GTA III has been shamelessly copied so much since its release that it’s easy to forget, but make no mistake: it changed the gaming landscape. Its lasting influence is clear to anyone who picks up a gaming magazine – not only do countless games continue to ape its concept, but so unique is GTA that these games defy genre classification. Instead, they’re simply ‘GTA Clones’.
I love the idea of free-roaming in computer games. It’s always seemed to be what games are intended for, to give you the ability to do whatever the hell you want, without repercussions. The original GTA started the ball rolling, and titles like Carmageddon with their open-ended 3D environments and loose criteria for success evolved the idea. But the eventual 3D incarnation of the GTA series, GTA III, combined these elements so skilfully that it took everyone by surprise, and they’ve been copying it ever since.
Sure, it doesn’t have as many bells and whistles as its successors in the series. There’s no tyre-popping or motorcycle-riding, there are no big-name voice actors, and it lacks the tedious roleplaying aspects of San Andreas. But for me, GTA III was a revelation, and I spent more time playing it than any other game in recent history. The go-anywhere, do-anything ethos is so compelling that the missions sometimes seem an unwelcome and primitive distraction, but the gems amongst ‘em – and the variety of inventive strategies you can employ to beat them – keep you coming back.
Developers may have been brutally ripping it off ever since, but for me, nobody has managed to beat Rockstar North at their own game.
