September 17, 2004 - Believe it or not, Grand Theft Auto had been in the planning stages for the Game Boy Advance since, well, the platform hit the scene back in 2001. Originally, it was Destination Software that would have helmed the portable rendition, but when Rockstar saw just how big the GTA series ended up becoming with the enormous success the PlayStation 2 version in October 2001, Rockstar swiped back the rights. And then the real wait began.
For the next year or so, not a peep was made regarding the game's development. But as the project came close to completion at Crawfish, UK GBA developer known for GBA games such as Driven, Ecks vs. Sever and Street Fighter Alpha 3, the studio suddenly and unexpectedly went kaput. And with it went Grand Theft Auto and the possibility of 2003 release.
But the fate of Grand Theft Auto for the GBA has finally been nailed down, and come this October 26th, coinciding with the PS2 release of GTA: San Andreas, GBA owners will be getting the first portable rendition of the series since Grand Theft Auto and Grand Theft Auto 2 for the original Game Boy released four years ago. It's real this time, as I was given the opportunity to put in a good few hours into the near final product earlier this week
The GBA rendition is a collaborative effort between Game Boy veterans Digital Eclipse (Tron 2.0: Killer App, Spyro the Dragon) and Rockstar North (the creators of the GTA series). It is a completely original adventure that's set in the Grand Theft Auto III time period and world. The storyline puts players in the role of Mike, a member of the mob calling it quits. His partner in crime, Vinnie, has a few jobs for Mike to do before they both can leave for good -- but after Vinnie's killed in a carbomb explosion, Mike's the prime suspect. And now it's up to Mike to investigate why he was off-ed, and who was responsible. Running missions throughout the city will open up more of the storyline, but the game remains completely open for players to decide whether they'll stay the path or simply goof around and be a menace to Liberty City.
For me, and possibly millions of other gamers, the Grand Theft Auto series really came into its own when it moved from the top-down perspective to the world of 3D in Grand Theft Auto III. This sequel offered far more freedom than the fixed perspective could offer, which meant that the designers could implement far more design ideas that would open up the city for a do-whatever-you-want style of gameplay that the previous GTA games never did.
That said, even though the Game Boy Advance version, for technical reasons, has returned to its roots and the top-down perspective, the developers have made sure that the elements that have made the GTA series from GTA3 and beyond such a success have been retained in the new portable version. The GBA version was made to "feel" like a current generation GTA, game, and from what I've been able to play, the teams responsible have been successful in that task.
Anyone who's been a portable gamer will realize that, at least compared to the current generation of consoles, the Game Boy Advance is admittedly not a processing powerhouse. And it's not surprising that for the GBA creation of the Grand Theft Auto series, the studio played to the system's strengths of 2D and created a top-down environment for the players to explore Liberty City. The camera remains at a fixed angle over the lead character and his vehicle, zooming in and out during the action to give players a better view when, say, they're zipping around the city and need to see as far as they can in front of them. The option menu lets players stick with this dynamic "auto zoom" feature, or simply keep the camera at three distinct heights no matter what's happening on-screen.
