Customer Reviews

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars

5 star:		(79)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I just started playing this game yesterday, and as of now my mission status says that I'm 11% finished. So far this game has done everything to amaze me. First of all the city is ENORMOUS! I cant believe that Rockstar was able to squeeze this much information and detail into a tiny DS cartridge. Not only is it large, but it is also incredibly detailed. You wont see any "Flintstones" type backgrounds where the same buildings repeat several times, or you keep seeing the same park every few miles. Anyhow, onto a few points I've noticed about this game.

First of all, this game is DEFINITELY for adults only. Parents, DO NOT get this game for your 10 year olds birthday. There is (so far) sexual innuendo, graphic violence, and liberal use of the F word.

Second - I hadn't read any press about this game prior to playing it, but I was hoping for some licensed songs to make it to the soundtrack. The music, while good, is nothing recognizable and serves as little more than background. Honestly I cant fault the developers as this game is already full of other features. Also, there is little to no voice acting - again, what can you honestly expect in a game this size (might I add the largest DS game made to date).

Third - Most everything about this game has been executed flawlessly. The cutscenes, the aiming mechanism, the driving physics, the "mini" tasks that you must do such as hot wiring a car, disarming a bomb, or hacking a security system - Everything is perfect. Honestly, in my day of playing this game I have yet to find anything which I can fault. It really is that good.

I predict that this will become the #1 Nintendo DS game very soon, unseating Mario Kart, which has been #1 for quite a while now here at Amazon. This game is nothing less than a masterpiece and is reason in itself to pick up a DS if you don't already own one.

Chinatown Wars somehow manages to push the technology in the DS more than anything I've seen. On top of that, the developer has managed to make one of the largest and most in depth games on the system as well. I won't go so far as to say this is the best game on the DS, but I am nothing short of impressed. This game isn't some attempt to make a quick buck... the developers went out of their way to do a great job.

GRAPHICS: Fully 3-d environment with an amazing amount of detail all presented in cell shaded style. You can even read many of the billboards and signs on the buildings even though the game is presented in a top-down perspective. There is so much detail in the graphics I am constantly discovering new things every time I boot the game up. My only major complaint about the graphics is that I think story-board presentation is flat, lifeless, and kind of ugly.

SOUND: Sadly this game doesn't have the quality of sound that the big console versions have. The funny, wacky radio stations with hours of dialogue are gone, but that isn't surprising since this is a DS game. The sound that the game gives us is still pretty good though and above average for most DS games.

CONTROLS: Probably the weakest part of this game, the controls are still very solid. Driving a vehicle with the d-pad on the DS can cause a lot of fatigue, but that's more a problem with the DS than the controls themselves. While running around on foot the camera sometimes gets positioned at a bad angle and requires re-centering constantly. A moderate annoyance, honestly. More annoying is the fact that I have trouble finding the "sweet spot" where you can hijack a vehicle, which sometimes results in me slowly walking around the vehicle pressing the button until my character climbs in. Combat controls are pretty solid and the lock-on feature works very nicely. In fact, the lock-on is almost a little to easy to use. Selecting weapons and throwing weapons is kind of clunky and requires use of the stylus, but it still works.

STORY: This is a standard Grand Theft Auto crime story with a lot of contrived elements. You are a member of the Triad aspiring to avenge your father's death and uphold the family honor. Entertaining and often humorous at times, but nothing amazing.

GAMEPLAY: Lots of stuff to do in a huge city with three major islands. The DS game has almost the level of depth of the preceding console versions.
>> In addition to standard GTA style missions (travel here, do something, come back to hideout), the game offers many other distractions: scratch lotto cards, drug dealing, ambulance rescue, security camera destruction, insane jumps, buying property, and so on and so on. The amount of stuff to do is almost overwhelming if you are a completionist.

>> The game has a very enjoyable and solid driving and physics engine which emphasizes wild arcade driving action.

>> Taxi system for those times when you don't want to actually take the time to drive to a location. Helps eliminate some of the repetition you would otherwise experience in the game.

>> Clever and intelligent use of the stylus for hot wiring cars, making Molotov cocktails, etc.

>> Police chases are really fun and focus less on escape and instead emphasize disabling the police cruisers, a welcome change in the GTA formula. Very fun.

>> A mission replay feature is available in Chinatown wars. I love this because in previous GTA games it wasn't possible to replay my favorite missions over after completing them. It is a great feature that should have been in the previous games from day one.

REPLAY VALUE: Game length is pretty hefty for a DS title. Based on my current percentage of completion I expect about 12 to 16 hours of gameplay, but that is only if I were to plow straight through the missions and ignore all of the interesting stuff to do off the beaten path. To get 100% completion I expect at I'll have to pour in at least 25 hours of gameplay, possibly much more... I can't really tell. Multiplayer is present in this game with couple of modes, but I haven't tried any of them out yet.


