Grand Theft Auto 3

Intro: Someone once said to me, "Live FAST, Die YOUNG" and I'll be damned if that doesn't relate in someway to the GTA series. For if you take a step back and actually look at these games, you'll see what I mean. It's the criminal life, and unlike many games we've seen where it's Good vs. Bad, this is all about the Bad vs. Bad. And who doesn't love that? In fact, who doesn't love a game which gives you the ultimate freedom, of letting you, the player, do as you wish. Sure, you COULD drive the speed limit. Sure, you COULD NOT drive on the side walk... But hey, the fact you CAN drive fast and drive on the side walk is enough for me. Yet there's more. As much as some people believe, there's more to the GTA games than midnless killing... Which by the way is fun as well, but there's more. There's a deep mission-driven game here, offering hours upon hours of gameplay. Not only that, but you try getting 100% and you'll fully understand how much of a mammoth these games are. Not only that, but these games now appear on the Xbox, TOGETHER for the price of one. If you enjoy foreshadowing, let me simply say: Buy The GTA Double Pack!

Story: We find ourselves at the beginning of the game pulling a heist with our girlfriend Catilina. Successful in the heist, you see you(the nameless thug of GTA3) and your girlfriend make a run for it. However, as the sirens of police cruisers ebb closer to you your own girlfriend turns on you, and gives you a few shots with her gun. In the end, you take the fall for the heist before you're broken out amidst the break out of another prisoner. You find yourself with 8-Ball(voiced by Guru), who helps you find a hideout and a change of clothes. And so you now begin your twisted journey through Liberty City, where you'll meet many people... And probably kill a lot of them too. Where a twist lurks around the corner, and there's always someone out to get you.

Graphics: This being a port, many figured that Rockstar would go the easy and lazy way, leaving us with two year old graphics. Leaving us with the same bland looking vehicles we saw on the PS2, however, Rockstar strayed away from the norm of developers and I must say: Good for them. Rockstar has completley re-done the character models, the vehicle models and added a significant polygon count to all. Go back and play the PS2 version of Grand Theft Auto 3, and tell me those aren't blocky hands? Well guess what fans, no more on the Xbox. Besides the beautiful lighting job done in this game, the first thing you'll notice is that our anti-hero has fingers! Yes, those five things which petrude from your hands. See'em? Yep, those. Going into cut scenes for missions, you'll notice that the lip movement of characters matches what they're saying. It isn't just a closed-mouth conversion anymore. There's the little things that make the game all that much greater, such as the wrinkles in your pants. Or the creases in your leather jacket, these things make the game feel and play just that much more realistic than it's PS2 counterpart. The biggest improvement on the Xbox is definetley the car models. I can't remember how many times a simple bump in my stunning Mafia Sentinel has sent me off the deep end on a murder spree, simply because someone bumped into my car leaving a scratch. Dented hoods will make you cringe as your crimson red cheetah is sent into ruins from the crash. That's how great the cars look. Driving fast, you can definetly see the reflections of the enviroments off your vehicle. Whether it be tree's or buildings, or even an innocent pedestrian as he or she flies over the top of your car. Even some vehicles rims have such detail, you can distinguish each and which way the rim is supposed to look. Signs can now be read clearly, and you won't suddenly be hit by oncoming traffic you didn't see.

Sound: Remastered, Grand Theft Auto 3 features Dolby 5.1 so those of us with the sound systems can hear the game play with perfection. Add in the nice fact you have your CD tray and custom soundtracks, then wham. No need to listen to what eventually becomes repetative radio stations. Pull a burnout by holding down your handbrake and hitting acceleration, and the sounds of your tire as they screech comes in perfectly. Such a small detail adds to the games greatness further. Of course, the voice acting remains the same, and remains as stellar as it was 2 years ago. The only problem being, the games original score of music and talk radio is oddly low volumed even at high volumes of your TV. Can be a little bothersome, but no biggie.

