I was never a big fan of Grand Theft Auto. I always felt it was a game society placed up on a pedestal since it was all about drugs, crime, and violence. This being said, I was browsing for a new DS game when I saw that GTA: Chinatown Wars had just been released. Contemplating whether to purchase it, I figured it was worth a shot. I?m glad I took the shot.
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Chinatown Wars shoves the storyline in your face at the very beginning. You learn your father was murdered and you must deliver Yu Jian, a sword your father won in a card game, to your crazy Uncle Kenny. As you get off your plane, you are shot and kidnapped by two ambushers who take the sword. They mistake you for dead and attempt to get rid of your body by driving off a dock and bailing out of the car. This is all done in comic book style narration. Still frame pictures with text at the bottom don?t sound exciting, but I found myself hardly noticing it after a while.
The stylus is introduced early as a tool you will utilize frequently. You must break out of the car by tapping (breaking) the glass, and swimming to shore. Rockstar did an amazing job implementing the stylus into this game. You use it for other tasks such as tattooing, scratching off lottery tickets, filling up Molotov cocktails, and hotwiring. Although they bring about the potential of the stylus, it can get rather frustrating switching back and forth. After numerous stylus to d-pad swaps, I just started to use my finger instead. I?ll probably scratch my screen eventually, but at least I can hotwire a car in five seconds.
The controls are a little confusing at first. You can sprint for short distances with B, get into cars with X, and fight with A. One thing I hate is jumping. You have to hit Y to jump (which I feel should be X since X is the top button), and half the time end up doing a somersault into a wall. My character should probably have about 20 concussions by now. Aside from that, the controls are smooth and eventually come naturally.
The driving controls are just as good, if not better than the human controls. Every vehicle has its own handling which creates a unique feel for each car. A shiny, dark blue sports car with light blue neon lights on the bottom can zoom down the road at over 100mph, while a clunky van tops off at 40mph with slow, dull turns (although a van with a dragon on it called the ?Dragon Wagon? is quite amusing to take for a spin). The only flaw I found in driving was backing up. To this moment I can?t go the direction I want to in reverse, even if my life depended on it.
For a DS game, the graphics are phenomenal. The world is 3d, which you view from a top-down angle and it suits the game well. There is a day/night cycle which runs effectively, and is complimented by an in-game clock and cycling days. Various different cars, weapons, ambient objects, and buildings all have a distinct look that adds realism to the environment. The world is dynamic with individuals walking the streets, people getting hit by cars, and police patrolling every corner like it?s their job? which I guess it is. There are literally more cops on every corner than there are Starbucks in reality.
There are a few options for escaping the police. One is to get into a safe zone until things calm down, while a similar option is to head into a spray shop where they paint your car a different color to get the officers off your tail for a couple hundred dollars. I found spray shops fairly useless since escaping the cops didn?t feel like I was performing brain surgery, but rather playing Operation. You can also attempt to crash the cops into objects, which gets rid of your ?wanted? rating. This is probably your best bet, and is rather simple to accomplish.
Weapons are a key fundamental of the game (obviously). They range from shotguns and pistols to chainsaws and flamethrowers. You primarily attack by locking on a target with R and firing/hitting away. Grenades are available too, and can be constructed. Too make Molotov cocktails, just head to the gas station, fill up a bottle, and stick a towel in (all done with the stylus). You then throw them with the stylus by dragging a power meter to your liking. You do this as a mission, and are required to blow up some cars and a building. I found tossing flaming bottles of gasoline at objects exceptionally fun, especially when some jerk, who yelled at me to get out of the way, catches on fire.
The game play is simply put, ?outstanding?. I could drive around for hours finding vast amounts of tasks to keep me entertained. Missions, similar to quests, are one of the key assets to the game. Unlike many other games, missions are actually linked to the story. Rockstar does a great job implementing tutorials with the missions. Hardly anyone I know does tutorials, so the idea of combining them with the storyline seemed risky, yet intriguing.
The missions advance in difficulty as you become acquainted with the game, and go from being tutorials to full blown expeditions. I thought the starting missions were some of the best I have ever done in a video game. It was teaching me about the game, and advancing the story at the same time. Whenever I am having fun playing a tutorial, I know something was done right.
Aside from missions, you can do side missions (not related to the story), explore the map, fight random people, browse stores, and deal drugs. Being a drug dealer is one of the easiest ways to make money since you are able to buy low and sell high. Even though I spent little time dealing, it was enjoyable.
You can get tips on bargains, as well as desperate addicts from your gps/e-mail system. This is one of the best features in the game. You can receive important e-mails, like I mentioned, keep track of various people and places, make waypoints, and view the map.
Following the waypoint to your location and keeping an eye on the road while driving gets frustrating occasionally, but adds a little challenge to the game which I like.
