Description
The first
GTA game to hit the Nintendo DS,
Chinatown Wars puts you in control of Huang Lee, a member of the Triads in the modern Liberty City. After his father's assassination, Huang flies in from China to deliver a ceremonial sword to his uncle Wu "Kenny" Lee to ensure the inheritance of the Triad bosses. However, shortly after his arrival he is jumped, shot, robbed and left for dead, only to survive and vow his vengeance for his father and recover the lost sword to bring honor back to his family.
While being a traditional mission-based Grand Theft Auto game,
Chinatown Wars returns to use the more traditional top-down while still using a new cel-shaded 3D Engine. A lot of the new functionality from the more recent GTA games have been included: like the safehouse, where you can read emails from other characters in the game and store cars and items. Plus there is a programmable GPS system that helps you find your way in the Liberty City more easily.
A replay feature is also present that allows the player to replay previous missions by accessing these through there safehouse. While players can make money through completing missions, the player can also engage in drug trading with numerous dealers scattered throughout Liberty City. There are many drugs to choose from including Coke, Heroin, Acid, Weed among others, buying them cheap and selling to other dealers by checking their market value through their PDA. From time to time, an e-mail will be sent to the player that will tip them off of dealers that are either selling drugs at a cheap price or buying them at above average market prices.
However, the player must also be aware that buying in bulk will attract the attention of the police after the deal has been done, causing their star level to instantly rise. If a player is caught, they will loose all drugs that they are carrying. They can also carjack drug vans (which are indicated by a red arrow above them) and return them to their safehouse and search them for either drugs or cash. They can also obtain weapons this way by hijacking Amm-u-nation trucks, but the trucks are heavily-armored and their drivers armed.
Police chases has also been changed for this version. While it still features a star level, there is also an icon that resembles cop cars. While the player can still resort to Pay 'n Spray shops to change the look of their car to throw off the authorities, they can also wreck any pursuing police which will cross out a cop car icon. If the cop car icons for that level are dropped, their star level will drop as well. (ex. If the player has two stars and two cop cars, they can wreck two cars, afterwards their star level will be reduced to one star)
The game also utilizes the DS' capabilities such as using the stylus pen to use a screwdriver to turn the ignition on a car to start it or taking a plate off in the car and using the stylus to hotwire it. The pen can also be used to scratch off lottery games in stores scattered around in the game and used to throw explosive devices such as grenades and molotov cocktails or even smash objects such as security panels or a windshield of a car when the player goes into the water while in a vehicle. The microphone can also be used by blowing into it to hail an approaching on-duty taxi.
The game supports Nintendo WFC for statistics uploading to the
Rockstar Social Club and multi-play gaming.
Alternate Titles
- "GTA: Chinatown" -- Common abbreviation
Part of the Following Groups
User Reviews
The Press Says
| G4 TV: X-Play |
Mar 18, 2009 |
 |
100 |
| Eurogamer.pt |
Mar 23, 2009 |
10 out of 10 |
100 |
| Eurogamer.net (UK) |
Mar 16, 2009 |
10 out of 10 |
100 |
| 3D Juegos |
Mar 24, 2009 |
9.7 out of 10 |
97 |
| Digital Chumps |
Mar 29, 2009 |
9.4 out of 10 |
94 |
| Multiplayer.it |
Mar 23, 2009 |
9.3 out of 10 |
93 |
| GameSpot (Belgium/Netherlands) |
Mar 21, 2009 |
91 out of 100 |
91 |
| NintendoWorldReport |
Apr 17, 2009 |
9 out of 10 |
90 |
| UOL Jogos |
Mar 20, 2009 |
 |
90 |
| Modojo |
Apr 08, 2009 |
 |
80 |
Forums
Trivia
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars won Game Informer's Handheld Game of the Month award in May of 2009 (Issue 193).
This entry to the MobyGames database was contributed by
Daedolon 
(2607) on Mar 16, 2009.
