Chinatown Wars (iTunes link), Rockstar's latest Grand Theft Auto in pocket format, is an impressive mix. Part classic Grand Theft Auto game, with its top-down perspective, and the part modern crime sim, with its focus on narrative, its bevy of unique side missions and the condensed Liberty City it borrows from GTA IV, Chinatown Wars is easily one of the most impressive iPhone games yet.
Whatever flavour of Rockstar's crime epic it most closely resembles, Chinatown shares the same commonalities as every Grand Theft Auto instalment; free-roaming world, tonnes of missions, a handful of time wasters on the side and a hearty balance of driving and shooting. They all come together on the iPhone's tiny screen surprisingly well, offering the full 'Theft Auto experience in a pint sized edition and at a fraction of the cost.
Chinatown Wars has a significantly lighter tone than the sober Grand Theft Auto IV. The game doesn't take itself so seriously, the protagonist is brimming with sarcastic wit and the missions play out with reckless abandon -- less uneventful traversal and far more explosive shoot-outs. There's still an overarching narrative though, focussing on various Chinese mobsters vying for leadership of the Triads.
As you can no doubt imagine, controlling a Grand Theft Auto game without buttons or joysticks takes some serious getting used to. Moving, driving, shooting and fighting are all given virtual controllers in the screen's corners but, while requiring a good hours' learning curve, are eventually intuitive and accessible enough to pull off the tight driving and fast fighting that later missions require.
Like its DS cousin (the same game was available on Nintendo's handheld and PSP before gracing the iPhone),Chinatown Wars is filled to bursting with fun touch-based minigames. Hotwiring stolen cars, disarming bombs and rummaging through garbage for stashed firearms are all presented as immersive micro games and don't feel like gimmicks.
Festering beneath the surface of the main action is a subversively addictive sub-game, allowing you to make oodles of cash by buying and selling a handful of different drugs. With email tip-offs, geographically sensitive markets (the Jamaican gang has an affinity for Cannabis, while the Russian mobsters might prefer cocaine) and even profit and loss charts, it's a surprisingly deep and thoroughly engrossing timewaster -- perfect to sample in short, tube-ride bursts.
Outside of resizing the graphics and altering the controls, the game lands on Apple's handhelds unchanged. Plus, with concessions like auto-saving and super fast loading, Chinatown Wars feels like a natural fit instead of a stodgy port. You can even play your own music through your stolen car's radio; simply make a playlist on your iDevice titled "GTA".
Whatever flavour of Rockstar's crime epic it most closely resembles, Chinatown shares the same commonalities as every Grand Theft Auto instalment; free-roaming world, tonnes of missions, a handful of time wasters on the side and a hearty balance of driving and shooting. They all come together on the iPhone's tiny screen surprisingly well, offering the full 'Theft Auto experience in a pint sized edition and at a fraction of the cost.
Chinatown Wars has a significantly lighter tone than the sober Grand Theft Auto IV. The game doesn't take itself so seriously, the protagonist is brimming with sarcastic wit and the missions play out with reckless abandon -- less uneventful traversal and far more explosive shoot-outs. There's still an overarching narrative though, focussing on various Chinese mobsters vying for leadership of the Triads.
As you can no doubt imagine, controlling a Grand Theft Auto game without buttons or joysticks takes some serious getting used to. Moving, driving, shooting and fighting are all given virtual controllers in the screen's corners but, while requiring a good hours' learning curve, are eventually intuitive and accessible enough to pull off the tight driving and fast fighting that later missions require.
Like its DS cousin (the same game was available on Nintendo's handheld and PSP before gracing the iPhone),Chinatown Wars is filled to bursting with fun touch-based minigames. Hotwiring stolen cars, disarming bombs and rummaging through garbage for stashed firearms are all presented as immersive micro games and don't feel like gimmicks.
Festering beneath the surface of the main action is a subversively addictive sub-game, allowing you to make oodles of cash by buying and selling a handful of different drugs. With email tip-offs, geographically sensitive markets (the Jamaican gang has an affinity for Cannabis, while the Russian mobsters might prefer cocaine) and even profit and loss charts, it's a surprisingly deep and thoroughly engrossing timewaster -- perfect to sample in short, tube-ride bursts.
Outside of resizing the graphics and altering the controls, the game lands on Apple's handhelds unchanged. Plus, with concessions like auto-saving and super fast loading, Chinatown Wars feels like a natural fit instead of a stodgy port. You can even play your own music through your stolen car's radio; simply make a playlist on your iDevice titled "GTA".
Featuring all the action and content you've come to expect from a Grand Theft Auto game, Chinatown Wars is one of the most substantial and impressive iPhone app to date, and definitely one of the platform's must have games.
Note: This app was designed and optimised for the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS as well as the 2nd generation iPod touch. It will not run on the original iPhone and iPod touch hardware.
Tonnes of missions, loads of side content, an entire city to explore in your pocket.
Tricky controls will take some getting used to, say "bye bye" to battery life.
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