The famed, controversial crime-simulator finally arrives on the PC after showcasing on the PS2 in October 2001 and, apart from the few updates and changes normally found with PC conversions, it’s very much the same game.

Gone is the 2D birds-eye view of the two prequels and in it’s place a fully rendered 3D city, living and breathing, in which one carries out the day-to-day tasks of the average criminal. The third iteration certainly lives up to the controversy surrounding the GTA series ... more >>

The famed, controversial crime-simulator finally arrives on the PC after showcasing on the PS2 in October 2001 and, apart from the few updates and changes normally found with PC conversions, it’s very much the same game.

Gone is the 2D birds-eye view of the two prequels and in it’s place a fully rendered 3D city, living and breathing, in which one carries out the day-to-day tasks of the average criminal. The third iteration certainly lives up to the controversy surrounding the GTA series in general, with murdering, car-jacking and drug-dealing just a small sample of the potential offences commitable.

Having been betrayed and left for dead, the player must investigate what happened and seek revenge whilst carrying out jobs for gangster bosses, in order to earn money and, more importantly, respect. Following that is the usual GTA affair of moving from job to job, avoiding the police, whilst sinking deeper into the criminal underworld. GTA 3, however, offers a great deal more freedom as the environment is utterly convincing. The city functions so realistically that you can find yourself spending hours just wandering around, without fulfilling any of the objectives, merely discovering for yourself just what is possible.

Obviously the PC version is graphically superior to its PS2 predecessor with a much higher level of detail, possible resolutions of up to 1600x1200 in 32 bit and a re-designed character skin, complete with tight jeans and moustache. Other enhancements include the ability to listen to your own MP3s, via the car radio, the added ‘dismember’ feature (well-aimed shots can now remove limbs – lovely) and, of course, a much more favourable mouse/keyboard control system which is a definite improvement over the PS2s awkward aiming method.

On the PS2 this game was a completely immersive, absorbing and addictive game. It still is.
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