Let's get the elephant out of the room here first, regarding the re-release. I did play the Definitive Edition version of GTA III, and in fact played it shortly after playing the first handful of hours of the original on PS2 (granted, I did wait a bit for a few things to get patched out). I personally believe this IS the best way to experience this game, although it still has its issues which I'll talk about in a bit. But for a basis for the open-world sandbox genre, the QoL improvements made in this re-release are incredibly welcoming, making GTA III much more tolerable to play now. Driving feels good on the triggers, the weapon wheel is super convenient, mission restarts aren't as annoying, and the GPS system added to the map makes driving to waypoints SO MUCH easier. I can agree with others about the new character models not looking too hot, but I personally don't mind it. This is pretty much an "overpriced" remaster of a PS2 game, and the only bugs I really ran into here were framerate hitches.
Onto the game itself. Grand Theft Auto III, the action game that pioneered open-world sandbox. Now that I was able to finally make my way through the main story, I can say... this definitely shows its age.
I play retro games all the time, so I'm tolerable to more primitive designs. As a whole open-world experience, GTA III is pretty unique. Being able to steal any vehicle you find and travel across a map consisting of three sections is a technical feat for the time, which I think is cool. But although the design of Liberty City is pretty to look at for some moments, the rest of the world feels very empty. Even through the radio stations you listen to while driving, there's a shocking lack of variety when it comes to music tracks and talk show topics. It's a shame this is the case because I found myself easily learning the surroundings around me, so repetitiveness in exploration kinda exhausted me a bit. Thankfully, the objectives and challenges thrown onto the player through the various missions are fun and unique; anything from shooting down a plane to running over a man with an armored cast. It's enjoyable.
The story of the game is just fine. Mafia stories are pretty hit-or-miss for me, and GTA III combines a bunch of different kinds of gangs into a single wild war, namely between the mafia, yakuza, and drug cartels. It's difficult to convey it as a revenge story though, since the characters who betray you at the beginning only really show up again towards the end, so you're pretty much watching your silent protagonist gain a reputation with the gangs around Liberty City. Some of the characters are entertaining though (my personal favorite being Asuka), with certain dialogue being quite raunchy. Nothing really rememberable aside from the actual actions performed within the missions.
Grand Theft Auto III is good, but it's tough to recommend returning to today. The Definitive Edition adds some nice improvements to help you if you really have a desire to see things through, but the story and sandbox aren't anything to run home about. Consider this as a historical piece; one that attempted the impossible to evolve a genre. I have high hopes that the sequels improve upon this design.
Onto the game itself. Grand Theft Auto III, the action game that pioneered open-world sandbox. Now that I was able to finally make my way through the main story, I can say... this definitely shows its age.
I play retro games all the time, so I'm tolerable to more primitive designs. As a whole open-world experience, GTA III is pretty unique. Being able to steal any vehicle you find and travel across a map consisting of three sections is a technical feat for the time, which I think is cool. But although the design of Liberty City is pretty to look at for some moments, the rest of the world feels very empty. Even through the radio stations you listen to while driving, there's a shocking lack of variety when it comes to music tracks and talk show topics. It's a shame this is the case because I found myself easily learning the surroundings around me, so repetitiveness in exploration kinda exhausted me a bit. Thankfully, the objectives and challenges thrown onto the player through the various missions are fun and unique; anything from shooting down a plane to running over a man with an armored cast. It's enjoyable.
The story of the game is just fine. Mafia stories are pretty hit-or-miss for me, and GTA III combines a bunch of different kinds of gangs into a single wild war, namely between the mafia, yakuza, and drug cartels. It's difficult to convey it as a revenge story though, since the characters who betray you at the beginning only really show up again towards the end, so you're pretty much watching your silent protagonist gain a reputation with the gangs around Liberty City. Some of the characters are entertaining though (my personal favorite being Asuka), with certain dialogue being quite raunchy. Nothing really rememberable aside from the actual actions performed within the missions.
Grand Theft Auto III is good, but it's tough to recommend returning to today. The Definitive Edition adds some nice improvements to help you if you really have a desire to see things through, but the story and sandbox aren't anything to run home about. Consider this as a historical piece; one that attempted the impossible to evolve a genre. I have high hopes that the sequels improve upon this design.