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'''Grand Theft Auto Advance''' is a video game by Rockstar Games, released on 26 October, [[2004]] for the [[Game Boy Advance]]. The game is played from a top-down perspective, similar to that in [[Grand Theft Auto 1]] and [[Grand Theft Auto 2]]. However, GTA Advance also borrows several aspects from the more recent [[Grand Theft Auto III era]], including vehicle-based side missions (such as vigilante), the Head-up display and many weapons.
'''Grand Theft Auto Advance''', officially titled '''Grand Theft Auto''' and also known as '''GTA Advance''', is a [[Digital Eclipse]] developed [[GTA III Era]] and [[3D Universe]] game initially released on October 26, [[2004]]. The game is only available for the [[Game Boy Advance]] hand held console and is the only GTA game not to be developed by a [[Rockstar Games]] studio.
 
The game is played from a [[Top-Down Perspective|top-down perspective]], similar to [[Grand Theft Auto 1]], but adds features first introduced in [[Grand Theft Auto III]] such as vehicle based side missions (the [[Vigilante]] side mission), the [[Heads-Up Display]] and a number of the weapons introduced from GTA III onwards. The game was released on the same day as [[Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas]] in North America and was originally designed to be a portable re-release of GTA III. The game received mixed reviews upon its release and, due to the release of GTA San Andreas at around the same time, did not sell as widely as other GTA games.


==Setting==
==Setting==
[[File:Grand_Theft_Auto_Advance_TitleScreen.png|thumb|left|202px|The title screen of GTA Advance.]]The game is set in [[Liberty City in GTA III Era|Liberty City]], the fictional GTA city that appeared, most prominently, in [[Grand Theft Auto III]]. Indeed the earliest announcement of this game was that it would be a port of GTA III, but at some point in development (it is unclear exactly when this occurred) this idea was rejected, probably due to technical limitations and the time needed to reconstruct the previous game's missions in the new two-dimensional environment.
GTA Advance is set in [[Liberty City in GTA III Era|Liberty City]] and is a prequel to the events of GTA III being set [[2000|one year]] before those events. While landmarks from the original game return and the general street layout remains the same, there are a number of differences between GTA III and GTA Advance. The hills found on [[Portland]] and [[Shoreside Vale]], the [[Subway in GTA III|subway and Portland El]], and the various tunnels are not present. There are also examples of where neighbourhoods are not consistent between GTA III and GTA Advance. The runways of [[Francis International Airport in GTA III Era|Francis International Airport]] are inaccessible and the city itself is larger than its GTA III version, in particular Portland.
 
[[File:GTA A Liberty City Map.png|thumb|left|Liberty City in Grand Theft Auto Advance]]The game that was actually released is a prequel to GTA III, taking place one year prior to the events in GTA III. As it takes place in GTA III's Liberty City, familiar landmarks re-appear and the overall street layout is the same. However the locations of familiar secrets such as rampages and hidden packages and jump ramps have all been changed, so players familiar with the city's corners and alleyways in GTA III will have to explore them afresh in GTA Advance. The city's three islands have been noticeably changed in its conversion and elements impossible to interpret to a top-view perspective, so there are no longer any sloped surfaces, and the tunnels and train system have been removed. Also there is no access to [[Francis International Airport, Shoreside Vale|Francis International Airport]] runways. The city in GTA Advance is bigger than in GTA III, especially [[Portland Island]](see image on the left).
 
The games protagonist is called [[Mike]], with some of the GTA III characters re-appearing in the game, including bomb-shop owner [[8-Ball]] and the [[Yakuza]] co-leader [[Asuka Kasen]]. However, none of the [[Mafia]] characters from GTA III appear, and entirely new characters such as [[Vinnie]] (Mike's friend and first employer), [[Cisco]] (the leader of the [[Colombian Cartel]]), [[Jonnie]] (a bar tender) and [[Yuka]] (Asuka's niece) have been added. Several characters which were only referenced in GTA III are now met face-to-face, such as [[King Courtney]], the [[Uptown Yardies]] boss.
 


