From time to time (read: whenever we feel like it) two members of the Portable Gamer staff will cut their workload in half by co-authoring a review. What they never realize is that it actually results in behemoth-sized pieces which, upon seeing, cause our editors to run away screaming obscenities.
Where were we? Ahhh yes, our “Dual Review” (get it?) for Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, starring Dennis & Jason.
Released: March 17th, 2009
Developer: RockStar Leeds
Verdict: Must-Play
Pros: Almost everything. Gameplay wise, the best GTA ever produced.
Cons: We miss the diverse and humorous soundtrack
Written by: Dennis Poon & Jason Evangelho
Jason: A good place to start this piece may be my own skepticism of Chinatown Wars when it was initially announced. I thought it was all but a given RockStar would dilute their trademarked edgy presentation, and dial down the violence and the language in an effort to appeal to the more casual DS audience. Clearly, I need to have more faith in RockStar. At first blush – as early as the gritty opening narrative following Huang’s arrival in the States – I knew that size definitely wouldn’t matter when it comes to GTA games.
How did you feel when you first fired up the cart?
Dennis: I too had my doubts about this game. I remember first hearing the news that a GTA game was going to be produced for DS, and the first thing that came to mind was that the game was ‘probably going to be just another crappy port that RockStar puts out to cash in on the GTA franchise.’ The name “Chinatown Wars” didn’t really get me excited about the game either. It conjured images of bad Asian voice acting and the stereotypical “ching chong ching” type drivel, which led me to initially discount the possibility of a good game. It wasn’t until I saw a trailer, which we had posted here on TPG, that I became excited about the game.
As I anxiously started up GTA:CTW and the opening cut scenes began, I knew the game was going to be as great as the trailers. I really enjoyed the short little ride that the introduction took us on. The music also was something that really impressed me. As a Chinese American with parents who actually immigrated to the States, I was and still am exposed to lots of the culture. The soundtrack includes the use of traditional Chinese opera and traditional Chinese instruments mixed with a hip hop kind of vibe, which I think compliments the cinematic type introduction very well. As Borat would say, “Great Success!!” But yeah, having seen many Chinese movies dealing with the Triad and Chinese gangsters and such, I’d say that the game’s story succeeds in representing those themes, and I think they are able to do that by paying attention to the little details. (themes of family and honor and of course violence)
JASON: Speaking of voice acting, I’m surprised to hear myself say I’m grateful for its absence. Like reading a great novel, it sparked my imagination being forced to lend my own inner voices to the cast of characters. The written dialog in ChinaTown wars is poignant and precise. Even though most scenes contain no more than 5 or 6 sentences, it really impacts the overall experience in such a positive and memorable way. Most novelists and and screenwriters would kill to have this much riveting dialog.
What I’m most impressed with Huang’s subtle sarcasm towards the first act of the story, and his almost flamboyant display of sarcasm and scathing remarks as the game progresses. You witness him growing more comfortable with his surroundings, and more confident in his role, and the writers portray this with nothing more than scraps of perfectly written dialog.
DENNIS: I completely agree. Keeping true to RockStar tradition, a GTA game must be accompanied with some sort of abundance of vulgar language. Aside from the occasional scripted rantings that occur as you accidentally piss off the thugs or cops around the city, curse words aren’t really thrown around freely. While I definitely do enjoy watching people cuss each other out, the scarcity of actual vulgarity (not completely gone but still some) in the dialogue is quite refreshing. It’s filled with cleverly crafted insults that seep with sarcasm.
With games that had so-so writing, I’d frequently mash buttons to progress the dialog. The sarcastic banter you talked about was good enough that I’d actually wait for the words to scroll, read them all the way through, and find myself smiling and chuckling.
Another wonderful implementation is the PDA system. It’s like having an iPhone with turn-by-turn GPS, sans the actual “calling/phoning” part. The touch screen works just like the iPhone would; you touch where you want to select, and slide the screen to go through the menus. Even though you’re inside a scaled down version of Liberty City, it’s still massive. I am nowhere near familiar with the areas, which makes the GPS instrumental in getting around. I found myself using it to plot a route to drug dealers offering deals on their merchandise, and a route to others who were desperate to get their fixes. (The drug dealing mini-game is so diverse it almost deserves its own review.)
JASON: Besides the GPS system, Rockstar crammed a ton of easily accessible and ridiculously useful information into the PDA. Email alerts, Radar, radio, a drug-dealers database, in-depth game stats, even customizable shortcuts. And not to over-glorify the PDA, but I even enjoyed the clicky sound effects as you slide through the options. Subtle details, for the win.
We haven’t seen a top-down GTA game since Grand Theft Auto II in 1999, and for most gamers riding the fence – or perhaps those spoiled by the rich graphics of more recent GTA titles on the PSP, 360, and PS3 – the pseudo-3D, top down approach of Chinatown Wars could initially be a turn-off. In reality though, the only drawback here is that the lush details you’re used to in Liberty City have been stripped away in favor of a streamlined presentation. Despite your viewing angle, the camera rarely gets stuck on rooftops and gives the player just enough draw distance to prepare for what lies just offscreen.
Admittedly, you’ll need to acclimate yourself to the scaled down graphics at first. When I last visited Liberty City I could see stubble and scars on the characters, and here they’re rendered as humanoids bounding down the street. But Rockstar deftly plays to the strengths of the DS and within minutes the graphical limitations are a fleeting annoyance. Gunplay is satisfying, and car chases still remain edge-of-your-seat visceral with a truly astonishing sense of speed.
DENNIS: Yeah, one of the greatest strengths of the game is the car handling. Not only is it really responsive, they also did a great job balancing out the speed and acceleration of each of the cars. Overall, the little tweaks here and there make driving around Liberty City an enjoyable experience. On occasion, I’d even purposely crash into a cop car to get all neighboring squad cars to chase me around town. Ditching your car after your current car is about to explode and stealing the next closest car to get away from the Po Po = Awesome!!
There are also mini-missions hidden all over the city that considerably lengthen the amount of gameplay. Several times on the way to answer a main-mission request, I’d find myself picking up these random quests and playing them instead of the main-mission. If you have A.D.D., there’s probably a good chance that you may never finish this game. Many of these mini-quests involve the racing around the city at breakneck speed. Whether it be the actual “search and destroy” racing, or trying to deliver as many noodle bowls as you can while avoiding gunfire from rivals, or even serving up your best tattoo artistry, these mini-quests are definitely enjoyable because of the awesome controls…and if you think these mini-quests may get monotonous, you’re wrong.
Remember all of those complaints about DS games being too “kiddy?” Well here’s a game that you should probably NOT let your kids play. If you’re still wondering how a DS version could be described as even better than previous GTA console versions, go pick up the game and wonder instead why you didn’t scoop it up earlier.
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