GTA is infamous as being the most controversial game series of this current time and perhaps all time. From being accused of influencing crime in youngsters and for glamorising violence, GTA has been through it all and come out the other side looking better and better. Now when you hear the words Nintendo and DS you think happy families, children that aren’t allowed up past 9 o clock and......Nintendogs. GTA certainly isn’t the first thing you would think of but behold it, Grand Theft Auto Chinatown Wars.
The game is set in the glorious dump of Liberty City, you are Huang Lee, a young Chinese man sent to simply deliver your families air-loom sword to your uncle in America. Of course as soon as you exit the plane things go tits up and you end up beaten, robbed, shot and dumped in the sea. Luckily you awake and escape, find your uncle and attempt to track down your sword. But then GTA wouldn’t be GTA without all the blood, violence and adult language. Now for a game on the family platform you would expect all that to be gone but its still in and as proud as ever. Not to mention this time it throws in minigames such as how to hotwire a car and drug dealing......part of me still questions how Nintendo agreed to this, maybe R* tied them down and put a grenade in their mouth and threatened to pull the pin if they didn’t agree. The story involves the typical betrayal and failed wannabes that populate Liberty City but with that Chinese twist and with a few new neat little features.
The game is a top down affair but it handles this fairly well and is very well used, all movement and combat actions are on the DS's face buttons and things like GPS and weapon selection are on the touchsreen. The controls never feel cluttered or crowded but lengthy sessions of hijacking cars and combat can feel awkward as holding the stylus and the DS for hours on end gets a little irritating. The cars handle very nicely and seeing as you are at a slight disadvantage due to the top down nature of the game you can have a function where your car will automatically slide into the nearest lane, this can be turned off in the options menu if needed.
The game is presented in a cell shaded, cartoon form which some may argue makes the game look silly but it makes the game look stylish, also the DS wouldn’t be able to cope with GTA IV style graphics which i expect most fanboys were expecting and the game would look awful with too much detail in. All cutscenes are presented as Comic book panels and all speech is text and not actually spoken, this doesn’t however affect the drama and type of language used.
The soundtrack does not consist of licensed songs but mixes of guitars and synthesizers lasting about a minute each, of course there are many different radio stations to choose from each with a unique style of music making sure there is one for everybody.
Overall GTA Chinatown wars is definitely worth the money of what it is asking. The game is available on DS, PSP (haven’t played) and Iphone/Ipod touch. The iOS version is exactly the same as the DS version and it costs only £6, however the controls are cluttered and awkward making lengthy sessions irritating and tedious.
The game lasts around 8-10 hours and lots more time for exploring, collecting and of course the usual GTA shenanigans.
GTA Chinatown wars is one of the strongest titles in the franchise and should definitely be picked up when possible.
GTA: Chinatown Wars – 9/10
+GTA on the go, what's not to like?
