[Swan]

Pardon the pun, GTA III literally changed the game. This really was revolutionary when it came out 20 years ago. Paved the way for the future GTA series which is arguably the biggest gaming franchise of all time, best, and the most profitable.

The PS2 Trilogy remaster (III, VC, SA) is rumoured to be released in October to coincide with the 20 year anniversary of III. I'm interested to see what it'll look like, and how it'll play.

I would say GTA III is probably my favourite game of all time, it's certainly not the best GTA in terms of story, even gameplay, but for what it was, and what it is i still think it's up there with some of the greatest games of all time.

What are other peoples experience with GTA III?

I've been routing a 100% completion Speedrun for Console (PC is different to speedrun because of the replay feature which allows you to manipulate the game a lot more, and skip a pretty big chunk of missions). It's fully optimised, hoping it takes around 9 hours, with good RNG around the 8 hour mark would be great for a first run. Anyway, here's the list and order -


Portland
First USJ (1)
Luigi’s Girls (L)
Get Ambulance
Take Misty to Luigi's
Paramedic - SPLIT
Don't Spank ma Bitch up (L)/Drop off Ambo
Enforcer/Deliver Enforcer
M16 Rampage (1)
Drive misty for me (L)
The Crook (death/bust if needed)/Moonbeem i/e/Shotgun Rampage (2)
The Thieves/Package (1)
Mike Lips (J)/Supa Save Package (2)/Rocks House Package (3)/Uzi Alley Package (4)
Rail Jump Package (5) Joey package (6)
Chunky Lee Chong (J)
Van Heist (J)
IP Taxi/Cipriani's Chauffeur (J)/Uzi Rampage (3)
The Wife (death/bust if needed)/Coach i/e
Her Lover (death/bust if needed)
Cipriani’s Chauffeur (J)
Taking out the Laundry (T)
Non-Linear - Vigilante/Firefighter/Rocket Rampage (4)/Grenade Rampage (5)/Cop Car i/e
Dead Skunk in the Trunk (J)
Banshee/Packages (7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)Clip Tunnel (13)
Turismo/Package Opposite Sals (14)
The Getaway (J) (06:00-14:00)
Mafia Massacre SPLIT/Ak Rampage (6)
The Pick Up (T)
SCAM (T)
Chaperone (S)/Cheetah/Package (15)/Warehouse USJ (2)/Water USJ (3)
Cutting the Grass (S)/Sal Package (16) Jump Down (17)/Bobcat/Mule i/e
Pump Action Pimp (L)
I Scream, You Scream/Deliver Ice Cream Truck i/e
Triads and Tribulations (T)/AK/Armour
The Fuzz Ball (L)/Packages(18)(19)(20)(21)/Docks/Warehouse USJ’s (4)(5)/Packages Chinatown (22)(23)(24)/Packages (25)(26)(27)/Call Bridge USJ’s (6)(7)
Trial by Fire
Rail Track USJ (8)/Package Head Radio Roof (28)
Diablo Destruction
Big N Veiny
Blow Fish (T)/Package (29)
Patriot Playground
Bomb da Base I/II (S)/Rumpo i/e/Packages (30)(31)
Last Requests (S)

Staunton
Sayonara Salvatore (A)/Blista i/e/Cop Car/Subway Package (32) SPLIT
Bling Bling Scramble/Packages (33)(34)/Glass USJ (9)/Packages Museum (35) Below cop Station (36) Church (37)/Arm Cop Car
Under Surveillance (A)/Package Kenji Roof (38)/Drop down for M16
Kanbu Bust-Out (K)/Packages Cop Station(39) Alley (40)
Packages Glass Building (41) Roof (42) Sniper Rampage (7) Package Car Park (43)
Grand Theft Auto (K)/Package Kingdom Come (44) Package Blista (45) Package Liberty Camp (46)
Uzi Rider
Multistorey Mayhem/USJ (10)
Paparazzi Purge (A)
Pay Day For Ray (A)/ Package Park Mini Bridge (47)
Silence The Sneak (R)
Arms Shortage (R) Package (48)/Barracks OL
Two Faced Tanner (A)/Docks USJ (11) Package Docks (49)
Casino Calamity SPLIT
Non-Linear Vigilante/Molotov Yakuza Rampage (8)/Grenade Yardie Rampage (9)/Firefighter/Package Fire Station (50) Rampages Liberty Camp (10) Park (11)
Ride in the Park/Package Basketball Court (51)
Evidence Dash (R)
Deal Steal (K)/Packages Hospital (52) Fort Staunton Frame (53) USJ (12)
Shima (K)/Package E2G Stall (54)/Diablo Stallion
Smackdown (K)/Get 2 Cop Stars/Park Diablo Stallion
Liberator (D)/Package (55)
Waka Gashira Wipeout (D)/Package Car Park (56)
Gone Fishing (R) Get Barracks OL Before/Mafia Car
Gang Car Round Up/Rockets Yardies Rampage (12) (bridge spot)/Package Off Bridge (57)
Kingdom Come/Yakuza Flamethrower Rampage (13)
ADITO (D)/Packages Docks (58) Rocks (59)/Safehouse FBI Car Drop off/Pick up BF Injection

