Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories

I have just completed this game for the second time. For those who haven't bought it and are doubting buying it i will say, don't think this will be like GTA3. Its not.

The city is the same layout but bits are different. I wont spoil it as its worth two days constant playing it.

The only real problem i had was trying to put it into a time line with the others. GTA, GTA London and GTA 2 aren't part of this saga. GTA3 GTA VC GTA SA and Liberty City stories form a saga but there's no logical pattern into which order that go. So far I've decided its GTA SA, GTA VC, LCS and then GTA 3 last.

Anyway, my logic aside, if you love the first GTA's you'll love this. Just remember, its 18 so not for kids.

For a while, I couldn't place just why Liberty City Stories, a game made 4 years after its parent title, looked somehow worse than GTA 3. Then it hit me: which has superior graphics is depatable, but III, though, had more realisitc (or at the very least, more detailed) textures. Not just that, but III had, oddly for the older game, a lot more vivid, immersive world-building detail: the reflective puddles on the ground when it rains, the shine on cars that reflects accurately when you turn; all living, breathing minutae that are oddly absent in LCS, which, on top of that, has a vaguely more murky texture somewhat closer to San Andreas. LCS was a step back for the franchise in other ways: gone was San Andreas' RPG element, as well as this other crazy new thing San Andreas introduced called Swimming (yup, we're back to sinking like a freakin' stone as soon as we step more than a couple inches into the sea). GTA 3 had a rough, almost hand-made charm to it, and this roughness made it feel authentic. This prequel (akin to having a darling indie movie that gets a Hollywood follow-up) has a lot more stuff to do, more gameplay elements tacked on, but feels slightly on the empty side when stacked against its parent.

All that out of the way, when compared to the imposing shadow cast by many other GTA titles LCS may seem a bit mid, it's still a damn good game in its own right (and for my money, boasts the best theme song so far in the series). A prequel set three years prior to III - and where many of the story missions revolve around setting up the events of - the player assumes control of a younger version of Toni Cipriani (a mission-giver introduced in the original title) as he works his way up from low-level foot soldier to made man to Leone family Don Salvatore's right-hand man. Along the way, you make enemies of pretty much every other gang - mafia and hoods - on the streets of Liberty (many of whose NPC's will attack you on sight afterward) as you vie to single-handedly shift the city's power dynamics and bring Liberty City under Leone influence. The plot is relatively stock and a bit uneven at times, some of the missions might be a dreck (but what game's aren't?), and, on the mobile port at least (where I played it), the touchscreen controls are at times garbage. More than anything, LCS was originally designed as a demo of Rockstar's capabilities on mobile platforms (back when the PSP came out) and wasn't really aiming too high. And that's fine, since what came out of it is still a helluva lot more than average, and is enough to keep me coming back. 7.5/10.

Fun, simple and just perfect. The last GTA game we got that was basically vice city but in 3D liberty city. Play this game if you loved 3 and vice city's simpler fun design.

While this game isn't on the grand scale of GTA: San Andreas, it still holds true to the normal GTA style. Its missing the "RPG" aspects of GTA:SA, like improving skills and eating to stay healthy, but its a nice throw-back to the good ol' days of GTA: just shoot, steal, and stay alive. But it was originally a PSP game, and I don't have a PSP, so I'll just be grateful they ported it. I also hope they port Vice City Stories to PS2 at some point, even if its not for a year like with LCS.

One thing that's nice is that the game is set in the same old Liberty City as GTA III, but with the graphics quality of San Andreas. There's a cleaner, enhanced look to the buildings, vehicles and characters. Its nice to see a new face on an old city.

The only thing that bugs me is the lack of a good radio station. This game is supposed to be set in 1998, and I remember a lot of good music from those days, which is absent from the game. I just turn the radio off every time I enter a vehicle.

I give it an 9/10. Its not San Andreas and I'm not expecting it to be. I think its an excellent game in its own right, and the only thing better would be decent radio stations.

GTA: LCS is a prequel to PS2's GTA III. You play as the character Toni Cipriani as you help take control of LC with Salvatore, setting up the later settings of the city in the GTA III story.

At times it may get a little annoying not being able to play with two analog sticks (like for the PS2 versions), you do eventually get used to it.

If you are a fan of the Rockstar GTA series (GTA, GTA2, GTA III, GTA:VC, and GTA:SA) then you will love this game.

Tidbit of useless info: Although not the character you play as in GTA III, Toni Cipriani was voiced by Michael Madsen (Mr. Blonde from Reservoir Dogs) in GTA III.