Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars
Encyclopedia
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars is a video game for Nintendo DS
, PlayStation Portable
, and iOS, developed by Rockstar Leeds
in conjunction with Rockstar North
. It is the thirteenth game in the Grand Theft Auto series
, and the very first for Nintendo DS and iOS.
Chinatown Wars has a different presentation from previous games in the series. Instead of a ground-level view behind the protagonist or a top-down perspective, Chinatown Wars uses a fully rotatable camera angled down at the action. Chinatown Wars also uses cel-shaded polygons with black outlines to produce a comic book-like aesthetic — a first for the series. The title takes place in the Grand Theft Auto IV
rendition of Liberty City
, with the exception of Alderney.
Unlike Grand Theft Auto IV, the player can disable as many cop cars as possible to escape the police instead of leaving a "wanted zone". The more stars the player has, the more cops they have to take out for each level. For example, for a six star level, they have to take out six cop cars to get down to a five star wanted level, and so on. Also unlike Grand Theft Auto IV, when the player is shooting at an enemy, and has killed the person, it locks onto another enemy, instead of still aiming at the dead person. There is also a drug dealing sub plot which allows players to peddle six types of drugs around the city. Players can make a profit by recognizing market conditions and demands based on geography and plying their wares accordingly. CCTV cameras work as this game's secret packages, destroyed by throwing a Molotov cocktail
bottle. This also decreases the chances of being caught while making a drug deal . Chinatown Wars applies many Grand Theft Auto IV features such as the new next gen HUD. Ammu-nation returns in the form of an in-game website where the player can order various weapons through their PDA to be delivered to their safehouse. Official Nintendo Magazine described the game as "one of the largest, most complex DS games ever made", with over 900,000 lines of code.
. Newer, more expensive cars require the player to "hack" the computerized immobilizer. It is still possible to flip cars or set them on fire. The player is unable to pilot any of the aircraft in the game, but he can still see the ones at the airport or flying above him, although if a player uses a certain code on the Nintendo DS
by using "Action Replay DS", the player can acquire it.
. Players can use this service to upload their gameplay statistics. Competitive and co-operative multiplayer modes are only available through DS to DS local wireless.
The features available through the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection
include chatting, trading items and sharing favourite GPS markers and stats with other players. Through the Social Club, players are also able to download new missions.
and MF Doom
and produced by Oh No of the Stones Throw Records
.
The DS
version of the game features music by Deadmau5
among others.
On top of the soundtrack featured in the DS version of the game the PSP
version will exclusively feature music by Anvil
, Tortoise
, DFA Records
, Turntables on the Hudson and DJ Khalil
.
The iOS version originally featured all the music from the DS version and also allowed the player to customize a music playlist using songs from their music library. A subsequent update added all the music from the PSP version.
Eventually, Huang is contacted by Zhou Ming, a high-ranking Triad member, and Chan Jaoming, son of Hsin. Both men are also competing to be Hsin's replacement, and employ Huang to combat each other's efforts. After Chan hires Huang for a deal that goes badly, Huang is intercepted by LCPD Detective Wade Heston, a crooked cop under pressure from Internal Affairs. Heston offers an alliance with Huang to find the men responsible for the theft of Yu Jian and the murder of Huang's father. Huang agrees and finds that Heston suspects a Korean gang allied with the Triads is behind the events. After combating the Koreans for a while, Heston plants a bug in the Koreans' headquarters, from which he learns that there is a splinter group inside the gang called the Wonsu. Heston determines that the leader of the Wonsu will be the one responsible for Yu Jian's theft, and is also a police informant who has been causing trouble for the Triads.
Meanwhile, Hsin enlists Huang in finding the informant, only to then suspect Huang himself and attempt to kill him. Kenny arrives and convinces Hsin to give them time to find the real rat, bringing haste to Huang's mission. Hsin puts Huang on to investigate two gangs who may be housing the rat: the Angels of Death, and the Korean Mob. Huang gets into contact with Lester Leroc, a PI inside the Angels of Death, and performs his own work against the Koreans. Huang is temporarily thrown off course by the intervention of mafia member Rudy D'Avanzo, who tricks Huang into believing the mole is a Messina Family member named Jimmy Capra. Hsin later reveals D'Avanzo's trickery and Huang kills him.
