Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories
2005 | PSP, PS2
The setup: Bringing players back to Liberty City, this made-for-handhelds adventure melded that beloved setting with a lot of the gameplay improvements made by later GTAs. Unlike the rebellious-lone-wolf storylines of previous games, though, Liberty City Stories casts you as one of the supporting characters from GTAIII, who works exclusively for the Leone crime family and never breaks that allegiance.
The rides: Similar to GTAIII's, except now you can jack motorcycles as well. Flying is strictly off-limits, though, and even GTAIII's jackable Dodo plane is nowhere to be found. But hey, that tank is back again.
The criminal: Toni Cipriani, an aging-but-likable Mafia stereotype who's fiercely loyal to the Leones and to their boss, Salvatore. He's also constantly at loggerheads with his beloved disembodied voice of a mother, who spends most of the game trying to kill him.
The town: Liberty City again, but a few years earlier. So there are a few notable changes to its layout, as well as a slight visual upgrade and a different clutch of gangs roaming its streets.
The music: Like GTAIII, the song list is short on licensed tunes and long on relatively obscure acts playing a variety of genres. Some of its most memorable tracks actually come from its world-music station, which is weird. You can also create a custom soundtrack for the PSP version using your own CDs, although the tracks first need to be laundered through Rockstar's special downloadable encoder, which only works on PCs.
The violence: Similar to previous 3D GTAs, right down to the rocket launchers, hooker-beatings and sniper-rifle dismemberment.
Why it's the best: It was the first portable 3D GTA, and it was proof positive that the PSP was almost as capable a system as the PS2. It brings much-needed gameplay improvements to Liberty City, and - oh yeah - it adds multiplayer matches, a long asked-for feature that turned out to be more fun than many had anticipated.
Why it isn't: The PSP's control limitations didn't make it easy to play, and we're a little less impressed with it now that Vice City Stories is out. Also, Toni Cipriani is one of GTA's less-interesting characters. And what the hell kind of modern GTA game doesn't have at least a hidden plane to fly around in?
Does it hold up? Yes, but it's been outpaced by its sequel.
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