Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories

"A great Grand Theft Auto game...for 20 bucks! It doesn't get any better!"

Introduction
Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories is a game by Rockstar Games. It originally came out for the PSP but was just ported to PS2...and surprisingly, it is a good, fun quality game.

Graphics:6/10
The graphics in Liberty City Stories aren't anything spectacular. Then again, no Grand Theft Auto game has impressed me graphic-wise, and plus, this game was almost directly ported from the lesser quality PSP. The character hands are still atrocious, and sometimes the character heads look funny, most notably Salvatore's. The car models are great which make up for some other graphic flaws in the rest of the game. But, the other aspects of this game make up for it's poor graphics.

Story:8/10
After killing a made man, Toni Cipriani is forced to go into hiding for a few years. Well, now, he is returning to Liberty City in the year 1998, where all the talk is of the Internet and it's dangers, and the fear of Y2K. Toni begins to try to bring the corrupted city under Leone control as many different people stand in his way, including his Ma. He wants to set things how they should be. Overall, it is a good storyline for another game in the franchise.

Sound:7/10
The guns in LCS sound great and realistic, the explosions sound exciting, the voice talents are great. All of the actors did a good job in bringing each character to life and making them seem real and as if you knew them. Now, all aspects of sound in LCS is good, until you turn on the radio. It is almost impossible to find a song that you can listen to for more than ten seconds without being downright disgusted. I find myself listening to the rap station, even though I don't like rap all that much. The only good channel on the radio is LCFR, which is talk radio. Chatterbox is once again entertaining, as is most other shows. Overall, everything in the game is great except for the music. (The theme music is good, though).

Gameplay:10/10
In Liberty City Stories, there is always something to do. You can try and complete rampages, look for unique stunts, collect the hidden packages, or do the story and/or side quest missions. Just, after 100 percent is completed, you won't find much to do. The missions in LCS are once agin fun, as in most GTA games. Each mission is different. It ranges from: protecting a casino from attackers, helping a drug overdose patient find her 'zap', to blowing up rival gang hangouts. In LCS, Rockstar added in motorcycles. It is fun to drive around Liberty City in a PCJ-600, which you couldn't do in GTA III. An addition to the franchise, you can do car salesman missions in which you try and impress a potential automobile buyer to purchase the car. It is pretty fun but just gets old after a few levels. The game is actually pretty easy, too. Most of the missions don't take too much to complete but here are a few here and there that just tend to make you want to toss your PS2 out the window. The controls in the game are just like any other GTA game...pretty easy to control. Overall, this game is VERY fun and had me hooked for about four hours after the first time I bought it.

Replay Value:6/10
Most GTA games don't do so well on the replay value. Once you complete the feat of 100 percent, you have done everything. Everything you could've done in the game is completed and there is mostly nothing to do. Usually, I find myself restarting the game and doing it all over again. It keeps you busy with the game. But, if you don't want to do that, you will most likely not touch the game again and have it sit on a shelf for the rest of it's life.

Overall:7/10
Grand Theft Auto:Liberty City Stories is only 20 dollars at your local game store...at RELEASE PRICE. It is an extremely cheap game that offers very fun gameplay and an overall fun an entertaining game. After I bought the game, I was hooked and played for a consecutive four hours before I even thought of turning off the PS2. Just, the radio in the game is definetly bad and the replay value suffers a bit, after you complete the game. And, the graphics are without a doubt....bad. But, other than that, the game is very very fun and is a definite must buy. It is only 20 dollars!

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 06/07/06