5 major things GTA 3 introduced in the series that revolutionized the genre

GTA 3 is the first Grand Theft Auto title in the 3D universe series. The game paved the way for later installments and worked as an experiment for Rockstar Games to try out several new things they'd never done before. However, this led to the developers implementing certain features that were revolutionary for its time. Not only did it change the way for GTA, but it also inspired several other games.

Grand Theft Auto 3 was released in 2001 when video game graphics were still mostly 2D and arcade style. Rockstar Games took a big gamble with this title, which worked out in their favor. This article will list five features of the game that helped advance things for the series.

Note: The article is subjective and solely reflects the writer's opinion.

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Five things that made GTA 3 a revolutionary title

1) Big and interactive open-world

There are only a few other franchises that do open worlds as good as Grand Theft Auto. Well, GTA 3 was the first step towards making things outstanding, as players had access to a relatively big map crawling with NPCs that they could interact with.

This was a huge deal back in the day and has ultimately resulted in the newer titles having even bigger maps with more things to do and interact with. While GTA 3's map is not the biggest or the most detailed in the series, it was still the first one to give players access to roam around freely without being stuck with completing missions.

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2) Adding senseless violence

Violence has been a part of video games for a long time. Mortal Kombat and several other titles have been doing it, and GTA 3 ensured that players got a taste of senseless violence that was only tied to their desires.

While most video games only allowed players to engage in these activities during missions or fights, Grand Theft Auto 3 took things a step further. Players had access to NPCs that could be shot, stabbed, or knocked out at any time or place.

This was a huge thing back in the day that also received a lot of backlash. However, the game's sales and support from the community ensured that this became a regular feature of the Grand Theft Auto series and has now become its signature to a certain extent.

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3) Radio Stations

Driving a car across the map in complete silence can soon turn boring. So, Rockstar Games decided to add several Radio Stations that players can switch between and play popular hits of the time. While this was not the first time that their game had such a feature, GTA 3 made it popular among the masses.

So, it became natural to play some good music while driving to the mission marker or when simply driving across the map looking for mischief. Popular tracks like Change by Connor & Jay and I’m the King by Royce Da 5’9 ensured that players were entertained while traveling.

Later titles polished this feature further and added more channels that were separated by the genre of music that they played. This meant there was something for everybody, no matter what type of songs they listened to.

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4) Using the third-person perspective

Apart from the graphical advancements and other amazing features, using a third-person perspective view is what made the game so revolutionary and opened the path for future titles in the series to further experiment and polish this feature.

All the previous Rockstar Games' titles had the bird-eye view POV that was changed with GTA 3. Fans were blown away by this advancement as it also meant they could see Claude (the protagonist) from different angles.

It was a truly amazing moment for both the players as well as the developers. While they still needed to work on it further, using a third-person perspective allowed them to experiment with different things and how the camera angle changed the views and helped with certain situations.

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5) Cinematic cutscenes

By modern world standards, cinematic cutscenes are an essential part of any video game. GTA 3 introduced this to the Grand Theft Auto series in such a way that it felt natural and necessary.

The cutscenes delivered some of the story, while the rest was told through dialogues. This gave the impression of players watching a movie and being able to interact with the said characters. It was a revolutionary thing for Rockstar Games that worked out quite well.

The later installments in the series have become much better at this, and players can't imagine a Grand Theft Auto title without amazing cutscenes. The studio has also come a long way in terms of graphics, so things feel more movie-like than before. However, it is still thanks to GTA 3 and the work that Rockstar put into the game.

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In other news, the GTA 6 trailer has broken yet another record by beating Minecraft's total views on YouTube.