Both the Koreans and the Angels are found to be innocent, leading to a new course of investigation. Heston employs Huang to hack into the servers of the FIB in order to find the informant. The information recovered names both Zhou Ming and Chan Jaoming as having talked to the police about Triads. This is taken to Hsin, who, disgraced that his own son is a suspect, instantly steps down as leader and appoints Kenny as the new head of the Liberty City Triads. Huang then executes both Chan and Zhou, despite each of them denying their guilt. Shortly after the killings, Huang is contacted by Heston, who informs him the information they recovered was fake, and that he has learned of a meeting between the leader of the Wonsu and his allies. Huang and Heston go to the meeting and find Kenny, who admits that he was responsible for the theft of Yu Jian and Huang's father's death. Heston and Huang pursue Kenny across town, cornering him at Hsin's residence. Here Kenny explains that he was tasked by Hsin to retrieve Yu Jian, thus Huang's father would have to die for it to be passed on to him, in exchange for a position underneath Chan. Kenny complied with this, but attempted to have Yu Jian stolen to keep himself from such a dishonourable position and later framed Zhou and Chan to cover his tracks.
After a final confrontation between Hsin and Kenny, Hsin demands the hand over of Yu Jian. Kenny ironically responds by stabbing Hsin with the sword as his way of presenting it to him. With Huang as witness to the murder and truth, Kenny engages in an inevitable final battle with Huang, who is the only one left in the way of Kenny's undisputed rise to power. Centred on a fountain with Kenny slashing away, Huang eventually kills Kenny, fulfilling his promise to avenge his father. Immediately the IAD and FIB arrive to arrest Heston and Huang, however Heston claims that he was in deep undercover and orders the arrest of everyone except Huang. Hsin praises Huang with the loyalty and nobility to become his true successor as Triad Boss.
By completion of the story and locating the two Lions of Fo for the Rockstar Games Social Club, you can open up Xin Shan's missions. Xin instructs Huang to steal a Rhino to distract the police from a planned robbery. However, Xin is ambushed by the cops; Huang attempts to take him to safety, but he succumbs to his injuries. Before his death, he makes the revelation that he is the brother of Ling Shan, a girl who was murdered early on in the game. Huang mourns for both of them.
preorder commercial, the dialogue referred to the real-life corporate bailout in 2008. A new gameplay trailer was released on 6 March 2009, showing gameplay involving using a sniper rifle and interacting with keypads with the Nintendo DS' stylus. GameStop had a promotion where they sent around a van letting people try the game before it was released. Other stores gave away a "credit card" which activates $10,000 of in-game money and earlier access to better weapons. Amazon provided a code to unlock an exclusive bulletproof Infernus with preorders.
.
92.75. The game hold a 93 aggregate score on Metacritic which is the highest score on that site for a DS game. The game also has the highest rank for the Nintendo DS
at GameSpot
, with a rating of 9.5/10. It was nominated for three of GameSpot's awards: Game of the Year, DS Game of the Year, and Action Game of the Year, winning DS Game of the Year. Official Nintendo Magazine rated the game 94%, praising the visuals and variety in gameplay, concluding in their review that "Rockstar has captured and condensed the Grand Theft Auto series' high points and crammed them into one terrific title. Think the DS can't handle GTA? Think again." IGN
UK gave it a rating of 9.2, calling it a "a masterpiece of handheld gaming" while IGN US gave the game a 9.5 out of 10. Eurogamer gave it a rating of 10/10, saying "Overall this is GTA as it first was, with the inherited wisdom of GTA as it's been since, finished off with all sorts of things that would happily belong in a GTA of the future." 1up.com
gave it a A-, saying that it is "impressive from the start". Chinatown Wars was nominated for Game of the Year by Nintendo Power
, as well as Nintendo DS Game of the Year, Best Nintendo DS Graphics, and Best Adventure Game.
