So I found an interesting set of modpacks called [INSERT GTA NAME] Definitive Edition that remasters the 3D era games (while remaining vanilla) so that they look crisp and run on modern systems. So I've decided to go through and play the classics for nostalgia, and because they are genuinely good games, although some have aged poorly. Here is the review for GTA III I left on steam:

Grand Theft Auto III is not a bad game. It was revolutionary for the time, however, it has not aged well and there isn't much to it that new GTA titles don't have. I played this game partially for nostalgia, and partially because I found a collection of mods that remaster the 3D era games (while still remaining vanilla) to look sharper and work on modern hardware.

In Grand Theft Auto III, you take control of Claude, a long time gangster who is betrayed by his girlfriend Catalina, who shoots him and leaves him to die. You survive, and go working for various mobsters. The game TRIES to have a plot, story, and characters, but almost nobody is fleshed out. Claude is mute, and has almost no character. There are examples of mute characters that work out well, like Gordon Freeman from Half Life, but this is not that case. I did not feel like I was immersed in the role of Claude, nor did he feel relatable in any way. He is simply an empty character that interacts with mostly empty characters.

The graphics and gameplay aren't bad. You have to keep in mind this is a game from 2001, and was one of the first of it's kind. As I said though, graphics and gameplay only get this game so far, when anybody has the option of playing later titles in the series.

Overall, I'll give this game a 6/10. Would be 5/10, but I'll give it an extra point for nostalgia and history. If you absolutely want to go back and play this, go ahead, but in general, I would suggest skipping this and moving on to either Vice City or SA.