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GTA Chinatown Wars [DS]: Because WarioWare will never have molotov cocktail minigames

The Reverend Dr GalactusThe Reverend Dr Galactus Registered User regular
edited June 2009 in Games and Technology
GTA on the DS? How's that gonna work?

Stuffed in between the not-for-core-gamers talk at Nintendo's E3 keynote last summer was a white-hot glimmer of potential awesomeness, the news that Rockstar was working on a GTA game exclusively for the DS. No screenshots, no gameplay details, just a logo and a promise that great things were to come.

Gradually, promising details and screenshots slipped out here and there, but overall, Chinatown Wars had a fairly opaque development cycle. On paper, everything sounded like it would add up brilliantly: A GTA built from the ground up for Nintendo's handheld, leveraging the platform's strengths.
  • Instead of going way retro to GTA 1-2 top down view or trying to cram III-IV's close third person view onto a DS, Chinatown Wars opts instead for a slick, slightly-isometric 3D perspective.
  • Cut scenes are rendered in comic book format; the whole art style draws heavily from the series' post-III illustrations.
  • The touch screen is neither ignored nor used purely for gimmicks -- there's a San Andreas-level of depth ranging from scrounging through dumpsters for weapons to doing tattoo art.

The trailer



But did it work?

Survey says...

Eurogamer: 10/10
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars is a triumph, not just in terms of bringing a difficult game to a new platform intact, but because it actually improves it in the process, and demonstrates a mastery of DS form and function.

X-Play: 5/5
It’s a great comfort to know that Rockstar Games not only makes great games, but understands what makes them great. Chinatown Wars is the culmination of years of work as well as the spirit of ingenuity to bring one of the biggest series to the smallest screen.

IGN: 9.5/10
There's so much to do in this Liberty City, and it's hard not to be impressed and amazed at some of the things the developer's managed to pull off on the hardware. GTA: Chinatown Wars is easily one of the best Nintendo DS games on the platform.

Also
Ace Jon wrote: »
I don't think this was meant to happen but it was so awesome:
I forget what mission I was in, but I had to drive to a helipad to escape the police and get some people onto a helicopter. Anyway, the cops do a good job of messing the car up and as we reach the helipad I smash into one of the more persistent law enforcers. We both set on fire. As I hit the checkpoint, my fire automatically turns off so it'd all work. The cop, however, continues in a firework fashion as the end cutscene starts and he smashes straight into the helicopter, blowing it up. Then my passenger gets out of the car and casually walks right up to the decimated inferno, promptly setting himself on fire. As the cutscene ends, my friend starts running around in a fire-induced panic.

Edit: here it is in pictures
gtacw.png

Even when this game goes wrong it does it so well.





OP v.1.0 archive:
Certainly you've heard of it by now: Stuffed in between the not-for-core-gamers talk at Nintendo's E3 keynote this summer was a white-hot glimmer of potential awesomeness, the news that Rockstar was working on a GTA game for the DS. No screenshots, no gameplay details, just a logo and a promise that great things were to come.

As of late however, more details have surfaced, and may I say, things are looking rather good:

72781020080922_114737_5_big.jpg
  • Instead of going way retro to GTA 1-2 top down view or trying to cram 3-4's close third person view onto a DS, Chinatown Wars opts instead for a slick, quasi-isometric perspective.
  • Cut scenes are rendered in comic book format; the whole art style draws heavily from the series' post-III illustrations.
  • Your protagonist will be able to deal in illicit substances, like the classic Dope Wars game.
  • There will be wi-fi multiplayer.
In other words, this game is shaping up to be a GTA experience perfectly suited to the DS's strengths.


Kotaku also has a nice list of known details right now.

Also, these guys have screenshots!

--edit--

Trailer's up.

--edit 2--

It's out!

Reviews are popping up all over, and one of the classiest gaming sites, Eurogamer, has posted a truly glowing review. While I generally avoid placing much weight on numerical review scores... I must mention they gave it a genuinely rare 10/10.

