20 Mind-Blowing Things You Didn't Know About Grand Theft Auto 3

16. The Game's Opening Cinematic Location Exists In Game

GTA 3 20 Years
Rockstar

Ever wondered where the opening cinematic takes place? You could scour the entirety of the Liberty City map for hours and never find it, as it's actually its own, separate location that exists outside of the main city.

Known as the Grand Theft Auto 3 Ghost Town, this area is only accessible via use of the Dodo seaplane, which requires mastery of its ridiculous controls.

The actual town itself is completely devoid of solid textures, making it completely impossible to land there. However, you can fly over it and admire it for yourself.

The town is a lot more detailed than Liberty City itself, likely as its a single area and can render in more resources. There's cardboard boxes, dumpsters and garbage everywhere, and even some air conditioning units on apartment blocks.

There's also several building types, including the Liberty City Bank, a Mr. Wongs and other stores and apartments. Outside, there's a single Esperanto car and three Securicars on the street too.

In the Definitive Edition, access to this town was completely removed and it now only appears in the opening cutscene.

 
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Dan Curtis is approximately one-half videogame knowledge, and the other half inexplicable Geordie accent. He's also one quarter of the Factory Sealed Retro Gaming podcast.