Game review: Grand Theft Auto Chinatown Wars - Sony PSP

After it was critically acclaimed when released on Nintendo DS, Chinatown Wars from Rockstar becomes the third GTA game to smash its way on to the PSP and it’s the best of the trio.

There isn’t anything revolutionary about this instalment, it’s just that everything about it feels like a step up from the previous two entries. The graphics are enhanced, the gameplay is more refined and it’s just overall a more satisfying GTA crime-action-mayhem caper.

Some pundits have gone so far as to say Chinatown Wars is the best ever handheld game.

I don’t quite go along with that, but it definitely earns a place among the elite titles on Sony’s portable device.

Chinatown Wars takes place in a hustling, bustling, living, breathing Liberty City, a city which is bursting with more personality than I’ve ever seen in a game like this. The city is beautifully modelled in 3D, given extra life by a day/night cycle and changing weather conditions.

The central character in the game is Huang Lee, a spoiled rich kid who arrives in the city to avenge the murder of his crime boss dad and to deliver a family heirloom sword to his uncle Kenny. Things quickly go wrong and Huang is pulled into the dark, dangerous and destructive world of the Triads.

I’m not a luvvy gamer who needs to know what my ‘motivation’ is for taking on a role. I don’t usually care a jot for my character’s background or why I should be supporting him, but the story in this game is better than average and Huang is a more engaging character than is usually found in these gangster adventures.

The story is told through static and voiceless (although quite nice looking) cutscenes. A lot of humour runs through the frequently coarse text dialogue between Huang and other characters.

The action takes place in dozens of bite-sized missions which have you taking out gangs of thugs, stealing cars, blowing up buildings and carrying out numerous other criminal tasks If you’ve ever played a GTA game you’ll be familiar with the key ingredients, and of course everything you’d expect to be here is - car jacking, reckless driving, police chases, shootouts, drive-bys, pedestrians coming to untimely ends and so on.

Seen from a slightly retro on-high, almost-top-down perspective Liberty City is a sprawling metropolis in which you can interact with most objects (though the interaction is limited to kicking stuff to pieces in some cases).

If you want to take a breather from the tasks you can play in the sandbox for a little, freely wandering the city gaining notoriety and money as you go. You can go around committing crimes or you go straight temporarily by driving a taxi or ambulance.

There are some nice little touches which set Chinatown Wars apart from previous GTA games.

For instance, there is a nifty driving aid which automatically aligns you vehicle with the road, thus avoiding any fiddly steering while you try and get straight.

There is also a fun and potentially lucrative drug-dealing sub-plot which plays out like a souped-up version of the old buy-low-sell-high game Dope Wars. Once you’re fully immersed in the game this will become one of your key income sources.

Money you make can be used for another new facet of GTA – mail-ordering weapons on the in-game internet. You place an order and then you’re prompted to collect your delivery of new guns. It’s like a very illegal version of Amazon.

Something else new in Chinatown Wars is a more proactive way to reduce your wanted level with the police. Instead of outrunning the police or hiding from them, you can smash into cop cars or cause pursuing cars to crash in order to wipe wanted stars off the screen.

The final little addition to this GTA game worth mentioning is some quirky mini games which have been carried over from the DS version.

These include hotwiring cars, retrieving items from skips and assembling petrol bombs. They provide nice distractions from all the driving and shooting.

As with the two previous GTA games on PSP, there are a few niggling issues.

Combat, whether it’s with your fists or with weapons, remains rather too cumbersome. It’s much more down to luck and persistence than skilful fighting.

When moving around the city the camera movement isn’t always ideal. I’ve sometimes found my view obscured by buildings or other scenery.

The bird’s eye perspective also presents slight problems occasionally. It can be difficult judging the height of objects when working out if it’s possible to jump or climb over them. I’ve had a few times when I’ve got stuck in dead ends thinking there was an escape route, only to discover it was an illusion of the view.

Overall, Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars on PSP is a complete blast, in more ways than one. It’s got everything you’d want from a GTA game, with a few new tricks to increase the fun even further.

Liberty City could never be recommended as an idyllic tourist destination. It’s far too dangerous and crime-ridden for that. But it’s well worth visiting if you’re looking for exciting, brash, gripping gaming action.

Verdict: 9 out of 10 – Cool graphics and presentation, a strong plot and action aplenty – this is easily the best Grand Theft Auto game on PSP so far and one of the top games on the platform overall.