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Published
by Rockstar Games
Developed by Rockstar North
Released: Out Now
Price: £39.99
It
has always been a cliche in the games industry that it's
the games that sell consoles. This has never been more true
than with the current generation of consoles. Technically
speaking the PlayStation 2 is the weakest of the big three
yet thanks to certain key titles it continues to have phenomenal
pulling power. Before the PlayStation 2 was released several
titles were touted as being 'console sellers'. The obvious
ones were of course Gran Turismo 3, Final Fantasy X and
Metal Gear Solid 2. Nobody expected the third title in the
Grand Theft Auto series to be the best game on the console
and nobody, except the people at Rockstar North, could have
had any idea what an incredible transformation had taken
place by shifting the series to a completely 3D living breathing
world where you could do as you pleased. Below are our original
reviews of both Grand Theft Auto 3 and Grand Theft Auto
Vice City.
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Grand
Theft Auto 3
Over
the last eight months I have had the privilege of reviewing
some of the finest games on all formats but I can honestly
say that the game that I am looking at in this review is
up there with the best of them. Grand Theft Auto 3 is an
unbelievable gaming experience that is reason enough to
purchase a PS2.
Those
of you familiar with the previous two versions of GTA will
be gob smacked with the series' move into 3D. The flat top
down visuals have been replaced with a fantastic 3D world
that oozes atmosphere and charm. You can go anywhere and
do anything you want, it really is up to you. Should you
decide to press on with your criminal career you will be
impressed by the nature of the missions. Later in the game
you can choose which missions to take and which to avoid
but at the beginning of the game you have to take the early
missions as they move the story along.
The
game is set in the fictional Liberty City. The city is made
up of three main areas. These areas are Portland (where
you begin the game), Staunton Island and Shoreside Vale.
Each of these areas look fantastic and feel like a living,
breathing city. Within hours of playing the game you'll
remember where all the important locations (such as your
hideout and the Pay 'n' Spray) are by memory like you would
in real life.
The
gameplay is unchanged from the first two games. The best
improvement to the game apart from the move to a full 3D
world is the ability to save your game at any point you
so wish (providing you're not in a mission). You simply
head to your HQ put your vehicle in the garage and walk
in through the door. It doesn't cost you a penny (compared
with about 50,000 in GTA2). You can steal any car you want
and use all the foul means at your disposal to progress
in the game. The missions have multiple solutions which
further adds to the greatness of the gameplay. In one of
the early missions I had to assassinate two pimps. I found
it difficult so what I did was, to steal a van and smash
into their car rendering it useless and forcing them to
leave the car and walk the streets on foot. My van was in
a bad way so I drove around the corner got out of the van
and stole another van. I then drove back into the street
where the pimps where and drove over them. I could have
obtained some molotov cocktails, by killing some tramps
that were hanging about, by eight balls garage, and just
thrown them at the pimps car. There are about another five
or six ways of doing this mission, such is the potential
for you to do what you want in this game.
In
order to take a mission you head to your employers HQ and
walk over the coloured section on the floor. This triggers
a subtitled cutscene (subtitles are on by default) which
explains your mission objective. All objectives can be recalled
at any time (using the start button on the gamepad). The
cutscenes use the game engine and they look superb. If you
don't want to do a mission, you can steal a taxi and play
a version of Crazy Taxi whereby you have to pick up passengers
and drop them off within a certain time in order to be paid.
You could steal a police car and do police work or you could
steal a fire engine or an ambulance and perform the relevant
tasks associated with them. GTA 3 is incredible. As well
as the above mini games you can also just walk about and
admire the scenery. By walking about you could find one
of the 100 packages that are scattered throughout the game.
You may even like to steal a car, and try to find some of
the locations that enable you to perform stunts as this
will earn you some extra cash.
Liberty
City, as I've mentioned before, is a living breathing city.
The weather changes, day and night cycles occur and road
works are carried out. A word of warning though don't hang
about in your vehicle as doing so may lead to your car being
stolen. The attention to detail in this game cannot be over
stated. Jumping into a car and speeding away will leave
the driver's door flapping in the wind. Sprinting down the
road will leave your man gasping for breath. The best thing
of all though is that the game is perfect for deaf gamers.
So often does a great game come along only to be ignorant
to the needs of the deaf gamer. GTA 3 is not one of these
though and you will be delighted to see full subtitles/text
feedback and visual clues such as your onscreen radar that
shows you where your HQ is and where your mission goals
are.
