Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars [App Store] was quietly released into the App Store this evening. Chinatown Wars for the iPhone seems to lie somewhere in between the DS and PSP versions in regards to graphical quality, but as far as pure GTA gameplay, everything so far seems intact. (Complete with an awful lot of swearing.)
Much like other versions of the game, screenshots barely do it justice. Liberty City in motion on the iPhone is amazing, and all the jagged edges in the screenshots quickly fade away when you’re racing down a street, under elevated train tracks, and through alleys as you escape the police. The realtime clock in-game also changes the lighting of the city, shifting from the orange glow of a sunset to the street lights turning on at night. It really looks awesome.
The basic premise of the game involves a man named Huang Lee, the son of a Triad gang boss who was recently sent to sleep with the fishes. He flies in to Liberty City with a heirloom sword his father won in a poker game, deciding to deliver it to his uncle. Of course things never go as planned, and not long after landing Huang finds himself in the middle of a gunfight and winds up getting kidnapped. After stealing the sword, the assailants assume Huang is dead, and looking to dispose of the body drive the car he’s in off the side of a pier. In the same vein of other GTA games, story isn’t really anything revolutionary, but it gets the job done.
Chinatown Wars is controlled very similar to Gameloft’s Gangstar, with virtual buttons and a joystick that handle all the driving, running, shooting, and other activities in game. The iPhone port of Chinatown Wars retains the stylus minigames that filled the DS version, appearing in a little popups where you do things like tap to smash the window of the car you were trapped in at the beginning of the game, slide your finger around to turn a screwdriver to start a car you’re stealing, etc.
When the Nintendo DS version was first released, I devoted hours to playing through the game. So far the iPhone port seems like a faithful reproduction with quite a few expletives. I obviously don’t have the full text scripts of both games to compare, but everything I’ve come across so far has fit with what you would expect out of a GTA game, and it would appear that very little if anything was actually censored for the App Store release.
Chinatown Wars seems to be a complete GTA experience. You have your apartment that serves as your character’s hub with a “Fruit" computer you can check emails on, a garage you can stash a car in, and when you’re on the road there is a full GPS system with a map of Liberty City that you can plot your destination on to easily get from one side of the city to the other. There’s all kinds of stat tracking that will tell you everything from how many bullets you’ve fired to how many fish you’ve fed and in-game options that offer all kinds of different tweaks to the interface and gameplay.
[ Full HD version | Low Bandwidth version ]
We weren’t initially sure if this release was intentional, as we expected some amount of pre-release fanfare from Rockstar, but we are going to be working on a full review of this version of the game.
App Store Link: Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, $9.99
You mention the ability to hail a cab on the DS using the mic. Why isn't this possible on the iPhone? It would be a good question to ask R*. I don't have a PSP or a DS but I'm still pretty happy with the game.
I suspect they left it out because they didn't want to put in a feature only available to iPhone yet not iPod.
to hail a cab you need to hold you finger on the top of the screen to the right of the gps minimap. of there is a cab available your character will whistle and then and the cab will stop if there is no cabs available the character will just hold his hand up until an available cab comes by
thankyou for this it has really helped me
I have the iPhone version and I also have it on my PSP-GO.. I prefer it on my psp, i think it looks slighty better, but the main reason is the much easier controls.. Both are great though . not tried the DS version so can't comment in that
@Str1f3 - probably because it wouldn't work on the iPod Touch without a headset with a mic ;-)
They could have made it an option, but I would have rather they added the voices instead, that seems like more of a loss.
The latter point about the voices is a very good point and is more significant but I think it would require very little effort for support of the iPhone's microphone. Apps like Dragon Dictation and Bing search support the iPod touch and allow for microphone use with the proper headphones.
The PSP version seems to be clearly the best of them all, considering the graphics. Gameplaywise I would choose the DS Version because of all the touch mechanics build into the game. The Graphics are the second best on the iPhone, the DS lacks in that category.
ok, the graphics are better on the psp, but the psp screen itself is a lot worse than the iphone/ipod touch screen. (at least for the psp go) Look at all those lines.
Your stupid! it only looks bad on video, but the new psp screens are actually BETTER than the ipod touch screens. You get more colors, it has a better contrast ratio and better refresh rate. You can't even notice the scanlines when playing.
@freak in the dark - "Your stupid" - take an English class before makng that comment.
Big shame about the lack of chatter. It really adds an additional layer to the atmosphere and player immersion.
