Play Grand Theft Auto Advance Online

Summary

Grand Theft Auto Advance, sometimes just called Grand Theft Auto on the GBA, feels like a love‑letter to the series’ early days while sneaking in a lot of the 3D era’s flavor. It drops you into Liberty City – the same gritty New York‑inspired playground that anchored GTA III – but you navigate it from the classic top‑down view that defined the first two games, complete with the familiar HUD, safe houses and a full roster of weapons.
What’s surprising is how the handheld version manages to cram in vehicle‑based side missions like Vigilante and Paramedic, and even lets cars flip over, a novelty the original top‑down titles never had. Cutscenes are stripped down to text and hand‑drawn portraits, yet you still hear iconic GTA III soundbites when you smash a car, and brief police radio alerts announce your crimes and vehicle type. The soundtrack is a loop of instrumental snippets from earlier games, and billboards nod to the radio stations of GTA III, even though you can’t actually change stations.
Developed by Digital Eclipse – the only GTA entry not built by a Rockstar studio – the game earned a 16+ PEGI rating and an M rating in Australia, marking a shift toward more mature content. Critics were split: some praised the "3D feel" of the graphics, while others called the visuals flat, and the repetitive music drew mixed reactions. Still, its release on the same day as GTA: San Andreas made it a noteworthy, if polarizing, piece of the franchise’s history.

Storyline

Grand Theft Auto Advance is set in the year 2000 in Liberty City, the same backdrop used for Grand Theft Auto III, and serves as a prequel to that title. The player controls Mike, a small‑time criminal who works for his partner Vinnie in hopes of leaving the city together.

After Vinnie appears to die in a car bomb that also destroys their money, Mike vows revenge and falls out with the Mafia. He takes jobs for explosives expert 8‑Ball, who points him to bartender Jonnie; Jonnie hires Mike for several tasks before being murdered.

Mike then follows Yardies to their leader King Courtney, who claims innocence and offers help, leading Mike to Colombian Cartel boss Cisco. When Cisco is killed, Mike discovers Vinnie is alive, having faked his death to flee with the cash and eliminate Jonnie and Cisco. Enraged, Mike kills Vinnie and steals the money.

The Cartel attacks Mike while he meets 8‑Ball, and later Courtney hunts the stolen wealth. After a showdown at Courtney’s hideout that ends with a police raid, Mike escapes to the airport, boards Cisco’s private plane and flies to Colombia to start a new life with his fortune.