Tuesday April 21, 2009
War in your pocket
By CHONG JINN XIUNG
We take another romp through Liberty City to bring you the low down on Chinatown Wars.
REMODELED: The environments in Chinatown Wars are completely rendered in 3D and presented from a top down view (see inset). THE Nintendo DS is not a system that is teeming with open-world games but it is finally making headway.
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars is one of the titles that seeks to redefine the way hardcore gamers look at the DS.
Announced last year during Nintendo’s E3 keynote address, Chinatown Wars wasn’t the most anticipated title of the season but it did provide a ray of hope for gamers looking for a mature title.
The eye catching graphics coupled with a darker story will make this game stand out from the DS’ vast library of kid friendly games.
Chinatown Wars revisits Liberty City and explores the criminal underworld from the viewpoint of Huang Lee, the son of a recently murdered Hong Kong triad boss.
He comes to Liberty City to deliver a heirloom, the sword Yu Jian, in order to secure his family’s claim to the leadership of the triad.
As luck would have it, things take a turn for the worse the moment he steps off the plane.
Huang is ambushed and robbed of his heirloom and it is up to you to guide him on his quest for revenge.
Lots to do
The gameplay is straightforward and you would have to take on missions for various underworld figures. Most of the missions require you to kill everything in sight or deliver drugs to your clients.
The game’s main story should last a good eight to 10 hours. It is a passable and predictable story of revenge and betrayal that’s common to GTA games.
Tailored for the DS, the action takes place on two screens. Most of it takes place on the top screen while you use the bottom one to interact with the GPS, PDA and radio.
The GPS navigation has been vastly improved even compared with the console version of the game. It now allows you to plot your destination and easily find the nearest facilities like safehouses and Paint n’ Spray shops.
You can also find the location of various drug dealers and those that are offering special prices for certain drugs.
A TIME TO KILL: Chinatown Wars' interface is remarkably simple and easy to use even while fighting. The PDA and radio were also very easy to use.
As with other GTA games, you’ll get to steal a wide variety of vehicles such as cars, motorcycles, boats, helicopters and the occasional armoured truck.
Each vehicle has a distinct feel and handling, just like the console version of the game.
However, combat has taken a step backward as the auto target lock for easy aiming is a bit inaccurate.
Often times you’ll target the closest person, like a random civilian, instead of the guy who you wanted to shoot.
It is quite frustrating so it’s good that most of the fighting doesn’t take place in a crowded place.
Also, the cops in Liberty City have a watchful eye so if you do something bad in their line of sight, the boys in blue will be on your tail.
As in the other games you have a star rating system to indicate how badly the cops want you, which increases as you commit more crimes.
Chinatown Wars offers more than the regular evasion techniques you employ in other GTA games.
In addition to giving the cops the slip by heading to the local Paint ‘n Spray for a makeover, you can also disable them by ramming them off the road or causing the cars to crash.
If you crash enough cop cars, you’ll lower your wanted level.
This makes for intense police chase sequences and really gets the game going.
However, the game does have a problem keeping up with the action when too many cop cars are on-screen as the frame rate will dip.
Also worth mentioning is the audio which mostly comes from the in-game radio stations.
The variety of smooth instrumental tunes such as rock, electric, techno, hip hop and other genres help set the tone of the game.
The big city
Chinatown Wars earns brownie points for its distinctive cell shaded art style, which is a departure from the realistic graphics of GTA IV.
While the change in art direction has much to do with the technical limitations of the DS hardware, the game still looks impressive and stylish.
SCUM OF THE CITY: You will deal with all sorts of shady characters in Chinatown Wars like this drug dealer. Despite the classic look of the game, the environments are entirely rendered in 3D and your point of view is about 45° rather than over-the-top.
Having played most of the GTA titles which use a third-person view, I felt a little disoriented when I first started playing Chinatown Wars.
I managed to get a hang of the view and controls after spending a couple of hours of clumsily running over random pedestrians.
Having said that, the controls are surprisingly fine tuned, making it possible to drive recklessly and take corners at high speeds in a fast car.
Chinatown Wars’ re-creation of Liberty City is indeed huge and detailed.
I compared it to GTA IV and was surprised to find out that it remains faithful to the console version and the environments look very similar.
It is amazing how Rockstar managed to stuff the entire Liberty City into one cartridge. In fact, I came across a few familiar hangouts from the previous game like Roman’s taxi garage and Manny’s studio in Bohan.
It was really cool because it made me feel I was coming back to a familiar city.
The game has three complete islands for you to explore from the very beginning.
Strangely, the fourth island of Alderney, last seen in The Lost and Damned, is missing from the game.
Things to do
There are a lot of mission types from simple FedEx quests to more innovative ones like transporting a heart patient back to your hideout while keeping him alive as you are being pursued by the cops and defending supplies while defusing bombs.
The first mini game you’ll encounter requires you to sell drugs to dealers on the streets.
The objective: Buy low and sell high. Just like in a real marketplace, conditions and prices change, giving you the opportunity to turn a hefty profit. It really is a simple but glorified game of trading that replaces stocks with drugs.
We managed to collect a hefty $20,000 after playing for just an hour, so money is no real concern in the game.
Feeling bored? Try robbing random delivery vans carrying weapons and drugs while you drive around town.
These containers on wheels aren’t so easy to jack though as they will make a run for it or even fight back when pushed to the edge.
Mini games in Chinatown Wars make extensive use of the stylus. They come in all shapes and sizes, and require you to hotwire a car, defuse a bomb, fill up bottles with petrol to make Molotov cocktails and search dumpsters for hidden weapons.
While simplistic in nature, the mini games make you feel more involved in what you’re doing.
Also, there are a host of other side missions you can engage like taking on jobs for random civilians on the street, search and destroy CCTV cameras, participate in street races and go on killing sprees.
We won’t delve into the game’s multiplayer component but basically it restricts you to playing with other players within the same wireless network. It doesn’t support online gameplay.
Multiplayer modes include racing, Capture the Flag mode and defend the base. Take note that each player will have to own a copy of the game in order to join the multiplayer session.
Conclusion
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars is a big achievement especially considering that this is Rockstar’s first attempt at an open-world crime game for the DS.
The game doesn’t try to reinvent the GTA formula by much but instead refines it even further.
Story-based missions offer great variety, so you won’t be bored doing the same stuff over and over again.
Even when you’re done with the main story, Liberty City still holds numerous attractions as there are side missions, mini games and hidden secrets to unlock.
Overall, Chinatown Wars is a truly commendable effort by Rockstar that makes this a game any GTA fan with a DS would enjoy.
Pros: Unique art style; huge city to explore; tons of mini-games and side missions; user-friendly interface.
Cons: Slow at times; Alderney island not included; inaccurate targeting system.
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars
(Rockstar Games)
Action game for Nintendo DS
Price: US$34.99 (RM125)
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