|
|
|
XGD > PSP > Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Information
Additional Files
Reviews A portable experience., December 17, 2005 Rating: 10.0/10 By Mitch To be completely honest with you all, before Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories was released and we were provided with nothing more than a short synopsis and some screenshots, I thought it was a bad idea. Really, how much of Liberty City can we take? I had heard so much of it in the Grand Theft Auto series it was almost annoying and cliché. It was almost as if Rockstar Games was obsessed with Liberty City, their own invention, almost like they were the biggest fans of something they created. Don't understand what I mean? Here are all of the GTA games that feature LC before LCS.
- Grand Theft Auto
- Grand Theft Auto 3
- Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
- Grand Theft Auto Advance
I really thought that was more than enough. Even though San Andreas only featured a tiny section and an interior not even present in Grand Theft Auto 3, I was heavily annoyed and didn't want anything else to do with the city. Even GTA: Vice City heavily mentions Liberty City over and over. When I heard about LCS, I wasn't too impressed. More of Liberty City with a new main character, what's the big deal? The same old city with a new story and some minor improvements, how exciting can it be? Being a die-hard GTA fan, I had to play it, it was my religion. When I popped it in to the heavy, borrowed PSP, I nearly killed myself for being so wrong.
Remember when Grand Theft Auto 3 was released? Remember the sheer excitement and true amazement we were all in? The game was everything anyone ever wanted, and was truly 100% original. I still don't even consider it a video game; to me it's a simulator of some sorts. I'm sure everyone misses that excitement when Grand Theft Auto 3 was released. When I inserted Liberty City Stories into the PSP, that excitement returned, and immediately I felt like I was on speed, this addicting game keeping me coming back for more. Fans that stay true to the storyline of Grand Theft Auto will love this game, in the same fashion I did and still do. Anyone remember Toni Cipriani from Grand Theft Auto 3? That's right; you all know who I'm talking about. Salvatore Leone's Capo, the heavyset Italian who helped Salvatore run the Leone Family Mafia. This time, instead of working for him, we take control over the now younger man in 1998, three years before Grand Theft Auto 3 was to take place. This actually helps explain a lot, about how Mr. Cipriani himself became one of Salvatore's Captains and was a big name on the streets. Here, he looks a bit younger despite the fact it's only three years prior to GTA3, but he is a lot more thin and built, which proves when he became a Captain he began to settle down and pack on the pounds. But now, he's a gunman who has just returned to State of Liberty after taking enjoying some downtime out of the city. Vacation time is over, and Salvatore Leone puts Toni straight back to work. Toni isn't walking back in on the best era of the city, either. Currently, there's a small time war going on against three families: The Leone's, the Forelli's and the Sindacco's. We all know from GTA3 that Salvatore and his son Joey weren't as fond of the Forelli's as most, but we now know that the Sindacco Family from Las Venturas also operate out of Liberty City. Of course, as Toni is put back to work in helping teach these families a lesson in respect, he also does some other work for new and older characters, including the famous Donald Love.
So, the question you all want answered: what's new? Unfortunately, the question swings more towards "what's old?" Those of you who were expecting all of the San Andreas elements to be present in LCS will be depressed, because a lot of them are missing… but what else could you expect? San Andreas already has already been overstuffed on dual layer DVD discs for consoles, how do you think it'd do on a mini PSP game? Either way, you'll still be incredibly impressed, seeing as how it's a more detailed and complicated GTA3 on the PSP. The graphics are better, the sound is better, and it simply looks better, all of it taking place on a mini handheld console screen. To me, it looked unrealistic. A couple years ago I was playing a friends Gameboy Advance, and now I'm looking at this thing?
Instead of giving you the low-down on what's new in this bad boy, I'll tell you what NOT to expect. To begin, like stated earlier, this isn't no San Andreas. The only real noticeable elements are the cars, where many return from the streets of SA into Liberty City. All of the major parts we were all introduced to are gone, so this means there's no eating, exercising, gaining or losing weight, nor is there a massive amount of different clothing articles to choose from. Instead, LCS plays a lot like a better Vice City. Whole outfits are available, the lower budget looking car models from VC have returned, as well as the driving system instead of SA's more loose-turning semi-realistic driving simulator system. Is this a bad thing? Hell no. There are some new things to look forward to, so LCS is indeed something new different.