Chinatown Wars generated lower than expected sales in its first week in the United Kingdom
, and did not even sell to level with the debut of Vice City Stories, which was Rockstar's expectation. In the United States
, it sold just under 90,000 units during its first two weeks on the American market. This led Best Buy
to sell the game at a reduced price for a limited time; the response to this was very positive.
as well as via the PlayStation Network. 1up.com gave the PSP version an A-, citing the experience is good second time around, and it is efficient for people who are playing for the first time. IGN
gave the PSP version a 9.3/10, compared to the 9.5/10 on DS.
Unlike the DS version which reached number 5, the PSP game did not chart in the UK top 40 upon release, nor did it chart in the US monthly top 20.
version was released on January 17, 2010. The touchscreen minigame mechanics originally seen in the Nintendo DS version have returned in a similar fashion. The graphics, when compared to the DS and PSP versions, are not cel-shaded like the DS version and lack the ambient lighting and effects seen in the PSP version. An update released on March 28, 2010 added the radio stations that were formerly exclusive to the PSP version. Currently the iPhone version contains no multiplayer at all.
version was released on September 9, 2010 receiving glowing reviews. This version comes in 1024 X 768 'HD' graphics. IGN gave it a 9.0/10.
, Dan Houser
said "we wanted to have a drug-dealing mini-game in lots of the GTA games. [...] We played with it a little in Vice City Stories
, because it worked really well juxtaposed with the main story. It works well with what GTA is, with driving around the map, and it gives you another thing to think about – another layer or piece of the puzzle to keep you motivated... It does intersect with the main story and things you learn from it work with the story, but it mostly runs on its own."
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
, PlayStation Portable
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
, and iOS, developed by Rockstar Leeds
Rockstar Leeds
Rockstar Leeds is a British video game developer. Based in the eponymous city of Leeds, West Yorkshire, Rockstar Leeds has primarily published handheld games for Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance , as well as developing Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition and the Grand Theft Auto Stories games for the...
in conjunction with Rockstar North
Rockstar North
Rockstar North is a British video game developer based in Edinburgh, Scotland, best known for creating the Grand Theft Auto and Lemmings franchises in its earlier guise as DMA....
. It is the thirteenth game in the Grand Theft Auto series
Grand Theft Auto (series)
Grand Theft Auto is a multi-award-winning British video game series created in the United Kingdom by Dave Jones, then later by brothers Dan Houser and Sam Houser, and game designer Zachary Clarke. It is primarily developed by Edinburgh based Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games...
, and the very first for Nintendo DS and iOS.
Gameplay
Grand Theft Auto IV
Grand Theft Auto IV is a 2008 open world action video game published by Rockstar Games, and developed by British games developer Rockstar North. It has been released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 video game consoles, and for the Windows operating system...
rendition of Liberty City
Liberty City (Grand Theft Auto)
Liberty City is a fictional city in Rockstar Games' video games series Grand Theft Auto, based primarily on several major cities including New York City...
, with the exception of Alderney.
Unlike Grand Theft Auto IV, the player can disable as many cop cars as possible to escape the police instead of leaving a "wanted zone". The more stars the player has, the more cops they have to take out for each level. For example, for a six star level, they have to take out six cop cars to get down to a five star wanted level, and so on. Also unlike Grand Theft Auto IV, when the player is shooting at an enemy, and has killed the person, it locks onto another enemy, instead of still aiming at the dead person. There is also a drug dealing sub plot which allows players to peddle six types of drugs around the city. Players can make a profit by recognizing market conditions and demands based on geography and plying their wares accordingly. CCTV cameras work as this game's secret packages, destroyed by throwing a Molotov cocktail
Molotov cocktail
The Molotov cocktail, also known as the petrol bomb, gasoline bomb, Molotov bomb, fire bottle, fire bomb, or simply Molotov, is a generic name used for a variety of improvised incendiary weapons...
bottle. This also decreases the chances of being caught while making a drug deal . Chinatown Wars applies many Grand Theft Auto IV features such as the new next gen HUD. Ammu-nation returns in the form of an in-game website where the player can order various weapons through their PDA to be delivered to their safehouse. Official Nintendo Magazine described the game as "one of the largest, most complex DS games ever made", with over 900,000 lines of code.