Staunton/Shoreside Vale
Grand Theft Aero (D)/Drop off BF Injection/Packages Construction site (60)(61) SPLIT
Escort Service (D)/Packages Small Bridge (62) Grass Drop (63) Underground Car Park (64) Up Stairs (65) Small Opening (66) Under Bridge (67) Stadium (68) Lift Bridge (69) Broken Bridge (70) USJ Broken Bridge (13) Package Underpass (71) USJ Rock Jump (14) Package Corner (72) Package Ally Fence (73) Package Cop Station (74)
Import/Export (randomly/as and when) - Vigilante/Packages Dam 1 (75) 2 (76) Rampage Run over Cartel (14)/Packages Subway (77) Behind Sign Airport (78) USJ Bait 1 (15)/Package (79) USJ Bait 2 (16)/Package Container (80)/ Flamethrower Rampage (15)
Uzi Money
Roof Nines Shotgun Rampage (16)/Packages Door Opening (81) Between Walls (82) Wichita Gardens M16 Rampage (pill) (17)
Toyminator
Rumpo Rampage/Package (83) SPLIT
Rigged to Blow/Package Behind Phone Box (84)
Bullion Run/Package Behind Garage (85)
Firefighter/Packages Decoy Hiding Spot (86) Next to Truck (87) Package on Roof (88)/Rocket Rampage (18) Blow up Cars Rampage (19)
Rumble/Package Rumble (89)
Gripped
Marked Man (R)
Loves Disappearance (D)
Bait (A)/Sniper Rampage (20)
E2G (A)/Deliver Dodo/Package Shoreside Hospital (90)
SAM (A) Packages Airport (91)(92)(93)(94)(95) USJ (17)(18)(19)(20)
The Exchange (C)/Packages Mansion (96) Houses (97)(98) Dam Stairs (99)(100)
Drive to Gripped Spot For Staunton Death Warp
Tank/Yankee/Pony - DONE/SPILT/STATS 100%


(yeah it's a bit of a tl;dr )

[Alf]

Have they made an international GTA yet? One were you can do missions in London, Paris, Rio, Beijing, Tokyo, Rome, Moscow, Amsterdam, Tel-Aviv ect?

Someone should make that.

[Swan]

There was a GTA London on PS1 in 1997/8 but it was top down view, not the 3D Universe we're used to with GTA nowadays.

Rockstar have said publicly every future GTA will most likely be based in the US. However they said they're not opposed to making a similar GTA like game based in somewhere like Toyko, or London.

[Mystic Mock]

I really enjoyed GTA III.

I always remember certain missions driving me up the wall (in a good way) the PS2 trilogy will always be classics for the GTA franchise imo.

And on a side note I like the amount of detail in the OP.

[LaLaLand]

Can’t wait for the trilogy remaster - apparently it’s being announced any day now. Already rated.

I don’t remember much about GTA 3 sadly but that could be a blessing to play again and rediscover.

[LeatherTrumpet]

best game ever made

[Swan]

Originally Posted by LaLaLand

Can’t wait for the trilogy remaster - apparently it’s being announced any day now. Already rated.

I don’t remember much about GTA 3 sadly but that could be a blessing to play again and rediscover.

Yeah i would definitely give it another playthrough.

[Toy Soldier]

GTA3 has a very important place in gaming history. It’s not just the first 3D GTA game, it paved the way for the entire 3rd person open world genre which is one of the most common/popular game for mates to this day.

