Prerelease:Grand Theft Auto Advance

This page details pre-release information and/or media for Grand Theft Auto Advance.

Grand Theft Auto Advance had a rather long development history, originally starting out as a port of Grand Theft Auto III before their developmental team was changed twice for various reasons and was made into a prequel instead.

(Source: Brian Provinciano - THE UNRELEASED GRAND THEFT AUTO TITLES FOR GAME BOY ADVANCE)

2001

May

• IGN reported that Destination Software (DSI Games) had acquired the rights for portable versions of Smuggler's Run, Midnight Club and GTA 3. No developer was mentioned other than that it was being "handled through Take-2 by way of the original GTA developers at DMA Design" and that the game "might be passed external and supervised by DMA". No playable version or screenshots were available at the time, but the release was announced to line up with the PlayStation 2 release of GTA III.

November

• Digital Worldwide Ltd. announced they had signed an agreement to publish and distribute several of Destination Software's future GBA releases, including GTA 3. In January 2002 they outlined their release schedule for the year, including the delay of GTA from Q2 to Q4, with the managing director of the company stating that "the delay has ensured that we can do justice to one of, if not the, best video game title ever. We will not disappoint."

2002

April

• Extremely early demo builds of what appear to be Crawfish's project surfaced and were showcased by PtoPOnline in late 2016. These builds had the file creation dates of April 12th and 16th.
  

May

• C&VG.com posted an interview with Bruce Kain of Destination Software. He stated that the game was "still in the early stages of development" and going on to say that they were in the process of deciding on the game engine and hoping steer away from the top down view: "If we're forced to have to use a top-down then I guess we have no choice but I'd prefer not to because of the style of the game; there's just so much going on in that game that you really can't appreciate it in a top-down. Midnight Club was in development a year ago and we've had a lot of technological advances in Game Boy Advance and we're hoping that we can bring Grand Theft Auto in behind the car or even a driver's-eye view. I'll be honest with you, it's not been determined yet whether it is possible; our developers are looking at it right now.".

November

• Early-mid Nov. - the game had not been shown off and Destination Software released a statement dispelling the rumors of the game's cancellation, promising an announcement at the end of the week.
• Late Nov., not long after Destination Software's statement, C&VG.com reported that the project had been moved over to Crawfish for unclear reasons and that the game was "well into development" and was expected to release sometime in 2003. A week later it was announced that Crawfish was closing down with key members of the original team moving over to Climax.

2003

July

• In July 2003, former Crawfish developer Anders Granlund posted screenshots of the game on his website as part of his portfolio.
  

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

August

• In August 2003, Dave Murphy confirmed the screenshots were legitimate and shared further details on the game on the GameFAQs message board. He also mentioned that he didn't have details on any other versions but that "there was one before ours that also got canned", most likely referring to the version Destination Software had been working on.

Story & Characters

• "My version was set a few months before the events of GTA3 and featured a mix of old characters from the PS2/PC version and new ones based on my colleagues."
• "Humorous fact: The transvestite character was created from a photo of the producer of the game. Many of the characters were based on other members of staff, including me."
• "The main character wasn't the same as the PS2 but he looked kind of similar. He is taken on by the mafia at the beginning of the game, like the original, but stays working for them throughout, as he chases a mafia deserter and a case full of money from the Callahan bridge to the Cedar Ridge Observatory."
  

Weapons & Vehicles
It's worth pointing out that a mini ("Brit"), a monster truck and an unlockable F1 car (after completing all 18 racing side-missions) went on to appear in the final game, as did the katana and the minigun.

• "As for new vehicles: A Mini, a Monster truck and a secret F1 racing car. I wanted to put a jump jet in but they didn't think it was appropriate :(" "I only included two new weapons: Katana and Minigun. I added these to the design before a really saw anything on Vice City so I was kinda disappointed to see they were already in that."

Graphics

• "I had always intended on making GTA in the original 2D style because I knew that we wouldn't be able to get it looking very good in 3D. Of course the buildings, trees, fences and pretty much all other pieces of scenery were 3D. I would have liked to make the cars 3D as it would make stunts and rolling look a lot more realistic but we didn't have time and I hoped we would be able to do something like that for a sequel."

Controls & Features

• "It had a lot of the elements of the original including vehicle missions, hidden packages and unique stunts."
• "Yes multiplayer was planned but we probably wouldn't have got it in there, with the time the project running over.
  We decided on four different modes:
  Liberty City Survivor: Standard death match similar to GTA 1&2 on PC
  City Circuit: Racing on pre-set routes round the three islands.
  Car Jack Crazy: Players race to collect a list of vehicles and return them to their garage.
  Special delivery: All players fight over a package which must be taken to their base."
• "As for the controls, I've just pasted the interface section straight out of my design. However these weren't necessarily final. There may have been some minor changes before the final version."

Interface

GTA Advance uses a rotational control method (as opposed to directional); this makes shooting enemies a lot easier, when they are attacking all around the player.
When in a vehicle a button will be used for accelerate (instead of up on D-pad) making it easier to steer.

Controls (on foot)

D-pad Rotate, move forward/back
A Sprint
B Punch/fire weapon
L Enter vehicle
R Jump
L+R Strafe Lock
Select Change weapon
Start Pause/Menu

Controls (In Vehicle)

D-pad Steer car
A Accelerate
B Brake/Reverse
L+R Fire weapon
L Exit vehicle
R Hand Brake
Hold Select + press R Change Weapon
Select Horn/Sirens
Hold Select + press L Begin/cancel Vehicle mission
Start Pause/Menu

The pause menu will include the alternative weapon select and the radio station select (While in vehicle).