Obviously, as we are playing in a '98 environment, Liberty City doesn't have any new additions… but more interestingly, it is different. A small number of things are different, some have changed drastically, and others aren't even there anymore. Everything is still roughly the same though, it's only a three year gap, and therefore finding your way around should be extremely easy if you played GTA3 a lot in the past. For me, it was more exciting. I knew I was in the same world, but everything was so different in another sense that it made the game more enjoyable. Formerly, this seemed like a bad idea from Rockstar, but now, it's possibly one of the most original ideas for a game I have seen in years. Aside from the city changing slightly, the police haven't changed much either. In fact, the squad car models have been resurrected from GTA3 and thrown right into LCS, which is a welcome sight that makes you feel more in place. Speaking of police, you should know to expect the same type of action from the previous games. There's the 6 star wanted level, that can easily be triggered and have you in police custody before you know it. Unfortunately, the AI system from Vice City has also returned, and police aren't as brilliant as they were in San Andreas. There's no ducking behind cars and crouch-running, it's the former stand-and-shoot method, which you once again can get used to and ignore. A nice, different change with the police however is realism in their actions, not their offensive tactics. If you cause a little bit of havoc with out gaining some stars, such as blowing up a car without attaining any wanted stars, the police will arrive, but not on a manhunt mission like before. Instead, two or three squad cars will show up, stop, and the police will investigate the crime scene. Really, it makes their cars easy to be jacked and basically makes them sitting ducks begging to get gunned down by your arsenal of weapons. Some may like this, but others won't, because the glory of not attaining a wanted star will disappear when they investigate what has happened, because now you can easily trigger an attack against you by simply doing the wrong thing.
The biggest improvement, which I'm sure everyone has heard all of the hype about, is weather. To start, we'll begin with the most advanced feature: snow. Does it make a difference? Not really, but a lot of us may have seen this coming since we saw Liberty City covered in snow when we took the quick trip in San Andreas. Snowing is rarer than rain, but you'll be wishing it was the other way around. To start off, Rockstar really did ruin the rain factor. I hate to sound harsh, but it really was a bad mistake. Not only does it constantly rain in the city, but the new rain feature causes more problems on your car than it does to the street. If it's running, all it does is take one single tap at the steering to cause you to spin violently out of control and kill a couple of people on the way. This is probably my only gripe, seeing as how it now makes you want to walk the way to your destination rather than drive, ending up swerving like a fierce alcoholic without a brake pedal. And broken hands.
As for the music section, what would a GTA game be without radio stations? Of course, Rockstar Games managed to shove a large portion of MP3 tracks, dialogue, and commercials all into LCS. A lot of the radio stations still exist from GTA3, but Chatterbox has been replaced by a wide talk-show variety station with different programs, and indeed one of them is hosted by Lazlow, who indeed runs Chatterbox, obviously before it became a radio station itself.
One of the biggest problems I faced with Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories was the headache factor. Remember getting those headaches from staring at Donkey Kong on your Gameboy? Now it's even worse, because there's so much to see in LCS on one little screen. I remember reading that the PSP would be good when carpooling or on a subway. One word:
Hell no.
I indeed tried to play LCS when carpooling on a highway to visit some step-relatives, and I nearly threw up. It seems like a good idea, but sadly, it doesn't work out as well as someone would wish.
Of course, I've got to say, LCS is an experience. When sitting calmly down on a couch and playing the game in a quiet environment, it's very fun. I know you're all familiar with wanting to go home from work or school badly to play a new video game, but now you can just take it with you. I would, provided that the PSP I was using was actually mine. I enjoyed Liberty City Stories, and for a handheld game, it does indeed blow you away, especially when you compare PSP games to the fact that they're still making Gameboy Advance games.
Similar Games
Buy It
From eBay:
From Amazon
|
|
|
|
|
Add to Collection
