History YMMV / GrandTheftAutoIII

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Did Claude really [[spoiler:shoot and kill Maria]] at the end of ''III''? When [[WordOfGod God]] finally got around to answering questions about it, he just [[ShrugOfGod shrugged]].
*** Claude's character in general is extremely open to interpretation given his status as a SilentProtagonist. Cold blooded maniac? Dumb muscleman whose only joy is violence? It's really up to the player to decide. And if we understand this point of view, [[NotSoDifferent we could infer that shares many similarities with Catalina]].

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation:
** Did Claude really [[spoiler:shoot and kill Maria]] at the end of ''III''? When [[WordOfGod God]] finally got around to answering questions about it, he just [[ShrugOfGod shrugged]].
*** Claude's character in general is extremely open to interpretation given his status as a SilentProtagonist. Cold blooded maniac? Dumb muscleman whose only joy is violence? It's really up to the player to decide. And if we understand this point of view, we could infer that shares many similarities with Catalina.

*** Undercover cop? ObfuscatingStupidity?
* CompleteMonster: Catalina. Unlike other villains of the series who tend to be more pragmatic, Catalina not tries to find a primary goal, she is just an inhuman criminal who for fun kill innocent civilians or rob. Worse it gets in this sequel, giving to understand that she does not believe in love and only use their boyfriends as mere disposable instruments. Also, in [[GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas San Andreas]], ''she make strong references to cannibalism and sadism''.

** Claude's character in general is extremely open to interpretation given his status as a SilentProtagonist. Cold blooded maniac? Dumb muscleman whose only joy is violence? It's really up to the player to decide.

** [[spoiler:Mafia goons]] earn this distinction with flying colors once you have earned their eternal vendetta against you. They all have shotguns and [[TheAllSeeingAI even if you're in a vehicle]], they'll immediately recognize you and open fire. Two solid shots will [[MadeOfExplodium end your drive]] in a [[Department of Redundancy Department deadly explosion.]] Additionally, if you're on foot, their shotgun blasts will likely [[ScrappyMechanic knock you down]] and prevent you from moving while they close the distance. They will probably knock you down again if the shots don't kill you. Simply put, after you [[spoiler:kill Salvatore]], you'll never be able to set foot in [[spoiler:the Saint Mark's district]] ever again.

* ThatOneLevel: 'Big 'n' Veiny'. You have to follow a long trail of, um... ''magazines'' in a van with a high chance of tipping over. You have a time limit which goes up by one second for each magazine you pick up (so at least you can skip a few). The longer you wait to do this mission, [[ItGotWorse the harder it gets:]] if you wait to do it until you get to Staunton Island, the route will take you through ''three'' gang territories (Diablos, Triads, and [[spoiler:Mafia]]), whose members will shoot your van. And if you happen to build up a wanted level, forget it... The good news is that this mission is optional.

* CompleteMonster: Catalina.

** [[spoiler:Mafia goons]] earn this distinction with flying colors once you have earned their eternal vendetta against you. They all have shotguns and [[TheAllSeeingAI even if you're in a vehicle]], they'll immediately recognize you and open fire. Two solid shots will [[MadeOfExplodium end your drive]] in a deadly explosion. Additionally, if you're on foot, their shotgun blasts will likely [[ScrappyMechanic knock you down]] and prevent you from moving while they close the distance. They will probably knock you down again if the shots don't kill you. Simply put, after you [[spoiler:kill Salvatore]], you'll never be able to set foot in [[spoiler:the Saint Mark's district]] ever again.

* DisappointingLastLevel: Staunton Island and Shoreside Vale are increasingly less detailed compared to Portland's bustling activity, varied scenery, and things to do. This is probably why Liberty City was revamped from the ground up in ''GrandTheftAutoIV,'' even if that effectively meant putting the game in its own continuity.
* FunnyAneurysmMoment / HarsherInHindsight: In the mission 'Kingdom Come', you [[spoiler:are set up in an ambush against suicide bombers who are high on "spank" and therefore don't know what they're doing]]. In RealLife, this became a favorite tactic of anti-American fighters during TheWarOnTerror, except instead of using drugs, they ''do'' know what they're doing.
* GameBreaker: The M-16 (machine gun). It is extremely unbalanced, deals a lot of damage and can shred apart cars, people and any form of law enforcement with its ridiculous rate of fire. It's no surprise why it was {{nerf}}ed in [[GrandTheftAutoViceCity Vice City]].[[hottip:*: In a way, this weapon became the Minigun in the GrandTheftAutoViceCity. (The rate-of-fire remains similar, but the "magazine-size" has been increased tremendously.) However, it could still be a GameBreaker if you were playing the PC port of the game with a mouse, since you could aim it with sniper-accurate precision.]]