==Storyline==
==Storyline==
[[File:Mike-GTAA.jpg|thumb|left|Mike, the protagonist of Grand Theft Auto Advance]]
The games storyline revolves around [[Mike]], a small time criminal looking to escape [[Liberty City in GTA III Era|Liberty City]] with his best friend [[Vinnie]] who uses his connections to get the pair work across the city. Shortly before their planned departure, Vinnie asks Mike to do some final work for the [[Mafia]] and, during one of these jobs, Vinnie is killed by a car bomb and their money is destroyed. Mike, determined to avenge his friends death, stops working for the mafia and begins working for various other criminals and gangs across the city. These include mechanic and weapons expert [[8-Ball]], the [[Uptown Yardies]], the [[Yakuza]] and the [[Colombian Cartel]] to find out the truth behind Vinnie's death. 8-Ball later discovers that Vinnie had faked his own death to escape with all the money with Mike taking revenge on his old partner. Mike manages to escape Liberty City, despite high [[LCPD in GTA III Era|police]] interest in capturing him, while 8-Ball is arrested.
Mike is a low-time criminal, working for the more connected Vinnie. They decide to leave Liberty City together and try their luck elsewhere, but Vinnie convinces Mike to do some tasks for their sometimes-employers, the Mafia, prior to leaving. During one of these missions Vinnie is apparently killed in a car bomb, taking Mike and Vinnie's money with him. Mike swears revenge.


His revenge leads to his falling out with the Mafia, and he ends up working for various gangs, mostly the Yardies and the Yakuza. Each gang persuades Mike to do jobs for them as they help him find out the truth about Vince's death.
===Continuity===
 
*The arrest of 8-Ball helped to set up the [[Introduction (GTA III)|opening cutscenes]] of GTA III where he escapes from a police transport with [[Claude]].
One of Mike's employers and friends, 8-Ball, finds out that Vinnie has actually staged his own death, and Mike takes revenge on his old partner. During this mission 8-Ball is arrested (setting the stage for his escape in the [[Grand Theft Auto III]] [[Give Me Liberty|intro]].), but Mike manages to escape.
*[[Asuka Kasen]]'s lack of trust towards [[Claude]] in GTA III may have come from her later discovering Mike had kidnapped her niece [[Yuka]] prior to working for Asuka.
*[[King Courtney]], of the Uptown Yardies, may have been more likely to betray Claude in GTA III after nearly being killed by Mike, who he had attempted to help.
*[[Salvatore Leone]] is almost certainly the leader of the Mafia mentioned, as both the [[Forelli Family|Forelli]] and [[Sinadcco Family|Sindacco]] Family's had suffered heavy losses in [[1998]]. The fake death of Vinnie may have furthered Salvatore's paranoia following the betrayals of [[Carl Johnson]] and [[Uncle Leone]].


==Technical details==
==Technical details==
[[Image:GTA Advanced.jpg|thumb|300px|left|Gameplay of GTA Advance]]The game had to be adapted to the Game Boy Advance's hardware limitations. As a result it does not have voice acting or animated cutscenes, nor does it have GTA III's much-lauded pedestrian dialog. All cutscenes are text-only with line-art pictures of the characters' faces, sometimes with a thematic backdrop behind. The art style is consistent with that used for the cover and loading art of the three-dimensional releases in the series. Replacing the pedestrian dialog, some soundbites taken from GTA III are played when the player hits someone's car, but there is a limited variety, leading to much repetition.
GTA Advance, having been adapted to the Game Boy Advance's hardware limitations, does not feature a number of things that had become standard with the release of GTA III. These include voice acting, animated cutscenes, pedestrian dialogue and radio channels. There are, however, certain sound bites that were transferred from GTA III including brief police radio chatter stating the location of and vehicle being used by the player, some soundbites for car crashes and a fixed tune for each vehicle, which can be changed.


