Grand Theft Auto III inherits and modifies much of the
gameplay mechanics from its predecessors,
Grand Theft Auto and
Grand Theft Auto 2, combining elements of a
third-person shooter and a
driving game
in a new 3D game engine. The idea of using a 3D game engine in such a
genre was however not new: the first game to combine elements of action,
shooting, and driving various vehicles in a
sandbox-style 3D world was
Hunter, released in 1991 for the
Commodore Amiga and
Atari ST home computers.
[6][7] The first developed by DMA Design was
Body Harvest (1998), for the
Nintendo 64. Publicly debuted in 1995 at
Nintendo's
SpaceWorld video game trade show,
Body Harvest was revolutionary for its time, but despite above average reviews,
[8] the game sold poorly.
[9] Grand Theft Auto III takes the gamepl
ay elements of
Body Harvest and combines them with the open-ended game design of the
Grand Theft Auto series to create a level of freedom and detail that was unprecedented in 2001.
[10]
On foot, the player's character has the additional ability to sprint
and jump (but is incapable of climbing or swimming), as well as use
weapons and perform basic
hand to hand combat; he is also capable of driving a variety of vehicles, (with the addition of
watercraft and a
fixed-wing aircraft).
[11]
