Grand Theft Auto Advance (Game Boy Advance) - Review by Andrew

Introduction

Since we last saw Grand Theft Auto on the GameBoy Color the Advance version has not only suffered delays but also been linked with some of the industry's top publishers and developers. DSI, ZOO Digital, Crawfish, Climax are some of the few names bandied about during the game?s three year development process. It was on, it was off, it was in full 3D and it was just about everything at one time or another. There were even screens leaked at one stage although whether these were genuine or not will probably never be known. Today though it's finally been released and we know that for sure because we're actually playing it. Developed by, in my opinion one of the best handheld studios around today, Digital Eclipse and published by none other than Rockstar. What's slightly ironic about this is Rockstar were the original publishers so there may be some basis to the theory that the rights to the handheld GTA were recalled as the PS2 and PC versions began to sell millions of units. Experience tells us that this amount of time in development is not usually a good thing although given that, within this period, it's been cancelled at least once we're still rather hopeful.

Gameplay

I could start out here by detailing the game?s plot but like the majority of FPS games the story takes a back seat to the actual gameplay. If you haven't played GTA before, and there can't be many of you, all the action is mission (and crime) based taking place in the unassuming Liberty City. Quite simply if you can imagine it, you can probably do it. I can't think of a more adult themed game on the GBA, with even Rockstar's own Max Payne paling in comparison. Things start out simple enough. You have a car and no money so you're soon on the rampage. One early mission, for example, involves you collecting a moneybag, buying a gun and then killing a rival gang member. Once you get a taste for this, things really do start to escalate. If you want a faster car - simply car jack one, more money - rob a passerby. Weapons are available from shops or the many gang wars you'll find yourself in the middle of and while these start off as simple baseball bats you'll quickly find that the better-equipped criminals have shotguns and sub machine guns. Everything can be done at your leisure; indeed one of the best aspects of GTA is that most missions aren't timed so while you have to meet certain criteria the relative freedom in how you accomplish this is great fun.

Stopping you, or at least watching you, are Liberty City?s finest and I don't ever think I've seen a single location with so many uniformed officers. They appear to be cruising down every street but unlike in some other versions of GTA they are far more lenient. 'Bumping' a law enforcement vehicle will simply get you a telling off from the driver. Continue and the inevitable will happen but it's this 'second chance?, which allows the gameplay to flow. More problematic however is actually mowing down or shooting a police officer as this will significantly raise your 'wanted status' with an APB on your car and the odd road block popping up. You can dodge this though by finding a paint shop and getting a quick re-spray which never fails to completely fool them into thinking you've jumped the state line. It's not just the law you have to avoid though because as rival gangs become aware of your presence your missions become more dangerous and by the time you?re someway into the game it can seem like everyone is out to get you.

Failing a mission, which is generally caused by being overpowered by the very people you've been sent to dispose of, will land you in hospital. From here you have two choices: replay the mission or hop in the ambulance for one of several mini games. The ambulance missions involve getting patients back to the hospital without having too many collisions, which can quite difficult on the crowded streets. You can also steal a taxi and start picking up and dropping off passengers or even enter one of a number of street races. There are also packages to locate and lots of people and objects to interact with but how and when you do this is entirely up to you. Saving is a little problematic as, although it's a friendly battery back up, you can only actually do it at one location in the city: the hideout. To make matters even worse it can also only be done when you've completed your current mission, which is a little useless when you keep being ambushed with only your fists to keep you alive. Clearly this represents more of a challenge but due to the sheer size of GTA it really isn't needed.

Controls

While the control system takes some getting used to, the developers have done a wonderful job whether you are on foot or in one of the many vehicles. When not driving your character is incredibly versatile with the developers adding an ability to strafe, making combat with a gun or rather dodging on coming bullets a lot easier than in previous outings. When driving the control alters depending on the vehicle you are in and remember you can drive just about anything if you can overpower the driver. A word of warning though don't try and take over one of the many gang filled cars cruising around the city as they simply get out of the car and shoot you. Obviously the best mode of transport is something small and fast that allows you to utilize the many back alleys and short cuts, which is essential when outrunning the law. Pick a truck, on the other hand and the control is far more sluggish and taking a corner too fast will flip you over forcing you to... you guessed it, 'commandeer' another vehicle.

Graphics

While the latest GTA titles are in full 3D, the style in this latest handheld outing is based on the PS1 games. If you haven't seen them the visuals are best described as 2D with 3D enhancements, which you can see as the buildings move by in perspective. Also have a look at the street banner above you as the game first begins. The overall look is comic based with the actual game engine trying to keep up with the wonderfully atmospheric cut-screens. Look out for some nice touches too, such as your character leaping across your car?s hood (it's based in the US remember), which is even more impressive when you realize he can also do the same over trucks and buses. Your screen layout is pretty informative without becoming too cluttered and you'll constantly refer to the on screen map to help you out with missions. One thing we would have liked included though is a map of the whole city as, while your tiny radar/map marks out current mission objectives, it doesn't include everything and with a city the size of Liberty things can become confusing. The game engine is fine when you have your Sunday morning traffic however unfortunately when the game becomes a little too ambitious; at Rush Hour for instance, it severely stretches the hardware causing some rather erratic frame rate issues. This is only a minor quibble though and the rest of the game is a solid stable affair but when this problem occurs it's incredibly irritating.

Sound

While you get some rather funky 70s Cop Movie style music playing in the cut screens the rest of the game is without music that is until you step into one of the may cars or trucks and the radio kicks in. This has been used in previous GTA games and works very well. The only down side is the length of the music samples and over the length of the game you're likely to have heard everything hundreds of times. Sound effects include the police radio, engine noises and horns beeping. Separately these are all fine but start driving erratically or causing accidents and the combination of sound effects and music can be a little headache inducing.

Final comments

Whether this was good or not the media and fan base hype, which has been building for years now, would have guaranteed considerable sales. The good news is that it's probably what every GameBoy owning GTA fan has been waiting for and until we get our hands on Apex Designs? Payback it's undoubtedly the best chance you'll have of creating criminal havoc in the comfort of your own home. It does have its problems most notably the frame rate issues mentioned above and also the rather strange single location saving. This though is a small price to pay for the hours of fun at your fingertips and with over 300 missions plus bonus unlockables we really do mean hours.

Pro: Over 300 Missions
Con: Graphical Glitches
Final score: 7.9

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