Set within the fictional Liberty City , based on New York City , the game follows Claude after he is left for dead and quickly becomes entangled in a world of gangs , crime and corruption . The game is played from a third-person perspective and its world is navigated on foot or by vehicle . The open world design lets players freely roam the three islands of Liberty City . Development was shared between DMA Design , based in Edinburgh , and Rockstar , based in New York City . Much of the development work involved transforming popular elements from the '' Grand Theft Auto '' series into a fully 3D world for the first time . The game was delayed following the September 11 attacks to allow the team to change references and gameplay deemed inappropriate
September 11 attacks
September 11 attacks
Grand Theft Auto III