GTA: Chinatown Wars gets massive face-lift for PSP; our impressions

While Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars on the Nintendo DS received critical acclaim across the board, the game didn't necessarily sell as well as it should have. Rockstar Games chose to bring the title over to the PSP, and with it, a complete graphical revamp.

We've had the final version of the game for some time now and here are our thoughts:

(Credit: Rockstar Games)

Jeff:
I wish Rockstar Games would take the viewing angle from Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars and go back and apply it to the first two GTA games on the system; that's how fantastic of a gameplay experience it provides. Chinatown Wars is by far the best GTA game available on the system because it abandons the ground-level viewing angle that was present in the first two games. From here on out, we think every portable GTA title should control like this.

The best way to describe the angle is a sort of isometric look at a 3D world. The camera will rise, lower, and zoom in and out when appropriate giving you the optimal perspective at all times. While this was present in the DS version, the game's graphical reconstruction makes it much more satisfying to player this time around.

Sure, the game and its story are mostly ported from the DS version, but Rockstar has totally rebuilt the city from the ground up. The graphics are some of the best we've seen on the PSP, and the attention to detail of every last street corner and building is truly remarkable.

(Credit: Rockstar Games)

While we're really impressed with the graphical revamping, a few voiceovers may have really sweetened the deal. The text-only presentation in the DS version remains unchanged, and for GTA PSP veterans, this may come as a bit of a surprise. That said, the new radio stations and overall improved sound detail is a very welcome addition.

If you're deciding between a digital or UMD version of Chinatown Wars, go with the digital. Loading times on the UMD copy of the game exceeded the digital by as much as 30 seconds.

Scott:
Nintendo got a great product from Rockstar with Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars for the Nintendo DS, but its adult tones and expectedly violent storyline made for an odd match with many family-oriented DS households. Chinatown Wars' move to the PSP is a no-brainer move, especially since the PSP had great success with Rockstar's Liberty City Stories and Vice City Stories several years ago.

(Credit: Rockstar Games)

Chinatown Wars, for those who haven't played it, is a top-down game in a world that's rendered in 3D, so cars and pedestrians are seen from a high-up angle, much like the original GTA games pre-PS2. In the move to the PSP, the 3D rendering and explosion/particle effects have been greatly improved, with a color range and day/night lighting changes that are really beautiful to look at. The PSP's wider screen gives a clearer view of the landscape around you, but accessing submenus now means pressing start and pulling you away from the action slightly. Minigames that previously used the touch screen now use a combination of buttons and analog stick moves, with hardly anything lost in the translation. Music, too, has taken a big leap forward--the DS tunes were limited and scratchy, but a crisp, clear new soundtrack has been layered in to the PSP experience, elevating up to near-normal Rockstar standards.

One big negative to the PSP experience, however, was loading time. On our UMD version, Chinatown Wars had extensive waits at the start as well as many pauses between missions, cutting into the immediacy of the game. It's surprising, especially since the DS version didn't seem like it would be particularly resource-heavy for a PSP move. On the other hand, the downloaded version shaved many of those load times down tremendously. If you can, we'd recommend using the downloaded version on your PSP Go, or PSP via Memory Stick.

(Credit: Rockstar Games)

Still, the added aural and visual bumps and some added missions make this a technically superior product to the DS game, which we already loved. For a PSP owner, this is about as good as it gets for the holidays.

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars is available now for $40 in stores and on the PlayStation Store.

[ace_sempai]

Cool beans :)

[YaHa96]

NDS version is better.

[danielrp34]

How can you say that? Did you go out and buy both systems, and both games, or are you being a kid about this?

[typicalgamer]

psp version is better. better graphics, longer gameplay. etc.

[RRosal]

I would assume you have both the NDS and PSP versions to make this claim right? I bought the NDS version and while the touch screen aspect was nice, the PSP version wins the graphics aspect hands down. And yes, I did purchase the PSP version as a digital download via the PS Store so I can back my claim. If you had played the PSP version, you would clearly see that the PSP version wins hands down as an improvement over the NDS version. Which leads me to suspect that...

you are a fanboi.

[clrgj2]

Why did they make it bird's-eye view? Reminds me of GTA II.

[Iggy8285]

In regards to the downloadable digitial copy Vs. UMD; Does anybody know if the game comes with 'Data Install' option like most new UMD games are coming with now (E.g. Gran Turismo).

This is the same thing as downloadable copy but you still have an actual hard copy to use if your PSP has hardware failure or you want to lend a friend the game. You still need the UMD in the drive to prove you've actually purchased it but I prefer this method as load times are as fast a downloadable and you can often find the game cheaper online in UMD format.

[lil-yankee]

Not impressed. Rockstart is one of the best companies when it comes to delivery, and given the hardware supremacy of the psp, it was only normal for this to happen. I'm also not impressed with the how the sales have play out in the ds front. I hope from now on, rockstart has it clear that their audience is with psp.
I will probably get this later, for now, grand turismo on my psp go. Great to know that another great tittle for me to play.

[mmarinalobo27]

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Just play the Axe Inxtinct game and make the highest score ? best of luck and enjoy the game.

[pepsilover2007]

I think in ways the ds version looks better because alot of the art style was replaced with realistic Texture and it looks weird because the character look like cartoon when the should have been replaced