Give Me Liberty (GTA III)

Updated 2 November 2026 · Fan site. Not affiliated with Rockstar Games or Take-Two Interactive.

Give Me Liberty is the first story mission of Grand Theft Auto III (2001). After a Cartel ambush on a police convoy at the Callahan Bridge, Claude breaks free with the explosives expert 8-Ball and drives them both to a Portland hideout. The job doubles as the game's driving tutorial and leads straight into Luigi's Girls.

What is the first mission in GTA III?

The story of Grand Theft Auto III opens with Give Me Liberty. Claude is a prisoner on his way to jail after being betrayed by Catalina in a bank job. Wikipedia's plot summary explains that Colombian Cartel gunmen attack the transport to snatch a different prisoner, and in the confusion Claude walks away with a fellow convict, the bomb maker 8-Ball. For every job that follows, see our GTA III missions list.

What happens in Give Me Liberty?

The cutscene plays out on the Callahan Bridge in Portland. gta.wiki describes a van dropping an explosive on the bridge and a second vehicle boxing the convoy in, after which the police give up the prisoner the Cartel wants. Claude frees himself and 8-Ball from their cuffs, and the blast leaves the two men loose in Liberty City.

8-Ball's hands were hurt in the attack, so Claude takes the wheel of a teal Kuruma. The player drives to a hideout, where both men swap their prison clothes for normal outfits, and then heads on to Luigi's club in the Red Light District. Reaching the club ends the job and starts Luigi's Girls, the first errand for the Leone family.

According to gta.wiki the mission fails if Claude dies or is arrested, if 8-Ball is killed, or if the Kuruma is wrecked or left on its roof.

Why is Give Me Liberty important?

It is a short drive, but it sets up the whole game. It introduces Claude, who never speaks, and 8-Ball, who later supplies the explosives for Bomb Da Base. gta.wiki also counts it as the first mission of the 3D era by release order, and it works as a tutorial: the player learns to steer, follow the radar and stop at a marker before any shooting starts. gta.wiki adds that Claude cannot pick up a wanted level in the first part of the game, which gives new players room to learn.

What does Give Me Liberty unlock?

Where does the name come from?

gta.wiki suggests the title nods to Patrick Henry's famous call for liberty or death, and of course to the name of the city. It also notes that the Callahan Bridge looks like the Benjamin Franklin Bridge in Philadelphia, and that an early build used a purple Sentinel in place of the Kuruma.

Wikipedia lists the North American PlayStation 2 release of the game as 23 October 2001, so this was the first thing most players ever did in a 3D GTA. Its counterpart at the other end of the story is The Exchange.