Every once in awhile, a game is born that is set to shake the stale foundations of the industry and break up traditional genres. Some of these games are but a flash in the pan, while others stand the test of time. Not to put to fine a point on it, but some games are just very, very damn cool. The Grand Theft Auto series is without a doubt one of these games. Stylish, violent, controversial...but above all, fun.

Being a huge fan of the GTA series (even running a fan site for the original), it was very disappointing when the greatly-anticipated GTA 3 was announced as a Playstation 2 game. Of course, the game eventually turned up on the PC, and while brilliant, had some major performance issues and just didn't feel quite right with a keyboard and mouse. Not long after, the semi-sequel GTA: Vice City was announced, again as a ps2 exclusive. By this stage, Xbox owners had been promised so many vague dates for a conversion that many had all but given up.

That is until last year when an end to Sony's exclusivity deal with Rockstar was in sight, and the promise of a 2004 release was mighty close and mighty tasty. Finally, the criminal smorgasbord that is Grand Theft Auto has blazed its way onto Xbox in our beloved convict nation, and while time has made it bittersweet, the emphasis is definitely on the sweet.

For those of you on the inside, GTA is the controversial game series from Rockstar games, formerly DMA Design, which sees you in the shoes of an unrepentant career criminal. There is a storyline, something about revenge and a girl, but basically, the game is just about committing as many crimes as possible. Mug, drug, be a thug (actually that's pretty catchy!), steal cars, you name it. What makes the game so phenomenally popular, besides all the felonious behaviour, is its incredibly open-ended nature. Both GTA 3 and Vice City both start you off with a cakewalk tutorial mission, but from here on in you're totally free to do as you please.

And it's not all about committing crimes. You can, er, borrow a taxi or pizza delivery bike and earn some cash the hard way, or, um, loan a police car, ambulance or fire engine to help out the good people of Liberty and Vice. Ok, so admittedly you have to steal those cars, but it's with good intentions...right? Each of these mini-games comes with its own rewards, such as extra health or a super-cab. These integrate into the game itself flawlessly, and are a great way to earn some perks or just take a break from the hectic tasks of working your way up the criminal ladder. Naturally, there are many more vehicles on offer besides these task-driven ones, and both games boast over 25 vehicles. Vice City ups the ante by including motorbikes and scooters, as well as light aircraft, all of which make for some exciting getaways during the course of the game.

In GTA 3, you guide the actions of a nameless protagonist. Your goal is largely to get revenge against the girl who betrayed you, but along the way you'll deal with more gangs than the average rap artist. As with GTA2, working for one can earn you the hatred of another, or open up avenues to new opportunities. It happens in a pretty linear manner, but it works well and keeps you on your toes.

Vice City however is a new world of opportunity. This time, the charismatic sociopath Tommy Vercetti takes centre stage, and in a new twist, he can acquire properties of his own and truly become a career criminal, soon rivaling his superiors up North. This is a breath of fresh air, and helps Vice City stand alone as a truly great game, and not just an expansion pack. It also means even more missions for you tackle, and even more ways to get yourself in trouble.

Thankfully, in a truly liberal fashion, recidivism is the way of GTA, and no matter how heinous your crimes against humanity, you will find yourself plonked straight back on the street ready to re-offend. Likewise, death is but a step in your journey, in this case, to the front door of the nearest emergency room. In this way, GTA is an extremely forgiving game, and it is pretty much impossible to ever "lose” the game. With that said, don't expect an easy ride, as both GTA3 and Vice City have some very tricky missions. In fact, this is one of the few criticisms that can be leveled at the game. Due to its open-ended nature, the difficulty of both games varies dramatically from mission to mission. Some are quite simple, while others are long and involved, and can be brutally unforgiving.

Nor can you blame a shoddy framerate or jaggies, not on Xbox. Don't dismiss the GTA Double Pack as a quick port of the ps2 version, as Rockstar have gone to great lengths to make this game truly worthy of the superior Xbox system. Load times are virtually non-existent in game, and loading a game takes but a few seconds. The frame-rate is absolutely rock-solid, and only in a few massive pile-ups or gunfights does it ever drop even slightly.

As for the graphics themselves, Rockstar have taken a 3 year old game and made it look new again. All the cars now have reflective surfaces that change with damage and the time of day, lens flares will temporarily blind you as the sun goes down, and jaggies are no more. Admittedly, the game doesn't quite match some of the levels of detail found in much newer games of this type, but on the whole the graphics looks terrific. The draw distance has been enhanced too, though things may occasionally still seem to pop-up. The experience is marred by the occasional graphical glitch, but this usually is more the camera's fault. The camera itself is fixed above and behind your head, and the only way to rotate it is to move the character around. This is a bit annoying, but you can enter a first-person look mode, and while driving, check left and right and behind.

Without a doubt GTA's strongest aspect is in the aural department. Rockstar have spared no expense in making these two games sound as good as possible. To begin with, the voice talent in both games is second to none. Ray Liotta, Michael Madsen, Burt Reynolds, Dennis Hopper and Joe Pantoliano to name but a few. They aren't just famous names either, each and every one brings their role to life, helping create some truly memorable characters, especially Vercetti.

If this wasn't enough, Rockstar created entire radio stations worth of original content, we're talking 20+ songs, as well as advertising and talkback radio. Set in the 80's, Vice City comes complete with dozens of licensed tracks from the likes of Michael Jackson, Blondie, INXS, Bryan Adams and many more. It is simply amazing how much audio content these two games pack, yet as an Xbox exclusive bonus, both games make full use of your hard drive, allowing you to put your own mp3s into the game to drive-by to. The audio just can't be faulted in either game, and although the actual sound-effects tend to get repetitive, you really won't even notice. One of the coolest feelings is being able to channel-surf through stations if you don't like the songs. It immerses you in the world of GTA to the point where you'll be scanning the streets for the new Maibutsu Monstrosity as your theft of choice.

And really, this is what GTA is about. It just sucks you into the game completely. You might load it up to try and beat that tricky mission, and find yourself two hours later driving a cab or searching for hidden packages. There is so much to do within the game that you can keep on coming back for more and more. Achieving a perfect 100% completion score will tax even gaming veterans: just beating the main missions will take around 10 hours, not including any of the side missions, asset buildings or mini-games.