Grand Theft Auto Double Pack

"2 of the best games EVER!!!"

Finally the Xbox gets some Rockstar North love. Rockstar North always tries to screw Xbox gamers over by releasing their games a few months later on Xbox than PS2. Well now that Grand Theft Auto 3 and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City are finally on Xbox, I can safely say that these games are the best games ever. Grand Theft Auto 3 follows the story of a nameless vigilante who tries to make it big in the crime world after escaping from prison with a man named 8-Ball. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City follows the story of Tommy Vercetti trying to recover stolen drug money, but then story evolves into so much more. Because there are 2 games, I'm going to review each game individually.

Grand Theft Auto 3

Gameplay: 9/10

Lets start with the bad thing about the game. When you play the game, it's awesome. But when you play Vice City and go to play this game again it seems a little dated. Rockstar should have added extra missions and being able to fly helicopters when they ported Grand Theft Auto 3. That's the only thing bad about Grand Theft Auto 3. Now let's rant about the things I love about Grand Theft Auto 3. I love that fact that in the game you can roam around the city for hours without ever doing a mission. I love you can vengefully run over pedestrians, have 2 cops chase you, and 360 spin into a pay and spray to get the cops off you. I love beating people with baseball bats for no reason. Simply put, GTA 3 is the second best game on the planet. And the game can last for as long as you want it to, but the core game takes about 8 hours or so to complete. I could go on for hours about how good it is, but then you would get bored and turn off the computer.

Story: 10/10

I've already explained the story, so I'm not going to re-iterate it. I am however, going to voice my opinion on how good the story is. GTA 3 has a great story; in my opinion it's better than Halo's. Everything feels fresh and original, and everything has a purpose. You never feel like “why am I doing this?” The writers should be applauded for there great writing. The only game I've played that has a better story is GTA: Vice City.

Graphics/Sound: 8/10

They could have seriously upgraded the graphics for the Xbox. I know they added engine models under the cars but they could have made it so buildings don't all of a sudden “appear” on the surroundings. The graphics are still good, but they could have been better. All the sounds in the game I thought were very good, including the voice actors. The radio stations were also very good; my favourite was Chatterbox.

Replayability: 9/10

This game is very replayable, but it sucks that you get no reward for getting 100%. Other than that though the game is awesome in this department. You can play for hours just driving around killing people. Simply awesome.

Final Thoughts:

As I've said, this is the second best game on the planet. It could have been upgraded for the Xbox, but oh well, you can't have everything. I would recommend you buy this game.

GTA 3 OVERALL SCORE: 9/10

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City

Gameplay: 10/10

Simply put, this is the best game ever to date. You can now steal helicopters, change clothes, buy businesses, and ride motorcycles. Plus the game is set in the 80's giving it an even better edge. I can't think of anything bad in this game. It's so fun it actually kind of scary. The game in my opinion is actually easier than GTA 3. I don't know why, but it too me a much shorter time to beat Vice City even though it's about twice the size. Weird. The game can take anywhere from 6 hours to 20 hours to complete, depending on how much you want to get done. This game is amazing.

Story: 10/10

The story is even better than GTA 3's. The story is very compelling, and it has major sequel opportunities. I love seeing Tommy grow from being basically an errand boy to, well; I'm not going to spoil it for you. Anyhow, this story is awesome.

Graphics/Sound: 9/10

The graphics are better than GTA 3's, but still could have better. Why didn't Rockstar upgrade the graphics for the Xbox? They had 2 years to do it! Plus there are some weird glitches like cars disappearing when you turn around, but overall the graphics don't affect the gameplay because they're still pretty good, just filled with glitches. All the voice actors are awesome, especially whoever did Tommy's voice. The radio stations are also amazing. VCPR and VROCK are exceptionally good. They did good, but not great in this department.

Replayability: 10/10

This game never gets old. There are so many things to do in the game you will replay the game over and over again. Very replayable.

Final Thoughts:

This is the best game on the planet. I highly recommend you buy it.

GTA: VICE CITY OVERALL SCORE: 10/10

OVERALL SCORE: 10/10

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 11/09/04