Grand Theft Auto Double Pack

"The politics of contraband."

Made by Rockstar, the Grand Theft Auto series has a reputation for being the one of the most violent series out there. It combines such subjects as dirty humor, blood and gore, as well as sexual lust. It's something that most gamers have long cried out for: a series that has content as mature as the gamers who want play it.

Grand Theft Auto makes it's first appearance on the Xbox with this two pack updated release of the two best games (thus far) in the series: Grand Theft Auto III and Grand Theft Auto Vice City. With Xbox only extras like improved graphics, 5.1 surround sound support, 480p, and custom soundtrack ability, how can anyone not want this game?

Story

In a nutshell both of these Grand Theft Auto games are about working the criminal underworld. Grand Theft Auto III has very little story to add to that. Sure there are some minor twists here and there, but for the most part it's as simple as saying ''X criminal has ordered you to perform Y action''. The fact that the player's character in III has no name and never speaks doesn't really help out. One would think your character was some kind of a wimp, taking all the crap from your 'bosses' without saying a word back... if not for the fact that you kill as you please.

Vice City, on the other hand, features Tommy Vercetti as the player's character. Having just gotten out of prison after fifteen years, Tommy is sent down to Vice City (basically, Miami) to establish a hold in the city for The Family. Whether it's yelling insults at the cops who are chasing him, or roughing up the people who work with him, Tommy wont take crap from anyone. Set in the eighties, Vice City comes across like a mix of the old television show Miami Vice and the movie Scareface.

So, the end result is that Grand Theft Auto III's story suffers a little in light of Vice City's. It's not to say that III's story is bad, but Rockstar really outdid itself with Vice City's. A lot more humor, and better voice acting can be seen in Vice City. It really adds up.

Gameplay

You go from mission to mission working for all types of criminals, from drug barons to hit men. The missions come in all sorts of variety as well. You think it would get old, but between the two games you'll see such imaginative goals as advertising for a porn studio by turning a spot light into a giant ad featuring bare breasts, piloting remote controlled vehicles that carry bombs, as well as seeing how many people you can set on fire. Almost all missions are as challenging as they are fun and will keep you interested throughout the game.

There also exist many mini-missions that you don't have to perform to advance the story. Look for hidden packages much like a scavenger hunt, drop off people in a taxi, or enter a race. There's always some side work for you if you feel like making a little more cash on the side.

While not undertaking missions, you can basically do whatever you like in each game's city. Cruise around town and do some random drive by shootings, or try to be a sniper. Just watch out, because the more violent you are the more the cops take notice of you. Eventually they will send out the army after you. What should do you do then? Why, hijack a tank, of course!

Both games have a wide assortment of weapons at your disposal, but Vice City really outdoes itself with things like chainsaws and swords. Half the fun of using the weapons is seeing what effect they have on the people. You might slice off someone's head with one weapon, or turn them into a living torch with another.

Both games feature a great many cars (as well as the tank mentioned above), but Vice City also includes motorcycles as well as boats, planes, and helicopters. Each vehicle in the game handles slightly differently, giving the games even more depth.

Tired of your outfit? In Vice City, there are even different outfits you can obtain, from carpenters clothes to police uniforms. They actually help you lose the police when being chased, and have some other minor effects of helping to blend in with certain subsections of the city. With so many different kinds of outfits, your sure to find one that will match your own style.

Each of the game's cities has it's own distinct feel. Liberty City is a huge metropolitan, with suburbs, industrial, and business zones. Vice City, however, doesn't really seem to have that much depth at first glance. While it has all of the types of areas that Liberty City has, Vice City is a very flat place in compression. While Liberty City has huge hillsides and cliffs, Vice City has beaches. While it's not really less interesting per se, it does seem to feel like the city is an open book so to speak, like there isn't much there. Another deceiving part of how much are is in Vice City is the amount of buildings you can enter. While liberty has a handful of such places, with Vice City they seem to be everywhere. One can easily forget about them while busy running over people and fleeing from the law.