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The Reverend Dr Galactus on
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Posts

  • urahonkyurahonky Cynical Old Man Registered User regular
    edited September 2008
    I honestly liked the top down view of GTA 1 and 2 MUCH MUCH better than GTA 3-4's (which is probably my main reason for not fully enjoying the game). I'm cautiously optimistic. Depending on the game releases around the release of this game, I may have to pick this up.

    urahonky on
  • davidbarrydavidbarry Registered User regular
    edited September 2008
    Do we know which Rockstar studio is working on this?

    In any case, I loved the old top-down GTA games, so hopefully this one continues that trend.

    davidbarry on
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  • scootchscootch Registered User regular
    edited September 2008
    actually sounds kinda cool. my expectations are super low for this game.

    scootch on
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  • darleysamdarleysam On my way to UKRegistered User regular
    edited September 2008
    Just get the controls right. Should be a lot easier to aim and shoot on the DS than the top-down ones were, so just get that right and we're set.

    Something like this would be fantastic for me and my DS, which I only seem to bring out when I'm traveling anywhere.

    darleysam on
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  • The Reverend Dr GalactusThe Reverend Dr Galactus Registered User regular
    edited September 2008
    davidbarry wrote: »
    Do we know which Rockstar studio is working on this?

    Rockstar Leeds as well as Rockstar North. Not sure which talent from each is involved though.

    The Reverend Dr Galactus on
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  • XagarathXagarath Registered User regular
    edited September 2008
    If helicopters/running on rooftops is possible, I'm probably sold. I could use a portable 3D playground.
    If not, we'll see.


    In fact, why doesn't GTA have parkour/free-running yet? It's such an obvious thing to do.

    Xagarath on
  • UncleSporkyUncleSporky Registered User regular
    edited September 2008
    That looks just fine. I'll definitely be buying this.

    It's not totally in the old style, the cars are full 3D and not just sprites, I like that. I also like how it's sort of cel shaded, that works way better than the PS1 pixelly crap.

    UncleSporky on
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  • The Reverend Dr GalactusThe Reverend Dr Galactus Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    New details have surfaced:

    http://kotaku.com/5089600/more-details-emerge-on-chinatown-wars

    Apparently those screenshots earlier of signs saying "Dukes Expressway" didn't lie: this actually will be taking place in GTA IV's Liberty City.

    That is to say, the whole city except Alderney. Which, even with DS graphics, seems to me a lot of city for the DS. The title had me thinking this would be a sort of walled playground, south-Algonquin sort of thing, but this is really a surprise.

    The Reverend Dr Galactus on
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  • Clint EastwoodClint Eastwood My baby's in there someplace She crawled right inRegistered User regular
    edited November 2008
    So have there been any details on the control scheme yet?

    I have to say this game is looking great.

    Clint Eastwood on
  • MarioGMarioG Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    Man when they announced this at E3, I was like how the hell are they gonna do that? Then I read the NP article and I was like Oh, thats how. And I was totally psyched.

    MarioG on
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  • AlexEAlexE Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    Wi-fi play! I just creamed my pants.

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  • darleysamdarleysam On my way to UKRegistered User regular
    edited November 2008
    Cloudman wrote: »
    So have there been any details on the control scheme yet?

    I have to say this game is looking great.

    This is basically my 'buy/don't buy' decider here. The only GTA game where I've actually felt like I was in control, rather than fighting them, was GTA IV. If they make this control well, then they have my money. Make it handle like a quadruplegic dog on an ice-rink, and there's no way in hell I'll have it.

    darleysam on
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  • slash000slash000 Registered User regular
    edited November 2008


    • Camera can swivel 360 degrees
    • Trains will pass overhead in the city, cars will circle, pedestrians will be walking, etc.
    • GPS seen on the touch screen while you move through the city
    • PDA allows you to gain access to the map with more details as well as the goals of missions
    • You can mark points that you want and the GPS will always tell you the shortest legal route to the destination with yellow or blue arrows
    • New discoveries (such as gas stations) are added to the map
    • Top screen brings you all the action, while the lower screen will let you control elements like the PDA, GPS, the radio, access to the people on the map, or using Motolov cocktails and grenades.
    • Drugs have a big importance in the game
    • Drug system can be compared to Drugwars
    • You have to control the stock of drugs, buy them in one neighborhood and sell them in another • Good way to make money in the game
    • You are given a map so that you know what people demand and at what prices
    • Like other GTA games, in Chinatown Wars, you can catch a taxi - whistle into the microphone so the taxi will stop







    darleysam wrote: »
    Cloudman wrote: »
    So have there been any details on the control scheme yet?

