It's terrible in some ways, yet also not as bad as its reputation suggests. It's also an essential part of Rockstar history. This was Rockstar at a stage of uncertainty.
The essence of the Grand Theft Auto franchise was still in flux, and the studio had yet to firmly decide on what, exactly, made a GTA game. GTA Advance has its strong points, but the most important thing about it is how it gave Rockstar (via developer Digital Eclipse) a chance to see where the series could fall short. It's a necessary bad game that paved the way for better ones — and the kind of essential failure the games industry can't tolerate anymore.
GTA Advance is a sort of loose GTA 3 prequel, with "loose" being the operative word. It takes place in Liberty City before GTA 3's Claude gets shot by his girlfriend, though you'd be hard-pressed to recognize Liberty City landmarks here (more on that in a bit). The star of GTA Advance is Mike, a petty criminal who — rather like Niko in GTA 4 — really doesn't want a life of crime anymore.
But this is GTA, and a life of crime is what Mike gets. The mafia kills his friend and partner-in-crime Vinnie, just as the two were about to leave Liberty City behind for good, and Mike gets embroiled in a revenge scheme to get back at the organized crime group. Not a smart idea on his part, but an exciting one nonetheless.
Mike's missions involve tracking down information about Vinnie's murderer, a dangerous game that gets him closer to the mafia with every new lead. It's loaded with scrunchy pixel melodrama, and there's a highly satisfying twist at the end that turns the whole story on its head. Rockstar is no stranger to vengeance tales or high-stakes crime drama, but modern GTA often has very loose stories.
C.J. wants revenge in San Andreas, Tommy's grudge is what keeps him in Vice City, and so on. But often, you feel disconnected from that need for revenge. The event that sparks it is so far removed from you and the character, or so clichéd, that it's not a compelling motivation.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
