Review :: Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (PSP)
I don’t own a DS. It might be the more popular of the two handhelds but, for whatever reason, I have never felt the need to own one. The thing is, I’m a big Grand Theft Auto fan and was tempted to pick up Nintendo’s handheld specifically for Chinatown Wars. I didn’t and was really happy when Rockstar announced it was coming to the PSP. To paraphrase Greg Miller ‘why have a burger, when you can have steak’.Returning to the ‘old school’, top down stylings of the original Grand Theft Auto could be seen as a step backwards for the franchise. The ‘Stories’ games did really well and I think many will have been surprised at Rockstar’s decision to go top down once again. Me? Well I thought it might suit a handheld better. I was right too.
Chinatown Wars is once again set in, seemingly the seediest place in the world, Liberty City. You take control of, rich kid, Huang Lee. After his father is killed, Huang is sent to deliver a sword (thought to be a family heirloom) to his Uncle. As with every GTA, the simplest of tasks just ain’t that simple and Huang ends up embroiled in Liberty City’s underworld. The story is good and kept me engrossed for the most part.
Gameplay is the standard GTA-fare. You shoot guns, steal cars and that other fun stuff. However, there are a few new additions adapted from the DS version. Jacking a car isn’t as easy as pushing triange anymore (most of the time). There’s a few little mini-games to play which involve you moving the analog nub in circles or entering the correct number pattern. All of these are quite cool at first, but can become tiresome as the game progresses. Other than that everything is as normal. The top down view might seem a little restrictive to some, but I think it suits the handheld better than the 3D view. The driving is smooth, action is fast paced and all of it reminded me of the first time I played the original Grand Theft Auto back on the PlayStation.
Some might expect the return to the top-down view to mean a reduction in graphical quality , it’s not. The game has a very cool, graphic novel-esque art style that compliments the top-down view and the platform perfectly. That said, it can get a little busy at times, something lead to me shooting an inocent bystander once too often. Buildings can get in the way too. Now that might sound a tad odd, but I tended to get Huang lost if I walked by a particularly tall building, but maybe that’s just me.
Whilst the structure of the game, for the most part, is the standard GTA fare, you’re gonna find it hard to survive in Liberty City without a decent weapon. Completing missions is only going to get you a meager amount of dosh (about $50-$200). That $3,000+ assault rifle is going to take a lot of time and effort to save up for isn’t it. It is, unless you get into the drugs game.
This is what sets Chinatown Wars aside from past GTA games. The drug dealing ‘minigame’ works like the stock market. You buy low and sell high (‘scuse the pun). You can acquire your narcotic of choice from the various dealers dotted around the city, trading with them to earn you some cash. Now I’ve never sold coke before, but if it’s this fun to do (and gets you this much cash) I might just have to start. Joking, of course. One of the coolest parts of this is the tip off’s. You’ll start to get messages via your PDA about a dealer selling something cheap or someone willing to pay over the odds. This is where you start earning the big bucks.
A great game like this doesn’t come without it’s problems. The minigames (originally created for the DS) are a little hit or miss, there’s a few little graphical quirks and the targeting system can be a little wonky at times. Still, with over 70 missions, some of which are exclusive to the PSP, this is a game GTA fans and PSP owners can’t not afford to buy. It’s going to give you a ton of playtime and the drug dealing minigame along is going to keep you busy for a good few hours. Seriously, there’s no need for you not to buy this.
9.0/10
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