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There's big trouble in little China as TVG loads up for a gangland brawl in GTA's first appearance on Nintendo's DS...
Dope Wars
The much publicised drug dealing mini-game in CTW seems to be much more than a mere gimmick. On the contrary in fact, it looks poised to offer one of the most substantial mini-games that we've seen in any game for quite a long time, let alone on the DS. Rockstar's reasoning for including it is down to fan feedback from GTA IV. It seems a lot of players felt that there wasn't much to spend Niko Bellic's money on once they'd lined his pockets from high-paying missions. The aim of CTW's drug dealing mini-game, then, is to fill that gap (although we might point out that if you're doing the job of a drug dealer correctly then surely you'll only end up with more cash, but still with nothing to spend it on). Only time will tell if we'll see a return to the wide array of cash sinkholes present in GTA: San Andreas, but at least CTW offers something a bit more substantial than darts and pool.
Either way, the balancing and depth of the mini-game appears to be spot-on. We played through one of CTW's main missions called 'Friend or Foe' that acts as a kind of drug dealing tutorial: after scoring some herb off a local dealer on a shifty street corner, we then had to take it to a park where we'd arranged to meet another contact who'd buy the gear off us at a high mark-up from the original price (the central principle of success in the mini-game). It all seemed to be a bit too good to be true - providing us with a hefty 500% profit - and, low and behold, it was. A bust ensued and cop cars descended on the scene as soon as our stash appeared, culminating in a harrowing chase for our freedom. "We're not going back to jail," we protested. "There's no Xbox Live there!"
In this case, the bust serves as an important lesson that you should always remain vigilant - busts can and will occur at any point in subsequent drug deals. The probability of them happening depends on certain variables, one of which is whether or not there are CCTV cameras in close proximity to one of your deals. Like the pigeons in GTA IV, these cameras are dotted around the map in hard to spot places. In addition to them making a bust more likely, they'll also push-up drug dealers' prices in any area which has one, so seeking out and destroying these cameras is a key to your dealing success.
Another layer of gameplay is offered by the drug dealing turf war that's going on around the city. Huang's PDA displays this turf war in a map of the city, showing areas where drug dealing is rife and the ruling gangs in that particular region. The map also details the prices that each gang is selling a particular drug at, be it cocaine, marijuana, LSD tabs, ecstasy or heroin etc. (although disappointingly there was no mention of Mescaline). This allows you to compare prices from rival gangs and pick-up bargains before selling them on to other dealers who will pay higher prices for the illicit substance in question.
One of the big questions surrounding CTW is whether or not it will include multiplayer. We can tell you now that it will, although we have scant details on the kind of multiplayer content that will be included. We noticed a multiplayer icon in Huang's safe-house during our hands-on, although when we questioned Rockstar spokespeople on exactly what kind of multiplayer options will be in the final game, they were keeping schtum. It's unlikely to be as extensive as GTA IV's multiplayer features, but here's hoping there's at least some combat involved, rather than merely content sharing or a variety of mini-games.
From what we've seen of the game so far, Chinatown Wars pushes the capabilities of Nintendo's DS and retains GTA trademarks (both old and new) throughout its gameplay, game world, and style. Those of you who are worried that Rockstar might have taken its foot off the mature content pedal for Nintendo's family friendly DS can relax - Chinatown Wars doesn't pull any punches.
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Game Information
Available On:
DS
| Release Date: | Players: |
|---|---|
| Out Now | |
| Publisher: | Genre: |
| Rockstar Games | Action |
| Developer: | PEGi Rating: |
| RockStar Leeds | 18+ |
Awards won:
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Added:Sun 25th Oct 2009 01:04, Post No: 21
hot lookin game. shoulda made the camera view optional
Added:Tue 15th Sep 2009 21:33, Post No: 20
okay this [#@!?] is agy if the camera is goin to say the same rockstar should of stayed with the ds thing cause like if they would of made it for psp then AT LEAST change the camera gosh WTF were they thinking
Added:Mon 20th Jul 2009 14:40, Post No: 19
post 10 gta4 on ps3 does the same so dont go ripping into other formats (game runs to slow for environment to load up resulting in dodgy looking textures and buildings not loading up in time when using fast cars or bikes or sceens where lots of explosions are going off for example)
Added:Mon 20th Jul 2009 09:36, Post No: 18
[#@!?] GREAT GAME
Added:Tue 21st Apr 2009 17:28, Post No: 17
I have a hunch some people are waiting for the DSi to be released before they buy GTA: Chinatown Wars. The game is really, really awesome though, in my humble opinion.
And heads up, GameStop’s got a Chinatown Wars contest to win a “mob boss experience” on their site, [gamestopchinatown] dot... Airfare for 4 to New York, private limo, hotel, model entourage, VIP room at a club, bodyguard and $5000 in cash. It’d be a pretty sweet deal, especially in this recession. Free to enter.
Added:Sun 19th Apr 2009 23:44, Post No: 16
Madworld only got a cackle of maniacle glee from me during boss encounters. The rest was too repetitive.
Added:Sun 12th Apr 2009 21:33, Post No: 15
it was too short,or just really easy. apart from that it was great.
Added:Sun 22nd Mar 2009 04:43, Post No: 14
haha no sorry its olny 4 ya mum MR.ANONTMOUS
Added:Sun 22nd Mar 2009 04:42, Post No: 13
haha no sorry its olny 4 ya mum MR.ANONTMOUS
Added:Tue 17th Mar 2009 19:20, Post No: 12
Glad to hear that Chinatown Wars delivers a solid and imaginative Nintendo DS experience. I wouldn't expect anything less than that from Rockstar!