User Reviews (21 - 31 of 155)

Show these reviews first:

Highest Rated
Lowest Rated Newest
Oldest Most Helpful
Least Helpful

Awesome, but not flawless...

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 5 / 9
Date: December 01, 2003
Author: Amazon User

GTA has enough slobbering fans and effusive reviews already, so I just wanted to take a moment to set some proper expectations for people that are trying not to be blinded by the hype. The real skinny is that, while GTA is extremely fun, it's got quite a few problems that really keep it from being a 5-star game (no matter what the 15-year-olds tell you).

1. The AI is ABYSMAL. You might as well be in a city of robots, because that's what they everybody acts like. People and cars will walk directly in front of your oncoming vehicle. Other cars will wedge themselves into traffic jams because their "script" tells them to move forward continuously so that's what they do. It really keeps it from being as immersive or as rewarding as it could be.

2. The save system sucks. You can't save during a mission, so every time you fail you have to go back and get the mission again before you can re-attempt it. And given that many of the missions need repeated attempts just to really figure them out, that's no good.

3. The camera control is terrible. You'll do a lot of running in circles trying to get the camera re-centered. It doesn't sound like a big deal until you're in a small alley with a gang of thugs shooting at you and you can't see them to aim at them because you're looking at your face and not your back.

4. The aiming system is terrible. You die REPEATEDLY and OFTEN because the aiming system is sluggish and difficult to control. Frequently, some loser willl beat you to death with his fists because you can't get your shotgun to point at him and shoot despite your best efforts.

That said, it's still insanely fun to play and incredibly addictive. But what it really should make you excited for is the next sequel (Q4 '04), which will hopefully fix this stuff.

All around great package

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: January 01, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I was concerned before I bought the double pack because I heard there were lots of glitches and the port that Rockstar did to XBox was quick and dirty-no optimization and a lot of new bugs.

I haven't experienced any bugs, and the game has never frozen. (well, I've only played GTA3 so far, not Vice City yet)

The graphics are amazing. They are more detailed than PS2 and feature more reflective surfaces.

I never played GTA before very much because my Xbox is my first console in like 8 years and I just got it a month ago. GTA is already my favorite game for the console, and for just $50 (i actually got mine on sale for $42, but i don't think i can say where i found it, since i'm writing this on amazon.com) its a unbelievable deal. For people who never played it before, *definitely* get this double pack. The games are ridiculous loads of fun.

Oh yeah, it is kind of violent, but the real reason a lot of people are upset about the game is because you are free, as the player, to do anything you want. So you can do the missions and kill a few bad guys and win the game, or you can just roam around the city, chasing down pedestrians and mowing down old grannies with your shotgun. The point of the game is really about driving and coming up with strategies real fast.

And one more thing...the driving in this game is fun! The first time I hopped into a "Cheetah" (looks just like a corvette, but i guess rockstar couldn't license the names of real cars) my heart skipped a beat. When you floor it, this car flies down the street past all the other cars and the controller rumbles slightly as the engine revs. it's pretty incredible.

So buy the game already!

GTA: It's GRAND!!!!!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: June 13, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Pros: 1. FINALLY!!!! IT IS ON THE XBOX!!!!!!!!!

2. Two games for the price of one

3. Unlimited Freedom!!!! (if you want to get a tank and just annihilate people and cops, you can)(If you want to eat some pizza, you can do that too)(If you want to pee in the ocean, well, maybe you cant do that.)

4. Do many different odd-jobs for cash (Taxi Driver, Fireman, Policeman, stunt driver, or even a vigilante)

5. Excellent Voice Acting (makes you feel like this is a movie)

6. The infamous island transfer on the PS2 is almost nonexistent in the Xbox (less than 1 sec)

7. Lips move on the Xbox now.

8. Beautiful soundtrack (available for a very cheap rate as well)

9. The rest of the great goodness on the PS2 as well.

Cons: 1. Not enough extras to convert PS2 players to the Xbox version

2. Plot is just so-so

3. My mom won't let me buy it because it is too "violent"

FINAL VERDICT: BUY IT DARN YOU!!!!! BUY IT!!! As it says in the game, "Tie up your daughters, shoot your sons, 'cuz Love Fist is comin' to your town... er GTA is out for Xbox!"

Grand Theft Auto Double Pack

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: January 02, 2006
Author: Amazon User

This pack is great. Two classic Grand Theft Auto games for a cheap price that its usually at.

Grand Theft Auto 3 - A short game in my opinion but packed full of action and good missions. Pretty good storyline but doesnt stay on topic the whole time. Its pretty much just going around, meeting new people, working for them, killin people, and receiving money for helping them out. Thats all its really about, there isnt really no MAIN goal in this game. But its still fun. Graphic wise, this game has pretty good graphics. Cool guns. Fun game.

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City - This one is a little better than GTA 3, its longer. And also has more missions. This one has a little bit more of a goal in it. Your pretty much starting at nothin there, then you come up in the city, and start taking over property and getting a name out in the streets. Pretty good graphics, better guns and more fun missions.

