Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars

Reviewed by Mike Suskie (March 31, 2009)

Nearly everything you use the stylus for in Chinatown Wars – rummaging through trash, diffusing bombs, assembling weapons – sounds like a gimmick on its own. It’s the collaboration of all of these individual elements that makes Chinatown Wars work. As you explore this retooled Liberty City, you’ll notice that Rockstar Leeds poured detail into every facet of the design, fleshing out areas that most developers would simply shrug off. Obtaining Molotov cocktails, for example, is no longer simply a matter of picking them up off a designated location on the streets. You’ve literally got to find a gas station and play a mini-game in which you must “aim” the nozzle in response to the fluctuating flow of the gasoline, so as to get as many cocktails for your money’s worth as possible. It’s a wonderful way to make the most of the DS hardware.

Reviewed by Jonathan Stark (October 30, 2009)

Constant action. Constant fun. That’s Chinatown’s style. There isn’t any dating, there are no strip clubs and you won't be wooing your fat cousin with burgers and drinks.