Grand Theft Auto: Double Pack Review

By Kristan Reed Published 7 January, 2004

Has there ever been a better value piece of software?

Version tested: Xbox

Sometimes, just sometimes, you have to pinch yourself in this job. After seven hours of solid Vice City yesterday, a realisation dawned upon me that I was, in fact, being paid to play Grand Theft Auto. I shall make a mental note of this joy and remind myself of it every time I get a little pissed off about a dodgy camera angle or wayward enemy AI.

Vaunted

'Grand Theft Auto: Double Pack' Screenshot 1

Let's get the conversion issues out of the way first, and it won't take long. In fact it's possible to sum up the 'enhancements' (for want of a better word) to the Xbox versions in a sentence: better loading times (especially noticeable on Vice City), no hideous road drawing glitches, smoother frame rate and the welcome facility for custom soundtracks, lest the novelty of hearing cheesy 80s tunes wears off. But apart from that, it's evident that this is the exact same game ported identically - but when you've got two games as good as this in your hand for £40, that's not really something to gripe about. You've easily got 100 hours-plus of gaming to enjoy between the pair, and what's more, they're the sort of games you can talk to random strangers about the way movies, music and books are discussed. In short, Grand Theft Auto is a cultural phenomenon, and the two games ought to form an essential part of anyone's collection - it's really that simple.

It's time to use a cliché. GTA 3 and Vice City are truly greater than the sum of their parts. Here's another one: they're sandbox games. They're digital toys [another -Ed] that - up to a point - let the gamer play them the way they want to. Their beauty stems from the fact that there are entire games tucked away within the pair that you can choose to ignore entirely or spend several hours messing around with. Taxi missions, Vigilante missions, stunts, Fire, Ambulance, Rampage, races, hidden packages, or just the joy of causing as much chaos as possible for the sake of it, be that beating people up, torching them, shooting them, running them over... The choice is yours.

And this choice even comes into play while the main meat of the game is going on around you. After the gentle introduction the game soon opens up, often providing the player with three or more concurrent storyline threads. If one mission is proving too tough, then simply moving onto another 'job' often provides a route to progress. If only other games provided this less linear approach - we'd most likely persist with many of the games we encounter if we weren't constantly shoehorned into too-difficult, too frustrating cul-de-sacs. GTA also makes it a more compelling experience by offering a suite of differing gameplay styles; sniper missions, timed pedal-to-the-metal insanity, melee carnage, the list goes on, and all the time battling the long arm of the law to the most inspired gaming soundtracks ever conceived.

Rockstar Ate My CD Collection

'Grand Theft Auto: Double Pack' Screenshot 2

Ah yes, the radio stations. Who could have ever imagined that videogames would one day provide the user with literally hours of audio that has the listener constantly chortling to themselves weeks later, having discovered a previously unheard snippet? Daft adverts, masterful voiceovers, wonderfully appropriate tunes; it's a master class in how to do gaming audio that's still so far ahead that no other game developer has even come close to emulating what's on offer here. When Vice City emerged in 2002 with nigh on 90 popular '80s classics and obscurities, it seemed as if gaming had finally stopped being the geeky niche past-time that had dogged it for 30 years and entered the mainstream, with big name film stars doing the voices, and doing a superb script the kind of justice that makes 99 per cent of other gaming narrative sound like the amdram schlock that it so painfully obviously is. There are some elements of both GTA 3 and Vice City that are so joyously brilliant that it brings a tear to the eye. It's the sort of progress that the 11-year old boy in me that bought a Spectrum 20 years ago could never have imagined in a million years and is one of the reasons this 'phase' persists among myself and many others like me that would've otherwise become bored years ago.

After a decade of praying that game developers would realise that there's a market for adult-themed videogames, DMA/Rockstar North did that in style and arguably propelled Sony's console to the kind of heights it would have struggled to achieve otherwise.

