Take 2 Interactive

Some of you may remember that the last two Grand Theft Auto games I reviewed were the Playstation 2 ports of Liberty City Stories and Vice City Stories. Most people probably thought that when GTA IV came out, I would have ran to my local game shop and picked up a copy. Truth is, I didn’t. The desire was there but I never really got around to it. So then Rockstar announced they would put their two DLC episodes on disc. Strangely, I was compelled to go buy it. First, I fully support retail releases of stand-alone content that was previously only downloadable and second I had missed Liberty City. I mostly missed the violence and wanton destruction.

Grand Theft Auto has never had amazing graphics. It usually sticks around average. It’s the same in this game. Liberty City will never be confused with the prettiest city in the US, but many times I wondered if it did have to see that many shades of grey. Besides the color drabness, graphic detail was not one of the game’s strong suits. There are a few things one can do to make the video a little more tolerable which involve playing with Brightness/Contrast and turning off the Radio effect (especially if you have an HD tv).

Last fall when Grand Theft Auto: Vice City came out for the PS2, gamers got to witness a myriad of gameplay options. Not only could you shoot, beat up, hold up, and run down people virtually everywhere, but another big draw to the game was the fact that you could jack any car, anywhere, and haul ass around town in it.

Now Rockstar Games has recreated the racing parts of the Grand Theft Auto series and added some great extras in Midnight Club II--the sequel to Midnight Club--out ...ow on the Playstation 2. Players get the chance to trade paint and speed dangerously through the city streets of Paris, Los Angeles, and Tokyo.