This is a great pack to get. I recommend it!!

a pair of old friends revisted with minor tweaks

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: November 19, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I'd like to start this review by saying these are 2 of the BEST games I've ever played on any console (both were fist released for the PS2 console and later for the PC.) Finally the game(s) that xbox fans have been waiting a LONG time for are back with a avengence. Now it may look like the ps2 game but rockstar made little improvements to detail our hero (from GTA III) now sports a leather jacket (did I see this on the ps2 version?) the cars and textures are now more realistic and smoother (I thought) the rain effects were cool and colors are bright and vibrant. The controls for both games are customizable (the default controls just don't do it for me) Even though I have already played both these games countless times (many many sleepless nights) its the playability and fun factor of both games that drew me back. The cool thing that I like is the custom soundtrack aka cd changer option or tape deck in vice city (this may not be a big deal to most but it was a welcome addition in my eyes (not that there's anything wrong with Liberty's fine radio stations or even Vice City's for that matter) its just I like to listen to toonz more suited to my listening preferences. This REALLY is a welcome addition to any xbox gamers game collection EVEN if you have already played it on the PS2 or were frustrated with the PC version maybe perhaps due not having enough memory or something else PCs require its worth picking up and playing again (well you knew that already) I want to give the GTA xbox double pack 10 stars its worth it you'll be playing for ages even after you beat it.

A Must Have

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: November 21, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Both of these games have incredible game play, dynamic graphics, and tons of unique fun. A must have for all gamers.

COOOOOOOOOOOOOL!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: December 16, 2003
Author: Amazon User

If there will ever be a videogame that everyone will remember, it will be the GTA series. GTA is the best videogame ever, and no one can say otherwise.

This is the version to get

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: December 28, 2003
Author: Amazon User

The Xbox version is actually the best of the bunch, in my opinion. You'd think that the PC version would look much better, but all it does is increase the resolution and get rid of jagged edges. You're still stuck with those club-shaped hands and highly compressed audio. Listen to the radio stations on the PC, then compare to the console, and you can tell the console version sounds noticeably better, even coming through TV speakers. That's what happens when you shrink down from a DVD.

Plus, the cars on the Xbox version have nice reflective surfaces and seem to be less blocky. It's supposed to have improved textures and lighting effects as well, but I couldn't see anything drastically different, just some nice improvements here and there. But peoples' hands actually look like hands! The Xbox version also has 5.1 Dolby Digital support and custom soundtracks. Add the much, much faster load times, and the Xbox edges out all three platforms. Content is identical, but the Xbox version has different art for the menu screens. Note, however, that rumble pad effects are for some reason disabled by default.

Classic games

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: February 08, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This is an excellent port to the XBox from the PS2 and PC versions. I've owned the PC and PS2 versions and would rank the XBox version second behind the PC version. The good thing are the graphical enhancements made to this version, most noticeably the shiny reflections on cars (for example, you can see the reflections off the beams of Callahan Bridge in GTAIII when you drive through). You can actually read the billboards and store signs, and in the backgrounds you can see other areas of the city which were just blank in the PS2/PC versions. Also they added the 'wet lens' effect to GTAIII (which was first added in Vice City for the other versions).

Some areas that still needed to be improved: the draw distance is still annoying at times, e.g. while weaving through traffic, cars/peds appear out of nowhere. Also it is a little awkward doing drive-bys with the XBox controller (using the right analog stick to look and press down to shoot at the same time). It would help if there was a camera reset button like in Splinter Cell to move the camera back behind the character, because the camera can get pretty annoying (the main reason I prefer the PC version is because you control the camera with the mouse). Also, with a bunch of characters on-screen, the game lags pretty badly. I've seen this happen on the PC version, even with high-end processors/video cards, but was hoping they would've tweaked the performance for the XBox version.

Nonetheless, the games are still very playable and hopefully they'll have the issues fixed for the next GTA.

The Meta-game.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: May 08, 2004
Author: Amazon User

When I first played this game I could not believe my eyes.

I have been somewhat of a casual (during my tean years avid) videogame enthusiast since my parents bought a nintendo back in 86'. I have one piece of advice that is more important than all other facets of this review:

***If you have an addictive personality, love videogames, and have excellent hand/eye coordination, you are going to need to clear a month for this game, because if you don't it will trump and destory everything else you have planned in your life until you beat it.

I speak not only from personal experience, but also with the testimony of a dozen of my college friends whose grades were decimated in systematic fashion after owning this game. Let me tell you why.

* This game has the most incredible 4 dimensional platform I have ever seen on any game for any machine. I use the phrase four dimensional becasue not only with length, width, and height do the programmers excel, but more importantly, with time, as in the rate of movement of vehicles and people (as well as bullets).

**The behavior generator for random events and response time of your surrounding world is phenomenal. Cars honk and swerve in reaction to reckless driving. Lights change and pedestrians and cars around you react in according fashion. Criminals, gangsters, cops, construction workers all behave differently and randomly.

***Every shape, every shadow is perfect, not perfect as in realism perfect, but for the generated map that is used through-out the game . . . holy crap. . . . it is incomprehensible.

****As I continue to list I think of too many things that seperate it from any other game, so here is a final schbang:

*******The game has maybe 15 other games inside of it, atleast. I am not talking about incorporated games within the game, because there are hundreds of those (from radio controlled mayhem to moto cross) but full on, there is a destruction derby game in the arena, there is a taxi segment that makes crazy taxi look lame, there are helicopters, (one that has a chain gun and missles) crotch rockets, choppers, and more than 30 different weapons.

Physics wise, graphics wise, any-wise, this game is freaking insane.

Become the mob's front runner, buy an uzi, steal a bike and cruise the city, its yours for the taking.

Review Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next 

Actions