Not without Vice

'Grand Theft Auto: Double Pack' Screenshot 3

After such undiluted praise, let's not pretend that GTA 3 and Vice City are exempt from criticism - in a way its unprecedented success means it deserves to be pulled apart like nothing else. Despite being universally acknowledged as being arguably among the ten best games ever made these two games are - without doubt - blighted by one of the most infuriating combat/targeting mechanics I've come across in a modern videogame, and replaying both games on Xbox merely serves to remind me just how truly ill-considered and frustrating they are. Sure, you get used to them, but only in the sense that you get used to your old man's halitosis or that hairy mole on your granny's chin. You still love them, but you wish they'd bloody do something about the problem. Mercifully Vice City at least makes auto targeting slightly more straightforward, but it's still a ham-fisted system that should have been drowned at birth and results in the game's longevity being extended not by the desire to replay missions endlessly, but by the fact that the controls simply don't allow you to perform the (often straightforward) task at hand. The fact that they haven't been improved for these long overdue conversions is an insult, frankly.

Hand in hand with this issue is the game's inexplicable meanness that forces the player to go through hoops in order to nail a mission. Failure in GTA is a curse. Not only does the game often force you to re-arm yourself (often requiring a lengthy trawl to the nearest Ammu-Nation), but you're often spending several minutes just driving back to the start of a mission. Again, Vice City lends a hand by providing a cab back to your last mission should you mess up, but that's of no use when you're stripped of weapons every time. The solution would have been so simple and would have made the game an infinitely more enjoyable experience - surely checkpoint saving would have hardly rocked the boat? Ah well, it's not as if I had anything better to do than play the Death Row mission 27 times in a row eh? After all, I was being paid to do it. Reminder to self.

Grandiose

'Grand Theft Auto: Double Pack' Screenshot 4

So, dodgy combat blighted by a ludicrously unhelpful camera system and a convoluted save system that will literally waste hours of your time and conspire to frustrate you into cursing two of the greatest games ever made. Ach, how could Rockstar North make such elementary mistakes? They're design gods that bestride a sea of mediocrity. Surely they'd fix such basic errors for the Xbox version having received endless feedback? Well, ah, no.

The conversions are pretty much the typical shovelware that Xbox owners have long since accepted as the norm. Graphically there's nary a pixel difference between the Xbox and PS2 version, which while no surprise is still disappointing after all this time. Even back in October 2001 GTA 3 hardly set the world on fire with its amazing visuals. It looked cool and had a stylised appeal that hasn't aged, but a sharp TV shows up its numerous flaws and the Xbox looks faintly embarrassed by such blurry texturing and cardboard cut-out scenery. But seriously, don't for one second let that concern you.

The game's appeal has never been about the eye candy or technical merit. It's about enjoying a cultural landmark that back in October 2001 sparked off a creative revival in videogames that is evident in almost every game produced since. Its influence is massive, its appeal enduring. It's everything a videogame should be; innovative, compelling, challenging, long-lasting. And spiked with controversy and a wonderful wit, it's also something that so few videogames can ever be - cool. It should be a punishable offence to not own this game, and although its flaws are never more evident than they are now, we should nevertheless cherish it as a masterpiece of ambition and remind ourselves why we're into videogames in the first place.

10 / 10

Read the Eurogamer.net scoring policy
Picture of Kristan.

About Kristan Reed

Kristan is a former editor of Eurogamer, dad, Stone Roses bore and Norwich City supporter who sometimes mutters optimistically about Team Silent getting back together.

Read more articles from Kristan by visiting the Kristan Reed archive page.

You may also like...

Comments (87) Latest comment 8 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Lutz #1 8 years ago

    Me neither. GTA1 was a laugh, all the other PSX games were the same, and GTA3 and VC never did it for me cos the draw distance of teh PS2 made them very badly unplayable to me.

    However this is meant to be improved for xbox so... hmm...

    Nope! I'm skint! I shalt not!

  • Errol #2 8 years ago

    Now we all eagerly await GTA 4.

  • yegon #3 8 years ago

    10! Aye carumba!

  • Blerk #4 8 years ago

    I still love these games to bits. I dunno what it is... they're just so... fun! GTA3 was the reason I simply HAD to get a PS2 all those years ago.

    /misty-eyed

  • Rankin #5 8 years ago

    I own both of these on PC yet I bought this double pack the instant I saw it.

    Well deserved 10 in my opinion.

  • Juninho #6 8 years ago

    I think Bill Gates should be getting his cheque book out to nail GTA4 as an Xbox exclusive for a while after release.

  • renzo #7 8 years ago

    I got GTA3 for the PC cos the PS2 version was selling for double the price of the PC one. Vice City didn't look so hot on the PS2 though... thank Jah the gameplay more than made up for it. Oh, and the 'fun-ness' factor or whatever you call it.