Platform differences
- The Nintendo DSNintendo DSThe is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
version of the game takes advantage of the touch screen with functions such as controlling the PDA, GPS, the radio, access to the people on the map, or using Molotov cocktails and grenadeGrenadeA grenade is a small explosive device that is projected a safe distance away by its user. Soldiers called grenadiers specialize in the use of grenades. The term hand grenade refers any grenade designed to be hand thrown. Grenade Launchers are firearms designed to fire explosive projectile grenades...
s. The top screen shows the game and storyboard. Taxi whistling is supported by the DS microphoneMicrophoneA microphone is an acoustic-to-electric transducer or sensor that converts sound into an electrical signal. In 1877, Emile Berliner invented the first microphone used as a telephone voice transmitter...
.
- The PSPPlayStation PortableThe is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
version features updated graphics, which are no longer cel-shaded, thus sporting a more "classic" look akin to previous games in the series (however, cutscenes are stylistically identical). Mini-games (such as drawing tattoos, unscrewing the car and boom panels) have been adapted from their touch-screen functionality to simpler, QTE-like mini-games. The PSP version also features extra missions and exclusive radio stations not found in the Nintendo DS version. However, PSP multiplayer supports only 2 players.
- The iOS version of the game includes on screen touch controls, a custom radio station that uses the iPod library, and the mini-games have been adapted to work well with capacitive touch screens. One notable feature lacking is NPC sounds; some reviews have criticized this saying that Liberty City seems "silent". The iOS version also includes even more music and radio stations than the Nintendo DS or the Sony PSP.
Vehicles
While stealing a moving vehicle is similar to that of previous GTA games, Chinatown Wars uses a different system for stealing parked vehicles. Depending on the car, it can be started in one of a few ways. Older cars require a few turns of a screwdriver in the ignition, while other cars require hotwiringHotwiring
Hot-wiring is the process of bypassing an automobile's ignition interlock and thus starting it without the key. A vehicle owner or thief may implement this process.-Methods:...
. Newer, more expensive cars require the player to "hack" the computerized immobilizer. It is still possible to flip cars or set them on fire. The player is unable to pilot any of the aircraft in the game, but he can still see the ones at the airport or flying above him, although if a player uses a certain code on the Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
by using "Action Replay DS", the player can acquire it.
Social Club
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars uses Rockstar's Rockstar Games Social ClubRockstar Games Social Club
Rockstar Games Social Club is a free online service provided by Rockstar Games for use with their latest generation of games. Rockstar Games Social Club was first announced on 27 March 2008, with pre-registration beginning on 14 April 2008. However, that date was moved to 17 April 2008...
. Players can use this service to upload their gameplay statistics. Competitive and co-operative multiplayer modes are only available through DS to DS local wireless.
The features available through the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection
Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection
The is an online multiplayer gaming service run by Nintendo to provide free online play in compatible Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS and Wii games. The service includes the company's Wii Shop Channel, DSi Shop, and Nintendo eShop game download services...
include chatting, trading items and sharing favourite GPS markers and stats with other players. Through the Social Club, players are also able to download new missions.
Soundtrack
Music for the opening titles of gameplay is the track 'Chinatown Wars' performed by Ghostface KillahGhostface Killah
Dennis Coles , better known by his stage name Ghostface Killah, is an American rapper and prominent member of the Wu-Tang Clan. After the group achieved breakthrough success in the aftermath of Enter the Wu-Tang , the members went on to pursue solo careers to varying levels of success...
and MF Doom
MF Doom
Daniel Dumile is a hip hop artist who has taken on several stage names in his career, most notably MF DOOM, where the "MF" stands for metal face, and for tracks he has produced, metal fingers...
and produced by Oh No of the Stones Throw Records
Stones Throw Records
Stones Throw Records is an independent hip hop record label based in Los Angeles, California. It was started in 1996 by DJ/Producer Peanut Butter Wolf in part to release the music he made with Charizma who was killed at the age of 20....
