Payback (video game)

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Payback is a videogame by Apex Designs. It was originally one fan's project to make an Amiga clone of Grand Theft Auto, but, in the author's own words, "every effort has been made to ensure that Payback beats GTA in every way."

The game was eventually expanded into a commercial release, and in 2002 they announced plans to bring it to Microsoft Windows, Macintosh, and the Game Boy Advance (GBA). The Mac version was speedily released (there is still no word of the Windows version's release date). A version for the GP2X handheld has also been released.

Interestingly, despite the game being a clone of GTA, even copying car names such as the "Mundaneo", Rockstar made no attempt to stop Apex Designs from publishing this game, or at the very least warn them about infringing on their copyrighted materials as in the case of Marvel vs. City of Heroes.

The GBA version was also finished, but Apex Designs could not of course produce the cartridges themselves, so needed a publisher to produce the title for them. After numerous failed attempts to get it published, it was not until late 2004 that DSI Games finally picked up the game.

The game features a full 3D game engine with area-of-effect explosions and complex car handling. Skid marks can now be seen clearly, and vehicles smoke when heavily damaged. The intro is converted from an AVI movie, and is one of the most complicated examples of GBA movie footage outside of the Game Boy Advance Video releases. The game is considered a benchmark of the GBA's capabilities, and few games before it had featured such a complex 3D engine.

It features eleven cities in the Game Boy Advance version.

[edit] Gameplay

The game is virtually identical to the original GTA, except for the new camera angle. The player now has control over grenades, and the longer they hold down the button the further they will throw it.

The game also supports four-player multiplayer deathmatch.

[edit] Additional content

The Amiga version allowed fans to make their own deathmatch maps (see the link below). These cannot be added into the GBA version, but one of them, Isla Nublar, was featured in slightly altered form as an unlockable bonus.