Games – GTA: Liberty City Stories

Before I delve into the news, I had to knock out this little review for, perhaps, the best game I’ve ever played in recent memory. That being Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories for the PSP.

One of the things that makes this the best game ever is the sheer variety of things to do. First of all, you have a nice length storyline set of missions that span three islands. You get access to only one at first, then the second and finally the third. Though I’ve only reached the second island, I can see that each has a unique flavor to it, making each seem a little new compared to the last.

The storyline itself is interesting, following the return of Toni Caprini and his rise to the top in the Leone crime family. I wouldn’t say that Toni or any of the other characters is particularly original, but the voice acting and mannerisms in the in game cutscenes are very expressive and make for an entertaining story.

Add to that the flavor of the setting, where you have a choice of around 10 radio stations while in vehicles, some more ‘real’ while others are full of flaming, unsubtle parody and it makes for an interesting ride, no matter where you’re headed. As well, each station has a different variety, so whatever your musical tastes, you’ll find something interesting most likely.

But wait.. that’s just the main story and the atmosphere. Interested yet? There’s more.

The side missions.. oh, the many, many, many side missions. You can play one of any number of different side missions for spare cash and to open up unlockables. Hop into a cab and play Taxi Driver. Pick up and drive fares, making money and working toward unlocking a souped up cab(which is a VERY nice vehicle overall), go to the dirt bike course in Portland to play Bumps and Grinds, where you challenge yourself on a dirtbike course that has shifting routes and work toward unlocking a super dirt bike. Hop into a firetruck and fight fires. Hop into an ambulance and rescue people. Hop into a law enforcement vehicle and play vigilante. Find a rampage icon and destroy the targets with unlimited ammo. Have a street race, with cars or bikes. Have an RC car race. Blow up triads with explosives backed RC cars, deliver pizza or Chinese food. Be a car salesman or a bike salesman. And there’s more.

And then the other stuff.. find and beat all of the unique stunt jumps, find all the hidden packages on each island to unlock useful weapons and armor right next to your safehouse. Go on a rampage to see just how high a wanted level you can get before you get wasted or busted. Or just sit back and listen to the radio.

It’s insane how much stuff is in this game. Something for everyone to be sure and enough to keep you playing for weeks on end. Every game should be like this, chock full of stuff to do. This is what makes a game great and lasting.

Personally, I’ve fallen head over heels for a side mission called Karmageddon. You hop into a certain firetruck and then you have the objective of creating vehicular chaos enough to fill a meter before the time runs out. No idea why, but I find that crushing through traffic with a neigh impregnable fire tuck to be quite cathartic.

So, if you’re interested in games like this and not afraid of foul language, some mildly disturbing things on the radio or being shot at out of the blue by gang members you’ve seriously pissed off, I’d recommend this game to you. Though don’t get it for $50, find a reliable place to get used games and try and get it for $30. 😉

Lastly, to all those activists out there, keep your hands off my damn games. Watch your own kids so they don’t play games like this and leave the warped masses like me to enjoy our digital mayhem.

Now.. news..