subject: Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars PSP Go Game Review - Download Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars For Free! [print this page]
At first glance, Chinatown Wars could be mistaken for a return to the Grand Theft Auto series' humble 2D beginnings. The action is viewed from a more or less top-down perspective, and of course you still spend much of your time driving stolen cars and causing trouble with firearms. But the similarities between this superb PSP game and its '90s progenitors pretty much end there.
Chinatown Wars actually has more in common with GTAs III and IV than it does with earlier games, and, remarkably, it even adds to and improves on the formula that made those games so successful. That's a bold statement for sure, but Chinatown Wars really is that good. Set in the same instantly recognizable Liberty City as GTAIV (minus one island), Chinatown Wars tells the story of a power struggle within the Triad gangs from the perspective of Huang Lee, whose crime-boss father has recently been murdered. Huang flies to Liberty from Hong Kong to avenge his father, and predictably becomes embroiled in the war between those hoping to step into the dead man's shoes.
As Huang, you advance the story--which should take you about nine hours to play through--by undertaking missions for a number of different characters within the Triad organization, as well as for one or two people outside of it. Many of these missions involve the usual mix of driving fast, killing people, and not getting caught by the cops, but there are plenty of varied and memorable missions as well.
With its handful of extra story missions, significantly improved audio and visuals, and mostly superior control scheme, the PSP version of Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars is even better than the DS original. It's also better than either of the other Grand Theft Auto games for the PSP (Liberty City Stories, Vice City Stories), and unlike those games, in no way does it feel like a scaled-down handheld version of a proper GTA game. Don't let the art style or the presence of simple minigames fool you: Chinatown Wars is every bit as deserving of its mature rating as previous games. It's also one of the best GTA games yet.
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars PSP Go Game Review - Download Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars For Free!
