🚦 GTA III Full Review (PC) – Story, Features, Mods & Why It’s Still a Must-Play in 2025

Welcome to Liberty City! Grand Theft Auto III is the game that redefined the open-world genre. Released in 2001 and arriving on PC in 2002, this landmark title from Rockstar Games brought cinematic storytelling, sandbox gameplay, and urban chaos to the forefront. In 2025, it still holds a special place in the hearts of gamers worldwide.

🧠 Game Information

Game: Grand Theft Auto III
Developer: Rockstar North
Publisher: Rockstar Games
Release Date (PC): May 21, 2002
Genre: Action-Adventure / Open World
Platform Reviewed: PC
Modes: Single Player

📖 Story: A Silent Hitman’s Journey Through the Underworld

You play as Claude, a silent criminal betrayed during a bank heist by his girlfriend Catalina. Left for dead and arrested, Claude escapes during a prison transfer and begins working his way up through Liberty City's criminal underworld.

The story unfolds across three districts:

🏭 Portland – Industrial, Mafia-run, gritty beginnings
🌆 Staunton Island – Business district with Yakuza and Triad influence
🏡 Shoreside Vale – Suburban chaos, home to the Colombian Cartel

You'll work for mobsters, businessmen, and cartels while chasing down Catalina for revenge. Themes of betrayal, power, and loyalty drive this dark, stylish crime tale.

🎮 GTA III PC Gameplay Features

🗺️ 1. Open World Liberty City

Inspired by New York City, Liberty City is divided into three large areas with neighborhoods, alleys, tunnels, and bridges. The living, breathing city includes pedestrians, police, taxis, and rival gangs.

🚗 2. Variety of Vehicles

Drive sedans, taxis, sports cars, trucks, boats, and military vehicles. Each has its own speed and handling, and you can cause chaos with police chases, explosions, and roadblocks.

🔫 3. Combat & Weapons

Use pistols, Uzis, shotguns, flamethrowers, rocket launchers, and even baseball bats. Weapon combat feels simple but effective for its time.

🔧 4. Mission Variety

Missions include:

Assassinations
Drug runs
Explosions
Heists
Car deliveries

Some missions are iconic, others challenging—especially without checkpoints

💼 5. Side Activities & Hidden Packages

Find collectibles, complete vigilante/firefighter/taxi missions, and trigger unique stunt jumps. Hidden Packages unlock powerful weapons at safehouses.

💻 PC Version Benefits

Playing GTA 3 on PC offers major upgrades over the console version:

✅ High-resolution support
✅ Customizable keyboard + mouse controls
✅ Smoother performance and faster loading
✅ Easier save/load management
✅ Access to mods and community patches

🔧 Best PC Mods for GTA III

Mods make GTA 3 feel fresh even after two decades:

GTA III HD Pack – Improved textures, models, and lighting
Silent Patch – Fixes bugs, crashes, and adds widescreen support
Real Cars Mods – Replace in-game cars with real-life models
GTA III: Extended – Adds missions, weapons, and events
Ginput Mod – Adds full controller support for Xbox/PS controllers
Total Conversion Mods – Transform the city or even import Liberty City into later games

⚠️ Always backup your game files before installing mods.

🎶 Soundtrack & Radio Stations

One of GTA 3’s most iconic features is its radio stations, each with its own genre and satirical ads:

🎵 Chatterbox FM – Hilarious talk radio hosted by Lazlow
🎵 Head Radio – Soft rock and pop
🎵 Double Clef FM – Opera and classical music
🎵 Lips 106, Rise FM, MSX FM – Pop, trance, and electronic

Each station adds immersion and atmosphere to the game world.

📊 Pros & Cons

👍 Pros	👎 Cons
Groundbreaking open-world design	Dated graphics (improvable with mods)
Deep and gritty criminal story	No mission checkpoints
Great radio stations and voice acting	Physics and movement feel stiff
Endless replay value with mods	Can be buggy on modern PCs
Mod support and community fixes	Claude is silent, limiting story emotion

🏁 Final Verdict: ★★★★★ 9/10

“GTA III is the foundation of the modern open-world genre.”
With its bold storytelling, dark urban setting, and revolutionary freedom, this game is as important as it is fun. The PC version enhances everything with better performance and limitless modding potential. Even in 2025, Liberty City is still worth a visit.

📥 Download GTA III (PC)

Play GTA III legally on these platforms:

🔗 Rockstar Games Official Site
🔗 Steam – Buy GTA III (PC)
🔗 Rockstar Games Launcher

🛡️ Only download from verified sources to avoid issues.

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