… HOWEVER … personally I consider it somewhat of a tech demo. It was essentially Rockstar showing what they could create, in terms of a gameplay engine. A prototype basically. Vice City was when they really refined it into something special (and also when mainstream popularity exploded) , and San Andreas showed the possibilities in terms of expanding the scope of these games.

In my opinion, the gaming “landmarks” in the GTA series are GTA 1, Vice City, and 5.

[Swan]

Originally Posted by Toy Soldier

GTA3 has a very important place in gaming history. It’s not just the first 3D GTA game, it paved the way for the entire 3rd person open world genre which is one of the most common/popular game for mates to this day.

… HOWEVER … personally I consider it somewhat of a tech demo. It was essentially Rockstar showing what they could create, in terms of a gameplay engine. A prototype basically. Vice City was when they really refined it into something special (and also when mainstream popularity exploded) , and San Andreas showed the possibilities in terms of expanding the scope of these games.

In my opinion, the gaming “landmarks” in the GTA series are GTA 1, Vice City, and 5.

I dunno, the size of SA, the story, the attention to detail. I would say III, VC and SA are all landmark games in their own right.

[Alf]

Which is the one with Trevor?

It's either Vice City, Vice City stories or Liberty city stories.

That's the only one I ever completed, I quite enjoyed that one.

I have played some San Andreas, that was the best. Happy Mondays front man, Shaun Ryder played a character in that one.

[James]

I played it up to the race mission, which I couldn't pass so I eventually gave up.

Youtube video

[Swan]

Originally Posted by Alf

Which is the one with Trevor?

It's either Vice City, Vice City stories or Liberty city stories.

That's the only one I ever completed, I quite enjoyed that one.

I have played some San Andreas, that was the best. Happy Mondays front man, Shaun Ryder played a character in that one.

Trevor is in GTA 5, and yeah he's a great character.

Yeah Shaun Ryder played Maccer, along with Kent Paul who was played by Danny Dyer. Really great ironic humour by R* tbh, two Englishmen in an American based game with accents worlds apart. And very thick accents at that.

Originally Posted by James

I played it up to the race mission, which I couldn't pass so I eventually gave up.

Youtube video

There's a little trick to that mission, instead of parking in the marker and waiting for the countdown, just drive past one of the cars at medium, to fast speed and tap them, it starts the race straight away, giving you a nice head start.

[Dogeatdog]

Originally Posted by Swan

What are other peoples experience with GTA III?

It’s a brilliant game and I’ve always enjoyed playing it. I’ve spent countless hours in the past just messing about and what not. In terms of where I’d rank it out of the original 3 games it would probably be 3rd but that’s not to say it’s a bad game because it was far from that. It has its flaws and so did the other 2 games but for me personally Vice City will always be no.1 and San Andreas 2nd but I’ll list a few things what I liked about III.

Setting

The OG Liberty City is actually a pretty decent map. Plenty of places to explore and some good Easter eggs to find as well. It does have quite a dark feel to it but that was one of things I enjoyed quite a lot about the game. Shoreside Vale was probably my favourite Island of the map.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack for III I personally think is actually pretty decent. If you compare it to soundtracks in the later games then it does pale in comparison but considering some of the songs on the game were made especially for it (with only some stations having licensed tracks) I still think it did make an overall entertaining experience. I liked a majority of the radio stations and I’d listen to them depending on what I was doing in the game (racing = MSX FM, Rise FM; cruising = Jah Radio, Game FM, Chatterbox FM). When I was younger playing the game sometimes I’d just park up and listen to the stations especially Chatterbox FM and I found that one hilarious even now

Youtube video

Youtube video

Missions

I can play through the missions now quite easily and I don’t really find them particularly tough. There were a couple missions however that I used to find challenging tho when I was younger and that was Espresso 2 Go and Kingdom Come.

Youtube video

Dislikes

There wasn’t much at all to dislike about this game but if there was one thing that I did find a bit annoying was that once you complete the game, a majority of the gangs are hostile towards you. This is particularly annoying in the Mafia and Colombian Cartel areas (I think it’s called Fort Staunton) since they have strong guns and can literally blow your car up in 2 hits. It makes exploring the map a bit hard especially if your looking for stunt jumps or hidden packages

[Swan]

Great post Dogeatdog!

Yeah i certainly agree VC and SA are actually better games, the progression from III, to VC, to SA was immense. I don't think we'll ever find a better gaming Trilogy.

