Originally Posted by
GavinZac
GTA3 was revolutionary in that it was a 3d game like Tomb Raider but provided you with far more free roaming capabilities. Looking back, their wasn't any more or less ground to cover in GTA3 than in Tomb Raider, but TR was developed for less powerful machines who could only work in enclosed spaces; hence the tombs, the tight paths, the claustrophobic spaces. Arguably the second Tomb Raider which featured free roaming around the streets of Venice in various vehicles set the mould that GTA3 followed.
GTA4 is another 3d free roamer. Sure, there are no arugments that it will probably be fantastic. But redefining the industry? No.