.
The DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
version of the game features music by Deadmau5
Deadmau5
Joel Thomas Zimmerman , better known by his stage name deadmau5 , is a Canadian progressive, electro, and house producer based in Toronto...
among others.
On top of the soundtrack featured in the DS version of the game the PSP
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
version will exclusively feature music by Anvil
Anvil (band)
Anvil is a Canadian heavy metal band comprising Steve "Lips" Kudlow , Robb Reiner , and Glenn Five...
, Tortoise
Tortoise (band)
Tortoise is an American post-rock band formed in Chicago, Illinois, in 1990.-Music:Tortoise's almost entirely instrumental music defies easy categorization, and the group gained significant attention from their early career. The members have roots in Chicago's fertile music scene, playing in...
, DFA Records
DFA Records
DFA Records is an independent record label and production team, launched in September 2001 by Mo' Wax co-founder Tim Goldsworthy, musician James Murphy, and manager Jonathan Galkin. The label has an exclusive distribution deal with major record label EMI....
, Turntables on the Hudson and DJ Khalil
DJ Khalil
Khalil Abdul-Rahman, better known by his stage name DJ Khalil, is a Los Angeles based American hip hop/soul record producer, and is the instrumental half of the hip hop duo Self Scientific, together with rapper Chace Infinite...
.
The iOS version originally featured all the music from the DS version and also allowed the player to customize a music playlist using songs from their music library. A subsequent update added all the music from the PSP version.
Synopsis
Huang Lee, the spoiled son of a recently murdered Triad boss, arrives by plane in Liberty City with Yu Jian, a sword that Huang's father won in a poker game and has decided to use as an heirloom, to deliver it to the new patriarch of the family, Huang's uncle Wu "Kenny" Lee. Shortly after landing, Huang's escorts are killed by assassins and he is shot and kidnapped. The assailants steal the sword and, thinking Huang is dead, dump his body in the water. Huang manages to survive and informs Kenny that Yu Jian has been taken. Kenny explains that he had intended to offer the sword to Hsin Jaoming, the aging Triad boss in Liberty City, as a means of securing a position as his replacement. Kenny is dishonoured and reduced in power due to the loss of Yu Jian, leaving him and Huang working to keep their businesses afloat.Eventually, Huang is contacted by Zhou Ming, a high-ranking Triad member, and Chan Jaoming, son of Hsin. Both men are also competing to be Hsin's replacement, and employ Huang to combat each other's efforts. After Chan hires Huang for a deal that goes badly, Huang is intercepted by LCPD Detective Wade Heston, a crooked cop under pressure from Internal Affairs. Heston offers an alliance with Huang to find the men responsible for the theft of Yu Jian and the murder of Huang's father. Huang agrees and finds that Heston suspects a Korean gang allied with the Triads is behind the events. After combating the Koreans for a while, Heston plants a bug in the Koreans' headquarters, from which he learns that there is a splinter group inside the gang called the Wonsu. Heston determines that the leader of the Wonsu will be the one responsible for Yu Jian's theft, and is also a police informant who has been causing trouble for the Triads.
Meanwhile, Hsin enlists Huang in finding the informant, only to then suspect Huang himself and attempt to kill him. Kenny arrives and convinces Hsin to give them time to find the real rat, bringing haste to Huang's mission. Hsin puts Huang on to investigate two gangs who may be housing the rat: the Angels of Death, and the Korean Mob. Huang gets into contact with Lester Leroc, a PI inside the Angels of Death, and performs his own work against the Koreans. Huang is temporarily thrown off course by the intervention of mafia member Rudy D'Avanzo, who tricks Huang into believing the mole is a Messina Family member named Jimmy Capra. Hsin later reveals D'Avanzo's trickery and Huang kills him.
