ghm-150The outlaw of videogames is back. Yes, you know what I’m talking about, Grand Theft Auto. Just about every GTA title in the past has received criticism from parents, legal eagles and, of course, the media. Chinatown Wars’ announcement was received in a similar fashion to its predecessors. Gamers were hyped and the rest of society decided to have a little b**** about the title. Rockstar, as usual, ignored this and focused on providing DS gamers with a true GTA game.

Having played the final product, it’s safe to say they’ve achieved their goal, but unlike the many other reviewers out there, I’m not completely satisfied.

Just like its predecessors, Chinatown Wars is all about cars, guns, gangs and girls. This time the protagonist is Huang Lee, a spoilt rich kid from Hong Kong. Lee flies over to Liberty City after his father is murdered to deliver the family heirloom, the Yi Jian Sword, to his uncle. On his arrival, Lee is robbed of his sword, so he sets out to reclaim the family heirloom and avenge his father’s death.

Storyline aside, Chinatown Wars is the same kettle of fish as the past GTA games. Players rob banks, participate in gang wars and constantly fight off the police. Unfortunately, the main problem with this is that the missions aren’t as diverse as they should be. The majority of the Chinatown Wars’ mission mode involves players driving to a random location, shooting the bad guys and then repeating the process all over again in a new mission. This gets tiresome quickly and if you aren’t a fan of the series you probably won’t stick it out to the end because the title is oppressively repetitive.

The answer to all your problems - a flamethrower.

The notable and also obvious differences with Chinatown Wars is that it features an advanced drug trafficking system and makes use of the DS’s touch screen. The drug trafficking game is a nice addition, but it is pretty much useless. Players are rewarded with lots of money when they successfully deal drugs, however, there is nothing to spend money on besides weapons and a few houses (which offer little to nothing in terms of game advantage). The touch screen isn’t such a let down. It is used throughout the game to imitate real life actions. Players will tap the screen to break a cracked window whilst abandoning a sinking car, break into compounds by inserting a keypad code via the onscreen touch pad and execute various other actions. A lot of these ideas are obvious choices, but they help to break the gameplay up and give players relief from the regular GTA formula. The only downside to these touch screen sections is that they don’t occur in real time and often feel a bit inconsistent due to the fact you have to pull out your stylus to do something, and then quickly put it away again to hop back in a car and drive off with the control pad and buttons.

The men in yellow delivered the noodles he ordered. He paid them with flamethrower.

On a positive note, I must commend Rockstar Games for the online support that they have given this title. Owners of Chinatown Wars are able to sign up to the Rockstar Games Social Club (online community) to compare game stats, make friends and trade items. This is something which should feature in more DS games. The addition of a two player option is alright, but no doubt GTA nuts were expecting more. Taking into consideration the DS’s limits, this small multiplayer feature is fairly impressive.

Visually, the title is reminiscent of the first few GTA games, however, it utilises the full capabilities of the DS by featuring slightly cel-shaded graphics and an angled camera. The game looks great at all times and the cut scenes are particularly impressive. As for audio, I don’t even know where to start. Perhaps one word will do it, ‘repetitive’! Seriously though, the music and sound is bearable for the first hour, but after that any sane gamer will be at boiling point. I did over 20 hours on this title and I still can’t believe that not once did I mute the sound, but that was only for the sake of this review.

Nothing's more enjoyable than lighting police on fire with a flamethrower - legally.

I might seem like I’ve been a little bit harsh on this game, but the true fact is that Chinatown Wars does not have enough diversity within it. This game is good, don’t get me wrong there, but it just doesn’t mix things up enough. Chinatown Wars is guaranteed to satisfy any GTA fan, but for newcomers the game’s repetition may be a little bit too overwhelming. After all, there is only so much shooting and running over people you can do until you eventually get bored.

By Liam Doolan

Graphics: A-

Impressive graphics that push the limits of the DS.

Sound: C+

Sound is good, but there just isn’t enough music in this game, as a result it is very repetitive.

Gameplay: A-

The gameplay will interest any fan of the series, but those who don’t play GTA often will probably notice the repetitive side of this game.

Overall: B+

Solid game, any GTA fan will love it, but certain parts of the game are much too repetitive.