Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars - DS

[Leisher]

This is a mix between the original two Grand Theft Autos and the versions that took the game into the world of 3D.

You play the son of a Chinese mobster flying into Liberty City due to your father's recent murder. Upon arrival the plot kicks in immediately and you're off to find your father's killer.

This game plays just like a regular GTA game. Lots of storyline missions from various folks, tons of side missions (taxi, police, fire, ambulance, etc.), random exploration, things to collect, killing sprees, stunts to do, etc. If you know the GTA series, you know what to expect, so I won't go into a lot of detail there.

Some of the new things are:
1. A gun range where you can shoot targets.
2. A medal point system where you get judged on how well you perform side missions. Gold, Silver, and Bronze metals are given out.
3. Drug trade. This is a huge addition and you'll spend tons of time doing this to make money as the missions pay essentially nothing. Essentially, you buy from one dealer and then sell to another. The key is obviously to buy low and sell high. You're aided by emails you receive telling you when someone has a good deal or is desperate for something. Also, different areas of the map are controlled by different gangs who have different supplies and different pricing. It's quite a good system, but you'll probably get a little frustrated at the small numbers. There are moments when you'll get an email from someone who has a great deal on coke and when you get there he's only got 8 kilos. That sucks. One tip: There is a side mission that'll increase the amount of drugs you can carry. Do that side mission.
4. They've changed the way wanted levels work and it's pretty fantastic. You still get stars like any other GTA game, but here you can drive the pursuing cop cars into buildings and such and that will lower your heat level. Do it enough and you'll lose all your stars. It might sound odd, but it's one of the best parts of the game.
5. Scratch cards where you can win money, health, ammo, guns, a house, and a bulletproof vest. This was a pretty good idea as well, but it has drawbacks. For example, why buy armor through AmmuNation at $500 if you can get armor through a scratch off for $4. And yes, you will win one before getting to $40 spend on cards.
6. You have what is essentially a Blackberry. This was very cool, particularly for the immersion level within the game. I expect we'll see this device travel to the next console version of GTA. You can find EVERYTHING here from system settings to maps to emails to stats, etc.
7. Touch mini-games. Most tasks are performed via touch screen interaction. For example, there are three ways different ways to steal a parked car, and all require interaction. Stealing cars, planting bombs, searching for drugs, working your BB-like device, making Molotov cocktails, doing the scratch tickets, etc., etc., etc. are all done via the touch screen.

The story is actually decently told and perfectly paced. The characters are all over-the-top, which is a bit out of character (depending on which GTA we're talking about), but there's some humor in their conversations and LOTS of adult themes and language (no kiddies!).

I'm sure I'm forgetting something else, but you get the point. It's a GTA game for the DS. If you like the GTA series, you'll like this game.

9 out of 10.

[TPRJones]

I really liked Vice City. I really hated San Andreas. I cannot define why that is, what the differences were that made one so good and one so bad for me.

So, given that, any advice about which one of those it's more like, and if I'm more likely to like it or hate it?

[Leisher]

So, given that, any advice about which one of those it's more like, and if I'm more likely to like it or hate it?

Here's my best attempt:

I really liked Vice City. I really hated San Andreas.

Ditto.

I think that should sum it up for you, but for anyone else, let me just say that this IS a DS game, and there's a slight learning curve in terms of remembering the GTA basics and applying them in the DS version.

This doesn't have the personality that Vice City had, but to be honest few games have ever had that much personality. (And I'm talking about the real version, not the stripped down Vice City Stories.) I felt like San Andreas had zero personality.

If it helps, I believe the metascore is pretty high as well.

[TPRJones]

Cool, thanks. I'll definitely add this one to my list.