* FunnyAneurysmMoment / HarsherInHindsight: In the mission 'Kingdom Come', you [[spoiler:are set up in an ambush against suicide bombers who are high on "spank" and therefore don't know what they're doing]]. In RealLife, this became a favorite tactic of anti-American fighters during TheWarOnTerror, except instead of using drugs, they ''do'' know what they're doing.
* GameBreaker: The M-16 (machine gun). It is extremely unbalanced, deals a lot of damage and can shred apart cars, people and any form of law enforcement with its ridiculous rate of fire. It's no surprise why it was {{nerf}}ed in [[GrandTheftAutoViceCity Vice City]].
** In a way, this weapon became the [[GatlingGood Mini Gun]] in the follow-up game of the series. (The rate-of-fire remains similar, but the "magazine-size" has been increased tremendously.) However, it could still be a GameBreaker if you were playing the PC port of the game with a mouse, since you could aim it with sniper-accurate precision.

** [[spoiler:Mafia goons]] earn this distinction with flying colors once you have earned their eternal vendetta against you. They all have shotguns and [[TheAllSeeingAI even if you're in a vehicle]], they'll immediately recognize you and open fire. Two solid shots will [[MadeOfExplodium end your drive]] in a deadly explosion. Additionally, if you're on foot, their shotgun blasts will likely [[ScrappyMechanic knock you down]] and prevent you from moving while they close the distance. They will probably knock you down again if the shots don't kill you.

* XenSyndrome: Staunton Island and Shoreside Vale are increasingly less detailed compared to Portland's bustling activity, varied scenery, and things to do. This is probably why Liberty City was revamped from the ground up in ''GrandTheftAutoIV,'' even if that effectively meant putting the game in its own continuity.
** However, they're also kind of way better than Portland for a few reasons. One is that you've got a bad rep with two of the three gangs running Portland and can't walk down the street there safely once you have access to Staunton. The other is that Portland has virtually no cars that aren't a piece of crap.
*** Well, if you want to call being locked out of an entire level because of the crazed, trigger-happy gangs that will shoot you to pieces with shotguns and machine guns "better"...

** Espresso-2-go! is another timed mission with its targets all over Liberty City and a strict time limit. If your car catches fire and it's a fast car or you have a wanted level, you might as well forget it and restart the mission.

* XenSyndrome: Staunten Island and Shoreside Vale are increasingly less detailed compared to Portland's bustling activity, varied scenery, and things to do. This is probably why Liberty City was revamped from the ground up in ''GrandTheftAutoIV,'' even if that effectively meant putting the game in its own continuity.

*** Well, if you want to call being locked out of an entire level because of the crazed, triggerhappy gangs that will shoot you to pieces with shotguns and machine guns "better"...

** In a way, this weapon became the [[GatlingGood Mini Gun]] in the follow-up game of the series. (The rate-of-fire but the clip-size has been increased tremendously.) However, it could still be a GameBreaker if you were playing the PC port of the game with a mouse, since you could aim it with sniper-accurate precision.

** In a way, this weapon became the [[GatlingGood Mini Gun]] in the follow-up game of the series. It could still be a GameBreaker if you were playing the PC port of the game with a mouse, since you could aim it with sniper-accurate precision.

* CrowningMomentOfAwesome: 'The Exchange'. Last mission where you FINALLY get to kill [[spoiler:Catalina]], and with a rocket launcher no less. Made even more satisfying by the difficulty; you start with no guns and there's no checkpoints along the way. Not to mention the news report cutscene that ends it. Definitely the best final mission in any GTA game to date.
** Definitie YMMV here: taking away all of your weapons was annoying FakeDifficulty. It's nowhere near as good as the final missions of ''Vice City'' or the ''GTA IV'' Episode packs either.

* TrueNeutral: Based upon his actions in cutscenes, Claude apparently has little loyalty for anyone. It could be interpreted several ways - he may be motivated by revenge, killing the people who betray him, from [[spoiler:Salvatore Leone]] to Catalina. He could be motivated by [[BloodKnight the desire to kill as many people as possible, and cause as much destruction as possible]], taking work from anyone who can help him achieve that. Or, he could be motivated entirely by whoever will pay him. [[YourMileageMayVary It all depends on how the individual gamer is playing.]]