I must start off by saying that Grand Theft Auto is NOT a game you should buy for your kids. If stealing cars wasn’t bad enough, you also have to murder people and occasionally murder cops (well, the cop part is optional, but it can make a few missions a little easier). Not only that, but you’ll also have to sell drugs in order to make some money. If you buy this game for your child or children after I’ve gone and said all this…well…I’m sorry but I don’t know what to tell you. Alright, now that that’s over with, I can begin my review of Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars.
If you’ve played any of the Grand Theft Auto games after GTA1 and GTA2, you’ll probably know what to expect from GTA: CTW. You basically play some random guy who goes on missions and waxes people for criminals that are most likely using you (no, actually…they are using you). Getting to the criminals by foot would take forever, so the best thing to do is steal a car or a boat. GTA: CTW features a wide selection of over twenty different vehicles as well as a few boats. Each vehicle has its own respective strengths (top speed, acceleration, durability, etc) and unique design. If you don’t feel like hotwiring a car or carjacking, you can also purchase them at a shop in BOABO. There isn’t a shop for boats, so you’ll always have to commandeer (steal) your own ship (which kind of sucks, but hey…at least they’ve included boats). GTA 5 mods xbox 360 is also a great platform to play GTA. With great qualities, impressive game story, and amazing graphics, you’ll certainly love this version of GTA.
Besides those features, a few of the game’s other features have been remodeled. Vigilante missions now require that you work and complete each mission individually (instead of being able to tackle them consecutively). The money and weapons gained from the vigilante missions is now hardly worth the effort (with the exception of the arson missions, which allow you to net a flamethrower very early on in the game). You’ll usually only get a few bucks and a weapon if you’re lucky. And speaking of weapons, you’ll be purchasing them via your phone now via the Ammunation website (as appose to other GTA titles where you purchase them in a store). There are around twenty two weapons this time, ranging from Shotguns and tasers, to machineguns and rocket launchers. My personal favorite would be the minigun because you don’t really have to worry about aiming it. It tears through just about anything (aside from tanks) in a few seconds, so you don’t necessarily have to be the best shot when you are using it. It really helps out against things like helicopters that for whatever reason are always hard to lock on to.
GTA:CTW features a helicopter view of cel-shaded 3D characters in a cel-shaded 3D environment. The visuals are slightly cartoony, but it never takes away from experience. Being as this is a DS game, to expect anything more from the visual aspect would be ridiculous.
I’m usually not a fan of Grand Theft Auto music (unless it’s Grand Theft Auto: Vice City’s V-ROCK), and this game is no exception to that. The sounds used throughout the game for everything else (including but not limited to: Explosions, Gunfire, Screams) are perfect. My only real complaint (aside from the one about the radio stations) was the lack of random dialogue in Liberty City. If you ever played Grand Theft Auto 3, this will probably come as a disappointment to you. Liberty City is just not the same without lines like “In the Navy” and “do you want to touch it?”
The game will probably take you about a week to complete, maybe even two. As for replay value, there’s plenty to be had so long as you’re having a bad day. I mean really, how could stealing cars, being chased by cops, and destroying everything in sight ever lose replay value?
GTA:CTW is a definite buy, no doubts about it. It sounds great, looks great, isn’t boring in the slightest, and plays like a Grand Theft Auto game.