  • Blerk #8 8 years ago

    I think Bill Gates should be getting his cheque book out to nail GTA4 as an Xbox exclusive for a while after release.

    He's too late - Sony have already done it.

  • TechnoHippy #9 8 years ago

    I must admit I'm enjoying revisiting both games, but I am surprised that there is no mention of the major bugs that plague them, especially GTA3. Vice City so far has been less glitchy.

  • krudster #10 8 years ago

    Major bugs? Do tell. I've played Vice City mainly, admittedly, but so far out of 20 odd hours of play I've only had a couple of odd things happen (such as the game slowing to a slide show on the completion of one biker rampage-style mission)

  • yegon #11 8 years ago

    Ive played them both before aaaages ago of course, but I'm enjoying GTA3 all over gain.

    Some pretty obvious advice to make the game a bit less frustrating is, when each island opens up, find as many hidden packages as you can (yes, I used a faq, naughty me). As I'm sure everyone knows, this delivers weapons and armor to your hideout. Means you dont have to go traipsing around buying guns every time you snuff it as mentioned in the review - the main reason I got bored about half way through both games last time around was the endless, repetitive trips to the gunshop.

  • gizmo #12 8 years ago

    Played them both to death on PS2, but just had to buy the xbox version to get the higher framerate - which was worth it. I'll probably complete them again, but as the review rightly says, its the sandbox aspect that appeals to me. May as well be playing the better version eh?

    Anyone want to buy PS2 gtaIII & Vice city, going cheap?

  • StixxUK #13 8 years ago

    Wish I'd never played the games on PC, so then I'd have something to be excited about now. And an excuse to buy the Xbox double pack :D

  • krudster #14 8 years ago

    Was chatting to Martin, who has finished VC on PC, and he agreed that (cough) the mouse aiming made it a hell of a lot easier (he was giggling at my total inability to clear an otherwise straightforward mission).

  • Killerbee #15 8 years ago

    Yup, 10/10 truly deserved.

    For some reason, even though Vice City is the more polished, has better characters, story, *motorbikes*, voice acting etc, I still have fonder memories of GTAIII - that might be because it came first and Vice City was much the same game, but I still reckon the map design in GTAIII was superior.

    Can't wait for GTA4 though - if they can sort out some of the control and camera issues Kristan mentions and generally improve the graphics and deliver another brilliant soundtrack... ooooh!

    /is moist

  • Blerk #16 8 years ago

    I'm with Killerbee - the soundtrack on VC was spectacular, but I enjoyed the original GTA3 more. Not to say VC was bad, just that GTA3 was better.

  • yegon #17 8 years ago

    Yeah, I think the geography of GTA3 is far more interesting and memorable. Vice is too flat, although the motorbikes etc do redress the balance somewhat.

  • glo #18 8 years ago

    As I don't have a PS2 this has been the first chance to play these games properly (had a few goes on both round at mate's houses) and I have to say that they are the best games of this generation IMHO.

    Got this double pack for christmas and have spent every spare moment playing them. The shooting/targeting is a flaw and the graphics and nothing special but when games are this good you just don't care about such minor issues.

    I've even found myself dreaming about them most nights I have been playing them...

  • Blerk #19 8 years ago

    Come on.. its very old, its boring.. no idea why anyone would waste their time on GTA..

    Pff. If you can't recognise GTA3 as one of the finest, most innovative, most fun titles of recent years then I really do despair. What would you suggest we should be playing instead, then?

  • binky #20 8 years ago

    I think I will get this in the summer, when Ive done all my other games and nothing else is coming out. I want it, but I can wait.

  • pjmaybe #21 8 years ago

    Good to see it get a ten. Ignoring the flaws (and if you're picky enough to pick 'em out you shouldn't be playing games in the first place) the double pack idea is stupendous value and if you haven't got the original PS2 versions you're in for a treat methinks.

    Agreed about the soundtracks (specifically Vice City's) - Even way back in the days of GTA 1 the music in the GTA games was always a strong point (compare the sountrack to GTA 1 with the sountrack that came with Quake II and you'll see what I mean) but Vice City's is about as close as it gets to perfection, it just suited the mood of the game exceptionally well (and let's face it, if real radio was that good people would probably stop watching TV!)