Would bundling in these sound files into an update really add that much extra weight in megabytes?
i've played the game on PSP and DS and can't rave enough about the idevice release. Toucharcade have nailed it putting it down to personal taste - each platform has it's pros and cons. It's a solid game with so much depth whatever your taste. Game of the year!!!
I bought it for the iPhone today, and I also have it on the PSP Go. I'd have to say I prefer the controls on the PSP by quite a bit. As for graphics, I think the PSP wins too. Not only can you see more fine detail, but it just appears to have better contrast and color, and deeper blacks. The one disadvantage is that you see more stairstepping on the edge of objects. The iPhone version looks smoother, but it's also softer looking with grays rather than blacks during cutscenes. It's still very impressive though.
For $10 this game is a steal. It's still $29.95 at the Playstation store, so I hope people buy it in droves for ten bucks rather than complaining about its high price.
Yep, did buy it for $10,- as soon as I read this and all the other great reviews from touch arcade on gta. I'm all for promoting games like this! Keep them coming
In the DS version, the train tracks would go partially transparent when you moved beneath them. This is lacking in the iPhone ver. and it's a big oversight. It's very distracting. That aside, they did a fantastic job.
I agree with the differences pointed out between platforms since it's what I and others have found in the forum. Personally, I think the iPhone version turned out great in respects to the other platforms since the softer textures and edges seem to reduce the aliasing compared to other platforms while the higher screen resolution still makes everything look crisp and detailed. And for the price and given the platform it's difficult to complain.
I too hope that Rockstar adds back the pedestrian chatter in a free update. The missing radio stations would legitimately be too big, but the chatter is an integral part of the atmosphere and shouldn't be that huge in comparison. If size is such a concern maybe Rockstar could pare down the pedestrian chatter variety before implementing it and include an option to disable the chatter if people don't want it or find it too repetitive.
And the other major difference between the platforms that I don't believe was mentioned here, is that the iPhone version lacks multiplayer compared to the DS and PSP versions.
Lolwut? "Really, you should buy Chinatown Wars for whatever platform you have with you the most when you want to play games. For many people this will be the iPhone, "
I guess the author doesn't know that the DS has outsold the iPhone ....
Just because people HAVE a DS, doesn't mean they carry it wherever they go. I own an iphone, a DS and a PSP. The DS and PSP usually stay in my game drawer, while my iphone is in my pocket at all times. I'm sure most people with iphones in addition to other portable platforms can report a similar case.
Users *in this forum* have bought more DSs than iDevices?
Well I own it on each system and each is great in it's own way. But there's something I've been trying desperately to figure out, on both the DS and PSP versions you could do burnouts by holding the gas and brake for a few seconds and then releasing the brake(it can only be done in select cars however); this would leave flames behind in your treadmarks and you could set people on fire(a necessary move for losing the cops). So has anyone figured this out in the iPhone version?
I have the game on my iPod touch and figured this move out somehow myself (it happened once randomly and then I tried until I figured out how to do that ;) )
It needs some practise, maybe it can be done easily, but I do it like this: When I am in a car/bike and am not moving or moving slowly, I slide my finger (without releasing the screen) from Gas to Brake (to use handbrake as the game itself learned me).
Your car shouldn't move now. Then I slide my finger from Brake back to Gas. If you made it correctly, you can see your wheels rotating, but your car not moving.
Now just release the Gas button, then immediately tap it again and you will make a burnout!
(the longer you hold the gas button, the better burnout you will do ;) )
And yes, doesn't work for every vehicle.
I hope this helped.
Sorry for my English.
i have done it on accident with some kind of motorcycle on my phone i thought it was a glitch because my bike was almost on fire anyway and when it took off i crashed and burned nice to know its not a glitch
Wow, to me the iPhone version looks the best on that vid. More chatter would be nice, but not a deal breaker by any stretch. I hope we see more substantial games on the iDevice in the near future. I love my casual games, but soaking up a good full length game like this every now and again doesn't hurt: )
Oh, forgot to mention that it's currently no.2 in the UK paid apps with Doodle Jump in 1st, perhaps the two games in the app store that currently best represent the polar opposites in gaming i.e casual vs hardcore.
In the video the PSP version shows a lot of horizontal scan lines, but in reality you don't see any of that if you get the PSP version. The colors look washed out in that video too, which isn't accurate.
I'll buy it for the iPhone the second it gets multiplayer. It boggles my mind that they would release it on the iPhone without at least WiFi multiplayer. *thumbs down*
If devs started making 3rd gen iPod Touch and iPhone 3GS-specific titles, then a 3GS-Specific GTA would be way superior to the PSP version.
