too much on reflecting the real New York - unique (a common (and fair enough) complaint is that Shoreside Vale (the third island in the game) has a convoluted map that's confusing to navigate; but even that I love, since it just gives the city a more unique character).
GTA III's HUD display, lock-on systems, world exploration and approach to non-linear story progression have become standard, and those are just some of the ways open-world gaming has followed in Rockstar's wake.
GTA III may not have been the first-open world game, but it was the first open-world game to do Something with that premise, and in doing so, laid the groundwork for sandbox gaming going forward.