October 30, 2003 - In our look at Grand Theft Auto III we came away with the same overall impression that we had from Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, the more sun-drenched, pastel colored half of the Grand Theft Auto Double Pack. Specifically, both PS2 hits will look remarkably better on Xbox and will feature more intuitive controls for Xbox owners used to handling games with either the standard "fatty" or the sleeker Controller S. Beyond this, the content in Grand Theft Auto III is an exact duplicate of the game that arrived two years ago on PS2 and changed the videogame industry.

Like Vice City, GTA3 features lip-synching with the excellent voice acting during cutscenes which makes a huge difference. The Thug with No Name never speaks so unfortunately our hero doesn't get to partake in any of that fancy new presentation.


In terms of visuals you can of course play GTA3 on a widescreen TV and experience the game from a whole new perspective. The enhanced level of detail makes a huge difference as well with things like zippers and even freckles visible with no eye straining. Individual fingers on hands means your character will finally hold weapons and items with authority and some hesitant, club-fisted small time gangster. In the end GTA3 and Vice City are going to look very similar on Xbox. They both got the same upgrades and to the same extent, so the difference between them will come down to content.



The new control scheme makes full use of the Xbox controller even though it lacks the four shoulder buttons of the Dualshock 2 that the game was originally designed for. The D-pad lets you manage your inventory intelligently while the triggers change function depending on whether you're driving or on foot. Right trigger is the accelerator when you're driving and it's the shoot button when you're out of the car attacking folks. In this way it's going to replace the importance of the Dualshock 2's X button as the main button to mash. The left trigger locks on to enemies and Using the D-pad to rotate through a bunch of enemies to find the one you want to smoke feels better than manipulating the extra shoulder buttons like on the PS2.



Beyond the new button layout the biggest difference in controlling GTA 3 on the Xbox will be adjusting to steering, running and aiming on the Microsoft machine's analog sticks. The slightly taller feel and recessed tops of the Xbox controller will make a difference when you first grab hold of the game. Since they don't have as much play in them as the Dualshock's sticks, the Xbox analog sticks allow for more precision when you're bending a corner at high speed. Interestingly, there isn't much difference when it comes to aiming in first person on Xbox versus PS2.



For more on the Xbox versions of Grand Theft Auto we invite you check out our more comprehensive look at Vice City and then hop back here for brand new screenshots of GTA 3.