The game does not feature radio channels. Like the [[Game Boy Color]] ports of GTA 1 and GTA 2, each car has one fixed tune that is constantly repeated and cannot be changed. These include parts of some familiar GTA2 and GTA III tunes, in instrumental versions.
==Game information==
 
*[[Characters in GTA Advance]]
These limitations, coupled with the game being released on the same day as its highly anticipated cousin [[Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas]], caused the game to be widely criticized by fans, and it is largely unpopular. Indeed some fans of the original top-down games say that they preferred the old games' mechanics better.
*[[Liberty City in GTA III Era|Liberty City]]
*[[Mike]]
*[[Missions in GTA Advance]]
*[[Radio Stations in GTA Advance]]
*[[Vehicles in GTA Advance]]
*[[Weapons in GTA Advance]]


==Trivia==
==Trivia==
*GTA Advance is the only GTA III Era game which does not have a [[PlayStation 2]] port, and the only game in the entire [[Grand Theft Auto|series]] not to have been released for a console from the [[PlayStation|PlayStation series]].
*GTA Advance is the only GTA III Era/3D Universe game which does not have a [[PlayStation 2]] port, and the only game in the entire [[Grand Theft Auto|series]] not to have been released for a console from the [[PlayStation|PlayStation series]], except [[Grand Theft Auto: London 1961]].
*GTA Advance is the only GTA game which has been launched exclusively on one platform (with the exception of [[Grand Theft Auto: London 1961]]), the first to be created primarily for a portable device, and the only game to solely be on a [[Nintendo]] platform.


*GTA Advance is the only GTA game which has been launched exclusively on one platform, the first to be created primarily for a portable device, and the only game to solely be on a [[Nintendo]] platform.
==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Mike-GTAA.jpg|Mike, the protagonist of GTA Advance.
File:Titlescreen-GTAA.png|The title screen of GTA Advance.
File:LibertyCity-GTAA-map.png|Liberty City in Grand Theft Auto Advance.
File:Flamethrower-GTAA-ingame.jpg|Gameplay of GTA Advance.
File:Gamecartridge-GTAA.jpg|GTA Advance game cartridge.
</gallery>


==See also==
==External link==
*[[Characters in GTA Advance]]
*[[Missions in GTA Advance]]
*[[Weapons in GTA Advance]]
*[[Liberty City in GTA Advance]]
 
==External links==
* [http://www.rockstargames.com/grandtheftauto/gba/ Grand Theft Auto Advance official site]
* [http://www.rockstargames.com/grandtheftauto/gba/ Grand Theft Auto Advance official site]


{{GTA}}
{{Gta}}
[[Category:Games]]
[[Category:Games]]
[[Category:GTA Advance]]
[[Category:GTA Advance]]
[[Category:GTA III Era]]
[[Category:GTA III Era]]
[[de:Grand Theft Auto Advance]]
[[es:Grand Theft Auto Advance]]
[[fi:Grand Theft Auto Advance]]
[[fr:Grand Theft Auto Advance]]
[[ja:グランド・セフト・オート・アドバンス]]
[[nl:Grand Theft Auto: Advance]]
[[pl:Grand Theft Auto Advance]]
[[pt:Grand Theft Auto Advance]]
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[[ru:Grand Theft Auto Advance]]

Latest revision as of 17:50, 13 February 2015

Grand Theft Auto: Advance
GTA Advance Boxart
GTA Advance Boxart
DeveloperDigital Eclipse
PublisherRockstar Games
Release datesGame Boy Advance

