Grand Theft Auto III

I bought Grand Theft Auto III on Android during their sale a few days ago.... it sounded familiar, I thought, "Don't I have this for my (original) Xbox?"... checking my collection, indeed-- I did buy it years ago, as part of the Grand Theft Auto III/Grand Theft Auto:Vice City Xbox 2-pack. But I don't think I ever even played it! It still looked pristine when I popped it into my Xbox.

Playing the Android version, at first it's really fun, the touchscreen controls seem fairly smooth... until you actually have to do anything at all that requires the slightest bit of finesse.

But the Xbox version, well that uses a physical dual stick controller, so that HAS to be better, right? Nope. The Xbox version is pretty much UNPLAYABLE. I have NO IDEA how Rockstar Games messed this game up. I assume it's a port from a PS2 version, but  this version should never have been pressed to disc, let alone sold to the public. It just looks so muddy and blurry. But the worst, the absolute worst thing is there's no right analogue stick control. The right stick is only used for this crappy first-person camera look around that only works when the player is standing completely still. It's utter unusable garbage. It's bizarre that the Android touchscreen-only version has better camera control than a version on a dual stick console.... not that the Android version has great camera either. It's also unplayable when having to do anything on-foot, like combat.

Why was Rockstar so clueless about 2nd analogue stick camera control? I thnk this game was released in 2002, so Xbox & PS 2 were out for a little while before the game was released.... but I'm wondering if it wasn't developed for the previous generation of consoles? I don't know... either that or developers like Rockstar Games were truly clueless as to how to make games during that time.

Also adding to the brokenness of the GTA III Xbox version is that there's NO fullscreen map. Why in their right mind did they not assign a button to display a fullscreen map? Especially considering how big the play area is. Thankfully the Android version has a fullscreen map.

Another great little thing about the Android version is that some of the controls work with my SGH-i927r Samsung Galaxy S Glide's slide-out hardware keyboard! I didn't expect there to be support for it, and it's only really directional controls wasd & the direction keys on the right. Still not sure if it's better than the onscreen touch controls, but it's nice to have the options.

I paid 0.99¢ for Grand Theft Auto III: 10th Anniversary mobile Android version and I'm sure I paid waaaay more than that for the Xbox bundle back in 2004-2005? Hopefully not 50 times more..... but I can't remember, so.... oh well.

I was griping about how Driver Renegade isn't enough like Driver '76, but instead of playing a GTA knock-off like Driver '76, I guess I'm going to the source material with GTA III on my phone, so I'm getting that fix I was denied with the 3DS version of Driver.


later
don

I dropped my phone!

A four word action a Handheld Addict *NEVER* wants to have happen.

Grrrrrr...... I was walking down the street today and I pulled my phone out of my pocket to use the camera, when suddenly it just flung out of my hand & I tried to catch it, I must've clipped it when I tried-- which of course made it fling away even faster-- and it hit the hard sidewalk and bounced.

Caused a few scratches on the corner, luckily it didn't break... but still.

I know it's a minor thing but it's really upsetting to drop a device. I've had this phone for about a month, and I'm not totally in love with it even though it is very good with video playback. The problem with Samsung is their materials feel very cheap compared to my HTC Legend, which has a aluminum unibody and glass screen.

But in the 1.5 years that I've owned my HTC Legend, I don't think I've ever dropped it... at least not on pavement. Which is a bit surprising because the anodized aluminum unibody is actually very slippery. I think maybe the smaller form factor makes it easier to hold than this, my current phone the Samsung Galaxy S Glide SGH-i927r. The Galaxy S Glide has a textured back which looks like it should be great for grip... but in reality, the texture is so fine that it doesn't help much, as I just learned to my great regret.

I wanted to keep my Galaxy S Glide in pristine condition; I didn't even remove the plastic over the screen yet.... so much for that idea. I'd like to get a new phone but I can't find any that are truly BETTER than this... the latest don't offer any REAL improvement. I was actually very happy with my HTC Legend, but it's low memory was giving me major problems during day-to-day use-- I simply needed something more powerful.

I've been thinking about the handhelds I've dropped... I think I've dropped my PSP-1001 & 2001 a couple times on carpet. I don't recall dropping my DS Lite or 3DS, nor my PS Vita.

I suppose I should use a case for my phone. I don't like cases in general because the phone is already big for my pocket.



I just can't believe I actually dropped my phone. I am usually so careful about these things.

It's such a minor thing but it's very upsetting. If you're into gadgets, you know what I'm talking about.


later
don