Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars Played on Nintendo
DS It's been over ten years since the very first Grand Theft Auto game was released by Rockstar North, and the latest release in the series, GTA: Chinatown Wars, the first on the Nintendo DS, harks back to the feel of the original, top-down game play but updates it in every way possible and really brings all the illicit fun of being a bad-ass Triad gangster to the DS. Set in a beautiful cel-shaded, comic book styled Liberty City, (which is actually pretty accurate, if a little smaller feeling than the Liberty City Niko was flitting around in not all that long ago in GTA IV), Chinatown Wars puts you in the shoes of Huang Lee, a Liberty City resident who's just returned from a trip home to meet his father, and gets ambushed for the sword he is carrying as a gift from his father to the Triad boss in Liberty City, before being left for dead in a sinking car. The plot of the story revolves around Huang searching for his father's killers, playing off three or four players within the Triads against each other, a dirty cop who wants to bust everybody, and every other street gang trying to get a slice of the Triad's turf. In between the main missions, you can find other mini-missions, steal a cab and take fares, steal a police car and perform vigilante missions, grab an ambulance and transport the injured, steal a fire truck and fight fires, or if you're in a less helpful mood, partake in a drug-selling mini game, buying from dealers at low prices, and hopefully selling to others for a profit. And back by popular demand, if you're just in the mood for slaughter, Rampage nodes are available for you to go crazy with a flamethrower, shotgun, assault rifle, or rocket launcher, and waste as many gangsters as possible before time runs out.
The touch-screen abilities of the DS are put to great use in Chinatown Wars, and the interface is styled like a PDA interface for most of the time you're on foot or in car. You can control the radio, or click on the minimap to open a larger GPS map and set destinations by double-tapping or by searching known associates, you can access the PDA's other functions like Email (great for picking up tips for great drug trades, or important missions from friends), trade statistics (including a nifty turf map, which is really useful for finding a group who supplies the drug you're looking for), or the Ammu-Nation website (for when you really need a bigger gun.) The touch screen can also be used to launch grenades or Molotov cocktails, (when clicked, the icon turns into a circle controlling the angle and power of your throw), or when stealing a parked car, to either use the screwdriver in the ignition, hotwire the starter, or in newer cars, connect your PDA to disable the computerized immobilizer. Driving is a dream in the game, despite the lack of a thumb stick like I'm usually used to – the arrow keys are sensitive enough to handle the driving, and the cars themselves really feel different based upon their type and engine. (Go on, try outrunning a dozen cops in a Peyote.. not gonna happen!) A fully rotatable aerial camera
angled down at the action gives a great view of
what's going on without the annoyances of a set
camera position. It rotates to aim forward if you're
moving in a direction, and can be re-centered with a
tap of the left shoulder button – useful for sneaking
down tight alleyways, which is the only place the
camera really has any
issues. All up, GTA: Chinatown Wars is a very addictive, fun to play game with a pretty solid GTA-caliber storyline, which will keep you entertained for any number of bus trips. (Albeit, with a sore neck, unless you're sitting right.) I'd highly recommend it, but it's really only for the adult users of the DS –and let's be honest here, between the gang warfare, high body count, carjacking, drug trading and general mayhem… this isn't exactly (or at least in my view shouldn't be) what you want your ten year old playing. Exercise some parental caution if you're considering this for your kids.
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