20 Incredibly Important Video Games That Shaped The Industry

8. Grand Theft Auto III

Why It Is Important: Grand Theft Auto III revolutionised the sandbox genre with its perfectly realised city and gameplay mechanics. Grand Theft Auto III was by no means the first sandbox game, but it used the new hardware of the PlayStation 2 to create a vast, detailed city that just wasn't technically possible before. It also showed us the simple joy of hiring a prostitute and then running her over to get your hard-earned, gangster as hell money back. Released in 2001, GTA III's scale was unmatched at the time still serves as a template for sandbox games today. Liberty City had its own pedestrians, law enforcement, public transport systems, weather systems, funny radio stations... It was the perfect playground for gangster shenanigans to take place in. The sheer variety of things to do was mind-boggling. On top of the lengthy campaign players could compete in races, go on murderous rampages, locate hidden packages scattered around the city, complete unique stunts and do missions as a taxi driver or paramedic. DMA Design managed to seamlessly integrate free-roaming, driving and shooting gameplay mechanics into one game. Everything combined gave the player an amazing sense of freedom that made other games feel restrictive by comparison. GTA III showed the world what the PlayStation 2 was capable of. It was a huge leap for the gaming medium as a whole and laid the foundations for everything that followed.