Page 1 of GTA Double pack on X-box...so who`s got it?

And what`s the verdict?

julianf

Yes, and great. That is all you need to know.
Smoother textures, the cars feel better to drive and the controls are spot on.

They`re exactly the same as the PS2 versions, with marginally better graphics (which makes the pop-up slightly worse on the X-Box version).

But they are the same... which means brilliant and quite possibly the best games ever made :D

I got my copy between Xmas & New Year from Amazon for a little over £26.

Only played Vice City so far and it is awesome. The whole hitting, shooting, driving, causing havoc theme is great as is the fact that it has an 18 rating and includes swearing etc.

The only one thing that lets it down are the controls. Most games (Halo, Splinter Cell, Max Payne etc) all use both thumb sticks. The left one moves the body whilst the right one moves the head. Together, they normally lead to great control of the character. On GTA however they cannot be used simultaneously. Hard to explain, but it does not lead to great control which is unfortunate because it is otherwise the best game I have ever played.

PS If I am missing something about the controls, please let me know!

The xbox version actually has better textures than the PS2 version, and more like the PC version.

I`m about 3/4`s through gta3 on the xbox and I got it the friday before last. It`s absolutely awesome. feels like a tiny step backward from true crime in some gameplay respects, but that`s quickly forgotten. I ripped the GTA 1 score to my xbox to drive around to. top laughs! The graphics are a vast improvement over the PS2 as long as you turn "trails" off in the setup menu. not sure why that feature exists as it downgrades the graphics to PS2 standard! It`s automatically set to "trails on" so be sure to turn it off!

The graphics clean up is quite startling playing with an RGB cable. All the road signs, shop windows, posters etc.are now readable, all characters have lip synched (to a point) moving mouths, they have moving fingers! This is how it should have looked on the PS2 I guess. GONE are the LOOOOONG load times, they are still there, but last about 1to 2 seconds instead of the 15 or so on the PS2.

Whether it`s the extra coding time Rockstar have had or the graphic grunt of the Xbox or both..GTA has never looked better.

Sound also sounds good, with Dolby Digital 5.1 used to max effect. Police cars swerving around your head and cars exploding behind you as you run away.... to graze the surface of the surround experience! Lovely.

On options, pump the music volume up to max and the sound effects down a couple of notches for the best setting.

The control system is great and does play really well.

also of note...there is no "on screen" map on GTA3. It`s there on Vice City but not on GTA3. It did , however exist on the PS2 .. but don`t quote me.

The big bonus of this version over the PS2 is the custom soundtracks. Implemented much better than "true crime streets of l.a", the track remains where you left it when you get out of the car, or get in a new one. Also, it will play everything on your Hard drive and you can skip through the "cds" and tracks. Magic.

Vice city I have yet to sample in depth, but all the points I have mentioned here carry over to vice city too. Including the Map..It`s there!

all in all, the 2nd and 3rd "killer apps" now an xbox. up there wth Halo!

for the price of one game..?... I`m looking for the catch.....

My DVD Collection

This item was edited on Monday, 12th January 2004, 16:22

Quote:
also of note...there is no "on screen" map on GTA3. It`s there on Vice City but not on GTA3. It did , however exist on the PS2

There is no on-screen map on the PS2 version. As I said, the games are technically identical. The graphics might be better, but not to such a degree that you really notice (I can read all the signs/posters/markings perfectly while playing through RGB on my PS2). The loading times are probably the only real improvement, and that was to be expected (not that they were that long on the PS2).

As I said, they are the best games ever made IMHO. Although anyone who starts playing Vice City without having played GTA3 first is cheating themselves, because GTA 3 lacks some features that are only present in Vice City. So always play GTA 3 first :)

yep totally agree chewie and anyone who says there upto 1280x1024 PC level is a liar ;)

Quote:
however exist on the PS2 .. but don`t quote me.

I did say don`t quote me!!

phew nice to get the "on screen map" myth cleared up!

I haven`t played vice city yet, so it looks like I`m in for a treat then!




My DVD Collection

This item was edited on Monday, 12th January 2004, 19:54

Quote:
I did say don`t quote me!!

I know, which is why I did :p ;)

Vice City is a much better overall game. The controls are the same, but you can dive out of fast moving cars, whereas you can not in GTA3 (which always was a slight niggle with me). The City layout and design in GTA3 is better than the city in VC imho. But in VC you actually take over the city, money becomes very important and you really do feel like a bad motherf*cker! 8)

Just think, you can own your own Strip Club :D ;)