Glancing through some of the other reviews here on Steam, it would seem that there are numerous instances of crashing on start-up or difficulties launching or playing the game. After 20 hours of play time (story completion plus a few bits ‘n’ bobs), running on Windows 7, an AMD graphics card and a Dual Shock 3 control pad, I experienced no glitches or game breaking difficulties. Furthermore, after adding in a couple of mods (a controller mod and silentpatch), controls were no problem at all, effectively restoring the game to its original state. Textures and colour were all as expected with no unexpected glitches or rendering errors with the game or menus, and once the resolution was adjusted in the game options GTA 3 worked fully. There are many more mods available to enhance the PC experience, some more recommended than others, but with a couple of minor tweaks GTA 3 was 100% playable. However, Grand Theft Auto 3 is 15 years old, the series’ first foray into 3D and it really shows.

GTA3 tells the story of silent protagonist Claude, who is betrayed whilst attempting a bank raid and subsequently arrested. With things looking grim for him, a stroke of luck sees his prison transport attacked by a Columbian cartel, and Claude makes a hasty escape onto the streets of Liberty City. And so begins Claude’s ascent through the various criminal elements whilst he seeks revenge against his double crossing partner. In its purest form GTA 3 is a crime sandbox with variations upon the now established chase/destroy/escape/escort mission format. This being Rockstar’s jump into 3D many of the modern conventions are missing or present in an incredibly crude form. Whilst Liberty City is an impressive construct for a game of this pedigree, exploration is strictly limited to outdoors, with entry to buildings something that would follow only in later entries to the series. Graphically what was once a marvel to behold clearly shows it’s age, but going in with few expectations they are more than serviceable and do not impact upon enjoyment of exploration.

What is infuriating is the incredibly limited mapping system present in the game. Landmark Icons are all but absent, with markers arbitrarily disappearing as the story is completed, and with no in-game map available (a mod is available to correct this) sometimes navigating through the city, especially in time limited missions can be incredibly frustrating. Whilst vehicle physics are dated, and at times almost comic book in their over action, once accustomed to the at times ‘floaty’ handling driving around the city is mostly pain free with around 50 different cars available. Piloting the boats is somewhat less satisfying (although there are very few missions that require this), and the only available plane, the Dodo, is nigh on impossible to use effectively. Furthermore, swimming is not yet possible and Claude is unable to make a hasty escape from damaged cars, requiring them to be virtually stationary to allow egress. Radio stations, whilst somewhat less stunning than in the newer games, breathe character into the city’s population, and giving the player such an easy way to manipulate their in-game soundtrack was a masterstroke, although not yet the finely polished feature that it would become.

Perhaps the most frustrating thing for a modern gamer is the targeting system utilised for armed combat. With no player controlled camera, and only a rudimentary lock-on system, combat becomes more luck than skill, with hasty target shuffling in vain attempts to knock out as many threats as quickly as possible. Whilst later GTA games have become known for their storytelling, here, with a silent lead, it can be difficult to adequately track the what’s and why’s of what’s going on. The plot is shallow and barely satisfying, but nevertheless is adequate in dovetailing one mission to the next. Given the mission structure, progress is often incredibly frustrating, with large elements of trial and error. The difficulty is pitched at a relatively fair level, with few missions acting as a barrier for very long, although the occasional timed objective, in conjunction with the absence of map can be soul destroying for its duration.

It’s a shame that Steam has no neutral rating because that’s firmly where I feel GTA 3 belongs. As a snapshot in time it’s an experience worth having, but as a game that’s worth committing time to it has long been surpassed by its successors. Personally I don’t regret seeing the roots of 3D GTA, but unless you have a similar desire I’d recommend that you skip forward to Vice City, or better yet where the series really came together, San Andreas.

Glancing through some of the other reviews here on Steam, it would seem that there are numerous instances of crashing on start-up or difficulties launching or playing the game. After 20 hours of play time (story completion plus a few bits ‘n’ bobs), running on Windows 7, an AMD graphics card and a Dual Shock 3 control pad, I experienced no glitches or game breaking difficulties. Furthermore, after adding in a couple of mods (a controller mod and silentpatch), controls were no problem at all, effectively restoring the game to its original state. Textures and colour were all as expected with no unexpected glitches or rendering errors with the game or menus, and once the resolution was adjusted in the game options GTA 3 worked fully. There are many more mods available to enhance the PC experience, some more recommended than others, but with a couple of minor tweaks GTA 3 was 100% playable. However, Grand Theft Auto 3 is 15 years old, the series’ first foray into 3D and it really shows. GTA3 tells the story of silent protagonist Claude, who is betrayed whilst attempting a bank raid and subsequently arrested. With things looking grim for him, a stroke of luck sees his prison transport attacked by a Columbian cartel, and Claude makes a hasty escape onto the streets of Liberty City. And so begins Claude’s ascent through the various criminal elements whilst he seeks revenge against his double crossing partner. In its purest form GTA 3 is a crime sandbox with variations upon the now established chase/destroy/escape/escort mission format. This being Rockstar’s jump into 3D many of the modern conventions are missing or present in an incredibly crude form. Whilst Liberty City is an impressive construct for a game of this pedigree, exploration is strictly limited to outdoors, with entry to buildings something that would follow only in later entries to the series. Graphically what was once a marvel to behold clearly shows it’s age, but going in with few expectations they are more than serviceable and do not impact upon enjoyment of exploration. What is infuriating is the incredibly limited mapping system present in the game. Landmark Icons are all but absent, with markers arbitrarily disappearing as the story is completed, and with no in-game map available (a mod is available to correct this) sometimes navigating through the city, especially in time limited missions can be incredibly frustrating. Whilst vehicle physics are dated, and at times almost comic book in their over action, once accustomed to the at times ‘floaty’ handling driving around the city is mostly pain free with around 50 different cars available. Piloting the boats is somewhat less satisfying (although there are very few missions that require this), and the only available plane, the Dodo, is nigh on impossible to use effectively. Furthermore, swimming is not yet possible and Claude is unable to make a hasty escape from damaged cars, requiring them to be virtually stationary to allow egress. Radio stations, whilst somewhat less stunning than in the newer games, breathe character into the city’s population, and giving the player such an easy way to manipulate their in-game soundtrack was a masterstroke, although not yet the finely polished feature that it would become. Perhaps the most frustrating thing for a modern gamer is the targeting system utilised for armed combat. With no player controlled camera, and only a rudimentary lock-on system, combat becomes more luck than skill, with hasty target shuffling in vain attempts to knock out as many threats as quickly as possible. Whilst later GTA games have become known for their storytelling, here, with a silent lead, it can be difficult to adequately track the what’s and why’s of what’s going on. The plot is shallow and barely satisfying, but nevertheless is adequate in dovetailing one mission to the next. Given the mission structure, progress is often incredibly frustrating, with large elements of trial and error. The difficulty is pitched at a relatively fair level, with few missions acting as a barrier for very long, although the occasional timed objective, in conjunction with the absence of map can be soul destroying for its duration. It’s a shame that Steam has no neutral rating because that’s firmly where I feel GTA 3 belongs. As a snapshot in time it’s an experience worth having, but as a game that’s worth committing time to it has long been surpassed by its successors. Personally I don’t regret seeing the roots of 3D GTA, but unless you have a similar desire I’d recommend that you skip forward to Vice City, or better yet where the series really came together, San Andreas.