Recently I read a confession about video game addiction and felt like I was living that story playing this game. Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars is that addictive and this is a good thing. I haven’t played a game in a while, on any platform that I want to play as much as this one. If you have a PSP and are over 18 (game is Rated M for Mature), this game is a requirement for your collection.
Going back to classic GTA overhead style with a little bit of an angle does not take away from the gaming experience. In fact it makes it better in so many ways. The graphics are better than the PSP GTA predecessors and had load times that exceed expectations. Another appreciation is the latest PSN update included on the disc so there is no need to download it by Wi-Fi.
All the controls are easy to use/navigate, especially the in-game PDA. You can even place markers of various colors for you to remember particular locations. Extremely helpful to mark security cameras that you can destroy later if you do not have Molotov cocktails on hand. Speaking of which, they’re fun to make and always available. Besides that, there are a ton of mini-games to keep you busy throughout the city. Whether it’s taxiing people, doing deliveries, tattooing, going after weapon delivery trucks, and like the Nintendo DS – deal drugs. So there is always something to do other than the campaign.
To help keep the addiction going, you can play the mini-games in the GTA Social Club online. Whatever money you earn online you can actually port over to your game by syncing with your in-game laptop that you’ll find in any apartment you have.
The only thing I am disappointed by is the soundtrack GTA always provides. It’s still good, but it’s not what I expected.
Overall, I give it a 5 out of 5.
