Grand Theft Auto San Andreas could very well be the best game ever released for the Sony PlayStation 2 videogame system. But that monster of a game has shadowed another Grand Theft Auto game that was released at the same time. That game is Grand Theft Auto Advance for the Nintendo Game Boy Advance system. Now, I know the Game Boy Advance does not have the monster power that the PlayStation 2 has, but the Game Boy Advance really holds its own in this new title. We have had a Grand Theft Auto released for the Game Boy Advance system before. And to be quite honest, that port stunk to high hell. So what is the difference this time around? I will tell you this much: Grand Theft Auto Advance pushes the Game Boy Advance to the limits. This is not your regular run of the mill game. So read on, and hopefully you will get some sense of what this game is all about.

Although the story of Grand Theft Auto Advance starts in Liberty City, the story is much different than that of the previous Grand Theft Auto games. It was supposed to be the last job you and Vinnie would do for the mob. After this, you’d both have enough money to escape this vicious circle, and Liberty City, for good. Then, Vinnie’s getaway car goes up in a ball of flames along with all the cash. Suddenly, every cop in the city is chasing you down. You’ll get out of Liberty City all right, but not before you find Vinnie’s murderers and turn the tables on whomever it is that’s out to get you.

Grand Theft Auto Advance Features:

• An all-new, revenge-driven storyline that puts you on the tail of your mentor’s murderers.
• Explore and exploit a sprawling, handheld Liberty City that’s over twice as large as Grand Theft Auto 3.
• Dozens of vehicles to find and drive - compacts, sports cars, delivery trucks, taxis, SWAT vans, tanks, and more.
• Take time off from the task at hand with hundreds of side missions: taxi driver, paramedic, fire fighter, street racing, vigilante, and rampages.
• The freedom and open-ended gameplay that is synonymous with the Grand Theft Auto franchise provides countless hours of portable entertainment.

You start off with nothing. No money, no weapons, and no criminal record. The slate is clean. But you can’t help but live the life of crime. It is in your blood. Once you are mobbed up, you are for life. So you are back out on the street, breaking heads, knocking out teeth, and getting the job done to gain some kind of respect in the criminal world. One great thing about this game is that you can complete almost 300 missions. These missions range from baseball batting some thug upside the head to taking somebody out. As with all other Grand Theft Auto titles, you will be able to compete in side missions, like racing and other things.

The most attractive thing about Grand Theft Auto Advance is the fact that, very much like its big brother, you can move about the city whenever you want to and do whatever you want to do without a time limit. You can jack somebody’s car or take someone out and get the money. You can take any vehicle in the game. These vehicles range from small compact cars to large buses. The tank even makes an appearance later on in the game. Sadly, there are no motorcycles or boats in this version. Hopefully, they can work that one into the sequel. The cars handle pretty easily. Some cars are fast, while others are very slow. You can steal taxis or police cars and do side missions like vigilante or taxi driver.

The real fun in this game is when you get weapons. You can buy weapons at the local gun shop, or you can choose to get them the old fashioned way: steal them from thugs after you beat them down. The weapons range from baseball bats to Molotov cocktails to missile launchers (a personal favorite). You can fry a bunch of people on the street, leaving ash prints of their bodies. Much like the PS2 game, your character can also run. You can also light up cars.

The game follows the same route as the PlayStation 2 version. You will have a wanted meter that is made up of stars. One star has the cops after you. Get about three to four stars, and the Swat Team will be after your ass. They will block roads, and you will not be able to get away unless you find a star to make your wanted meter go down (or you go out in a blaze of glory). There are also packages all around the city that you can find. The game will also keep track of all of your stats. You will have a kill list, how many cars you have stolen, etc. At the bottom left hand of the screen is the map that shows where places are located around Liberty City. You can go and save your progress at your hideout.

Now, one problem I did find is that there is no map that you can pop up on the screen. You can’t see the whole map on the little circle map. The game comes with a map that folds out, but I would have rather had a map that you could see on the Game Boy Advance screen, maybe one where you could zoom in and out. The city is huge, so that really would have helped instead of having to break out the paper map every time I wanted to go to someplace.

The game looks amazingly good for the Game Boy Advance. The game just lights up on my SP. I am extremely impressed at how the game is a mix of 2D and 3D. What I mean by this is the cars, people, and streets are all 2D. But the buildings all have a 3D look to them. They stand up high, and they move when you walk. The game also zooms in and out when you are moving either on foot on in a car. Bridges allow some streets to pass over other streets. And I must add again that the game is HUGE. You can go from island to island. There is water that surrounds the islands, and you can drown if you fall into the water. But the game looks very good. When somebody dies, there is a large spot of blood on the street, and the cash is left for keeps. Characters all look good. The game overall looks great; I would even say it looks better then Grand Theft Auto and Grand Theft Auto 2 for the PC and PlayStation.

The music is pretty good and kicks out a nice beat. When you get into a different type of vehicle, a different type of song plays. Sadly, you can’t change the song when you get into a car. One thing that is very impressive is the sound in the game. The cars all sound dead on, especially the police cars. When you steal a car, you can hear them broadcast the alert over the police radios. They even broadcast the color of the car you stole. Like, if you steal a small blue car, they say, "Suspect is in such and such vicinity in a blue car." That’s pretty damn impressive for a portable game.

Grand Theft Auto Advance is the game that we have been waiting for. It is the best GTA game on a portable system, and it made a smooth transition from console to portable. There are some minor flaws about the game. The missing map really knocks this game down a point or two (I can’t see breaking out the paper map while you’re in the can). Hopefully, we see this game on the Nintendo DS. I could see a map on the bottom screen of that system. And heck, the DS can do 3D. Bring me a 3D GTA for the Nintendo DS. But the game is still very good. The developers have given you the chance to explore Liberty City in the back of a car, in your office or in the dumpster. If you are a great fan of the Grand Theft Auto series, then Grand Theft Auto Advance is definitely the game for you. Check this one out!

[Review by NLGSean (Sean Foster)]