Grand Theft Auto 3 out now on iPhone, iPad and Android

15 December 2011 - To celebrate the tenth anniversary of crime epic Grand Theft Auto 3, Rockstar Games has released a mobile version of the seminal PS2 classic on iPhone, iPad and Android.

The game lets you run loose in Liberty City -- a toothy satire of New York -- doing driving missions for mob bosses, shoot-out chores for corrupt cops or just causing chaos with reckless abandon.

GTA made popular the open world, something that's been influential in endless sandbox games that followed, and caused a stir in tabloid headlines for its senseless violence: something that's stuck with the franchise ever since.

This mobile adaptation is a faithful recreation of the console game, only adding virtual buttons for touchscreen devices, auto-saving, the ability to instantly restart a mission if you fail and some spiffy new graphics, and character and vehicle models.

The iPhone version is supported on iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, the fourth generation iPod Touch 4, iPad and iPad 2. It costs £2.99, and is available on the App Store here. Unless you're in a slightly more prudish nation, like Germany or Australia, where you'll have to settle for blood-free censored versions.

The Android version has a huge number of supported devices. It runs on HTC Rezound, LG Optimus 2x, Motorola Atrix 4G, Motorola Droid X2, Motorola Photon 4G, Samsung Galaxy R and T-Mobile G2x phones, and the Acer Iconia, Asus Eee Pad Transformer, Dell Streak 7, LG Optimus Pad, Motorola Xoom, Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 and 10.1, Sony Tablet S and Toshiba Thrive tablets.

Those are just the officially supported devices. From Twitter comments and Android Marketplace reviews, it seems that the game runs on the Samsung Galaxy S2 and even the Xperia Play -- complete with the PlayStation-style buttons. Your mileage may vary on these unofficially-supported Androids, though.

The Android edition will set you back £3.23, and can be found on Google's digital marketplace here.

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