Video Game Review: Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (DS)

SCORE: 8.8/10

When I bought GTA: Chinatown Wars I got it purely because of the hype, and I wanted to see how it was myself. I got it thinking that it’d be just another one of those B-Rate games that had potential but just…. didn’t….. make it……. I can’t even begin to tell you how wrong I was.

GTA: Chinatown Wars is full-fledged GTA game. It has the same distinct “Rockstar feel” as all the other games in the series have. It is just as good as all the other games in the series are and possibly, even more. The tongue-in-cheek classic GTA humor is back, and the open world aspect is well done. It’s easy to switch weapons and check your emails in GTA: Chinatown Wars with your handy-dandy in-game PDA, which is displayed on the bottom screen. There is absolutely no lag whatsoever and you can always tell who you are when the screen is dominated by civilians, police, and all the other objects or people on screen. Driving is easy and feels natural, as is all of the other controls and ways of moving, shooting and sometimes swimming. I, for one, didn’t even glance at the instructions before playing. The only real thing that I didn’t like about the game is the new way of lowering your wanted meter, as I much preferred the old way of just running like hell.

GTA: Chinatown wars is a must have for DS owners and fans of the series. If you have a couple of spare bucks and have a DS, GTA: Chinatown Wars should be number 1 on your list of games to buy.

Video Game Review: The Force Unleashed (PSP)

SCORE: 7.5/10

Let’s just say that it’s worth your money. If you’re a hardcore Star Wars fan, you’d probably be better off with one of the console versions, but for people who just want to kick some ass with the force, this should be perfect. The controls are good and the graphics are well done, aside from the faces, which look as if someone had plastered over the characters faces, leaving them in one expression.
The game has a very good learning curve. It starts out easy and gets harder as you go along, but for those who want to catch a break or just can’t beat that one boss there are plenty of cheats to help you on your way.
You play as Darth Vader’s secret apprentice, and basically your point in life is to do Darth Vader’s dirty work for him. The game has two endings, one where you take the dark side, and the other where you take the light side, and countless collectibles such as light saber colors and game artwork, so there’s plenty of replay value.
The game is perfect, pretty much, It just didn’t have much potential to begin with. Don’t get me wrong, though. I enjoyed the game and don’t regret buying it, so don’t mark it off as a failure just yet.