    Peej

  • Sid-Nice #22 8 years ago

    The games have more flaws(floors) than the Empire State Building, you must hate the Haitians, over in the States the score's were more conservative 6/10 and 7/10. You tend to give UK software house's higher score's.
    The lazy conversions are full of errors, on a machine like the Xbox the games should be perfect.
    It's the same game as the PS2's fair enough, if it had the same make-over as Resident Evil had from the PSone to the Cube, but 10/10 and then saying it's a cultural phenomenon, what have they put in your tea this morning.
    Edited by 1 at 07/01/04 @ 10:19

  • Blerk #23 8 years ago

    It's the same game as the PS2's

    But the PS2 games were worth 10/10. So if these games are identical, surely they must be worth 10/10 as well?

    Edit: Grammar temporarily deserted me.
    Edited by 1 at 07/01/04 @ 10:24

  • CyberClaw #24 8 years ago

    He's too late - Sony have already done it.
    Well, he should buy Sony together with GTA4 then...

    Now, seriously, it would be a good move for MS to try and steal Rockstar from Sony. But MS now only pays/works with true exclusive content (GTA4 isn't exclusive, it will be ported over to the XBox - unless it's also ported to PC they don't care much then). Stuff like Splinter Cell exclusive for the XMas period last year, is stuff MS doesn't want to invest in. They rather pay for an original game, that is truly exclusive to their system not for 1 month/year, but forever (only on XBox logo).

  • krudster #25 8 years ago

    Hahaahahahaaa
    6 or 7 out of 10? Have you all lost the plot? Words fail me to think that some of you actually believe this deserves less than a 10.
    If they were released individually at £40 then that's a different story, but we're addressing a value pack here, just bear that in mind.

  • Blerk #26 8 years ago

    You tell 'em, Kruds.

  • Nemesis #27 8 years ago

    Both games for 40 quid. Are you still here?

  • CyberClaw #28 8 years ago

    No I'm not here, I'm playing Rainbow Six 3 on XBLive. 'nuff said. I don't remmember so much addiction for a big while. (and keep in mind I have Star Fox Adventures, Zelda WW and Ethernal Darkness, in a "to finish" status)

  • Blerk #29 8 years ago

    Both games for £30. Now get going. G'wan. Bugger off.
    Edited by 1 at 08/01/04 @ 08:24

  • st3ph3n #30 8 years ago

    Graphically there's nary a pixel difference between the Xbox and PS2 version, which while no surprise is still disappointing after all this time.

    I thought it looked far crisper graphically, and things like the engine bays in the cars were more detailed than the originals.

    Still at £30 (online of course) for 2 out of the 10 or so best games ever made you'd have to be completely out of your tree to pass that up. That is if you haven't already got them for your PS2.

  • Tabasco #31 8 years ago

    Well as being one of the 3 people who didn't ever play this before this superb double pack I can say that it's the best buy I done in a while! Although, if the draw distance has been improved I can only wonder at how bad it was on the PS2 and as has been mentioned the combat can be very frustrating...BUT...

    What a fun game! Hell I'm still at the stage where just driving around town causing havoc is the first thing I do when I've booted it up....

  • krudster #32 8 years ago

    Spent a good deal of time switching between the PS2 original and the Xbox version and it's a complicated issue. The main one is that the PS2 AV RGB output seems to be far superior in actually giving a crisper image than the Xbox on both Tom's 36" and my Plasma mammoth, so the Xbox fools our eyes into making it look like it's been antialaised - and likewise the PS2's jaggies stand out more, but the resolution looks more or less the same. (And, yes, I am using offical SCART leads in RGB1 etc etc)

    In terms of lighting, texturing and detail levels, I seriously couldn't tell
    much - if any - difference at all. The main things you'll notice immediately are the improved frame rate (especially when driving), and the massive improvements in loading times.

    Edited by 1 at 07/01/04 @ 11:31

  • Sid-Nice #33 8 years ago

    I personally would score the PS2's versions GTA3 9/10, Vice City 8/10.
    In our house the games have been played to death, mainly by my 14yr old son.
    For me to buy the Double Pack it would be for more of a keep-sake than to play. I can't dispute the value as your getting 2 for the price of one, but you can pick the PS2 originals up cheap enough second hand, or the PC versions very cheap.
    I still can't see what all the excitement is about, to me it reminds of my adolescence. I had this adult magazine under my matress pages all stuck together, after a while the pictures that were the best thing since sliced Bread didn't do anything for me, I new then it was time for a new magazine.

