10 Video Games That Revolutionized Genres

If now Rockstar Games is a powerhouse of a publisher who become that much more influential and powerful with every new release, back in 2001 they were only aspiring to be the rulers of the gaming industry. The previous game in the series, GTA2, had sold well, so when Rockstar announced the third entry in the series, there was much intrigue since the developers teased a conversion to full 3D. What the fans didn't know, however, is that the developers had cooked up a game that would set the open-world action trends for many generations to come.

Grand Theft Auto III was the first third-person action game set in a big open city, along with traffic, pedestrians, police, and a whole set of colorful characters and gangs to get missions from. As if that wasn't enough, we got ourselves an actual storyline for the first time in the series complete with cutscenes and voice acting. The gameplay, despite representing only a fraction of what later Grand Theft Auto games offered, worked great at that time.

The opportunities you had in Grand Theft Auto III seemed infinite with every player putting in way more hours than the main story required. The core mechanics of the game were so great, they remain virtually unchanged within the Grand Theft Auto games to this day. Steal any vehicle, choose any mission, complete all the challenges and mini-games, or just cause complete mayhem in the city. We don't know what to expect from Grand Theft Auto 6, but it will definitely stay true to those principles that made the series the number one selling one in the industry.