Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories

"Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories comes to the PlayStation 2 - near identical to the PlayStation Portable version."

I have played every Grand Theft Auto game to date and I love a lot of them. The decision to go portable was a good idea as it has been a successful game on the PlayStation Portable and attracted people into buying one. Now, at last it has been ported over to the PlayStation 2. When I say "ported" I really do mean it. There are a few control changes and other small changes but that's about it. This isn't a new experience for those who have played it on the PlayStation Portable but is something new for people who have never played the portable version. Now, usually I see PlayStation 2 games ported over to the PlayStation Portable but in this case it is the other way around. I don't know why they decided to put it onto the PlayStation 2 but maybe it was to let non-PSP owners have a go and not feel left out on the Grand Theft Auto series that has been going since the original PlayStation. Two features you will not find in this version are the custom soundtracks and multiplayer modes - something unique to the PSP version.

It feels and acts like the Vice City engine so we are not looking at another Grand Theft Auto III-type game here although it borrows Liberty City from it. The opening of car doors sounds identical to those in Vice City. The introduction of new oddjobs makes the game last much longer in your PlayStation 2. However, missions are considerably shorter and sometimes easier than the other Grand Theft Auto games. Some missions will be frustrating but after a few tries you should hopefully get past them. If you are not going for 100% and just want to do the missions then you are looking at around ten hours of playing time. In order to get 100% you will need to collect all the hidden packages (some are difficult to find). As you cannot officially use a helicopter or plane in the game you can't just go to a roof. Instead you will need to find jumps in order to locate that package hidden up on the rooftop. If you manage to unlock the Rhino (tank) in the game or get it by breaking the law then you can go on a mega rampage around the streets of Liberty City. This was fun on the PlayStation Portable but did remember the frame rate not doing so well in it. Seeing as the PlayStation 2 can handle so much destruction at once better they decided to leave the frame rate issues in. So, when so much action is going on you are going to be faced with pauses sometimes. As I mentioned earlier there were a few changes to the controls. Fans of previous games will be comfortable with L2 and R2 for looking left and right and the right analog stick can control the camera and movements of the character. In Grand Theft Auto III and Vice City this was not present. It was not until San Andreas that we saw this new type of control. It can be very useful when in a vehicle as you can move the right analog stick left or right to see what's to the side of you and whats around the corner when on foot. I'm glad this made it onto the PlayStation 2 version of Liberty City Stories.

Playing as Toni Cipriani is actually quite an advantage for me. I noticed he does drive-bys perfectly. Most of the time I do a drive-by peoples heads are blown off! He sure is accurate whilst driving so fast. One thing I don't like about him is that he aims really poor sometimes. This can be frustrating during a mission. In San Andreas when you aimed it would aim at the most likely and dangerous target. In this game when there is someone you need to shoot in a mission he will aim at a pedestrian instead. So, not so great there on the aiming, Toni.

For the PlayStation Portable the graphics were good enough but this being a port onto the PlayStation 2 makes it hard to say these graphics are as good as the other PlayStation 2 games. The graphics have simply been ported over with hardly any changes. If you have Grand Theft Auto III in your collection consider getting that out and playing that for ten minutes. Then, pop in Liberty City Stories and you can see the difference. It feels more grainy on Liberty City Stories compared to Grand Theft Auto III. However, one good point is the vehicles reflect objects around them. This change will probably be present in all future Grand Theft Auto games now.

The sound I just can't stand on this game. The main problem with the sound is the fact that it is too quiet for a television. Other Grand Theft Auto games are louder on my televisions average volume but on Liberty City Stories I have to turn my television (and in-game volume) right up in order to hear stuff clearly. The dialogue is quite hard to understand sometimes as well which, has resulted to me turning on the subtitles. In Grand Theft Auto III it was all original music. In Liberty City Stories there are some licensed tracks but nowhere near as many as San Andreas or Vice City. Nothing too interesting here for me. In fact, I turned the radio off by putting the radio volume all the way down in the menu.

At less than £20 in the United Kingdom this game is by far worth it in terms of gameplay. Although the graphics feel like they have been stretched out from the PlayStation Portable version it still is worth a buy because you do get used to this. Hardcore Grand Theft Auto fans will probably have this as well as the PSP version (well, I do anyway) because it's just fun to try it out on the true GTA platform - the PlayStation 2. Anybody who missed out on playing it on the PlayStation Portable can now buy or rent it on PlayStation 2 for a really good price. If you are considering getting a PlayStation Portable then go ahead as most likely future "Stories" games will come out on this platform first.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 08/02/06