Grand Theft Auto III vs Grand Theft Auto IV: The Complete Edition
Grand Theft Auto III is an action-adventure game (2001) while Grand Theft Auto IV: The Complete Edition is an open-world racing game from Rockstar North (2020).
Quick answer: Grand Theft Auto III has the higher Metacritic, 97 to 90.
Grand Theft Auto III
What each one is
Grand Theft Auto III is filed under Action-Adventure. In contrast, Grand Theft Auto IV: The Complete Edition under Open-World and Racing.
Grand Theft Auto III is a 2001 action-adventure game developed by DMA Design and published by Rockstar Games. It is the first 3D game in the Grand Theft Auto series. Set in Liberty City, loosely based on New York City, the game follows Claude, a silent protagonist who becomes entangled in a world of crime, drugs, gang warfare, and corruption while pursuing revenge against his ex-girlfriend. The game is played from a third-person perspective and its world is navigated on foot or by vehicle. Its open world design lets the player freely roam Liberty City, which consists of three islands.
Niko Bellic, Johnny Klebitz and Luis Lopez all have one thing in common - they live in the worst city in America. Liberty City worships money and status, and is heaven for those who have them and a living nightmare for those who don't.
Story, characters and reception
Plot
Small-time criminal Claude is betrayed and shot by his girlfriend Catalina (voiced by Cynthia Farrell) during a bank heist in Liberty City . Claude survives, but is arrested and convicted; en route to prison, his transport is attacked by members of the Colombian Cartel , who abduct another prisoner. Claude escapes with a fellow convict, explosives expert 8-Ball ( Guru ), who introduces him to the Leone Mafia family. (Wikipedia)
Reception
Critical response PlayStation 2 version reception Grand Theft Auto III was released to critical acclaim. Metacritic calculated an average score of 97 out of 100, indicating "universal acclaim", based on 56 reviews. It is tied with Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 as the highest-rated PlayStation 2 game on the site and tied with a number of others as the sixth-highest-rated game overall. (Wikipedia)
Plot
Setting Grand Theft Auto IV takes place within an alternate version of Liberty City seen in Grand Theft Auto III . The design of the city focuses on a recreation of four of the boroughs of New York City : Broker (based on Brooklyn ), Dukes ( Queens ), Bohan ( The Bronx ), and Algonquin ( Manhattan ). The setting also includes the neighbouring state of Alderney (based on New Jersey ). (Wikipedia)
Reception
Critical response Console versions reception Grand Theft Auto IV received "universal acclaim" from critics, according to review aggregator Metacritic . It is the second-highest-rated game on the site, and the highest-rated PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 game. Reviewers praised the narrative, open world design and combat system. (Wikipedia)
At a glance
| Grand Theft Auto III | Grand Theft Auto IV: The Complete Edition | |
|---|---|---|
| GamingPickz Score | — | 8.0/10 |
| Steam rating | — | Very Positive (83%, 202,430) |
| Critic aggregate | 97/100 | 90/100 |
| Price | Unknown | $19.99 |
| Install size | — | — |
| Steam Deck | Untested | playable |
| Released | 2001 | 2020 |
| Developer | — | Rockstar North |
Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.
Grand Theft Auto III vs Grand Theft Auto IV: The Complete Edition, point by point
Each facet side by side. A round is marked won only where a figure settles it; feel and "which is better" carry no mark, because no number we hold decides them.
Genre and premise
Grand Theft Auto IIIAction-adventure gameGrand Theft Auto IV: The Complete EditionOpen-world racing gameWhat each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.
How it plays
Grand Theft Auto IIINo descriptive tagsGrand Theft Auto IV: The Complete EditionOpen World, Action, Automobile SimThe tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.
Reception
Grand Theft Auto III ✓Metacritic 97Grand Theft Auto IV: The Complete EditionMetacritic 90Metacritic's critic aggregate, from the game's Wikipedia reception where it was never on Steam.
Content and scale
Grand Theft Auto III—Grand Theft Auto IV: The Complete Edition202,430 reviewsReach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.
Price
Grand Theft Auto IIIUnknownGrand Theft Auto IV: The Complete Edition$19.99Read live from Steam and subject to change.
Grand Theft Auto III takes 1 of the marked rounds to 0. That is only what a number can decide, not which you will enjoy more.
Which to pick, by what you want
- The better reviewed of the two: Grand Theft Auto III (Metacritic 97)
Where they differ
Open WorldActionAutomobile SimMultiplayerCrimeThird Person
Tags players apply to one game and not the other.
Difficulty and who each is for
By the tags players apply, Grand Theft Auto III is middle-of-the-road on difficulty. Grand Theft Auto IV: The Complete Edition is middle-of-the-road on difficulty.
System requirements, side by side
| Grand Theft Auto III | Grand Theft Auto IV: The Complete Edition | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum GPU | — | 256MB Nvidia 7900 / 256MB ATI X1900 |
| Minimum CPU | — | Intel Core 2 Duo 1.8GHz, AMD Athlon X2 64 2.4GHz |
| Minimum RAM | — | 1.5 GB |
| Install size | — | — |
Can your PC run them? Check each against your own kit: Grand Theft Auto III · Grand Theft Auto IV: The Complete Edition.
Accessibility features
Steam store pages declare 0 accessibility features for Grand Theft Auto III and 1 for Grand Theft Auto IV: The Complete Edition. A declaration is a floor, not a review.
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Common questions
How different are Grand Theft Auto III and Grand Theft Auto IV: The Complete Edition in scope?
Grand Theft Auto III lists little scope data. Grand Theft Auto IV: The Complete Edition has drawn 202,430 Steam reviews.
Is Grand Theft Auto III or Grand Theft Auto IV: The Complete Edition better?
Neither carries enough reviews for us to score it reliably, so we do not call a winner. The table above shows what each does have.
Which is cheaper, Grand Theft Auto III or Grand Theft Auto IV: The Complete Edition?
One or both do not have a current listed price, so a straight comparison is not possible. See the table above.
Should I get Grand Theft Auto III or Grand Theft Auto IV: The Complete Edition?
Grand Theft Auto III has the higher Metacritic, 97 to 90. It also depends on what you want: the "which to pick" section above calls out which is cheaper, lighter on storage, better on a Steam Deck and the safer bet by weight of reviews.
Do you rank one above the other for a fee?
No. Neither game, nor anyone else, pays for placement or a verdict here. The order and every figure come out of the same public data the rest of the site uses.
Related comparisons
All comparisonsHow we compare, and what we will not do
The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment (adjusted for sample size), the critic aggregate and popularity, computed by the same code every ranked list on this site uses. The Steam rating label is Valve's own, reconstructed from the positive percentage and review count. Prices are read live. We do not write an opinion of which game is "better": we report the numbers and say which wins each measurable question above.