Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories

It's time to get out the dictionary of superlatives again - it's another GTA game! The sex that is Liberty City Stories is wearing down our batteries...

	Version PSP	Developer Rockstar Leeds	Publisher Rockstar Games	Genre Action / adventure

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By Stephen Rowley

Familiarity breeds contempt, at least so the saying goes, and we're certainly all familiar with Liberty City by now, ever since our first murderous visit into the third dimension of Grand Theft Auto. But 'comfort', not contempt, is a more fitting word for Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories.

From your first new steps upon the island of Portland you'll feel it; you're returning to home soil as much as lead character Toni Cipriani, and like him you'll initially find that little has changed. From that first hour or so back visiting Ma Cipriani, running errands for the Leone family and troubling Triads you could easily form the opinion that GTA is just the same as it ever was, though to do so would be a bit blasé. And wrong. Yes, definitely wrong. Here's why...

Midnight Club 3 didn't prepare us for this, despite being a bit of a looker itself, but LCS really takes the biscuit (the whole packet, in fact). We're not, of course, saying that GTA has suddenly turned into a catwalk model, no no no, that would be silly, but it is prettier than GTAIII, and on par with Vice City, though Liberty City itself being such a muggy and dull place it can sometimes be hard to tell.

Don't just take our word for it though, take in the loveable chunkiness of the vehicles and the impressive draw distance, and then try saying that PSP visuals can't compare to PS2. It's as hard as trying to say 'She sells, seashells on the she sore' ten times, fast; we can't even type it.

As for the audio, well Radio Del Mundo is our new best friend. We've been banging on about the world music in this GTA for ages now, enough to make everyone sick of it, but now we're just banging out the tunes. It brings a fresh feeling to the radio station conceit - particularly for those sick of rap and rock - and is quite possibly part of the most varied mix of styles yet in a GTA game.

The size limits of the UMD format do mean the quantity of tracks may not be quite as extensive as we've become used to (there are about as many as were in GTAIII), though you can include your own custom soundtrack by streaming tracks off the Memory Stick, and the confines on space have led to some inspired choices.

Double Clef returns too, for that authentic Mafioso vibe, but the voice talent is low on heavy hitters - the only returning voices being those of Salvatore Leone, Ma Cipriani and 8 Ball. Oh, and of course, Lazlow. No Michael Madsen though, who was probably busy (acting) cutting peoples' ears off, but you don't have time to miss him. There is also a strong sense that, particularly on the talk radio station, Rockstar is sticking its (virtual) fingers up at everyone who has ever made negative commentary on GTA's 'influential' violence and the whole 'Hot Coffee' debacle - all in jest of course.

Sod the moving pictures and noise pollution for a minute though, as the area in which LCS truly impresses is within the technical arena. Graphics may be useful in simple comparisons between PSP and PS2, but the true mark of everyone's favourite Sony branded handheld being a cheeky little powerhouse is that LCS has managed to squeeze the entirety of Liberty City onto that lovely 16:9 screen, and get this... loading times are a complete non-issue.

The initial load time is around 20 seconds, and between islands about 15. There are occasional pauses for discs access when entering vehicles (finding radio stations), and some loading for cutscenes/missions, but they don't interfere with the experience. Slowdown isn't a problem either, though the fire effect seems to cause an issue in this area, but most explosions occur in cutscenes so the point is moot.

As for the population of Liberty City, well the streets certainly feel less empty than they did during the preview stages, but the locals have this unerring habit of walking in a big group, like a bunch of Teutonic tourists.

It's a tiny point that doesn't affect enjoyment in the slightest, in fact it makes them easier to run over (not that we enjoy such things, honest). The concerns we had about camera control are also a non-issue, becoming second-hand very quickly - though drive by shootings do seem a bit fiddly, they aren't impossible.

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