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GTAIII Liberty City map

Liberty City in October 2001, during the events of GTA III.

The 3D Universe rendition of Liberty City is the setting of Grand Theft Auto III, Grand Theft Auto Advance and Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories, as well as playing a minor role in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and having a brief appearance in the introduction of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. The city is primarily based on New York City, as well as taking inspiration from other north-eastern American cities, such as Jersey City and Newark, both located in the state of New Jersey. The city's motto is "The worst place in America", due to its high crime rate. In Grand Theft Auto III, it is revealed that by 2001 the city has a population of roughly 4,000,000. Moreover, the city is located within the State of Liberty and is eastwards to Carcer City, the setting of Manhunt.

Commercial on Lips 106[]

During a commercial on the Lips 106 radio station, the DJ Andy says "So I'm sitting here reading the Liberty Tree, and it says: in nearby Carcer City, it's a good day for law and order, as police chief Gary Schaffer has been cleared of corruption charges, in a controversial decision made by the courts. Let's hope those missing witnesses are found safe and sound". This radio commercial suggests that Manhunt was already in its very early development stages during the development of GTA III in 2001; this also makes it officially the second city to be introduced in the GTA 3D Universe, as its name was already decided on, prior to the introduction of Vice City in GTA III's sequel.

Furthermore, since the city was described by Andy to be "nearby", it can be justified that the city is within the State of Liberty. Firstly, Shoreside Vale is primarily based on Newark, Jersey City and the Bronx, these real life areas are within the state of New Jersey, but in the GTA 3D Universe no such state exists, suggesting that the State of Liberty is made up of two states: New York and New Jersey. This design style was used again in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas' state, which is made up of both California and Nevada. Secondly, it is known that Carcer City was based on many rust belt cities to create its aesthetical atomsphere, however, it can be justified that the primary city's basis is Camden in New Jersey. Since Camden had the worst crime rate in America during the early 2000s, and the city's geography fits its subway system and it being legitimately "nearby" to Liberty City, while all the other inspired cities such as Detroit or Cleveland are not "nearby" LC.

The Upstate Tunnels[]

At both entrances to the Upstate Tunnels, there are plaques which read "Upstate". This is clearly a reference to Upstate New York, a sector of the New York state which is made up of all the cities, counties and towns located north of New York City. Therefore, in the GTA III continuity, it can be justified that "Upstate" refers to Upstate Liberty, which is compromised of two other cities and five counties - these being: Carcer City, Mapleville, Les County, Roscoe County, Mayflower County, Hawthorne County and Stanford County.

Gallery[]

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