Both the Koreans and the Angels are found to be innocent, leading to a new course of investigation. Heston employs Huang to hack into the servers of the FIB in order to find the informant. The information recovered names both Zhou Ming and Chan Jaoming as having talked to the police about Triads. This is taken to Hsin, who, disgraced that his own son is a suspect, instantly steps down as leader and appoints Kenny as the new head of the Liberty City Triads. Huang then executes both Chan and Zhou, despite each of them denying their guilt. Shortly after the killings, Huang is contacted by Heston, who informs him the information they recovered was fake, and that he has learned of a meeting between the leader of the Wonsu and his allies. Huang and Heston go to the meeting and find Kenny, who admits that he was responsible for the theft of Yu Jian and Huang's father's death. Heston and Huang pursue Kenny across town, cornering him at Hsin's residence. Here Kenny explains that he was tasked by Hsin to retrieve Yu Jian, thus Huang's father would have to die for it to be passed on to him, in exchange for a position underneath Chan. Kenny complied with this, but attempted to have Yu Jian stolen to keep himself from such a dishonourable position and later framed Zhou and Chan to cover his tracks.
After a final confrontation between Hsin and Kenny, Hsin demands the hand over of Yu Jian. Kenny ironically responds by stabbing Hsin with the sword as his way of presenting it to him. With Huang as witness to the murder and truth, Kenny engages in an inevitable final battle with Huang, who is the only one left in the way of Kenny's undisputed rise to power. Centred on a fountain with Kenny slashing away, Huang eventually kills Kenny, fulfilling his promise to avenge his father. Immediately the IAD and FIB arrive to arrest Heston and Huang, however Heston claims that he was in deep undercover and orders the arrest of everyone except Huang. Hsin praises Huang with the loyalty and nobility to become his true successor as Triad Boss.
By completion of the story and locating the two Lions of Fo for the Rockstar Games Social Club, you can open up Xin Shan's missions. Xin instructs Huang to steal a Rhino to distract the police from a planned robbery. However, Xin is ambushed by the cops; Huang attempts to take him to safety, but he succumbs to his injuries. Before his death, he makes the revelation that he is the brother of Ling Shan, a girl who was murdered early on in the game. Huang mourns for both of them.
Marketing
In Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars GameStopGameStop
GameStop Corporation is an American video game and entertainment software retailer. The company, whose headquarters is in Grapevine, Texas, United States, operates 6,500 retail stores throughout the United States, Canada, Australia, Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, New...
preorder commercial, the dialogue referred to the real-life corporate bailout in 2008. A new gameplay trailer was released on 6 March 2009, showing gameplay involving using a sniper rifle and interacting with keypads with the Nintendo DS' stylus. GameStop had a promotion where they sent around a van letting people try the game before it was released. Other stores gave away a "credit card" which activates $10,000 of in-game money and earlier access to better weapons. Amazon provided a code to unlock an exclusive bulletproof Infernus with preorders.
Reception
At the 2009 Spike Video Game Awards, Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars received the Best Handheld Game award. However, the version was not specified. It also won the Best Nintendo DS Game of 2009 Award from GameSpotGameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
.
Nintendo DS version
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars has received critical acclaim. On GameRankings, it is currently the highest rated Nintendo DS game ever, with an average review score of92.75. The game hold a 93 aggregate score on Metacritic which is the highest score on that site for a DS game. The game also has the highest rank for the Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
at GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
, with a rating of 9.5/10. It was nominated for three of GameSpot's awards: Game of the Year, DS Game of the Year, and Action Game of the Year, winning DS Game of the Year. Official Nintendo Magazine rated the game 94%, praising the visuals and variety in gameplay, concluding in their review that "Rockstar has captured and condensed the Grand Theft Auto series' high points and crammed them into one terrific title. Think the DS can't handle GTA? Think again." IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
UK gave it a rating of 9.2, calling it a "a masterpiece of handheld gaming" while IGN US gave the game a 9.5 out of 10. Eurogamer gave it a rating of 10/10, saying "Overall this is GTA as it first was, with the inherited wisdom of GTA as it's been since, finished off with all sorts of things that would happily belong in a GTA of the future." 1up.com
1UP.com
1UP.com is a video game website owned by IGN Entertainment, a division of News Corporation. Previously, the site was owned by Ziff Davis before being sold to UGO Entertainment in 2009....
gave it a A-, saying that it is "impressive from the start". Chinatown Wars was nominated for Game of the Year by Nintendo Power
Nintendo Power
Nintendo Power magazine is a monthly news and strategy magazine formerly published in-house by Nintendo of America, but now run independently. As of issue #222 , Nintendo contracted publishing duties to Future US, the U.S. subsidiary of British publisher Future.The first issue published was...