  • Kru #34 8 years ago

    Someone has to post it...

    Wanker!

  • jellyhead #35 8 years ago

    Too much info Sid!
    / shouts "Sandals!" at Sid :)
    Edited by 1 at 07/01/04 @ 11:39

  • Gl@eken #36 8 years ago

    A couple of other reviews I read on this raved about the updated graphics on the XBox version. So what gives? I heard things like the polygon count on models was increased and all the textures were much higher quality. As an example of the model upgrades apparently the player models hands actually have individual fingers name as opposed to the oven mits of the PS2 and PC versions. So is none of this upgrade stuff true?

  • Sud #37 8 years ago

    I partially agree with Sid. The fact that GTA is slightly better in Xbox is irrelevant since it is the same games that were released two years ago. It is more likely aimed at those who are wishing to see what GTA games look like on Xbox.

    But the fact that he let his 14 year old son play with the games is irresponsible. These games are for adult only. Don't contaminate young ones' brain with them. Be sensible.

  • BartonFink #38 8 years ago

    Yipes 10/10.

    Nice review btw krudster.

  • pjmaybe #39 8 years ago

    Twas a good review. Imagine you A) Have only ever owned an Xbox and B) had been looking enviously as your PS2-owning buddies played these games. Then suddenly both come along at once for the mere price of a single game, I'd give the double pack 10 as well simply because there's a good 100 hours + worth of quality gaming there, and how many other games can you say that about?

    Peej

  • krudster #40 8 years ago

    Seriously, the texturing is still as blurry as it ever was in the PS2. You're right about the cut scene characters having fingers now instead of "oven mitts", but as for increased poly count - I've no doubt the Xbox version probably has improved things eversoslightly, but it's virtually imperceptiable. I kept switching between the two, and it was a case of spot the difference.

  • Sid-Nice #41 8 years ago

    I got more than a 100 hours out that magazine.

  • DNM #42 8 years ago

    My brother bought a Silver PS2 before Christmas, I felt it only polite to buy him the GTA double-pack for him... He can't play anything else now! :)

  • Wretched Chin #43 8 years ago

    The main gfx enhancements I can see from the ps2 version are shiny looking cars and properly modelled car engines (both of which were in the PC version I think?). I've noticed along with the improved frame rate, a *tiny* amount of tearing around Chinatown on GTA3 and a fair amount of blurring on "the strip" outside your hotel in Vice City (this is probably meant to be heat haze tho). I think the draw distances are pretty much the same (buildings etc) but you still get a load of pop-up for the cars and pedestrians, not that that matters.

    The biggest let down for me is the trigger aiming/shooting system with the default controls on the xbox: it's left trigger aim, right trig fires, but to swap targets you've got to use the d-pad. This is a pain, but I usually just swap to classic controls for the shooty missions.

    But yeah, it's top hole stuff all round and essential if you haven't got them on ps2.

  • Hicksy #44 8 years ago

    Did the PC version ever actually "solve" the camera difficulties?

    I heard it improved the running / shooting bits but was poorer in terms of driving with the keyboard - is this correct?

    I'm tempted to get the double back for x-boxen and sell my ps2 versions...

  • daveo #45 8 years ago

    I can't believe that you gave it a 10 and Halo only got 8. ;-)

  • krudster #46 8 years ago

    Hey don't blame me! I wasn't here!
    Anyway, if you got Halo 1 and 2 in a double pack for £40, then it'd probably be a 10. There's always a degree of value for money involved when reviewing games.

  • lordofdeadside #47 8 years ago

    you point out several flaws and then give it a ten? hmmmm.
    *edit; this isn't oxm!
    Edited by 2 at 07/01/04 @ 13:34

  • tiddles #48 8 years ago

    For some reason, even though Vice City is the more polished, has better characters, story, *motorbikes*, voice acting etc, I still have fonder memories of GTAIII - that might be because it came first and Vice City was much the same game, but I still reckon the map design in GTAIII was superior.

    Seconded (or rather, thirded) - the maps in GTA3 had much more character, with the three separate areas pleasingly diverse. The gangs were also much more closely tied in to their areas in 3, which helped to bring them to life. Vice City really only had two main styles of area, upmarket/low-rent, whereas (IMO) in GTA3 downtown, the suburbs, industrial area, slums etc were all clearly and interestingly defined.

