[DS] Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars

Introduction

When I had first heard that Rockstar was going to be making a Grand Theft Auto game on the DS, I was pretty skeptical. I kept wondering “how are they going to fit a game of a massive scope that allowed you to do just about anything you want into a DS cartridge without messing it up?” Sure, two excellent Grand Theft Auto games were made for PSP, but the DS has weaker graphics, weaker audio, and the button layout of a Super Nintendo controller. I was pretty much expecting a complete disappointment.

And that’s probably why I’m so surprised at how outstanding this game is.

Single Player

The game begins with a man named Huang Lee (a spoiled rich kid, and the main character of the game) on a plane from Hong Kong to Liberty City. His father has just been assassinated, and he happens to be a boss of the Triads gang (if you’ve played Grand Theft Auto 3 or Liberty City Stories, you should know about them by now). Now Huang must return the Yu Jian (a sword and a family heirloom) to his uncle Kenny so that it stays in the family.

Within minutes of arriving to Liberty City, Huang is ambushed and shot in the head by the very same people who killed his father. The two men who killed his father put him in the back seat of their car and drive it into the river and taking the sword, thinking that he’s dead. This is when you first gain control of your character as you have to break out of the car before you drown.

Gameplay

In terms of gameplay, Chinatown Wars plays pretty similarly to every Grand Theft Auto that’s been made since Grand Theft Auto III. You’re given the freedom to explore a massive, crime-ridden city, and you’re given the freedom to do just about anything you want. You’ll steal cars, do drive-by shootings, hotwire vehicles, buy and sell drugs, commit arson, attach tracking devices to vehicles, get into shootouts and go on killing sprees just to name a few things. This game definitely has some diverse gameplay. In fact, you’ll probably do most of the things I mentioned within two hours of beginning the game.

The structure of the game is also just like the other games in the series. You progress through the game’s story by completing missions that usually involve doing dirty work for the people who run the city (mostly crime bosses). The game gets off to a great start as you have to break the back windshield of the car before you drown. Then as soon as you swim to shore, you have to hotwire a car using a screwdriver so you can start it, The next great moment comes in the very next mission, where you have to lose your wanted level (get the cops to stop chasing you) by forcing them to wreck Destruction Derby-style. The game is full of parts that are just simply brilliant, and they come early and often. Added in to add to the story (and brief you on your mission objective) are the always-entertaining cutscenes. But the 3D characters and voice-acting have been replaced with still pictures and a wall of text, which is kind of lame. Fortunately, the dialogue is still just as funny as it’s always been. It just needs people that are actually saying the lines.

When you’re not doing a mission, you can basically just have fun and do whatever you want. If you need money, you can always steal a Taxi Cab or Police car and act as a taxi driver (which plays a lot like Crazy Taxi) or a cop (killing criminals). There are also Fire Trucks and Ambulance that you can use for Paramedic and Firefighter missions, but those two vehicles are pretty rare to come by. If you’re stuck on a mission that you just can’t seem to pass, then you can always stock up on weapons and armor (that usually helps). Or if you’re feeling angry (or just bored), you can go on a mad killing spree, driving along a sidewalk running everybody over, killing cops, making vehicles explode, you know, the usual stuff. Sure, it’s a fight that you’ll probably (inevitably) lose, but that doesn’t mean you won’t have fun doing it!

So far, this still doesn’t sound much different than every Grand Theft Auto game you’ve played for the last 8 years. So what makes Chinatown Wars any different? Quite a bit, actually! The developers did a superb job of adjusting the game to fit the DS' strengths and weaknesses, starting with the controls. The game makes great use of the touch screen, which you’ll use to start up parked cars (sound familiar?), scratch lottery tickets, search dumpsters for weapons, navigate menus, switch weapons, and even pour gasoline into bottles to make Molotov Cocktails. The button controls are also easy to use and responsive. Another cool feature is that you have to use technology more in this game than in past Grand Theft Auto games (except GTA4, which is where this is clearly inspired from). You’ll use it for many things, like getting info on important things going on in the city via e-mail; use a GPS to help you navigate around the city, and instead of there being a store that you buy guns at, you order them off of the internet and they get sent to your safehouse. That's both cooler and more convenient.

