The adaptation of a
such an ambitious game was expected as much as feared. And for good reason since he
This is the first game with such a vast 3D universe ported to platforms
Apple. Huge success when it was released on the young Playstation 2 in 2001, GTA
3 is a technical bet on smartphones and tablets ten years later. And
he wins hands down (at least on the most recent ones), illustrating
spectacularly the rise in power ofiOSet
other Androids.
GTA 3 is available for €3.99 here on the App Store
(universal iPhone/iPad application).
GTA and GTA 2 caused a lot of buzz when they were released on
PS1: considered ugly and too repetitive by critics,
players had given them a radically opposite welcome, enjoying the
joys of an open world where, to summarize, we could kill as many passers-by
in the street as we wanted.
The release of GTA 3 would make everyone agree: switched to 3D,
the GTA universe reinforced both its cinematography and its realism,
almost becoming a drug.Impeccable scenario, mapping of the
exciting city, unprecedented freedom: three perfect ingredients
to constitute a hit and a date in the history of video games. The craziest
being that from a technical point of view the game was pretty and above all did not contain
no visible loading times (the console was actually loading constantly,
without the player noticing).
Technically therefore, adapting GTA 3 on a smartphone and a tablet was going to
prove whether or not the power of these devices could withstand such
open universe.
The answer is “yes but on the most recent models”.
OniPad 2or
iPhone 4S, it's impeccable. On iPhone 4 or
iPod Touch 4th generation, we are starting to experience slowdowns and
jerks. On iPhone 3GS or iPod Touch 3rd generation, stutters are fine
present, the loadings take much longer… but the game remains playable.
This comparison above all allows us to realize to what extent, despite their ten
years of technical delay on consoles, smartphones and tablets are progressing
at high speed.
The other question, more delicate, concerned the maneuverability adapted to a
touch screen, about which we have been able to read a lot
contradictory since the release of the game. The precision that games demand
action often requires the controls of a real controller, where touch
is much messier. To summarize the case of GTA 3: a controller
will always be better but the gameplay of this type of Rockstar game has always
something very rigid which allows the touch not to be so
unpleasant as that. In other words,after a short time of adaptation
a few tens of minutes, GTA 3 responds to the finger and the eye and is
perfectly appreciable on iOS.
The deepest games on iPhone or iPad today are mostly
old console games, likeFinal
Fantasyor
Secret of Mana, due to their technical ease of adaptation and the price
low adequate to the App Store market to which they can be offered (because
we remind you, never a recent and “deep” game offering 10-20 hours of play
cannot be sold for €5). GTA 3 reinforces this nostalgic category by
offering us a huge classic in our pocket or on our tablet, which
plus is ideally suited for universal application. What to ask for
plus ?
We like:
- Still a bad-ass game!
- The open world, impeccable.
- Despite its age, GTA 3 still has as much charm.
- Good handling of the touch screen.
- On iPhone 4S and iPad 2: perfect conversion.
- Still playable on earlier machines.
- Universal application.
- And not expensive, especially given the hours of play available to us
(30-40) - The best game of its genre on the App Store (with Chinatown Wars)
- Finer graphics than on Playstation 2 (because higher resolution –
like on PC) - Very complete options
We like less:
- Even if very playable like that, touch will never replace a good
handcuffs. - Slowdowns on iPhone 3GS. A normal phenomenon but you are
warned! - No new content.
- We guess we'll have to wait a year before seeing the best episode
of the saga, GTA 3 Vice City, arrive on the App Store. A year is a long time.
i-nfo.fr - Official iPhon.fr app
By : Keleops AG
