GTA: Chinatown Wars has very addictive gameplay. The weapon select screen makes, well… weapon selection easier. Weapon detailing is brilliant. Game mechanics are awesome. What really captivates you are THE mini-games, such as hotwiring cars, breaking locks and windshields of cars and assembling sniper-rifles. The player can use gas stations to assemble Molotov cocktails.
Even the new wanted system is pretty good. Now you need to slam cop cars to disable them and reduce your wanted-level. You can’t use a pay’n’spray in front of the cops but only when you are not in their sight.
Ammu-nation has gone online now! You get to order your weapons with your PDA and they’ll be at your doorstep. Also you can replay any mission by selecting it from a menu at the safehouse.
Other than whacking people on streets or completing story missions, there are a lot of ways of making money. A lot of new odd-jobs are available such as tattooing people or carrying out noodle-delivery missions. But the most fascinating
Chinatown Wars delivers some very memorable story missions, such as this one where we take down enemy choppers with molotov cocktails right over the Statue of Happiness.
way to make the quick buck is drug-dealing. Drug dealers are spread all around the city and trading is as easy as getting candy from the confectionery (or maybe even easier). You have to control the stock of drugs, buy them in one neighbourhood and sell them in another. If you are the lazy lucky type there are also scratch cards which can be purchased for winning weapons, money or eatables.
The graphics might not be all that great but there are the small details that help the game stand out. Lighting and particle effects are pretty good. The comic-book style cut-scenes give it an aesthetic appeal.
To sum it up, Chinatown Wars is a wonderful and entertaining game. It is the GTA for a portable console with missions designed for shorter periods of play and exciting gameplay.
Before playing the game, I had doubted if GTA: Chinatown Wars would deliver a good gaming experience; considering that the game lacks a full 3D rotational camera, 3D cut-scenes… but that was before playing the game. Still I think what could have been better was an improved camera with a clearer view. Another feature I missed was the voice-acting in the cut-scenes. Although the comic-book look was pleasant too, I couldn’t stop imagining Huang Lee talking in his Chinese accent.