But what’s probably the best part about Chinatown Wars is how much more forgiving the game is. Now, when you fail a mission, instead of having to backtrack all the way to the beginning to start the mission again, all you have to do is press select, and you’re back to the mission. Also helpful is the “Trip Skip” option that you can sometimes use. Basically if you fail a mission, when you restart you can sometimes skip certain parts of it that you’ve already done. This is very helpful, especially when you’re stuck on a specific part of a mission.

I do have a few minor problems with the gameplay, though. One of those things is the camera, which gives you a zoomed out, isometric (tilted) view of the city. It looks a lot like the camera in the first two Grand Theft Autos (except that one was completely overhead), and that’s okay. But when you run into a tight space, the camera tends to start spinning around all over the place, like the game can’t decide where to place it. This can become a real pain, especially when you’re involved in a 15-to-1 shootout in a dark alley.

Another problem is one that’s plagued almost every GTA game to date, and that’s the uneven difficulty of the missions. Although it’s not as bad as it used to be (Vice City was the absolute worst), there are still times when you find yourself stuck on a mission that’s insanely difficult, only to have the ones before it (and after it) to be a complete cakewalk. Although this time around the problem is a bit less frustrating thanks to the fact that you don’t need to backtrack so much.

Graphics/Sound

Graphically, this game is excellent. Even though the view is isometric, the city is completely 3D, and its smooth, finely detailed buildings and vehicles look fantastic (too bad you don’t get a close-up view of it too often). The characters are 2D sprites, and they don’t look nearly as detailed as the city that they occupy. They animate pretty well, though. But if there’s a thing I have to say about the music, it’s that it’s surprisingly lame. The terribly generic music is no replacement for the radio shows with the funny, well-written dialogue and actual songs being played. And another thing, what’s the deal with the people talking in the city? I could’ve sworn I’ve heard those exact same lines said the exact same way in the PSP GTA games.

Summary

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars is one hell of a game. Not only did Rockstar fit a full-length Grand Theft Auto game on the DS, a task that I thought was impossible, but it even manages to look good while doing it. This game is funny, full of diverse interesting gameplay, and most importantly, fun to play.

+ Excellent graphics
+ Great use of the DS' touch screen
+ Just as good as all of the other Grand Theft Auto games
+ Easier to restart missions, which saves time and frustration


- Sound isn't so great
- Difficulty is uneven
- Camera can get annoying in tight spaces

. Buy

Spoiler Alert!

Great review, i think we we're a little harsh with the sound department though, the voice samples and musics in the game seem to be the best they could make with what they had. And some of the musics arent THAT bad.
Anyway, great effort!

Oh my days, how on earth did you get a review copy!? Well eternal kudos on being one of the first reviews ever...

It certainly looks like Rockstar done it again.

EPICEPICEPIC!!! =D

The gameplay looks epic. :O

Woah, awesome review is awesome awesome!

Dude, you are really, really good. It was only released like a day ago :O
I think perhaps you could have gone a little bit more in depth, but all the same, fantastic job dude!

Edit: Screw it, I have no criticisms. Awesome review, end of.

How long did you play it for? :/

Originally Posted by Slink

Dude, you are really, really good. It was only released like a day ago :O
I think perhaps you could have gone a little bit more in depth, but all the same, fantastic job dude!

Edit: Screw it, I have no criticisms. Awesome review, end of.

Release Date: March 17th
Today's Date: March 14th

DS handles the game quite well apparently. Drop in FPS shouldn't a problem at all.

Originally Posted by Divine

DS handles the game quite well apparently. Drop in FPS shouldn't a problem at all.

Switch the 3D Renderer to OpenGL. Clears up all of those gridlines.