All in all, GTA: Chinatown Wars is one of the most full-featured games to be released on the DS. I'd prefer to give the game only 4.5 stars, but since Amazon doesn't allow half-stars I'll give it the benefit of the doubt and round up to a rare 5-star rating. I highly recommend this mature-themed title to every fan of the GTA series or to anyone looking for a quality crime-themed action title.



[NOTE: Be aware that my first copy of this game was defective, but the retailer was gracious enough to provide a working replacement free of charge and without any hassle. I hope that my original faulty copy was the exception and not the rule.]

I honestly didn't know just what to expect upon hearing of the looming release of Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars on the DS. I had figured that there would be little to no chance of the game bearing any sort of resemblance to the franchise we all know and love. Well, I was wrong. Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars is a stunning achievement in every sense of the word, as the series' debut on the DS not only manages to retain nearly everything that made the series so great and revolutionary on home consoles, but in some cases even improves on them. Taking place in Liberty City, Chinatown Wars finds you in the shoes of Huang, who is looking to avenge the death of his gangster father. While the game provides a good story and memorable enough characters, Chinatown Wars also features the tried and true classic GTA gameplay, which is a surprise and an achievement in themselves in translating all of these features to the DS. Translating the Liberty City from GTA IV is also brilliantly done, and there are tons of side missions and optional activities, along with two-player multiplayer modes; all of which will keep you busy for quite some time. The game's graphics can appear occasionally grainy in some spots, but for the most part, achieving these kinds of visuals on the DS needs to be seen to be believed. Chinatown Wars also makes great use of the touch screen and stylus features, and does so without over-complicating things as well. All in all, Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars isn't only the best third-party game to hit the DS yet, it is a stunning achievement that needs to be in the hands of every DS owner. Even if you aren't that much of a GTA fan but you own a DS, Chinatown Wars is definitely worth playing at the very least, and stands as one of the best games available for the handheld.

Set in GTA IV's Liberty City, Chinatown Wars goes back to the classic GTA over-top view with a more animated approach and is much more enjoyable to play then Liberty and Vice City stories bar none. The gunplay, driving, side missions have a more arcade feel to it which is what easier to play then the previous PSP GTAs.

The cut scenes are a let down, no talking just reading and loud annoying music playing throughout, I found my self skipping over them there is no menu option to turn off cut scene music.

Because you have the over-top view the gunplay has a easier sense of play to it, you can run and shoot easier switching weapons is brought up by pressing `select' and is easy to maneuver dozens of dumpsters to find extra guns. I just wish they gave you a little more bullets when you find guns because I feel like I run-out even when I try to stock up.

The driving is fun and fairly simple to do, however I felt it was to unforgiving here you got a small screen driving through a big city I can never drive without crashing it seems, you drive under the train tracks or something and they tracks don't dim thy stay solid so you can't see your car when you're driving under it, driving at night the light from the light posts can look like on-coming cars if you're drving fast enough so is sometimes hard to maneuver they should have made the streets just a little bigger, and I would've liked to see motorcycles drive like cars, they're all over the road and very hard control if you wanna drive fast which is what you want to do in a GTA game.

I never knew drug dealing could be so fun and addictive, it's an easy way to get a lot of money, buy cheap and sell high and with drug dealers `tip-offs' you can find good deals. I got so addicted I started playing those side missions more then the story missions.

Evading cops has never been beter, if you're driving away from the cops and you make the squad car crash the normally bold yellow star will fade and if you behave it will go away, the higher your wanted level the more the cops will try to stop you and more to stop for you.

I like the little thing the game has you do, like stealing a parked car you twist the analog to unscrew bolts to hot wire cars, flip the L and R buttons to dig threw garbage dumpsters or to break the windshield out of your car. These are fun little ways to better engage you in the game, they're easy to do and you never get the sense of frustration.

This is one of PSP's best games to date and a great installment for Grand Theft Auto. If you own a PSP and you should own this game.

Finally the ever so popular GTA hits the ever so popular DS! You can tell a whole lot of effort has been put into this game. The graphics look great and it is a BIG DS game. The town is HUGE. Its addictive and it still gives you that GTA feel to it. Its the same sandbox enviroment and you can do missions. The only thing I don't like is the fact that the game is in bird's eye view. Driving can get a little confusing but you'll get used to it. I have a feeling this game would be a best seller.
NOTE: This game is for mature audiences only. If you are willing to buy this for your kid, make sure he/she is mature enough.

