Grand Theft Auto China Town Wars
Today we are causing more carnage with our Grand Theft Auto Retrospective, but this time the carnage is happening in the palm of your hand!
Grand Theft Auto China Town Wars (2009/10) Nintendo DS, PlayStation Portable, MobileFirst released on the Nintendo DS and then the PlayStation Portable. Grand Theft Auto China Town Wars was kind of a throwback to the series roots with its top down style. But this time the graphics did have a kind of 3D effect to them. In all honesty, this graphical style really suited the DS, but many felt the PSP could have done a lot better.
The game sees you play the role of Huang Lee who is the son of a major Triad gangster. You want to make a name for yourself and you do this by going on a rampage through the streets of Liberty City. China Town Wars did have a few interesting gameplay mechanics. The way you dealt with police was interesting as when you had a wanted level, this would dictate the amount of police that was after you so if it was level 5, you would have to take down 5 police cars to get the wanted level down. China Town Wars got a lot of attention at the time for its drug dealing subplot. This was really in depth and added a lot of strategy to the game.
The Nintendo DS version of the game made use of the touch screen and the microphone. The game actually handled this in a good way and it did not feel tacked on. The PSP version has upgraded graphics and would change the touch screen mini games to quick time events. The PSP version also had more missions and far better quality sound. The mobile versions of the game were optimized for mobile devices and returned most of the touchscreen controls.
Grand Theft Auto China Town Wars very well received on the Nintendo DS and despite being far different from the other PSP GTA games, that version was also critically acclaimed, although it did not sell as well as the other PSP Grand Theft Auto games.