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The GTA franchise blasts its way onto the PSP
Publisher: Rockstar Games
Mon, 1 May 2006
by: Special K
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Here's a tasty PSP recipe. Take a genre bending game; in this case Grand Theft Auto 3. Add a dash of features from GTA San Andreas and GTA Vice City. Proceed to squash all this down to fit on a UMD. You now have a wonderful mix of top-notch gaming known as Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories.
In the PSP packaging you get a copy of the Liberty Tree - a Liberty City publication that doubles as the game's manual. Plenty of puns and laughs in the Liberty Tree. You also get a fold-out map of Liberty City (with a GTA centrefold poster on the back!)
The intro to the game is essentially a lot of credits interspersed with the great comic cell images of key characters in the game. Not overly inspiring but links to the comic book nature of the characters and violence in the game.
Barely two minutes into the game and they've found me out already - I've just been told that I drive like a bitch. Way to boost my ego!
The amazing thing about this game is I suppose you'd call it the atmosphere AI. Small details like if you punch a pedestrian they may run for the nearest taxi.
This is definitely not a game for the kids hence it's MA 15+ rating. There are a few F's and the occasional C's here and there and with the usual elements - bashing someone to death with a baseball bat, drive-by shootings and general mayhem you can cause in and around Liberty City. I would definitely think twice before buying this one for the youngsters.  | | JD O'Toole at his deviant best |
I think one of the worst offenders I have found so far is JD O'Toole the owner of the local strip club. Apart from the fact that during your first meeting with JD he is wearing a Gimp outfit. On subsequent visits he is dealing with his smelly "specialist" clientele who are "internet gold dust" then it's pretty obvious that there are themes in this game you don't want the kids to find out about just yet.
I fit into the "more arse than class" category when it comes to this game. Case in point my run-in with the cops. I had successfully dodged the cops throughout the city and was on my way to Pay n' Spray. As I neared my destination, my car burst into flames - which usually means "sorry pal try the mission again". I managed to manoeuvre my now seriously flaming car backwards into the Pay n' Spray and watch the garage door slowly close over my near-dead car. Skin of my teeth escape from destruction!
 | | I believe the correct term is 'Cannon Fodder' |
Some of the funniest moments come from accidents. At one point I found myself standing on top of a bus…with a Rocket Launcher! It was one of those rare moments of true gaming bliss I will treasure. It really was wonderful riding around on the bus where the cops can't reach you and blasting away at unsuspecting motorists. Herein lies the true beauty of the Grand Theft Auto series…escapism! What better way to take out your frustrations on an odd assortment of pixels on your PSP screen! I know I'm not alone in saying that there is nothing better that going onto the second level of Phil Cassidy's Fully Cocked gun shop with an arsenal of weapons and getting four or five wanted stars up and watching the FBI flail around on the ground level (apparently they haven't learned to climb stairs yet!)
I know this game has been around for a long while now but I at least wanted to get well into the game before doing the review. I'm about 40% through and have opened the Shoreside Vale section of the map. The characters and story are again very well done. I know this game has been around for a long while now but I at least wanted to get well into the game before doing the review. I'm about 40% through and have opened the Shoreside Vale section of the map. The characters and story are again very well done. My current employer, Donald Love, is a cannibal has had me blowing up buildings, chasing away the Yakuza, and even trying to win a Mayoral election!
One thing that does annoy me though is that Mr Cipriani can't swim. The number of times I have wandered over a cliff or driven my car into a river (yeah stop laughing about my driving skills!) was starting to piss me off. Of all things a hired gun with balls of steel and an attitude problem goes to pieces when he gets wet! Hardly fitting for Mr Cipriani at all.
Sammy's note: This little step backwards annoyed me too. The fact that CJ could swim was one of my favourite additions to the series in GTA: San Andreas. But I'll forgive them, because (as Big K has been saying) they fit a staggering amount of content in this portable version.
Multiplayer mode. Here is something that die-hard GTA fans have been craving. And they don't let us down. The execution of the multi-player modes is flawless. The sheer beauty of simply hosting a game on one PSP and having another one or up to five PSP's wirelessly attach to the game is fantastic! Not only that but it sure makes train travel to work a hell of a lot more bearable!
The multi-player modes are fairly standard fare - with the advent of LAN gaming on PC's - but each of the game modes has a nice GTA feel about it. Another thing. If a group of you get together to play wirelessly make sure the person who is furthest through the game is the one hosting the game as you will have more multiplayer features to choose from.
Liberty City Survivor (AKA. Deathmatch/Team Deathmatch) Start the game in either Free for all or Gang War Modes respectively. Kill-limits, Time Limits can be configured… you get the idea!
Protection Racket (AKA Assault) Players take turns at attacking each other's limousines. The player to destroy the limos in the shortest time is the winner.
Get Stretch (AKA Capture the Flag) Players must steal the opposing team's car while protecting their own.
Tanks for the Memories - You must drive the tank for as long as possible in an effort to reach the Tank Time target. Meanwhile other competitors try to destroy the tank as quickly as possible.
Street Rage - A driving multiplayer event with the GTA elements of being able to switch cars and/or shoot your opponents. Players negotiate checkpoints around the streets as they try to win the race.
The Wedding List - Another car mode where players round up cars to be sent to shipping crates. You must find specific vehicles and once inside, you will be shown the location of the shipping crate. The better the condition of the car when it reaches the crate, the more money you win. The player with the most cash wins!
All up a great array of multiplayer modes that all play out in the full-size Liberty City maps. Basically, another big pat on the back for Rockstar for a job well done!
 | | Toni Cipriani wreaks havoc on the innocents in Liberty City |
Custom tracks in GTA. Here is me thinking I could just drop some MP3's into the Music sub-directory on my brand new 2GB Memory Stick Pro Duo and have them play in GTA. Eeeer….Wrong answer. You need to download Rockstar's Custom Tracks V 1.0 which is available here. For legal reasons the software will only let you take tracks from an audio CD, and encodes them directly onto the Memory Stick containing a GTA LCS save game. Nice utility not particularly intuitive but it is a godsend as the radio stations get quite tiring and repetitive after a while. There are many songs that to me spell carnage and destruction like Megadeth, Pantera, Queens of the Stonage, Tool, Suicidal Tendencies, Faith No More (you get the idea).
The other gripe is in relation to loading. It would be nice to be able to watch the cut-scenes once and then each time you repeat that mission, be prompted as to whether you want to see the cut-scene or not. In my opinion, this could be a way of prolonging the battery life of the PSP. The game needs to load a hell of a lot of data. This and the fact that it is continually accessing the UMD to play stuff for the radio stations. Maybe someone will hear my pleas and release a patch. Hey it's nice to dream!
In conclusion Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories justifies purchasing a PSP. Partly for the wow factor of "How the hell did they get such a massive game to fit on such a tiny little disc and have it look and play as smooth as silk". Two big thumbs up and a shitload of buttons. In addition, I hope the rumours about another PSP GTA title are true because I'll be picking that one up as soon as it hits the shelves!
by: Special K
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