    Vice City is probably more realistic as a city space, but is arguably less dramatic as a result. If GTA4 is based on Las Vegas, let's hope they don't try and make it too close to the real thing.

  • pjmaybe #49 8 years ago

    "Hey don't blame me! I wasn't here!
    Anyway, if you got Halo 1 and 2 in a double pack for £40, then it'd probably be a 10. There's always a degree of value for money involved when reviewing games."

    Makes a change for a reviewer to even BOTHER worrying about value for money so well done. I mean half the games that get high scores in mags would probably get about 3-4 points knocked off if the buggers were actually paying cold hard cash for 'em.

    Peej

  • lordofdeadside #50 8 years ago

    you got a point there peej.
    if all my games were free i'd be pretty pleased with just about every title!

  • krudster #51 8 years ago

    Surely *every* game has flaws? Reviewing shouldn't just be an excercise in being blind to the problems, but nor should you dock points for issues that don't detract from a game's overall brilliance.
    If GTA 3 and Vice City have 3 bad points, they have an overwhelming number of positive points, and that's the issue really.
    Edited by 1 at 07/01/04 @ 13:54

  • groovychainsaw #52 8 years ago

    Please let GTA4 not be las vegas, we want hills!! San francisco (or whatever name they want to give it) would be awesome, bouncing off hills, rounds corners. I agree th\at the flatness of vice city detracted from the game. GTA3 had better designed levels, but vice city had motorbikes, so... definitely a 10 (on the PC, where you can shoot where you want) :)

  • Blerk #53 8 years ago

    Sounds like you upset a Haitian there, Kruds. ;-)

  • Blerk #54 8 years ago

    it looks so much better than the PS2 version

    You're all blind. Or deluded. It's nigh-on identical.

  • krudster #55 8 years ago

    thank you Blerk. What is it with delusion?

  • mcmonkeyplc #56 8 years ago

    my god this isnt better than halo! :)

    An xbox game finally gets 10 on EG!

  • Blerk #57 8 years ago

    Well of course it does - you'd be mad to think otherwise. But it's not substantially better. Just 'a bit'. The way some people are talking you'd think it was a completely different experience, but it just isn't.

    Individually modelled fingers! Whoo-hoo! Somebody call the game police - this improves the game no end!

  • gizmo #58 8 years ago

    Thats a good point - the moon isn't stretched on the xbox version in widescreen. Also the wheel trims have the spokes etc modelled individually. But the biggest single benefit is the higher framerate for me. On the ps2 a fast moving car could leap 2-3 feet per frame as it went past, not so on the sexbox.

  • gizmo #59 8 years ago

    It IS much better.

    I love the moon. Its always been there. I like to look at it. Not a big egg.

  • BartonFink #60 8 years ago

    my god this isnt better than halo! :)

    An xbox game finally gets 10 on EG!

    Hmm didn't Rallisport Challenge get 10

    http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=2722

  • bzzct #61 8 years ago

    "(with trails turned off. i don't like the trails)"

    What is it that that trails option does?

  • krudster #62 8 years ago

    Agreed on the framerate (as I keep repeating), and better widescreen implementation (big whoop) but the difference in everything else is nowhere near as great as some people are making out. I mean, real fingers, better wheel rims! Let's boogie! The point is you have to look pretty hard to even notice the latter two points.
    And as for jaggies, they're just more noticeable in the PS2 version (as much to do with the PS2's superior RGB AV-output as anything - trust me on this, although Xbox output on US machines is much better than PAL if you have prog scan), but don't pretend they're not there in the Xbox version.
    Edited by 1 at 07/01/04 @ 18:34

  • Whizzo #63 8 years ago

    I know it's a very minor thing but water droplets appearing on the screen are certainly in the PS2 version of Vice City as I just checked, dunno about GTA3 though as I've lent it out.

    I'm a bit disappointed that there's not anything really changed in the Xbox versions but my wallet is probably happy, a third version of the games I've already bought twice (PS2 and PC) was maybe pushing it. :-)
    Edited by 1 at 07/01/04 @ 18:32

  • AtomicBanana #64 8 years ago

    Never understand why people like GTA3 and Vice So much.. I got bored of both of them in under a week.. thank god I just downloaded them frankly :p

    Why people didn't feel insulted by the GTA3 Mod, Vice City, I'll never understand.

