Best. Handheld. Game. Ever.
It's a bit hard to believe that CW is running on a handheld. Not only is it a huge nod to the talent and dedication of R* Leeds, it's a major compliment to Nintendo's hardware as well.
Firstly, the presentation is astounding for a portable title. Leeds has created an entire city teeming with activity, detail, all topped off with beautifully implemented cell shaded graphics. It really is a looker. The audio is equally well done.....people on the street have fully voiced dialogue, though cut scenes don't, which is understandable given the amount of text and format limitations. There are five radio stations available, also sans voice and all having their own original tracks, which are themselves surprisingly catchy (especially Jah, the reggae station).
Aside from the traditional GTA game play (go there, do that), Leeds has made a few inclusions that add a lot to the overall experience. Firstly there's a drug dealing mini-game, which I'm very surprised Nintendo allowed. There are six types of drugs (pot, XTC, smack, downers, coke, and acid.) Scattered all over the city are dealers, who tip you off via email (your main way to keep in contact with everyone) about good deals or to let you know what they need and will pay out the nose for. You can make massive profits by buying low and selling high between them, or simply by going around, finding deals, and storing them at a safehouse until you get a call. As simple as this all sounds, for some reason it's INCREDIBLY addictive (pun intended.) I've spent hours and hours simply doing just this, to the point where I've got so much money that I really don't need anymore, and I still continue. You've also got to be careful, as especially large deals can sometimes attract the police.
Which brings me to the next added feature, and although it's not nearly as cool as the dealing aspect, it's still fun nonetheless. During pursuits, you are able to force cop cars off the road and crash them to lower your wanted level (think Spy Hunter.) It lends chases an element of strategy and is a hell of a lot of fun to boot. Not only that, but there is a certain weapon (proximity mines) that you are allowed to drop on the road later on that makes these pursuits all the more enjoyable. To top it off, the driving itself is a blast. The cars handle just right. GTAIV may have had realistic physics, but I found them tiresome and it dragged the car chases down and made them feel a bit like molasses. Not here; you can fly down the streets while avoiding other traffic with ease. It's a perfect example that fun does not always equal realism.
Aside from the main missions, drug dealing and running from the po-po, there's many other activities to be found around the city to do. You can hijack Ammunation trucks for someone, steal drug trucks to search and score, become a taxi driver, vigilante, paramedic, play scratch cards for prizes, compete in street races, raid warehouses.....there may be a few I'm missing. These are the reasons I've poured in more than ten hours and have pretty much ignored the main missions.
This game being on the DS, the touch screen is utilized to great effect. All of the action is shown on the top screen whereas the bottom one allows for access to your PDA, GPS, email, and is used in very clever fashion for all manner of criminal activity: dealing drugs, jacking cars, searching dumpsters, plotting GPS routes, giving tattoos, breaking locks, assembling weapons.....the list goes on and on. It really helps the feeling of immersion and makes tasks as pain free as possible. If there's one downside to the touchscreen, it is a bit picky about selections which makes using your finger an unreliable option, though using the stylus is definitely do-able once you get used to it.
There's one thing that really makes this game so great that I have not seen yet mentioned in any other reviews: there's absolutely no load times whatsoever. It's great not to have to sit through 5-10 seconds of loading when entering or exiting my safe houses or taking a taxi somewhere. I know this sounds a bit trivial, but it really streamlines the experience and keeps the pace of the action constant.
There are a few things that do frustrate occasionally. The camera, while adjustable, can become stuck above a building or such obscuring the view, though it doesn't happen too often. Also, the targeting can be a bit iffy at times. These are really only apparent and stick out like a sore thumb because everything else is of such high quality.
What else can I say? There's really no negatives aside from the above that I can think of. CW is simply a hell of a lot of fun. It's a brilliantly crafted game that capitalizes on the best features the DS has to offer, and is one of the better GTA games to be released so far. I think I only enjoyed the original GTAIII more......it's almost to the point that I'd prefer another handheld version to a console one.
If you own a DS, check this game out......or at least try it, trust me. It is easily the best DS game to come out, and holds its own against its older brothers and then some.