Surely they could do that, whilst still keeping owners of older hardware happy?
Yeah it's already happening. There's a total of two different hardware configs and so it's not too difficult to say "am I on a 3GS? Then do this. Else do this". Touch Arcade has covered some of these. Plus then you don't have two different apps and so you can enter the charts correctly.
I like the ds version the most because the camera is not that far away and
because i think the minigames are more for the stylus
i just have the iphone version^^
I'm lovin' the iPhone version. The driving isn't as good as it is on the PSP, but I definitely won't be taking the PSP with me wherever I go like I do with the iPhone.
Rockstar should look into the different driving methods used in maybe other iPhone driving games and get a sense of how it should be done on the iPhone...just something else, the driving isn't very fun with that control method.
I know daring to question a review will upset some of the more sycophantic members, so I apologize in advance....but I must take issue with the fact that graphics and sound do not a game make. As a gamer with the choice of all the platforms discussed the most relevant issue to be discussed is surely the differences in control; I want to know about the graphics and audio sure...but gameplay is key, especially when considering a game with strong action elements that frequently calls into play quick thinking and reflexes.
How one can discuss this game in terms of the differences and relative merits of these three platforms (all with such unique input and control) without mentioning the control or gameplay is absolutely beyond me....
Honestly, I don't see what is so difficult about the controls. I am able to play about 95% as ably with the iPhone as I was with the craptacular PSP joystick. All in all, I am pretty used to using the iPhone controls and I am able to play without issue.
I suppose it is like any new control system. You will need practice with it before being proficient. Why would anyone expect it to be any other way?
Looks pretty simple to me.
Best gameplay = DS
Best graphics = PSP
Best value for money = iPhone
I agree with @Jas, I own all versions and like very much the stylus+pad game controls on the DS think this is the best installment for GTA Chinatown :)
Unrelated to this review I know, but does anyone know how much behavioral difference there is between the various cars/trucks etc? I see some of the sports cars are pretty nippy, but I'm wondering if maybe the heavier vehicles are more resistant to damage and so on? Thanks in advance: )
Your curiosity is correct. Sports cars and motorcycles are much easier to destroy than delivery vans, the Patriot, bulldozer, or the city bus. and besides damage many cars handle and drive differently. some won't stop spinning tires for a block or so, and the cars also differ in the quickness that they can turn.
The thing that amazes me the most is this is almost the entire city of GTA4, only island excluded is the third large island with the industrial park and the hidden sultan gt ;)
Thanks for that. I'm spending most of my time right now just trying out all the modes of transport; ) The bikes are cool, and they really go; ) I also noticed that police cars turn on a penny. It didn't occur to me to try any of the boat until I got stuck somewhere and had to ditch my car in the water. Oh yeah, and I noticed how you can catch up with the best sports car yet trying to catch up with a person running down the road is almost impossible. Are they all professional athletes in this city, lol!
I want these voices!!
Why did Rockstar leave them out?!
Did I seriously just read that the iPhone can't compete with a microphone gimmick? It's a phone ffs!!!
They forgot the iPhone versions ability to use all of your iPod tracks for the game. I don't know whether you can do that on the PSP or not but since you'd obviously have a lot more songs on your iDevice than on your PSP, it definitely gives the iPhone an edge in that regard.
Yes it needs the pedestrian voices, I am not sure why they would think of leaving it out, what is it, an extra 10megs? Also as someone else mentioned the lack of transparency when going under a bridge.. both need to be added in an update. PERIOD. Also I am not sure why driving or moving using the accelerometer wasnt added, seems like a glaring lack of use in the iPhone.
I really do not care which one is better. I have a DS and PSPgo, not an iPod Touch/iPhone. However I could really care less which version is better, because as a gamer I want all consoles and want the best that each console has to offer.
Can i make a recommendation? I think youve got something decent here. But imagine if you added in a few links to a website that backs up just what youre declaring? Or maybe you might give us a little something to look at, something that would connect what you are declaring to something real? Just a idea.
Actually, I own an Iphone 3G, DS (classic, not lite or I), and a psp... I recently bought it on my phone, seeing as it was cheaper to try. Seeing as I am upgrading from 1st gen DS to DSi on friday, I saved some extra cash to buy a copy of GTA: CTW for my ds as well. I absolutely loved my iphone version, played it for most of my day. The only problem is Battery Life. Will comment later on the DS version. :)
I think you should try to play this game on new Nintendo 3DS which is play this game very well and I love to play this game on my Nintendo 3DS.Nintendo doing very good things in new 3DS.
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