    If you point out flaws, I can't see how it can still be worth 10/10 . . .
    Edited by 1 at 07/01/04 @ 19:12

  • Whizzo #65 8 years ago

    how do you enable progressive scan on PAL xbox then ?

    I'm pretty sure you can't.

  • ruttyboy #66 8 years ago

    To play GTAIII with a new vigour, simply buy the PC version and download the 'Real GTA' mod, changed my life ;)

  • Kavvy #67 8 years ago

    When GTA3 came out in 2001 I took a week off work sick.

    When VC came out roughly a year later I suddenly felt ill again.

    So I too got paid to play GTA3 & VC.

    Aint life great eh?

  • Spiltrice #68 8 years ago

    10 out of 10?

    I'm not too sure about that mate, the Xbox version of GTA3 and Vice City have far more bugs than either its PS2 or PC counterparts. I've just put it down 20 min ago and i found a huge hole in the floor where a fence should have been and you could see people walking around beneath you! Its on GTA3 within one of the industrial complexes, i aught to have made a note but i was too busy laughing about it. What about floating cars? Instantly disapearing ones? The bloody game freezing when you go to save! I think the Xbox version of GTA3 highlights the awful camera angles and targeting system. I don't recall shrubs being a huge issue on the PS2 or PC versions but on the Xbox they obsure your view completely. Having said that, for some reason i am enjoying the game more on the Xbox, its just so easy to control using the Xbox's control pad plus the graphics are much improved although i have yet to figure out the purpose of the rain droplets on the cameras lens except to perhaps obsure your view even more. lol. Has anyone else exprienced a great deal of slow down when the action gets heavy or when they're driving at speed though a narrow area... i.e. a alleyway or tunnel? Well... nevermind i suppose, like i said, i'm enjoying the game more which is all that matters at the end of the day.

    Neil...

  • Blerk #69 8 years ago

    sneaky embedding of a amazon associates link there blerk

    Really?

    /checks

    Blimey! I never realised that was there! I've edited it 'cos it wasn't MY reference. ;-)

  • Blerk #70 8 years ago

    Bwah-ha-ha-ha!

    Yeah... there aren't any Xbox games with bugs in them, are there? No siree - bugs are all the PS2's fault. Little swine.

  • Tiger_Walts #71 8 years ago

    The PC port of GTA III was more or less a direct port from the PS2 version. With VC they rebuilt a lot more code and although a busier game in terms of graphical effects, it runs faster than GTA III.

    And which platform did you think the Xbox version was ported from, obviously not the PS2.

  • bungalooBunny #72 8 years ago

    I disagree witht the PS2 output being shaper than the XBox's. I loading Silent Hill 2 on both my PS2 and Xbox and kept switching the AV channel and the XBox version was sooooo much better. I haven't got GTA3 for PS2 right now but will compare it on the SAME TV and see what gives..
    I wouldn't say that the graphics differences are nearly unnoticable.
    Apart from this I feel the review is spot on, and for the 10/10 sceptics bear in mind that this is the first release on another console of the best-selling PS2 games ever, and being sold for the price of one.

  • bungalooBunny #73 8 years ago

    Regarding the PS2 port issue, this game uses RenderWare which means they don't need to port anything - the engine is compatible with all formats and the only things they had to worry about is improving little things, such has fingers. o_O

  • UnConeD #74 8 years ago

    People who are dismissing GTA3/VC don't realize just how much stuff GTA3/VC did right. However, a lot of credit goes to GTA1/2: the whole concept was an incredibly refreshing change back then. GTA1 already had simple versions of the features that made GTA3/VC more fun: unique cars hidden around the place, easter eggs or mini-games to enable not-so-realistic-but-oh-so-fun extras, etc.

    GTA3/VC had several annoyances though, but I think they are only so noticable because the rest of the game is great;

    The map layout in GTA3 was mostly okay save for some weirdness on the 3rd island where you had to make huge detours.
    In Vice City though, I think it was pretty bad. The two islands were long and thin, almost linear.

    Maybe there were complaints that the layout in GTA3 was too confusing, though I wonder how people who can't manage GTA3 would drive/walk around real-life cities. I had no trouble navigating Liberty City in any case: figuring out where everything is, and getting to know the layout of the place was part of the fun.