    I have to say this game is looking great.

    This is basically my 'buy/don't buy' decider here. The only GTA game where I've actually felt like I was in control, rather than fighting them, was GTA IV. If they make this control well, then they have my money. Make it handle like a quadruplegic dog on an ice-rink, and there's no way in hell I'll have it.

    It'll probably control like the original 2D gta games.

    slash000 on
  • Clint EastwoodClint Eastwood My baby's in there someplace She crawled right inRegistered User regular
    edited November 2008
    I don't know anybody who has played any of those. Can you describe it to us at least?

    Clint Eastwood on
  • MumblyfishMumblyfish Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    slash000 wrote: »
    whistle into the microphone so the taxi will stop
    [Obligatory eyerolling.]

    Mumblyfish on
  • slash000slash000 Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    Cloudman wrote: »
    I don't know anybody who has played any of those. Can you describe it to us at least?

    I haven't played it either.. but I'm just assuming it will control as such. Nobody ever complained about the controls in the other games at least.. so there's that... I guess.

    Mumblyfish wrote: »
    slash000 wrote: »
    whistle into the microphone so the taxi will stop
    [Obligatory eyerolling.]

    I know, hahah. Hopefully there will be an alternative to actual, microphone whistling for this purpose. I'll just assume that there is.

    slash000 on
  • Clint EastwoodClint Eastwood My baby's in there someplace She crawled right inRegistered User regular
    edited November 2008
    Well shit.

    Clint Eastwood on
  • ArrathArrath Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    Cloudman wrote: »
    I don't know anybody who has played any of those. Can you describe it to us at least?

    Been so long I don't remember if it was Tank controls (forward moves your character in whatever direction they're facing, back backs up, left and right rotate) or each direction moving you in the direction. I have a gut feeling saying it was tank though.

    Arrath on
  • METAzraeLMETAzraeL Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    ha,I can just imagine someone who can't whistle trying to get a taxi. Maybe you can just blow into the mic.

    METAzraeL on

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  • XagarathXagarath Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    2D GTA had tank controls.

    Nice to know that there are trains, but can we ride on top of them? Climb on the tracks and get run over? Drive onto the tracks?
    Too many unanswered questions.

    Xagarath on
  • darleysamdarleysam On my way to UKRegistered User regular
    edited November 2008
    Firstly, you can get them for free from Rockstar themselves if you like (last I saw, anyway, unless they've changed things since then).

    Secondly.. ugh, I hope not. It was top-down and you used the left and right arrow keys to turn, up and down to walk forwards or backwards. Aiming to shoot was something of a pain, because you could never quite tell if you were lined up or not.

    darleysam on
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  • UncleSporkyUncleSporky Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    The touchscreen would be perfect for aiming, if it wouldn't get in the way of other controls. Drag in a circle around a central point, and aim in that direction.

    UncleSporky on
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  • darleysamdarleysam On my way to UKRegistered User regular
    edited November 2008
    The touchscreen would be perfect for aiming, if it wouldn't get in the way of other controls. Drag in a circle around a central point, and aim in that direction.

    See, this is what I'd hope, but it doesn't sound like it. Convince me Rockstar, sell me your games.

    darleysam on
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  • chasmchasm Ill-tempered Texan Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    I may actually buy a DS for this.

    chasm on
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  • ArrathArrath Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    I might dig up my DS' charger for this.

    Arrath on
  • descdesc Goretexing to death Registered User regular
    edited November 2008
    Wait what's all this now? GTA for DS and it looks awesome?

