Grand Theft Auto: Double Pack review

Grand Theft Auto was originally a game exclusive to the PS2 but has finally gone multi-platform with a release on the Xbox. The Xbox release takes the form of a double pack containing Grand Theft Auto III and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. While the games are essentially the same ones that have been around for years on the PS2 Rockstar have added Xbox specific features, including improved graphics and in-game surround sound. The double pack is retailing for the same price as a normal game to reflect its age, but will anyone care or have those that liked it already bought the PS2 versions?

Where have you been

For anyone who hasn’t encountered the GTA series before it’s a free form world where crime is rewarded. Both games follow the same ideas whereby you play the role of a minor criminal who is sent on missions by the organised crime bosses. You can take any vehicle that you see in the game and you can steal money off any one you kill. The missions revolve around protection, murder and deliveries with a few demolition missions thrown in too.

GTA3 and Vice City are pretty similar games and this release can be considered as a single game with loads of missions. The games are different in their storylines but essentially they play the same. The games have a fast paced action feel with short, often very difficult, missions carried through with an engaging storyline.

All over the place

The control system is the same for both games and it generally works pretty well. The game is played in a third person mode with a dynamic camera which can make the game a little more difficult than it should be. Often you’ll need to turn around to shoot at someone or get away but the camera is sluggish in turning with you. The cars have their own characteristics with the vans being slow and cumbersome while the sports cars are fast and all over the road. This just means that you end up smashing the cars up pretty quickly and have to go steal another.

Stealing cars is the most basic action in the game - as you might guess from the title. You need to avoid the law when committing crimes although going on a killing spree will attract their attention anyway. When the police are after you your wanted level will increase, this is a ten division bar indicating how keen the police are to catch you. One or two points can be achieved by killing a police officer, stealing a car in front of a cop or running over loads of people. This can be decreased by changing clothes, getting the car re-sprayed or staying out of trouble for long enough.

Mission Impossible

The games drive a storyline along with a series of missions. These are delivered by cut scenes when you go to the appropriate place in the city. To receive a mission you must visit a contact. You have various contacts throughout each game and after completing each mission you must return to one of them to receive your next mission. In between missions you can undertake sub missions such as taxi driving, vigilante missions, ambulance driver or fireman. To take these missions you need to steal the appropriate vehicle and press the X button. This can earn you a little bit of money between the main missions. The main missions tend to be short which keeps them punchy.

There are only a few types of missions but the developers have worked hard to keep them varied. The structure of the missions is varied with plenty of different locations and scenarios. The story in Vice City flows better though and the missions seem better designed, while GTA3 feels like (and is) an older game.

Enhanced gaming

Rockstar have made a valiant effort in bringing the presentation of the GTA games up to date without losing the original feel of the games. The cut scenes have been cleaned up and the in-game graphics have been made to take some advantage of the Xbox’s graphical capabilities. The game still looks a few years old, but then to bring it completely up to date would have meant a substantial amount of work and would have changed the feel.

The sound is a bit of a disappointment though. The sound effects and music fit the game well and have been mixed for surround sound but they just don’t sound too impressive. The surround mix isn’t as directional or as bold as it could be and this seems like a very half-hearted effort at making in-game surround sound. All in all this release is much the same as the PS2 effort with a bit more polish.

A stopgap

This double pack release is really only a stop-gap measure before the next GTA hits the streets. If you own the PS2 originals then there really isn’t anything here to recommend the games. If you never had the pleasure of the originals then it’s a credit to Rockstar that these games still seem great after a few years.

If you played the original PS one games then the series has moved on a long way. The top down, basic presentation of the early games has moved to a fully 3D perspective with a more developed story. There is much here to recommend the GTA Double Pack - not least the price and the fact that you get two games. If you own the originals on the PS2 then it’s not worth it. If you missed the PS2 versions or where just waiting for the Xbox versions then wait no more, because they have arrived.