Vice City is mainly split up into two islands, while Liberty City has three. An added difficulty of getting around Liberty City is that, unlike Vice City, there is no in-game map you may call up. Sure, the company that make Grand Theft Auto Double pack gave you a paper map, but lose it and you be driving around in circles trying to remember where to find the local gun shop.

The controls for both games are the same; they handle very smoothly and for the most part are easy to learn. Anyone who played these games on the Playstation 2 shouldn't have any problems picking up on the controls either, due to how user friendly they are. My only complaint about the controls comes from using the right analog stick while performing a drive by shooting. You must push the stick left or right (to aim the gun out of the side of the car), then while the stick is held like this, you must click down on the stick like a button. Somehow, it just doesn't feel very intuitive in the middle of a fire fight.

Graphics

Both games received updated graphics with this release, Grand Theft Auto III naturally getting more of a face lift then Vice City as it came out before Vice City did.

The amount of detail to be seen in these games is staggering. Whether it's the shadows being cast due to your headlights on a dark night, the tail lights that turn on when people are at stop lights, or the flapping of your shirt when you're on a motorcycle, the detail always seems to have been worked on with loving care. Other examples include shiny paint on some of the vehicles, sea gulls near the beach, and such weather effects like rain, fog, and orange cast sunset skies.

A nice trick that Rockstar has used with the rain (and to a lesser extant, blood) is that some of it will get on the 'inside' of your television set's screen, much like you'd expect if you looked out a window on a rainy day. This effect even goes away when you get your character under shelter.

Sound

Both games have all the sounds you think a city would have: sirens, pedestrians talking as they go by, and honking horns letting you know when other people think your driving needs improving. The game also makes good use of surround sound, the better to let you know from which direction the police are coming.

The voice acting is never bad in either game, but Vice City's is much better, without a doubt. The contempt, disgust, and the outrage really comes through in it. Also, there is much more of it because, as mentioned above, Grand Theft Auto III's main character never seems to really have a word to say (don't worry, he'll flip off people while walking down the road to try to make up for it).

Then there are the radio stations. Both games have ads that will make you turn the volume up to hear what craziness the makers of the game put in. Whether it's something on the morbid side like the ad for 'Grandparents Forever' or simply hearing the weird conversations of the talk radio shows ('I will build an enormous statue in the shape of ME, where we can all life safely away from the evil doers!'), the radio stations will constantly make you do a mental double take (They just said WHAT?!). Grand Theft Auto III features many songs made just for the game, while Vice City stays true to the whole eighties plot with a great many eighties songs. As mentioned above, you may also make use of the Xbox hardware and listen to your own music through the radio station. In the end, this will basically mean that you'll have the best kind of music; that which is made to your own tastes.

The Bad

Anyone who has played these games on the Playstation 2 will tell you that with all this freedom of play came a great many glitches. While the Xbox versions has gotten rid of many of them, there currently appears to be at least one new one: in Vice City the pedestrians will eventually stop talking to you for awhile. All other sound effects (including car engines, horns, radio stations and cut scenes) are not effected by this glitch. While this doesn't harm the gameplay itself, this does distract from the atmosphere. After all, some of the fun of playing Vice City over Grand Theft Auto III is Tommy's 'charisma'.

This, along with the previously mentioned lack of an in-game map for Grand Theft Auto III and the minor complaint of the drive by shooting controls, is the reason why this game doesn't get a ten rating from me, as it makes it just shy of perfection.

The Bottom Line

If you aren't turned off by what the darker side of humanity is like, this set is for you.

If you have only one of the two games for a different system and enjoyed it, you must have this set.

The only reason why one shouldn't consider getting this game is if you've played both versions to death on a different system, but even then, the updated graphics, sound, and custom soundtracks make this set the ultimate enticement.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 11/10/03