Payback Review: GTA for iPhone

The GTA (Grand Theft Auto) series of games has been a very popular one. The iPhone being the great gaming platform that it is, it was bound that some rip-off (or the real thing some day?) would show up in the App Store. Right now there are two titles very similar to it: Payback and Car Jack Streets. Today I will talk about Payback.

Turning a games like GTA into an iPhone App is a very hard thing–one of GTA’s best features is having a whole large map to roam around. So, to recreate the huge map on the iPhone takes some major space–the game is 222Mb, which is one of the largest in the App Store. The graphics are very nice and it runs very smoothly in 3D, so it is worth the space.

The controls can be a little awkward to start out: You move back and forwards with a double-arrowed box (up is forwards, down is reverse). But, you can’t move sideways, you must use the accelerometer to change the way your current vehicle or the person is going. But, having two more control buttons would have taken up too much space, so it may be a good thing that the controls are this way. Other than going back and forwards, there are two other main buttons: Punch/Weapon and Enter/Leave vehicle. There is also A score box at the top, a health meter, and a mini-map of the current city.

The goal in Payback is to gain points. Each level you play requires you to get a certain amount of points, and once you reach that, you win. To get points, you must complete missions or basically cause some trouble. However, the more trouble you cause, as in GTA, the more the cops want to find and ‘bust’ you. So, you can’t just go crazy. To start a mission, you will have to find a ringing phone, and then go next to it to answer it. You will then be told exactly what to do.

Story mode is not the only mode that Payback offers. You can also play in Rampage and Challenge mode. Challenge mode turns Payback into more of a game that you can pick up and put away easily, with a few extra smaller places to play. In Rampage Mode, you really just try to get as many points as possible, and can move from level to level as much as you want.

Overall, Payback provides a fun and challenging gameplay, with a few game modes to bring extra playability. The controls are awkward to being with, but you should get used to them. If you have 222Mb free on your iPhone or iPod Touch and $4.99 to spare, or if you’re just a GTA fan, you should definitely try Payback–there’s even a Lite version available.

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