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Since GTA 3 was released, nothing has been quite as appetising as a large portion of car theft with a side order of casual violence. But strip away the flashy 3D graphics, the side-missions and the radio stations, and what have you got?
Without the vibrant urban landscapes of the PS2 games, surprisingly little. The missions are all about fetching and carrying, with a bit of shooting in the middle - drive to point B, have a fight, return to point A to earn your reward. Well done.
A similar concept worked brilliantly a few years back in the GBC version of Driver. This time the developers have stretched the capabilities of the GBA until the machine chugs like a beaten-up old Cortina.
The 3D effects on the buildings are a nice idea, but they make the action annoyingly jerky - nowhere near as bad as the woeful Payback, but rough all the same. The camera zooms out a bit when you get up to full speed, but never far enough to prevent you ramming into obstacles.
If you don't give cars a wide berth, you'll stop dead if you scrape the sides. The annoying stop-start driving and flick-book graphics make this a spin-off that will never last the distance unless you're a die-hard fan.
Without the trappings of the PS2 games, the ability to slaughter random pedestrians seems somewhat less desirable on GBA.
Grand Theft Auto Advance is out now for GBA
More info
| Platform | "PSP","PS2","GBA","Xbox 360","PS1","PC" |
| Alternative names | "GTA" |