    I love it when you are totally ignorant of a game, then learn about it, and then realize it might be awesome, especially on a platform you rarely use.

    It's like someone tells you, "Wait, you didn't know about the other christmas we have? There's another christmas, a new one. Check it out."

    desc on
  • CouscousCouscous Registered User regular
    edited December 2008
    http://www.edge-online.com/news/gamestop-offers-fake-money-gta-chinatown-pre-orders
    GameStop's latest exclusive pre-ordering bait will give gamers virtual cash and guns in Take-Two's upcoming Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars for DS.

    By pre-ordering the game at the retailer, consumers will get $10,000 in "cold hard Liberty City cash" and immediate access to the game's entire arsenal from the start of play.

    Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars launches on March 17 in the U.S.
    It has finally happened. You now basically get cheats for preordering this game from Gamestop.

    Couscous on
  • UncleSporkyUncleSporky Registered User regular
    edited December 2008
    I bet this is going to be as stupid as SimCity DS, where buying it at Wal-Mart would net you a real world bonus structure like the Eiffel Tower...except it was just a dumb password that was all over gfaqs the day it came out.

    UncleSporky on
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  • The Reverend Dr GalactusThe Reverend Dr Galactus Registered User regular
    edited December 2008
    Couscous wrote: »
    http://www.edge-online.com/news/gamestop-offers-fake-money-gta-chinatown-pre-orders
    GameStop's latest exclusive pre-ordering bait will give gamers virtual cash and guns in Take-Two's upcoming Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars for DS.

    By pre-ordering the game at the retailer, consumers will get $10,000 in "cold hard Liberty City cash" and immediate access to the game's entire arsenal from the start of play.

    Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars launches on March 17 in the U.S.
    It has finally happened. You now basically get cheats for preordering this game from Gamestop.

    Oh, yeah! Preorder from GameStop and get a free broken gameplay balance! Less challenge, more power fantasy!

    The Reverend Dr Galactus on
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  • METAzraeLMETAzraeL Registered User regular
    edited December 2008
    eh, I'm sure there are plenty of casual gamers that love dicking around in GTA but don't care about the story or any of that. Get the casuals preordering at gamestop...I'm cool with that.

    METAzraeL on

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  • The Reverend Dr GalactusThe Reverend Dr Galactus Registered User regular
    edited February 2009
    The trailer's out, with no shortage of Rockstar production values.

    The Reverend Dr Galactus on
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  • Masked_MulletMasked_Mullet Registered User regular
    edited February 2009
    The trailer's out, with no shortage of Rockstar production values.

    I think that just made me convinced to buy a DS, just to play that.

    Masked_Mullet on
  • bakatrinhbakatrinh Registered User regular
    edited March 2009
    I have this game and all I can say is... it is fucking amazing. AMAZING! When they first announced this game way back at e3, I thought it was going to be just another gimmicky DS game that barely has any resemblance of a GTA game. I was wrong. As soon as I fired up the game and saw the graphics I was stunned. This is by far the best graphics I've seen on the DS yet, what is even more impressive is the loading time and the frame rate, it is fast.

    I found other GTA games slightly frustrating because of the load times, especially when you restart a mission, not so much here. In GTAIV, when you die, or when you are teleporting around via taxi, it would take about 20-30 seconds to finish the loading, it takes about 2-3 here (that's right quick travel with taxi is back, no need to drive back to your mission marker everytime you fail a mission). The fact that the game is on flash RAM cartridges really helps with the loadng.

    The game takes place in the same Liberty City found in GTAIV, which is pretty massive, it has the same layout and everything. I think Alderney is missing though (the last island) but it's still pretty big. Traveling around the city is a breeze because the GPS feature is included in this, and it's even better because you can mark your destination by touching the screen. Also you can save anywhere so you don't have to be at a safehouse.

