Grand Theft Auto III shifted the world on its axis. Prior to its release back in October 2001, nothing quite like it existed: a giant (for its time) 3D city stuffed to the brim with secrets and winks at pop culture. It set the mold for basically every open-world game that followed. With Grand Theft Auto III — The Definitive Edition, free with your Netflix subscription, you can play through this gaming watershed moment with updated looks and better controls. 

The classic mafia storyline will keep you busy for a while, sure, but binging missions until you roll credits and ignoring the rest of Liberty City would be a crime. After all, there are hidden packages to find, stunt jumps to hit, and vigilante missions to run. We’ve got a few more tips to help make your life of crime a little more rewarding. 

What’s GTA III About?

Grand Thef Auto III — The Definitive Edition is a classic New York (Liberty City here) mafia story in the vein of Goodfellas and Mean Streets. You play as Claude, left for dead in a back alley by a jilted partner in crime in the game’s opening moments. Claude’s the type to take orders without asking too many questions. Or saying anything, for that matter. That goes far in the underworld, and soon enough, you’ll find yourself carrying out all manner of gangland activities. From taking out rival bosses — and family members — to corporate espionage, street races, and making dog food with … unorthodox ingredients, there’s a lot of variety on tap. And that’s before you take on any side missions. 

Who’s in GTA III?

In true mafia media fashion, Grand Theft Auto III — The Definitive Edition features at least one actor from Goodfellas. Here, it’s Frank Vincent playing mob boss Salvatore Leone. He’s joined by the late Sopranos alum Robert Loggia, who lent his unmistakable gravelly pipes to the LCPD’s dirty detective Ray Machowski, and another Sopranos vet, Joe Pantoliano as mafioso Luigi Goterelli. That’s not all: Michael Madsen (Reservoir Dogs), Debi Mazar (Goodfellas), Kyle McLachlan (Twin Peaks), plus Michael Rappaport and the late Guru have supporting roles too. 

What’s the soundtrack like for GTA III?

If you’re gonna play this, make sure you’ve got headphones on. Gunshots and screaming pedestrians will get you some weird looks on the subway, for starters. But mostly it’s because you’ll be behind the wheel a lot in this game, and what’s on the dial is more than just random playlists. From outlandish talk radio with Lazlow Jones on Chatterbox to ads for equally over-the-top services like PetsOvernight.com, there’s tons to listen to.

When it comes to music, there are seven stations with curated deep cuts across all sorts of genres: jungle and drum-and-bass, hip-hop, pop, classical, reggae, and techno. 

What cars are in GTA III?

The streets of Liberty City teem with 56 different types of vehicles. Feeling the need for speed? Look no further than the Banshee and Infernus, modeled after the Dodge Viper and Lamborghini Diablo respectively. The Bobcat and Patriot have your off-road expeditions in Shoreside Vale covered. Meanwhile, the Mafia Sentinel looks an awful lot like a BMW E36 and the Yakuza Stinger bears more than a passing resemblance to the Porsche Boxster. If you’re angling for the ultimate cool though, look no further than the Mr. Whoopee ice cream truck. 

What are those white packages?

There are 100 hidden packages scattered around Liberty City. They look like bundles of white powder wrapped with shipping tape. Make of that what you will. They’re usually pretty easy to spot, but aren’t always easy to access, and you’ll find them in out-of-the-way places like gas station roofs and back alleys.

For each package you collect, you’ll earn a cool $1,000. And for every 10, you’ll unlock a new item that persists outside your safe house. It starts small with a pistol, but spend some time off the beaten path and soon enough you’ll have an Uzi, body armor, and Molotovs waiting for you every time you reload a game. Find all 100 and you’ll get a rocket launcher and $1,000,000. 

Trust us — given how tough the final mission is, you’ll want easy access to an RPG and a bunch of ammo.

Hold your horses and mind the map.

In Grand Theft Auto III — The Definitive Edition, you’re playing as a silent errand boy for rival gangs and white-collar criminals. It’s not long before you have to prove your loyalty to one over another to advance the story. If you’re not careful, you can easily lock yourself out of missions because you kept returning to the same blip on the map without realizing what you’ve done until it’s too late. To avoid getting iced out, try wrapping up all your missions for Luigi and Joey before finishing Salvatore’s. Also, keep in mind that Kenji only ever has a handful of missions, so you can knock those out ASAP.

Tired of hustling?  Take a break.

Sometimes you need a breather from wanton mayhem and destruction. Variety is the spice of life, and Grand Theft Auto III — The Definitive Edition has several ways to blow off steam. Pick up chatty fares and drop them where they need to go as a cabbie. Play ambulance driver for a bit if you feel like absolving some of your sins. Or maybe stop some fires instead of starting them for once.

Maybe you wanna give living on the other side of the law a shot with vigilante missions. Those get easier once you have a tank at your disposal. And yes, if you can get a tank back to your garage, you can save it. It’ll fit easiest at the Staunton safe house, but there’s nothing stopping you from trying the others. Like the rest of the game, keep an ear on the radio when you’re out running these. Ridiculous police radio chatter is delivered as flatly as possible and it’s easy to miss some great bits. 

Is GTA III inappropriate? 

Grand Theft Auto III is rated M for mature and is intended for players 17 and older.  

How do get I Grand Theft Auto III on Netflix?

Play GTA III for free with your Netflix subscription. Download it now to your Android/Google Play or for Apple/iOS device

Check out more games available for download via the Netflix mobile app.