, as well as Nintendo DS Game of the Year, Best Nintendo DS Graphics, and Best Adventure Game.
Chinatown Wars generated lower than expected sales in its first week in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, and did not even sell to level with the debut of Vice City Stories, which was Rockstar's expectation. In the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, it sold just under 90,000 units during its first two weeks on the American market. This led Best Buy
Best Buy
Best Buy Co., Inc. is an American specialty retailer of consumer electronics in the United States, accounting for 19% of the market. It also operates in Mexico, Canada & China. The company's subsidiaries include Geek Squad, CinemaNow, Magnolia Audio Video, Pacific Sales, and, in Canada operates...
to sell the game at a reduced price for a limited time; the response to this was very positive.
PSP version
Rockstar confirmed via a press release that Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars was going to be released for the PlayStation Portable on 20 October 2009. It was speculated that the PSP version would revert back to the third person view. However it retained the top down view from the DS version. The game is available on UMDUniversal Media Disc
The Universal Media Disc is an optical disc medium developed by Sony for use on their PlayStation Portable handheld gaming and multimedia platform...
as well as via the PlayStation Network. 1up.com gave the PSP version an A-, citing the experience is good second time around, and it is efficient for people who are playing for the first time. IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
gave the PSP version a 9.3/10, compared to the 9.5/10 on DS.
Unlike the DS version which reached number 5, the PSP game did not chart in the UK top 40 upon release, nor did it chart in the US monthly top 20.
iPhone version
The iPhoneIPhone
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
version was released on January 17, 2010. The touchscreen minigame mechanics originally seen in the Nintendo DS version have returned in a similar fashion. The graphics, when compared to the DS and PSP versions, are not cel-shaded like the DS version and lack the ambient lighting and effects seen in the PSP version. An update released on March 28, 2010 added the radio stations that were formerly exclusive to the PSP version. Currently the iPhone version contains no multiplayer at all.
iPad version
The iPadIPad
The iPad is a line of tablet computers designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc., primarily as a platform for audio-visual media including books, periodicals, movies, music, games, and web content. The iPad was introduced on January 27, 2010 by Apple's then-CEO Steve Jobs. Its size and...
version was released on September 9, 2010 receiving glowing reviews. This version comes in 1024 X 768 'HD' graphics. IGN gave it a 9.0/10.
Controversy
Chinatown Wars continues the series' tradition of controversy because of a drug dealing minigame that includes heroin and ecstasy. Protesters against the game include Darren Gold of the anti-drug abuse charity Drugsline, who stated: "Anything using drug-dealing as entertainment is sending out the wrong message. Glamorisation doesn't help our work trying to educate kids of the dangers of substance misuse." In an interview with Edge magazineEdge (magazine)
Edge is a multi-format computer and video game magazine published by Future Publishing in the United Kingdom. It is known for its industry contacts, editorial stance, distinctive anonymous third-person writing style, yearly awards and longevity....
, Dan Houser
Dan Houser
Dan Houser is an English video game producer and vice president of creativity for Rockstar Games...
said "we wanted to have a drug-dealing mini-game in lots of the GTA games. [...] We played with it a little in Vice City Stories
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories is a 2006 sandbox-style action video game developed by Rockstar Leeds in association with Rockstar North. It was published by Rockstar Games for the PlayStation Portable in late 2006 and later for the PlayStation 2 in March 2007. The game is the eighth...
, because it worked really well juxtaposed with the main story. It works well with what GTA is, with driving around the map, and it gives you another thing to think about – another layer or piece of the puzzle to keep you motivated... It does intersect with the main story and things you learn from it work with the story, but it mostly runs on its own."
External links
- GTA Chinatown Wars on Grand Theft Wiki