    One of the drawback to this game is in the audio department. The car music is just MIDI tunes, although they don't sound bad it's not the same licensed music we're used to hearing. There's no voice acting or in game cutscenes. You just get a picture of the character and a dialogue box. However, thanks to good writing, it is actually interesting to read. I actually laughed a few times from the stuff the characters would say. You do hear voices from pedestrians when you run them over however so that's nice to have.

    I've always found the bottom screen of the DS useless and felt that 80% of the game on the DS can be made with just one screen. This game, however, actually made good use of the bottom screen. The radar with GPS directions and health bar can be found on the screen. Dialogues are shown as well. It also acts as a PDA, you can check your objectives, emails, change weapons, change radio, and a few other things. What you end up getting is a nice clean game screen on top. When you are stealing parked cars, you would have to do minigames like picking the cars' lock or pulling wires out and tieing them together to jump start the car. It is all done with the touchscreen and you would drag things around with your thumb, it is actually pretty fun. One thing to mention is you can whistle into the mic to call a taxi. And you can go to a store to buy lotto scratchers. When you are scratching the tickets you bought to reveal your symbols, you can actually blow on the mic to remove the aluminum residue that would come off as you're scratching. Yeah I love little details such as this and it's scattered all over the game. You can go up to a dumpster and search it by dragging garbage out of it and see if there's guns or food to get. Oh yeah and you don't die when you fall into water.

    Overall, this is a top notch GTA game, it's enjoyment is really improved by the features Rockstar added in GTAIV.

    bakatrinh on
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  • Ace JonAce Jon Registered User regular
    edited March 2009
    Registered to talk here.
    I've got the game preordered and I'll buy it on Friday (UK release), but I had to "get" it sooner because I'm impatient.

    And I've got to agree with bakatrinh, this game is awesome in every way. I've not played any missions because I'm saving that for my *real* experience with the *actual* game, but I've had fun killing people and dealing with cops.

    The driving controls are really tight, darleysam:
    D-pad: left-right steers, down uses horn/siren
    X to enter/leave a vehicle
    A to shoot
    B to accelerate
    Y to reverse
    And the steering is perfect. Tapping the direction will have you turn slightly before auto-steer brings you back in line with the road, making for good lane changes. Hold it longer and you'll be turning like a pro.

    The touchscreen 'minigames' are really classy. They're easy to do, making for non-frustrating 3 second breaks from button pressing and they feel really rewarding.

    I've noticed that if you drive the fastest cars through the busiest areas, there's sometimes split-second texture pop-in, but it doesn't affect gameplay in any way.

    I can't wait until this game comes out!

    Also: hello this is my first post

    Ace Jon on
    Yours truly, Ace Jon.
  • WillethWilleth Registered User regular
    edited March 2009
    Haha, I went to add this to preorder at ShopTo and I already had it in there. Bonus!

    Willeth on
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  • troublebrewingtroublebrewing Registered User regular
    edited March 2009
    propers for the ghostface and mfdoom song on the trailer.

    I think it looks cool I hope to hear good things about it.

    troublebrewing on
  • darleysamdarleysam On my way to UKRegistered User regular
    edited March 2009
    Willeth wrote: »
    Haha, I went to add this to preorder at ShopTo and I already had it in there. Bonus!

    Oooh, buy me one!

    darleysam on
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  • inthegrayinthegray Registered User regular
    edited March 2009
    after seeing all the gameplay vids on youtube, i think i'll be picking this up (sorry hatsworth!). i wasn't even thinking about it before this past week!

    i wonder why rockstar hasn't shown more of the game other than a few trailers?

    inthegray on
  • WillethWilleth Registered User regular
    edited March 2009
    darleysam wrote: »
    Willeth wrote: »
    Haha, I went to add this to preorder at ShopTo and I already had it in there. Bonus!

    Oooh, buy me one!

    Best price is at Amazon, btw - I just have a ton of ShopTo credit.

    Willeth on
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  • darleysamdarleysam On my way to UKRegistered User regular
    edited March 2009
    Cheers! I think I might wait until next week (appreciate the review though, Ace Jon) just to get a range of impressions and see what the overall opinion is. Looking really positive, though.

    darleysam on
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