10 Video Games That Changed EVERYTHING When They Launched
2. Grand Theft Auto III (2001)
Prior to the release of Grand Theft Auto III's release in 2001, Rockstar Games' flagship franchise had been nothing more than a fairly basic top-down series of heist missions. That completely changed with Grand Theft Auto III, which went all out in creating a vibrant open world in 3D that contained all of the favourite tropes that the series had already established.
The best selling game of the year, GTA III revolves around the story of Claude, a professional criminal who rampages around the three islands of Liberty City getting tangled up in gangs and heists in the hopes of getting back at his ex-partner.
Aiming to have their game set in a living, breathing world that could have housed a gritty Hollywood action movie, the attention to detail that went into designing Liberty City pushed the boundaries on what possible for the world of gaming to house at the time. Roughly 8,000 lines worth of dialogue were produced, each of the three islands were designed specifically to fit the feeling of progression for players and the technical demands on the PS2 version specifically changed the whole way in which open world games could be produced going forward.