Overall, GTA: Chinatown Wars is easily a must have. A combination of excellent graphics, game play, and just plain fun make this a keeper for your DS collection.
Chinatown Wars shoves the storyline in your face at the very beginning. You learn your father was murdered and you must deliver Yu Jian, a sword your father won in a card game, to your crazy Uncle Kenny. As you get off your plane, you are shot and kidnapped by two ambushers who take the sword. They mistake you for dead and attempt to get rid of your body by driving off a dock and bailing out of the car. This is all done in comic book style narration. Still frame pictures with text at the bottom don?t sound exciting, but I found myself hardly noticing it after a while.
The stylus is introduced early as a tool you will utilize frequently. You must break out of the car by tapping (breaking) the glass, and swimming to shore. Rockstar did an amazing job implementing the stylus into this game. You use it for other tasks such as tattooing, scratching off lottery tickets, filling up Molotov cocktails, and hotwiring. Although they bring about the potential of the stylus, it can get rather frustrating switching back and forth. After numerous stylus to d-pad swaps, I just started to use my finger instead. I?ll probably scratch my screen eventually, but at least I can hotwire a car in five seconds.
The controls are a little confusing at first. You can sprint for short distances with B, get into cars with X, and fight with A. One thing I hate is jumping. You have to hit Y to jump (which I feel should be X since X is the top button), and half the time end up doing a somersault into a wall. My character should probably have about 20 concussions by now. Aside from that, the controls are smooth and eventually come naturally.
The driving controls are just as good, if not better than the human controls. Every vehicle has its own handling which creates a unique feel for each car. A shiny, dark blue sports car with light blue neon lights on the bottom can zoom down the road at over 100mph, while a clunky van tops off at 40mph with slow, dull turns (although a van with a dragon on it called the ?Dragon Wagon? is quite amusing to take for a spin). The only flaw I found in driving was backing up. To this moment I can?t go the direction I want to in reverse, even if my life depended on it.
For a DS game, the graphics are phenomenal. The world is 3d, which you view from a top-down angle and it suits the game well. There is a day/night cycle which runs effectively, and is complimented by an in-game clock and cycling days. Various different cars, weapons, ambient objects, and buildings all have a distinct look that adds realism to the environment. The world is dynamic with individuals walking the streets, people getting hit by cars, and police patrolling every corner like it?s their job? which I guess it is. There are literally more cops on every corner than there are Starbucks in reality.
There are a few options for escaping the police. One is to get into a safe zone until things calm down, while a similar option is to head into a spray shop where they paint your car a different color to get the officers off your tail for a couple hundred dollars. I found spray shops fairly useless since escaping the cops didn?t feel like I was performing brain surgery, but rather playing Operation. You can also attempt to crash the cops into objects, which gets rid of your ?wanted? rating. This is probably your best bet, and is rather simple to accomplish.
Weapons are a key fundamental of the game (obviously). They range from shotguns and pistols to chainsaws and flamethrowers. You primarily attack by locking on a target with R and firing/hitting away. Grenades are available too, and can be constructed. Too make Molotov cocktails, just head to the gas station, fill up a bottle, and stick a towel in (all done with the stylus). You then throw them with the stylus by dragging a power meter to your liking. You do this as a mission, and are required to blow up some cars and a building. I found tossing flaming bottles of gasoline at objects exceptionally fun, especially when some jerk, who yelled at me to get out of the way, catches on fire.
The game play is simply put, ?outstanding?. I could drive around for hours finding vast amounts of tasks to keep me entertained. Missions, similar to quests, are one of the key assets to the game. Unlike many other games, missions are actually linked to the story. Rockstar does a great job implementing tutorials with the missions. Hardly anyone I know does tutorials, so the idea of combining them with the storyline seemed risky, yet intriguing.
The missions advance in difficulty as you become acquainted with the game, and go from being tutorials to full blown expeditions. I thought the starting missions were some of the best I have ever done in a video game. It was teaching me about the game, and advancing the story at the same time. Whenever I am having fun playing a tutorial, I know something was done right.
Aside from missions, you can do side missions (not related to the story), explore the map, fight random people, browse stores, and deal drugs. Being a drug dealer is one of the easiest ways to make money since you are able to buy low and sell high. Even though I spent little time dealing, it was enjoyable.
You can get tips on bargains, as well as desperate addicts from your gps/e-mail system. This is one of the best features in the game. You can receive important e-mails, like I mentioned, keep track of various people and places, make waypoints, and view the map.
Following the waypoint to your location and keeping an eye on the road while driving gets frustrating occasionally, but adds a little challenge to the game which I like.
Overall, GTA: Chinatown Wars is easily a must have. A combination of excellent graphics, game play, and just plain fun make this a keeper for your DS collection.