Gameplay: The maker or breaker of any video game. Well, the fact the GTA formula has always been TRIED to be duplicated has to make one think doesn't it? GTA comes at you like an open ended RPG, but yet it's an action game. So you don't need to build your stats, you just need to pick up that glock and go out and make a name for yourself on the grity streets of Liberty City. The open end style gameplay compliments the game's street style violence well, as you'll find yourself jacking helpless innocent people of their vehicles, and maybe even blasting them down as you make your getaway. But it's not all about murder and car jacking, the missions featured in GTA3 offer us a great deal of fun and a long ammount of gameplay hours. From working for the Mafia, to pulling drive bys for street thugs in the Projects(aka Wichita Gardens), you'll never find nothing to do in GTA3. Even if one does complete all missions, there's still the option to go all out and master the GTA3 domain by completing 100% of the game's offering. A truly painstaking and time consuming task, but fun all the way through.

Overall: GTA3 where it was once not as perfect as it could've been, now is. The game is brought to the Xbox flawless, and one can sit back and thouroughly enjoy the game's offerings...

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City

Story: You're Tommy Vercetti, an ex-con who just got out of prison for serving 15 years of hard time for the Forelli family(remember them from GTA3?). Sonny Forelli definetley doesn't want you walking around Liberty City(reason you'll find out at the end of the game), as it will be "bad for business". The family wants to expand down south, so who better to do so than you? You find yourself getting into the drug business, as you'll be buying some Grade A Colombian cocaine in the beginning. Yet, you find yourself double crossed and you get shot at. You lose the money provided by the Forelli family, AND you don't even get the white gold you were after. Bad news, now you gotta find the bastards that did this. Starting off, you're with your lawyer Ken Rosenberg, and from then on you'll be lead down the road of fortune and misfortune as you search for the people who set you up... And you'll find every twist the game offers that much greater than the one before.

Graphics: As with GTA3, Vice City is improved upon greatly. Cars, lighting and character models all redone for the power of the Xbox. Reflections again ever present in the magnetic city of Vice City. As with GTA3, we have fingers on our hands and our mouths move precisely to the way we talk. No problem here.

Sound: The same problem with GTA3 occurs when the radio volume is a lot lower than that of the custom soundtrack, however Vice City has it's own set of problems and glitches which can truly ruin a great experience. My biggest problem came out of what is now widely known as the "mute ped glitch". One where after 10 minutes of playing, you'll find that as you walk down the streets of Vice City... No one says a word. For even holding up someone, there is not a peep out of'em. Not even a scream as you gun down a police officer. I wouldn't mention this if it was only a problem with my game, but it's become obvious from many gaming message boards the problem is widespread and hopefully Rockstar will rectify the problem ASAP. Simply put, this, in what seems as a minor problem can truly take away that realistic and fun look of the game. Walking down the streets isn't fun anymore, because there are no funny one liners spewed out by the public of Vice City. It's simply a ghost town, and it's unfortunate this glitch wasn't removed from the final version of the game. Other than that, the usual goodness of custom soundtrack and 80's music gives you the bang for your buck. Not to mention the stellar voice acting of Ray Liotta(Tommy Vercetti, you), Jenna Jameson(Candy Suxxx) just to name a few.

Gameplay: Aside from similarities to GTA3, Vice City offers it's own brand of violence: 80's style. One added niceness about GTA Vice City however is you got motorcycles to work with, and a much more varied mission set. The missions of Vice City going from you working for the big boys of Vice City, to you actually working for yourself and working to build legitimate businesses. Probably the thing that makes Vice City stand out the most out of all the other GTA's is just that, owning property and businesses.

Overall: GTA Vice City has it's ups and downs, but nevertheless it is one spectacular piece of work. Worthy of purchase alone, you can't go wrong with the double pack.

Outro: In conclusion, the Grand Theft Auto Double Pack is worth ANYONE's $50(or $70 for us Canadians). For the price of one game, you get two of the greatest games this side of next gen gaming. A definite purchase, as these two games on their own bring 100's of hours of gameplay.