There’s been a steady supply of open world games over the years from major companies like Sony and Rockstar Games. However, Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto 3 pretty much kick-started the craze, presenting a crazy open world playground that players could get lost in. Of course, with any success comes imitators, whether it’s those looking to “borrow” some of the mechanics and bolt them on to pre-established franchises or simply using similar themes (especially in the case of GTA: San Andreas) for awful cash-grabs. Let’s take a look at nine of the worst Grand Theft Auto-inspired titles and clones here.
Driver 3
When the Driver series originally debuted, it gained attention for using driving mechanics for a character-based action game. Driver 2, which was released in November 2000, actually got ahead of Grand Theft Auto 3 by allowing Tanner to step out of his vehicle and take control of others. All of the action was still contained in the actual driving sequences but it was a warning of things to come. Driver 3 released in June 2004 and incorporated several GTA-like features including a notoriety system, fighting in combat with guns and, most annoyingly, on-foot missions. Though the driving was still decent, venturing on foot was rife with bugs, terrible AI and horrible third person controls. Subsequent titles would return to the series’ established formula of driving, thankfully.
