Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars Impressions!

Hey guys! Sorry I haven't posted in a while! My internet wasn't working for about a week and then I just got lazy... I'll post a new Sound Test soon! I already know which song I'm going to use!

Anyway! Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars! I have recently become a DS gamer due to my fast, exciting life of woman and rock & roll... Or maybe just college. Anyway, I haven't minded in the slightest since the DS is an amazing console with tons of great games. Well ladies and gentlemen, I'm here to tell you about yet another one of those great games. In fact, maybe the greatest.



As of today, Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars is the best reviewed DS game of all time with a stellar score of 95 on Metacritic.com. I knew the game was going to be good, but I had no idea that it would be THAT good. I mean, the lowest review score it recieved was 90! However, I also know that numbers aren't everything and there are many high-rated games that I can't stand *cough* Halo *cough*. Either way, I went into this game with a feeling of excitement and skepticism. Having now spent about 3 or 4 hours with it, I think that I can honestly say that it's an amazing game. I almost don't know where to start... There's so much to talk about. Let me say this. It doesn't feel like the PSOne GTA games. This was a potential complaint that I heard from a lot of people and I'm here to squelch it! No, it feels more like a mix of the PS2 GTAs and GTA 4.



I was under the assumption that Chinatown Wars would remove a lot of things from the GTA games in order to be fitted to the DS, but in fact, it has added more than it has taken away! The ways that touch screen is used are awesome and don't feel gimmicky what-so-ever. There is also a new way to bring your wanted level down by causing cops to crash Burnout 3 style. It all feels natural and just... Fun! Also, I haven't experienced a single frame rate drop, which is very surprising to me, especially considering how great the game looks! There's day and night as well as weather effects!



The game even has a physics system and different vehicles handle in different ways. Did I mention that the city is the same size as the Liberty City of GTA 4? Yeah. It's huge. Did I mention that you can drive boats, motorcycles, and helicopters? I know that I'm not even scratching the surface here, but I mean, how do I else can I say it? You need to go buy this game. It's Grand Theft Auto on the DS. There's hookers, cars, guns, drugs, side-missions galore, and a story that will have you guessing at every turn.



My only complaints? No voice acting during cut scenes and no licensed soundtrack, but both are understandable with the DS' limited capabilities. Especially when you consider everything else that has been crammed into it as it is. That's really all I have to say about the game. It's a Grand Theft Auto game and as such you already know what to expect and how good it's going to be. So, I think I'm just going to cut it off here. Also, I can't stop thinking about getting back to playing it and the best news is that I can now play it anytime I want! Also, keep in mind that this is only after about 3-4 hours of gameplay. To own a DS and to not own this game is a sin. Plain and simple.



Check back tomorrow (hopefully) for my impressions of Suikoden: Tierkreis!