Still the king of the crime contingent of open-world gaming, returning to GTA III even to this day is a spectacular experience. With a bunch of characters that instantly endear themselves to you thanks to being backed by a number of iconic celebrities, it's the city's feeling of grime and smut that perfectly fits the inherent feeling of danger, crime and attitude that Rockstar would build an identity on. Although Vice City and San Andreas would take this game engine and stretch it to breaking point, it's still this original industry-changer that made every developer under the sun sit up and take note. No longer did experiences or stories have to be delivered in a linear fashion - instead the player could have the free agency to dictate how and when they were going to take everything in. GTA certainly changed the world back in 2001, but the genre was given one hell of a shakeup all over again just a decade later...
