Grand Theft Auto Advance

Grand Theft Auto Advance, marketed as Grand Theft Auto, is an action-adventure game developed by Digital Eclipse and published by Rockstar Games for the Game Boy Advance, released on 26 October 2004, the same day as Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.[1] It is the eighth title in the Grand Theft Auto series and the first one to be released for handheld consoles. Set within the fictional Liberty City (loosely based on New York City) in the year 2000, the game is a prequel to Grand Theft Auto III and follows a new protagonist, small-time criminal Mike, as he becomes entangled in a world of gangs, crime and corruption, while investigating the mysterious circumstances of his partner's death.

Grand Theft Auto Advance
Developer(s)Digital Eclipse
Publisher(s)Rockstar Games
Director(s)Michael Mika Sr.
Producer(s)
  • James Stanley
  • William S. Schmitt
Programmer(s)Cathryn Mataga
Artist(s)
  • Boyd Burggrabe
  • Daniel Shallock
Writer(s)James Stanley
SeriesGrand Theft Auto
Platform(s)Game Boy Advance
Release26 October 2004[1]
Genre(s)Action-adventure
Mode(s)Single-player

The game is played from a top-down perspective, similar to the style used in Grand Theft Auto and Grand Theft Auto 2. Despite this, it is part of the same "3D universe" canon as the previous three installments in the series, and maintains a similar gameplay, including vehicle-based side-missions (such as "Vigilante" and "Paramedic"), the heads-up display and a large majority of the weapons.

Gameplay
Title screen
Game cartridge

The game had to be adapted to the Game Boy Advance's hardware limitations. As a result, it does not have animated cutscenes, nor does it have Grand Theft Auto III's much-lauded pedestrian dialogue. All cutscenes are text-only with hand-drawn pictures of the characters' faces, with a thematic backdrop behind. The art style is consistent with that used for the cover and loading art of the three-dimensional releases in the series. Replacing the pedestrian dialogue, some soundbites taken from Grand Theft Auto III are played when the player hits someone's car. Short police radio voiceovers will announce the player's location and vehicle type when the player commits a crime.

The game does not feature radio channels. Like the Game Boy Color ports of Grand Theft Auto and Grand Theft Auto 2, each car has one fixed tune that is constantly repeated and cannot be changed. These include parts of some familiar Grand Theft Auto, Grand Theft Auto 2 and Grand Theft Auto III tunes, in instrumental versions. Despite this, radio stations from Grand Theft Auto III still appear on billboards around Liberty City.[2]

Synopsis

Setting

The game is set in 2000 within Liberty City, and is based upon the original setting used in Grand Theft Auto III. As the setting itself had to be recreated for the Game Boy Advance, much of it was noticeably changed in its conversion, including elements that were impossible to interpret to from the game's top-view perspective. As a result, the change meant that players familiar with the original setting would have to explore it afresh in Grand Theft Auto Advance.

Plot

Small-time criminal Mike works for the more connected criminal Vinnie in hopes of leaving Liberty City with him and retiring from their life of crime. Vinnie convinces Mike to do work for the Mafia in order to achieve this goal. However, after several jobs, Vinnie is seemingly killed in a car bomb explosion, which also destroys all their money. Mike swears revenge, and quickly falls out with the Mafia as he seeks out the truth behind Vinnie's death. Meeting with bombs expert 8-Ball, Mike takes on work with bartender Jonnie to learn more about the car bomb. When Jonnie is killed for coming too close to the truth, Mike finds himself confronting King Courtney, leader of the Yardies, over his murder. Courtney denies the accusations and, after employing Mike for some jobs, claims that the murderer is Colombian Cartel leader Cisco.

Mike confronts Cisco, only to learn that he is not the killer and Courtney was using him. He then decides to work for Cisco, and soon also takes on jobs for Yakuza co-leader Asuka Kasen, with both promising to help his investigation. When Cisco is murdered for uncovering new information, Mike is shocked to discover that Vinnie is the killer. Confronting him, Mike learns that Vinnie faked his death in order to flee Liberty City with their money, but was forced to follow him in order to prevent him learning the truth. In anger, Mike fatally shoots Vinnie and takes back his money, despite being warned he will become a target for the city's entire underworld.

Shortly after, Mike returns to meet with 8-Ball and inform him of how his investigation ended, only to be attacked by the Cartel, who assume Mike killed Cisco. Although Mike escapes the attack, 8-Ball is injured during the fight and subsequently arrested by the police. After dealing with the Cartel's new leader, Mike learns Courtney is after his wealth and so works with Asuka to ambush him at his hideout. However, the Yakuza fail to show up, leaving Mike to defeat Courtney on his own, before the police force him to run for the airport. Boarding Cisco's private plane, Mike finally leaves Liberty City and heads to Colombia to start a new life with his wealth.

Reception
Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
Metacritic68/100[3]
Review scores
PublicationScore
Game Informer7.5/10[4]
GameSpot6.5/10[5]
IGN8.5/10[6]

Grand Theft Auto Advance received "mixed or average" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic.[3]

The graphics of the game received mixed to positive commentary from critics, who likened it to other Game Boy Advance games. Craig Harris of IGN said that the game "does a good job of looking like the old GTA games."[6] Loki of Game Chronicles said that the game uses "plenty of tricks" to give it a "3D feel," and that there's a "real sense of depth and perspective as you gaze down upon Liberty City."[7] Conversely, 1UP staff said that the game has "flat visuals" that are a "poor leap" compared to previous games in the Grand Theft Auto series.[8]

The game's music received mixed reactions. IGN's Craig Harris said that the songs on the radio stations in the vehicles are "pretty repetitive and aren't so great."[6] 1UP.com's Scott Sharkey stated that the music is "pretty bad," and named the radio tracks "very short and repetitive."[9] Jeff Gerstmann of GameSpot commented on the camera movements whilst driving, and that it "doesn't zoom out far enough to give you a good view of the road."[5]

References
  1. Rockstar North. "Grand Theft Auto Advance". Rockstar Games. Retrieved 25 August 2013.
  2. Gerstmann, Jeff (26 October 2004). "Grand Theft Auto review". GameSpot. Retrieved 28 April 2007.
  3. "Grand Theft Auto for Game Boy Advance Reviews". Metacritic.
  4. Game Informer review, Jan 2005, p.148
  5. Gerstmann, Jeff (26 October 2004). "Grand Theft Auto Advance Review". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 24 June 2011. Retrieved 17 September 2012.
  6. "Grand Theft Auto – Game Boy Advance". IGN. Archived from the original on 24 March 2016. Retrieved 28 April 2007.
  7. Loki (8 January 2005). "Review". Game Chronicles. Archived from the original on 5 April 2013. Retrieved 17 September 2012.
  8. 1UP Staff (6 February 2005). "GTA Advance Review for GBA from 1UP.com". 1UP.com. Archived from the original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 25 August 2013.
  9. Sharkey, Scott (10 November 2004). "GTA Advance Review for GBA from 1UP.com". 1UP.com. Archived from the original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 25 August 2013.
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