I agree with about the Radio Stations, Flashback was always up there with my favourites too. Obviously R* were limited with music rights on III, i feel like VC's soundtrack was revolutionary for games at the time. I'll always remember jumping on the Faggio for the first time and Bille Jean playing, great memories!

Yeah the missions aren't too bad once you get to know them, i learned a lot through Speedrunning and how to do missions fast, and manipulating certain aspects of them. E2G when you don't know the map really is a toughie, kinda easy when you know where the Stalls are, and have done the mission 1000 times Kingdom Come, oh man "come to daddy, special delivery"

I will add to the dislikes, and that's how if you don't do the missions in a certain order you can easily lock yourself out of 100% completion. I feel that was a major flaw actually. Also yeah the hostility towards you, Fort Staunton and Portland being the worst (Portland after you kill Sal) make Paramedic for example as good as impossible to complete. The best tip being, get as much of the side stuff done asap.

100 Taxi fares is a little excessive, as is 20 Vigilante and Firefighter missions per Island. Though there's plenty of tricks in Speedrunning to get over them. Skipping Taxi all together really is handy for 100% Speedrunning.

[Dogeatdog]

Originally Posted by Swan

Great post Dogeatdog!

Yeah i certainly agree VC and SA are actually better games, the progression from III, to VC, to SA was immense. I don't think we'll ever find a better gaming Trilogy.

I agree with about the Radio Stations, Flashback was always up there with my favourites too. Obviously R* were limited with music rights on III, i feel like VC's soundtrack was revolutionary for games at the time. I'll always remember jumping on the Faggio for the first time and Bille Jean playing, great memories!

Yeah the missions aren't too bad once you get to know them, i learned a lot through Speedrunning and how to do missions fast, and manipulating certain aspects of them. E2G when you don't know the map really is a toughie, kinda easy when you know where the Stalls are, and have done the mission 1000 times Kingdom Come, oh man "come to daddy, special delivery"

I will add to the dislikes, and that's how if you don't do the missions in a certain order you can easily lock yourself out of 100% completion. I feel that was a major flaw actually. Also yeah the hostility towards you, Fort Staunton and Portland being the worst (Portland after you kill Sal) make Paramedic for example as good as impossible to complete. The best tip being, get as much of the side stuff done asap.

100 Taxi fares is a little excessive, as is 20 Vigilante and Firefighter missions per Island. Though there's plenty of tricks in Speedrunning to get over them. Skipping Taxi all together really is handy for 100% Speedrunning.

Thanks Swan

The trilogy was incredible I just hope that the remaster lives up to expectations.

Ah Flashback with the Scarface songs again another radio station that you could listen to on loop and never get bored. As limited as they were on music rights for III, I feel like the tracks that they did use really suited the game to a tea. Chatterbox has me laughing so much

Crap lady: “Uh yes I’d like to say something about these damn people on trains and buses in this city who yamma on and on into their cellphones, I’m really glad I get to hear what your having for dinner. What we should do is herd them up and put them on an island, I am the president of a group called Citizens Raging Against Phones”

Lazlow: “Crap?”

Crap Lady: “EXACTLY!!”

Lazlow: “Your organisation is called CRAP, wha? what kind of moron are you? You wanna round people up for using a phone but your calling up on a phone to tell the world about it??”




Yh Kingdom Come used to scare me a bit when I was younger when I’d hear the enemies shouting random things (”SPECIAL DELIVERY!!”) and I always found it tricky to blow up the vans but like you say, you find tricks to help get through the missions quicker and now I find it easy to pass first time.

I’ve actually just remembered a side mission that used to annoy me and it’s the one with the Landstalker in Belleville Park where you have to pass through the checkpoints in a time limit. Omg was that jeep so easy to flip, it took me about 10 goes recently to pass that

Yh passing the side missions first is actually really helpful because you get quite a lot of money from them. I agree 100 taxi missions is quite excessive but the amount of money I gained just from doing that mission alone I was already a millionaire before I passed the second mission

[Toy Soldier]

Originally Posted by Swan

I dunno, the size of SA, the story, the attention to detail. I would say III, VC and SA are all landmark games in their own right.

It's interesting really. The three games represent the transition of the game from what it was on PS1 into basically what is still the standard for a large open-world game today. GTA5 I think represents the "fully refined" form of SA.

[LaLaLand]

Trailer came out a week ago and I missed it til now!

Looks fantastic!!!

[LaLaLand]

Youtube video

Comes out November digitally or December 7th on disc.