"All the charm and personality of Grand Theft Auto in the palm of your hand"

I'll begin this review my simply stating that I am incredibly biased against handheld games. To me, a handheld game just doesn't work if it's not a collection of mini-games, an rpg, or a platformer. To me, the thought of a fully fledged 3D game is blasphemous and simply won't work even on today's technology. While the PSP has slowly changed my mind, needless to say Liberty City Stories has completely shattered my wall of bias and turned me towards a new light.

To sum up this review in one sentence, "Buy This Game."

In standard Grand Theft Auto fair, you're introduced to the new city with a brief cutscene describing the characters and setting while listening to a new song (in this case, it's a jazzy beat). You play as Toni Cipriani, the overweight mama's boy from Grand Theft Auto 3 who happens to hate asians. In this game, you're a nobody working for the Leone mafia syndicate. After being forced into hiding for killing a made man (in mafia terms, this is usually the last don of a family or an important member of said family) you return to take your place in the Leone family. It's a shame the Don has little respect for you and his son is just as more of a jerk than in GTA 3.

The graphics are, simply put, outstanding. While it's nothing compared to most console games, the relatively simple (graphically at least) engine of Grand Theft Auto fits perfectly on the psp's 480x272 screen. The game clocks out the psp's cpu at 333mzh creating crisp and clear visuals that just barely rival it's console brethren. Characters are just as detailed as they were in the console editions, cars have relatively simple (yet advanced for a handheld game) lighting maps, there's the signature GTA lens flare, and the explosion and firearm effects are very satisfying. Despite the fact that the game looks almost like a clone of it's sequel, the game does contain a lot (and I do mean A LOT) of ghosting (a shadowy "after-image" of sorts) during intensive movement. While it's nothing GAMEPLAY DESTROYING, you will notice it while playing on foot but thankfully it's not the slightest bit distracting. The game does load at an incredible speed given the hardware and you'll rarely have to worry about any major framerate drops.

The controls are nearly identicle to the console versions with your standard "press x to sprint or accelarate" and such. The developers must have been asleep when making the auto-lock button, as the game takes on the GTA 3 version of locking on to things you don't want to shoot (thankfully it doesn't happen too often). Because of the lack of a second analog nub, the camera is controled automatically and can be readjusted with the 'l' button. Personally, I prefer this style of camera as it allows free look (by holding down L and using the analog) and unlike most games, the camera is generally pan in the direction that you WANT to be facing. My only camera complaint is that it now makes drive-by shootings terribly difficult. You MUST drive in a straight line while looking left or right in a car and if you reverse with the camera behind you, you CANNOT turn either meaning you'll be constantly switching back and forth between forward view and behind view. To conclude the camera bit, you can press select to change the camera's viewpoint for precision driving and I actually USED the first person view during some racing scenes.

The game plays like the last 3 3D GTA games before it. You run or drive around (quite literally), performing missions and killing people. The missions aren't anything spectacular like in San Andreas but they are functional and open up and close well enough. The world map is actually in high resolution this time meaning you can actually see where you're going and spot the markings better. My only complaint with the mission structure is that this game is HARD. I play a lot of vertical shooters like Ikaruga, so I'm used to hard games, but this takes the cake for a GTA game. You'll often find yourself (even early in the game!) facing legions of heavily armed enemies. If you die, you have to restart the entire mission over again. There is the taxi cab from Vice City that takes you back to the original mission giver, but the fact remains that you lose all of your weapons. Since you don't get much money during missions, money becomes vital to completing these missions forcing you to restart. Only a few missions (that I've played so far) are terribly difficult and most of them are either a breeze or very well balanced.

This also leads to the problem that this game is simply too ambitious for a handheld. Rockstar seemed to have forgotten that this game IS a handheld game and people who play these generally have little time. When I'm on my lunchbreak, I only have about 30 minutes to play and quit. Because, once again, we have to use the save warehouses to save, I have to make sure that I get a particular mission done immediately or else I have to turn the game off. Having a quick save would have been immensely helpful but I manage in my busy schedule.

To round off the gameplay, multiplayer has been added. While I have only played it against my sister a few times, I must say that it rocks. Unlike other multiplayer games which pit you in a single confined location, this game gives you THE ENTIRE ISLAND to battle. That's right, the game world is there for you to wreak havoc in. There are lots of original multiplayer modes to round off the action ranging from classic deathmatch to a game called "Tanks For Memories" (ugh, the CORN) where a player must survive the longest inside of a Rhino tank while other players try to blow him up. Whoever inflicts the most damage on the tank is spawned inside the next round to see if they can last the longest. There's also a mode called "Marked Man" which has everyone trying to score points by killing a specific character. Finally, there are 2 racing missions; a standard street race and a "free-for-all" which has players collecting cars and stowing them away for points.

The sound is top notch and the best out of any handheld game using the power of the PSP's multimedia devices. The sound is CRYSTAL clear, the music and radio stations are wide and varied, and the cinemas contain the spectacular acting and writing you'd come to expect from the series. Even the new sound effects like different accelerating sounds, civilian commentary, money pickup sound effect, and punch sound effects (I especially like the newer, more realistic punch sound effects) sound great on the PSP's tiny speakers. One time, I just put on my headphones and sat in a car and listened to the game's radio stations which contain, as expected, a wide plethora of music ranging from mid 90s style rap, to opera, to rock and roll. It would have been nice if you could use a custom soundtrack (there are rumors, but I don't spend enough time on the boards to confirm them) but that's a minor complaint.

All in all, Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories completey destroys the mini-game/platformer mold seen in most handheld games. It is, in a word, the engine from the consoles except with a new game to show it off. Rockstar has always revolutionized the way we look at games (even back in the pc days when they weren't called Rockstar) and Liberty City Stories is no different. Everything I loved about the console game has been mashed into the palm of my hand with little to no drawbacks. While no game ever deserves a perfect score, this game definitely comes close and I recommend it to anyone who's thinking about picking up a PSP or needs a game for a long road trip.

Synopsis
Graphics: Almost as good as the console brethren and definitely above EVERY other handheld game.

Gameplay: A few minor control issues, but the game is rock solid and a blast to play even for short bursts. Multiplayer is also new and a breath of fresh air.

Sound: Simply put, the greatest thing you'll hear on a handheld and it even beats out most console games. Acting is excelent as well.

Replay Value: It's Grand Theft Auto! It's packed with mini-games, side-missions, and the fact that you can just run around and shoot things and run from the police.

Final Grade: 9/10

My Recommendation: If you have a PSP and like Grand Theft Auto, buy this game. If you're considering purchasing a PSP and want to know what all the hooplah is about, buy this game. No fan should go without it.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 10/28/05