Grand
Theft Auto 3 is currently the finest game you can purchase
for the PS2. Its' ability to let you play the game as you
so desire is priceless and every PS2 owner should own this
game. The criminal theme of the game may be off putting
to some (it is to me) but should not deny you experiencing
this great game. No other title on the PS2 can claim the
excellence that this title has.
9.7/10
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Grand
Theft Auto Vice City
Vice
City is set firmly in the 1980s. The clothes, the vehicles
and the mannerisms of the characters reek of the 1980s.
Immediately this will amaze those who remember the decade
and it's films and TV shows. Rockstar North could simply
have expanded upon GTA 3 but as their talents continue to
blossom it's becoming obvious that these are the chaps who
could finally bring true cinematic quality to games software.
The cutscenes are a testament to this statement. At times
the quality of them (and no I'm not talking about the graphics)
is amazing and you can't help but be impressed by them.
The
game begins with a scene in Marco's Bistro in Liberty City.
Tommy Vercetti (the character you control) is about to be
released from prison and the family wants him out of the
neighbourhood as he's bad for business. They agree to send
him to Vice City to establish a drug operation to bring
the family some extra dirty cash. Tommy and his two associates
travel to Vice City and are met by their contact, Ken, and
arrange to purchase some 'merchandise'. The exchange goes
horribly wrong when as the money is being handed over for
the drugs an ambush occurs and all but Tommy and Ken are
killed. This is where you come in to the game. Tommy has
to pick up the pieces and not only get the drugs and money
back but get revenge on those who killed his friends.
Of
course you don't have to plough on with the story, you can
just roam the city, of which a lot is shut off to begin
with. GTA 3 was so popular because you could do what you
wanted when you wanted and Vice City is exactly the same.
The map in the lower left of the screen points the way to
the next objective and when you are ready you simply make
your way to the coloured zone to collect your mission orders.
You can even buy up some of the local businesses, when you've
earned enough cash to do so.
Visually
it is fair to say that things have improved a bit since
GTA 3. The draw distance is greater and the pop-up traffic
problem seems to have been sorted out. Of course I could
be a little cynical and say that the amount of traffic (and
people for that matter) on the streets has been reduced
quite a lot from GTA 3 so perhaps this is the reason for
the greater draw distance etc. The framerate also seems
to be improved, which also seems to have had a beneficial
effect on car handling which seems so much smoother this
time around. This is more noticeable if you turn the trails
(a kind of blurring feature that kind of hides the jaggies
as well as adding a distinctive style to the game) off.
The vehicles seem to look better this time too and the bikes,
cars, helicopter etc., that you can drive all look good.
Generally
the game is great in it's provision for deaf gamers. There
are a couple of areas that could have been improved upon
though. First of all the cutscenes aren't subtitled by default,
these have to be enabled. If you are familiar with GTA 3
you'll know that the first time you begin the game it goes
straight into the introduction and thereafter it immediately
loads your saved game. Vice City is the same in this respect.
The first time you'll load the game the introduction will
not be subtitled. What you will have to do is to skip the
introduction and enable the subtitles and then start a new
game. It's a small thing but enabling the subtitles by default
would have prevented this problem. Once enabled though the
subtitles make the game great for deaf gamers. The only
other verbal information that is missing is the comments
that you get from passers by in the street. These are only
usually one or two word comments and have no bearing on
the gameplay. All tutorial tips are given in text so you'll
have no problem getting used to the game.
Vice
City was never going to have the dramatic impact of GTA
3 because GTA is the game that it's compared to and that
is a tall order for any software title. However if pushed
for an answer I would say that Vice City is the better of
the two. Sure the game is still not for those who are offended
by the criminal flavour of the game but for those who can
ignore the theme and enjoy the gameplay. This is going to
be one of those titles that people write about when a history
of gaming is compiled.
9.6/10
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The
only way this double pack is not going to appeal to you
is if you already own the two games. Rockstar have released
the double pack at the superb price of £39.99 and
they have not skimped either as the games each come in their
own case with a special double pack sleeve. All the manuals
and maps have been included too. So for the price of one
PlayStation 2 game (Vice City is still £39.99) you
get two of the very best games on the console. If you've
recently purchased your PlayStation 2 this pack is an absolute
must. There are months of top gameplay here and you'll love
every second of it. In simple terms this is the best double
pack ever in console gaming history and a must if you don't
own either title.
Overall
Game Rating: 9.8/10
It may be October but Rockstar must surely be on for a Christmas
best seller with this magnificent double pack. For just
under £40 you can own two of the very best games on
the PlayStation 2. Fantastic.
Deaf
Gamers comment:
Not only are GTA 3 and Vice City brilliant games but they
also cater for deaf gamers too. What more could you ask?
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