Grand Theft Auto 3 for Android is a mobile version of Rockstar's classic action game. If you enjoyed the original, you'll love this handheld version of GTA III, released to celebrate the game's 10th anniversary.
Grand Theft Auto 3 is set in Liberty City, which is loosely based on New York. You star as Claude, a criminal who must work his way up the crime ladder of the city before confronting his ex-girlfriend who betrayed him during a bank heist.
The story plays out in the form of an open world action game. Grand Theft Auto 3 has elements of shoot 'em up and driving games, and the original console game was seen as a forerunner in the 3D sandbox game genre.
This is an excellent conversion of Grand Theft Auto 3 for mobile devices. The 3D graphics look just as good as they did on the PS2, there are lots of cut scenes with speech, and a diverse range of radio stations to choose from as you drive around.
The controls in Grand Theft Auto 3 are based around a series of action buttons (for shooting, sprinting, entering cars, punching, etc.) and the ability to look around you by running your finger around the screen. By default, steering is done using a left and right button, which we found a bit fiddly owing to their small size. Thankfully, the controls in Grand Theft Auto 3 are customizable and you can switch to analog - or even tilt-based steering if you like.
The graphics and scenarios in Grand Theft Auto 3 are extremely adult in places (such as the ability to pick up prostitutes and do car jackings) so parents should be aware that GTA III isn't for younger players - you must be 17 or over to download this game.
It's worth noting that the installation process of Grand Theft Auto 3 on the Android is a little clunky. The app which you download from the Market includes its own downloader which doesn't advise you if you're running out of disk space - it just crashes. We also experienced a few bugs and minor gameplay glitches, especially related to collisions when testing on an HTC Sensation.
Grand Theft Auto 3 is a great conversion of the controversial console game of 2001 on which it's based.