lately every time i go Wal-Mart, I see too many little girlie games with ponies and kittens. FINALLY, i came across this game and it has just blown me away. I am soooo addicted to this thing. There's endless things to do to keep you busy, from boss missions, to being a cabbie, or Chinese Delivery guy etc, or just driving or walking around the MASSIVE city. Lately, I've been trying to find all the security cameras, so i can blow them up(trust me, the less cameras the better). Oh and I finally was able to overtake the Ammunition Truck...that was a challenge. The best part about the game is the extreme, and i do mean EXTREME details with all of it...especially the graphics. Yeah, it's a smaller world than on a bigger console, but the quick camera angles, and easy controls, detail, variety, etc, etc, will draw you in in a big way. You can drive flashy cars, old cars, trucks(flatbeds and tractor trailers), motorcycles, and various boats unless you just want to take a swim. You can make money scratching lotto cards at the store, completing missions, being a taxi driver, BUT the real money is selling and buying drugs, or just shooting or beating someone to death for some quick cash...So Yeah, this is not for children. Let them play the pony and kitten games a little longer, it's nothing to be ashamed of.

I've been reading some reviews and I had to add my own thoughts.

This game is an absolute victory for the Grand Theft Auto series. There is so much that this game includes that it easily outshines the recent GTA IV on the gamut of modern generation gaming consoles.

As far as story, it really doesn't change much from the way we all know our GTA games to act - you're an Asian kid who game to the US and is immediately drawn into a turf war between a few feuding gangs. You end up fighting against all of them amidst the various characters and missions, and in the end... ...well, you'll just have to find out.

What made the DS version successful and so crazily unique was the gameplay. In recent GTA games we've started seeing the immersion of technology INTO the games. Now we use cell phones to communicate, get missions, even take pictures and stalk targets. In this game, we're given a full-fledged PDA which actually acts as the main menu of the game. We can plot GPS routes, check email, and - in quite possible the greatest idea EVER in GTA-land, order "Ammu-Nation" weapons to be delivered directly to our safehouses. Obviously the PDA inclusion is fine and all, but the fact that it actually FEELS like you're using the PDA with touch controls via your lower DS screen just makes it that much more fun. From the lower screen you can instantly access different sections of your PDA, such as GPS navigation or email. Also, the scrolling feature with your DS works as good as an iPhone - it is absolutely a joy to use.

The game is viewed from a top-down screen position. At first you feel like you're playing the original GTA series which debuted on PC in the late 90's. This can cause a few issues, such as being shot at from a distance which you can't see, or when driving at high speeds with little time to react to traffic and turns. It's a limitation for sure, but not of the game - for the fact that you're playing this game on a tiny hand-held gaming platform, it really makes sense. And with the draw-distance limitation, they've added plenty of style to make up for the loss. For example, NPC vehicles driving through town have working turn signals - I've ever seen a car with four-ways activated as the driver got out to investigate a pedestrian it just struck (and sadly, killed...) You'll randomly encounter police chases, or even ambulances on way to a call. You'll drive under subway tracks complete with random-generated subway cars passing overhead, or even be shadowed by the occasional flying helicopter. It FEELS like a modern GTA game, just from a different perspective.

And it just keeps getting better. Borrowed from GTA IV are the "random characters" which you might notice on your map - triggers to random and often hilarious side-missions. There are drug vans and Ammu-Nation vehicles to steal and pillage, unique stunt jumps to attempt (which are honestly increasingly difficult due to the top-down view,) and - thankfully back from the dead - garages in which to store you're "hard-earned" automotive possessions. And of course the usual collectibles - this time in the form of surveillance cameras which must be destroyed with grenades or molotov cocktails - which this time you can make yourself!!

I've been playing Chinatown Wars for well over 20 hours and still haven't finished the storyline. That, for $30-$40 bucks is a win in itself. That I've had so much fun during the whole process certainly seals the deal. I hope to see more hand-held GTA games just like this one.

When this was first announced I was a bit skeptical given the DS's limited power. I enjoyed the PSP's GTA games but I couldn't imagine something this great on the DS. First of all it's amazing how they managed to put all of GTA IV's Liberty City on a tiny DS cartridge. Even though it returns to the top down view of the early GTAs, it's still a blast to play. The combat is fun but not really challenging since the auto aim system makes it easy to aim and take out your targets. I also like the new cop evasion system that that allows you to loose your wanted level by disabling the cop cars. Oh and her parents just because this is on the DS which is usually a child friendly system does not mean this is kid friendly, this game has everything that gave the console GTAs an M-rating. There's graphic violence(although cartoony) including violence against police, frequent profanity, drugs, and explicit sexual references. Do not buy this for your child if you don't feel comfortable with them being exposed to the above things.

I've been a GTA nut for a decade and always thought a decent port could be made for the dual-screen mode of play. This title keeps the spirit of the series while taking it in a more storyline direction, with great videos and as much fun as you're going to have outside of Mario Bros. Very cool!

This is a fine addition to the Grand Theft Auto series with all the adult themes, crime sprees, and drug dealing you could ask for.

Excellent for on-the-go gaming.