Grand Theft Auto IV : Chinatown Wars ( Nintendo DS )

[Simpson]

Published by: Rockstar Games
Developed by: Rockstar Leeds
Release Date: March 17, 2009
Genre: Third-Person Action


About GTA lust, the last time to eat. Less than a year after the release of Grand Theft Auto IV, and a spacious month extension Lost and The Damned, there is another new and very full part in the series, Grand Theft Auto: China Town Wars. Not on the big screen you just bought, but for the smallest platform of all, the Nintendo DS. But if that goes well. Past a large and great concept as GTA on a handheld like the DS?

Tested on: Nintendo DS (exclusive title)

In itself, have shown that Rockstar on a small screen from the feet, with Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories in 2005 as the main evidence. The DS has significantly less computing power than the PlayStation Portable, so it's not obvious that the concept to the device from Nintendo can be put. Thankfully Rockstar indeed not such a challenge and the design of China Town Wars is ambitious. The makers promise the same freedom as in the GTA games for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC, in a city of comparable size. In the latter, the authors quite successful. The comparison is also easy to define, for Chinatown Wars is set in Liberty City, like GTA IV. In China Town Wars is the island of Alderney - Where The Lost and Damned takes place - fell, but the city is the same as in GTA IV. The area covers about two-thirds of what your GTA IV was presented, while the city has the same details. You will find as many alleys, squares, parks and gardens, and just as many cars and pedestrians.

Map

The road is largely the same, so who knows the way GTA IV can in China Town Wars from the feet. Not that it is necessary to move away from your head to know, because CTW has a route planner, just as its big brother. The route of China Town Wars is even better than in GTA IV. If you have missed a turn, it re-calculating the route faster than in GTA IV. The route is included in your PDA, the mobile phone will replace you in GTA IV to your decision. The PDA plays an even greater role than the cell phone in GTA IV. By default, the lower screen of the DS for your PDA, where you also next to a mini harness, health, weapon used and available ammunition visible. In addition, you will see a warning if you have received mail, which you can also read the same screen. By tapping on the mini-open the route to where you can specify waypoints. Nice is that you often directly from a mail if you set a waypoint. So if Uncle Kenny for a job you have, you can at the bottom of the mail already indicate that the residence of Kenny as a waypoint on the mini should be indicated.

[Simpson]

Uncle Kenny

The name Kenny is also clear that Chinatown Wars will then be set in Liberty City, but an entirely new storyline has been, with a new protagonist. Kenny is really nothing but Kenny Wu Lee, and he is the uncle you captures you from Hong Kong arrived in Liberty City. You, Huang Lee, since you just lost your father, who had a big name in the underworld. Kenny is a high pief in Chinese triad in Liberty City. You try using it to find out who is responsible for the death of your father. There seems to be a link to the Chinese underworld there, and Kenny has contacts. Not that your uncle even slightly interested in your sores, he has more attention to his own position within the Chinese mafia. Kenny is one of the three candidates for the highest post within the triad and he just wanted to get white feet at the highest current boss. This struggle, between your uncle and his two rivals, the red thread for the story in the game. It Huang, in style of the series, switched to the dirty work to restore.
The bank

Huang gives Kenny a first apartment. That is bare, with only one bank, a blackboard and a laptop. The laptop can internet and you can check your mail with it, although the latter even if your PDA can. Through the laptop, you can also order arms at the Ammu-Nation known that his action has moved to the Internet. Weapons are delivered to your apartment. The bank replaces the bed from GTA IV and the game to save, but after each mission, all automatically. Of course you can buy more apartments, if you need it. The map of the city shows where apartments for sale and a visit will teach you what they cost. Prices start at $ 5000, normally little money for a rich boy and Huang, but it is much more miserable for someone in Liberty City has arrived.

Now Huang adequate ways to earn money. If he is rewarded for the missions he bringeth. Supplying him usually between 20 and 200 dollars, which means that he has a substantial criminal career has sit for an apartment he can buy. The usual ways to earn money, such as the hijacking of a taxi or ambulance, are also present, but to no revenue. For that kind of work you get in China Town Wars much less than in previous games, while a considerable amount of money needed.

Drugs

This is amply compensated by the only new way to generate revenue in the game, which is also the biggest change to the GTA formula that Chinatown Wars will allow. If you want to earn money quickly, you will have to pay into drug trafficking in the game. It is risky in that Rockstar Chinatown Wars as the emphasis on trade in narcotic drugs and make little effort to disguise what it is. Already in the loading screen to see how bags of white powder will be exchanged for dollars. Trade is therefore an important role. The first conversion is given by uncle Kenny, who all just after the start of the game a briefcase with a small stock of drugs in your apartment leaves. The question is simple: if you so quickly want to start a business and want to earn $ 5000.

After the first deal you via your mail regularly approached by dealers, who need a certain drug or something in the tender. If you want more action than you can in your pda map calls one of the city which is to see what gangs are active and what drugs they sell. Each gang has a drug which is cheap by the members is offered, and a favorite drug of the same members money for deposit. The case is only available to dealers in different districts and in the right place to buy and sell. The income can be quite high, with one deal you can earn thousands of dollars if you ask 'and' supply 'know life. There are many more dealers than those who subscribe via e-mail when you sign up. You can only find through good search. They are not on the map and are not marked on your mini.

[Simpson]

Replay

Furthermore, China Town Wars is actually remarkably similar to what you know of the console or PC version. That sounds boring, but it is not, because Rockstar has done his best for the missions in the game to cope. The key players in the underworld of Liberty City are still frequently dirty hands make, usually in the form of racing or shooting. A new feature is that in most missions a mini game is processed, with the stylus should be played. For example during a mission should steal a car, you always crack the security. Sometimes you just what a screwdriver in the ignition to grumble, but there are also cars that are electronically secured and where you have a four digit code for cracking your way you drive.

