Grand Theft Auto III

GTA III
GTA III
GTA III box art
GTA III box art
Set in 2001
Location Liberty City, State of Liberty
Protagonist Claude
Platforms PS2 Xbox PC iOS Android PS3
Developers DMA Design/Rockstar North (PS2/PC)
Rockstar Vienna (Xbox)
Publishers Rockstar North
Engine RenderWare
Ratings

ESRB: M
BBFC: 18
ELSPA: 18+ (PC only)
OFLC: MA 15+ (originally RC)
OFLC (NZ): R18
USK: 16+
SELL: 16
aDeSe: +18
VET/SFB: 18 (Square)
DJCTQ: 18

CERO: Z
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Storyline

From the official site: LIBERTY CITY, USA. WELCOME TO AMERICA'S WORST CITY.

You've been betrayed and left for dead. Now you're taking revenge, unless the city gets you first. Mob bosses need a favor, crooked cops need help and street gangs want you dead. You'll have to rob, steal and kill just to stay out of serious trouble. Anything can happen out here.

Grand Theft Auto returns this Fall on the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system. It will appear on PC CD ROM in Spring 2002. Featuring a fully 3-D living city, a combination of narrative driven and non-linear gameplay and a completely open environment, the game represents a huge leap forward in interactive entertainment. For the first time, players are put at the heart of their very own gangster movie, and let loose in a fully-realised 3 dimensional city, in which anything can happen and probably will. With a cast of hundreds, 50 plus vehicles, ranging from sports cars to ice cream trucks and from boats to buses, 3 hours of music, including opera, reggae, house, drum and bass, pop and disco, a huge array of street ready weapons and some of the seediest characters in video game history, Grand Theft Auto 3 is a sprawling epic which will show you that sometimes, crime can pay and sometimes it can pay you back.


Islands

There are different districts in Liberty City. It consists of three islands - Portland, Staunton Island and Shoreside Vale. Liberty City is based on New York so the three islands are comparatively similar to Brooklyn, Manhattan and Staten Island respectively.

Portland

This is the poor, industrial part of Liberty City, you'll see mostly workmen in old cars, the Leones, Triads and Diablos around here.

This is the industrial zone. Here you will find the docks, the Red Light District, warehouses, factories, markets, garages as well as some useful suppliers. The area is populated with hookers, pimps, labourers, dockworkers, politicians and general scum. Crime is rife in Portland and it has a long history of Mafia control. But this is being challenged by the Triads. A bloody turf war has been underway for several months. A delightful district with something for everyone.

Staunton Island

This is the business area of Liberty City. Lots of rich people can be found here, alongside their nice cars and the resident gangs - the Yakuza, Yardies and Colombian Cartel.

This is the central business district. This is where all the big business takes place in Liberty City and is dominated by the rich, powerful and corporate. During the day the area is bustling with businessmen doing their 9-5 thing - insider trading, taking bribes and selling their grandmothers for ten bucks. At night it is dark, desolate and very dangerous.

Shoreside Vale

This is the suburban area of Liberty City. The wealthy live here, along with the middle class residents and gangs. The Francis International Airport is also located here. As are the Southside Hoods.

Suburban bliss and tranquillity Liberty City style. Home to many of Liberty City's more affluent gangsters, Liberty City's commuter-belt is a patchwork of swimming pools, picket fences, backyards, basketball nets, street gangs and five car garages. It's littered with ostentatious mansions paid for with blood money, protected by high security guards and gates to keep out gangs of bored teenagers looking for something to do to bring some excitement to their middle class existence. The designer dogs and the station wagons give a shallow serenity to suburbia, but don't be fooled. Violence and corruption are at the heart of every home.

Alternative Artwork

In some PAL territories, Grand Theft Auto III was released with different cover artwork, despite there being no major differences in the game itself. Below are two examples, of the box art used for the UK and German versions respectively.

Characters

See: Characters in GTA III

Vehicles

See: Vehicles in GTA III

Weapons

See: Weapons in GTA III

Radio Stations

See: Radio Stations in GTA III