    If there's one thing I'd love for a possible GTA4 that is that they get rid of those areas that are used only for 1 mission once: if you did a lot of exploring, you'd often reach such an area with no apparent entrance or purpose, only to find out it's used in a mission later. Once the mission is over, that area is deserted once again as if nothing happened. A good example was the abandoned graffiti-sprayed houses near the movie studios in Vice City: filled to the brim with gang members when you do the mission, but are empty otherwise.
    It would be nice not to have such dead space, but how they could solve it is a different matter.

    Also, I think the whole crime-boss-idea in Vice City was a bit odd: the mission story set you up as a big player near the end, but if you hadn't progressed enough to reach the final missions, you'd still be reduced to running around mugging grannies for spare change so to speak.

  • MikeD #75 8 years ago

    10 out of 10 is ridiculous, no game is perfect, but o.k.


    I thought the jokes in the vice city radio stations were lame and old compared to the gta 3 ones. they should have just used music in VC

  • bungalooBunny #76 8 years ago

    "10 out of 10 is ridiculous, no game is perfect, but o.k. "

    LOL! Since when does anything need to be perfect to get the highest score possible? Does that mean that movies that get 5 stars are perfect?! If you get 100% in your maths test does that mean you are perfect?!? Didn't think so.. it just means it's excells in what it does and you should buy it NOW!*



    *only if you like GTA series

  • insin #77 8 years ago

    Is anyone else having problems with both games crashing? I've had Vice City completely lock up a couple of times during gameplay, while GTA3 has locked up a few times when I entered the lift in the Staunton Island hideout. It's most infuriating when you've just completed a difficult or annoying mission.

  • Sid-Nice #78 8 years ago

    Trowel,
    When have Nintendo stole from the rich and given to the poor?

  • KraftWerk #79 8 years ago

    When have Nintendo stole from the rich and given to the poor?
    ---
    They stole money from my rich parents and gave great games to poor me.

  • Sid-Nice #80 8 years ago

    Nice one very Krafty.

  • EVERYGAMER #81 8 years ago

    So "get away from her you bitch!" would be for a poor game then? I like it ;)

  • Blerk #82 8 years ago

    Picked Vice City up again this weekend for the first time in a while, and it's still just as good as it always was. All you guys who are saying it's 'boring' and 'rubbish' have obviously lost the plot.

    Alright, it might not have the best graphics and the draw-distance is a bit short but if you're going to let stuff like that put you off one of the most fun titles in this generation then go on - but it's YOU who's missing out.

    Dang. I wish I wasn't at work.

  • bungalooBunny #83 8 years ago

    Geez how can anyone think about Zelda while playing GTA? I guess you didn't get the idea of the game at all - it's not about exploring or going to the movies, it's about fucking around, breaking everything you feel like and beating up people you encounter. The main missions are the obvious goal of the game but you're not restricted by time (like in Getaway) and so you can just wonder around the town and do as above.

    If you're really a reviewer I'm a bit concerned you can't see each game for their own merit. (Zelda and GTA.)

  • CashDollar #84 8 years ago

    Anyone else find that walking around town after a *session* on vice city you found yourself looking at real cars and thinking about jacking them, or wondering what weapons you had when you hear a police siren in the distance.

    Scared me a couple of times.

    ;)

  • #85 8 years ago

    gta sux0r

  • MoFo #86 8 years ago

    Seventhsun - I think without realising you have actually described why GTA is such a mind blowing game.

    you say Midnight Club 2 is a better racer. You say Zelda: WW has better explortation and you say Carmageddon already did the "run over stuff" thing. So there you have it - GTA bundles together all the elements of those games that you love so much: Driving, exploring and killing indiscrimatly! Something which none of those games do alone. This is why it gets 10/10.

    I reckon the people who say they don't like GTA are the same kind of people who say "LOTR is over-rated", "Kylie Minnogue is quite ugly really" and "why don't I have any mates?"

  • WoodenSpoon #87 8 years ago

    And there are motorbikes.

  • WoodenSpoon #88 8 years ago

    Heh.

    You know, I'm getting kind of tired of pointing out flaws in posts like these.
    Well, nevermind, I'm sure you're all thinking the same as me.

    I'll leave it at 'heh' then.