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Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories
takes the long-running series to a place it's never been before - Sony's new handheld portable
machine, and of the games I've played on this unit so far, this is by far the best one, but then
it does help that the series in question has been the absolute dog's bollocks with longevity that
pays off if you stick with it.
Although you're returned to Liberty City, the setting for 2001's ground-breaking
Grand Theft Auto III,
you don't play the same character, the clock goes back three years to 1998 and you take on the
role of Toni Cipriani, who has come home after four years in exile. He left town after murdering a
made man courtesy of your boss, Don Salvatore Leone.
Cipriani was previously voiced by
Reservoir Dogs' Michael Madsen
but he turned this one down, allegedly because he now deplores violence (go figure!), so instead
we have the similar-sounding but no-one's-heard-of-him Daniel Mastrogiorgio. In fact, there's
no big names in Liberty City, this time round, but some voices from GTA 3 do make their comeback.
Still, no matter because although there's still a few of the niggles that have always turned up in each
release as the series has gone on, this latest release has also learned a few things along the way
to make it feel more polished than the average trip back to Liberty City would've done.
Your aim is simple - You're back working for Salvatore Leone and have to protect his family who have become
a prime target for all baddies concerned and you'll have to do his bidding in order to progress as well
as encountering other characters who, early on, include Vincenzo Cilli and J.D. O'Toole.
Firstly, I will say that it feels good to be back in Liberty City. It's been four years since that game
and as I played through that game I can now see places I remember flashing back into my memory. It's also
a great start to the PSP range of these games because you need familiarity to get you used to working
on a smaller screen, and this title certainly translates very well onto it.
All the SFX and style is there in this release, as is the brilliant physics that make this series such
a joy to tuck into. The graphics have a slightly higher score than that of the PS2 versions but that
doesn't mean they're necessarily better, it's more that these are absolutely pixel-sharp because of
the smaller screen it has to work on. There is a little bit of a blur about them when rushing about but
that's inherent of the PSP and not the fault of Rockstar.
As ever, you can complete the missions in any order that they're presented to you although it does have
a slightly linear edge to it in that some have to be done in order to reveal the next one in the storyline
so this can't be helped and isn't really a problem as such.
There's far better music in GTA on the PSP than there was back in
San Andreas,
but that's only because I didn't like much of the rap stuff as while I'm primarily an '80s man, so that's why
Vice City
tops the bill on the audio front, Liberty City Stories returns the one thing I've not been able to
listen to in four years - Double Clef FM. You simply cannot beat a screaming car chase to the strains of
Maria Callas' O Mio Babbino Caro - best experienced with the headphones supplied with the PSP Value
Pack.
The first three 3D Grand Theft Auto PS2 games.
Grand Theft Auto III
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Niggles with this release aren't things that would make any fan turn away from it but in no particular order:
Swimming is no longer possible - yes, I know it wasn't in GTA 3
either, but we've moved on since. Perhaps on here it's because the idea of most of the far less complex
missions than ealier titles is to make them more manageable on a smaller unit - they're not designed to
go on as long as the PS2's missions because the PSP is a handheld console and they don't want you to be
spending your lunch break trying to swim the channel.
Given the smaller controls on the unit, one thing that has been returned is the ability to select the
D-pad to control a vehicle - although strangely for walking around I prefer the analogue stick. However,
when it comes to using your weapon, it is possible to use the fine-aim system to shoot where you want
but it is rather a faff about compared to the PS2 and this really is where two sets of shoulder buttons
on the PSP would've been useful.
Also, as has happened in all previous 3D incarnations, the graphics can go a bit funny when you're close
to a wall or door and then turn around, as you can appear to partly walk 'through' it. Still, this has been
happening for a long time now so it's easily ignorable if it means the frame rate doesn't suffer (look
what happened when they tried to tart up Lara Croft for
Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness
and the game was appalling for trying too hard with a new game engine.
There's also a small strange issue with the loading of saved games, but nothing insurmountable: When you
select 'Load Game', it quickly states 'Load Completed' but it hasn't even begun. You need to press 'back',
then say 'yes' to loading over "unsaved progress" (which is usually me having tried something and stuffed
up so I need to do it again) and then it's fine.
Back to the positives, because these far outweigh any problems, and there's a fair few unique stunts to
be found and attempted, it's still just as much fun to race around, such as with the Vigilante Missions
- even if this is rather easier on a PS2 because you can see what you're doing a bit more clearly.
Motorbikes are present in Liberty City now, as is the ability to change your outfit.
One of the big advancements, courtesy of the PSP's wireless capabilities, is... wait for it... yes, it's
finally here - online gaming! With up to six players to engage in a game at any one time, several game
modes are represented here such as Capture the Flag (Get Stretch) and Deathmatch, the latter being called
Liberty City Survivor.
Overall, it's outstanding how much Rockstar have crammed into a UMD and once you've got the headphones on
and the lights off, you won't be at all distracted that you're watching on a 4.3" widescreen display as
opposed to a big TV. It's not designed to win new converts to the series, but perfects as a great companion
piece to the rest of the series that you've enjoyed many an hour progressing through, be it working your
way through the standard story mode or branching off into the large number of side missions which all go
to help towards getting that elusive 100%. Pure gaming ecstacy!
GRAPHICS SOUND EFFECTS AND MUSIC PLAYABILITY ENJOYMENT
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Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.