United States Canada 26th October 2004
United Kingdom Europe 29th October 2004

PlatformGame Boy Advance
Ratings

ESRB: M
PEGI: 16+
USK: 12+
OFLC: M15+

ProtagonistMike
LocationLiberty City
Year2000

Grand Theft Auto series
chronology of events

2D Universe
GTA 1 Era

1961London 1961
1969London 1969


3D Universe
GTA III Era

1984GTA Vice City Stories
1986GTA Vice City
1992GTA San Andreas


2D Universe
GTA 1 Era

1997Grand Theft Auto 1


3D Universe
GTA III Era

1998GTA Liberty City Stories


2D Universe
GTA 2 Era

1999GTA 2


3D Universe
GTA III Era

2000GTA Advance
2001GTA III

HD Universe
GTA IV Era

2008GTA IV

The Lost and Damned
The Ballad of Gay Tony

2009GTA Chinatown Wars


GTA V Era

2013GTA Online
2013GTA V

Grand Theft Auto Advance, officially titled Grand Theft Auto and also known as GTA Advance, is a Digital Eclipse developed GTA III Era and 3D Universe game initially released on October 26, 2004. The game is only available for the Game Boy Advance hand held console and is the only GTA game not to be developed by a Rockstar Games studio.

The game is played from a top-down perspective, similar to Grand Theft Auto 1, but adds features first introduced in Grand Theft Auto III such as vehicle based side missions (the Vigilante side mission), the Heads-Up Display and a number of the weapons introduced from GTA III onwards. The game was released on the same day as Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas in North America and was originally designed to be a portable re-release of GTA III. The game received mixed reviews upon its release and, due to the release of GTA San Andreas at around the same time, did not sell as widely as other GTA games.

Setting

GTA Advance is set in Liberty City and is a prequel to the events of GTA III being set one year before those events. While landmarks from the original game return and the general street layout remains the same, there are a number of differences between GTA III and GTA Advance. The hills found on Portland and Shoreside Vale, the subway and Portland El, and the various tunnels are not present. There are also examples of where neighbourhoods are not consistent between GTA III and GTA Advance. The runways of Francis International Airport are inaccessible and the city itself is larger than its GTA III version, in particular Portland.

Storyline

The games storyline revolves around Mike, a small time criminal looking to escape Liberty City with his best friend Vinnie who uses his connections to get the pair work across the city. Shortly before their planned departure, Vinnie asks Mike to do some final work for the Mafia and, during one of these jobs, Vinnie is killed by a car bomb and their money is destroyed. Mike, determined to avenge his friends death, stops working for the mafia and begins working for various other criminals and gangs across the city. These include mechanic and weapons expert 8-Ball, the Uptown Yardies, the Yakuza and the Colombian Cartel to find out the truth behind Vinnie's death. 8-Ball later discovers that Vinnie had faked his own death to escape with all the money with Mike taking revenge on his old partner. Mike manages to escape Liberty City, despite high police interest in capturing him, while 8-Ball is arrested.

Continuity

  • The arrest of 8-Ball helped to set up the opening cutscenes of GTA III where he escapes from a police transport with Claude.
  • Asuka Kasen's lack of trust towards Claude in GTA III may have come from her later discovering Mike had kidnapped her niece Yuka prior to working for Asuka.
  • King Courtney, of the Uptown Yardies, may have been more likely to betray Claude in GTA III after nearly being killed by Mike, who he had attempted to help.
  • Salvatore Leone is almost certainly the leader of the Mafia mentioned, as both the Forelli and Sindacco Family's had suffered heavy losses in 1998. The fake death of Vinnie may have furthered Salvatore's paranoia following the betrayals of Carl Johnson and Uncle Leone.

Technical details

GTA Advance, having been adapted to the Game Boy Advance's hardware limitations, does not feature a number of things that had become standard with the release of GTA III. These include voice acting, animated cutscenes, pedestrian dialogue and radio channels. There are, however, certain sound bites that were transferred from GTA III including brief police radio chatter stating the location of and vehicle being used by the player, some soundbites for car crashes and a fixed tune for each vehicle, which can be changed.

Game information

Trivia

Gallery

External link