Missions are often two, where you suddenly prey hunter for example, or vice versa. The variation is at least greater than you are. Any downside is that there is usually only a few missions in the offer. It happens regularly that there is only one stock. Very nice is that you can play missions easily. Immediately after the failure of a mission you get the choice to start again. You start at the place where the mission begins and does not have to travel. The option is also available if you are arrested or from the hospital during the mission because you are deceased. If a mission of two parts, sometimes you get the option to the first part to save, if you already had.


Grainy

Graphics Chinatown Wars is impressive. The authors have not only succeeded in almost all Liberty City in the game to take it is another full three-dimensional and that's fine. There is also a day and night cycle and weather changes from sunny to rainy and vice versa. Of course, the city is not much detail in GTA IV. Everything looks a bit more sketchy, with brighter colors than you think of GTA IV are used. This is reinforced by the cell-shading that makers apply. It works fine, however, because a small screen as the DS would be more detail just lost. You examine the city from above, a bit like in the first two parts of the series. They were two-dimensional, the camera angles really hung over the city. In China Town Wars is a lot more variation. The camera is high above you, but not perpendicular. Rockstar shows where the camera needs very smart meezwenken with the action.

During car rides, the camera such as a slight angle behind you so you better see what is happening for you. The camera swings than with you, so you always look in the direction you're moving. This makes sending very pleasant. Once you exit, move the camera swings up and he no longer with you. That is unfortunate, because it makes the control more difficult. Such control, the camera holds the same compass direction, lends itself more to pookjes an Xbox or PlayStation, than the D-pad of the PSP or the DS. You can use the camera right behind you happy or position with the left button. You will that button so often that it had been nice if the camera swings with you, just as in driving.

Furthermore, cross the lining very clever camera work, especially during those car rides, which takes up the camera for example, if you have a large bridge drive, and then decreases once you busy city induikt. Also nice is to help you during the driving gets. It takes some time before you have it, but the game provides a very subtle for you right on the road. You will be automatically adjusted, but with so much nuance that you hardly notice. Walking is of course not help, because you often all right to want to stay away. You got lucky a target lock, which is also nice, although he has some trouble with groups of opponents. The system knows within a group is not always the nearest bad guy to find.

[Simpson]

Quiet

Rockstar must have cut back significantly on the noise in Chinatown Wars, although it should be said immediately that the restrictions handsome studio was able to mask. The authors, all between movies should delete these have been replaced by coarse-grained drawings in silence to your pass. The dialogues are added in the form of subtitles. All key players in the game voiceless. On the street you hear occasionally a single remark by a pedestrian and cars and weapons of course sound. The sound effects are in the game are fine. It is Rockstar even managed to retain well-known radio stations. There are of course less and they have each also has less different numbers, but still. Moreover, they run only instrumental music, but you notice after a while nothing more. A greater loss is the lack of comments between the songs by those in the other GTA versions often are so hilarious. It is the makers is hardly to be charged, it is rather a limitation of the DS than the creators.

Total loss

Despite less noise and a different picture is China Town Wars is a surprisingly complete GTA, although some small changes with big consequences. For example, the police a lot stricter than in the previous sections. Previously you had to really do your best to draw the attention of the gendarme to withdraw, but here is a small collision with a police car is sufficient for a wanted star levels. The way to get rid of your star's new, you have successive police cars from the road to beech. Only when they are total-loss, the agents on. For each demolished police car you get rid of a star. Otherwise the system as a familiar, if more stars, the number of pursuers again. The beech broken car is trickier than it seems. If you're too hard on a car inrijdt course you risk when you come up too soft cause you do not enough damage.

The best option is to ensure that your follower itself broken drive, for example by side on a Road narrows to drive and ensure that you have by you and your challenger does not. Stricter police for drug trafficking to make a somewhat risky undertaking. You'll just see you with a bag of coke gets a slight collision with a police car, which shall make the chase effort. If you are arrested you will not only lose your weapons, but of course all the drugs you have in your pocket. The stock in your apartment remains happily preserved. A collision is not always, in particular by implementing the camera and the three-dimensional environment. The camera floats during car rides on obstacles around, like billboards and subway jobs, allowing you to sight in your car sometimes briefly lost. That is never long, but it might just happen that a police car drive through a metro job, and you with full speed rear collision without any collision could see coming.

[Simpson]

Conclusion

It makes it exciting drugs. That is he anyway, because the police obviously trying to trade. You will therefore always the chance that the dealer where you buy or sell in the monitored and cops behind you aankrijgt if you close a deal. This also ensures that China Town Wars is a very full and interesting new part of an already impressive range. Rockstar has succeeded in many of the characteristics of the series to the DS to translate. The large, three-dimensional world where time and weather play a role and where pedestrians and motorists their daily pace, it is unprecedented in the DS. The gameplay is largely identical to the other versions, which is not only clever but also a familiar image. Thus, the structure of missions for different people you through a story full of cunning and deceit pilots remained intact.

The game has a very interesting and especially addictive new feature in the form of trade in drugs, which also accounts for the usual fuss around which the series is. The Jack Thompson of the world can play blindly slash. The storyline is fine, like the dialogues, and the game was not between movies and has few votes, but a great loss is not. The missions are varied than ever, the many mini games that are processed and the camera lining works fine in general, this part had better be prepared for the hikes beteft. Grand Theft Auto: China Town Wars is just as addictive as GTA IV and its many predecessors. Perhaps even more fresh lavender.