Review- GTA: Liberty City Stories

Life in the Fast (and Portable) Lane
(PSP; $49.99; Rated M for Blood/Gore/Violence/Language/Sexual Content/Drug Use; rockstargames.com)

(four and a half stars)

When Rockstar Games announced they were bringing the most notorious game franchise to Sony’s pocket player, fans were drooling with anticipation of drive-by shooting while in the drive-thru of their favorite fast food joint. “Liberty City Stories” successfully delivers the “GTA” experience of the home console, onto the small screen of the PSP.

Players lead protagonist Toni Cipriani through the rough and tumble of Liberty City as he makes his way up the food chain in the events leading up to the seminal “Grand Theft Auto III.” This prequel allows Toni to do everything his protégé has done on the PS2, and that’s where the impressiveness of this title lies.

A full “GTA” experience is in the palm of players hands, from causing rampant lawlessness at the drop of a hat to free-roaming around the huge landscape for hours in between missions, everything players have come to expect from the franchise is translated into portable gameplay, and done with very little load times- only at the beginning of missions.

The story is tight, the graphics are on par with the PS2, and the death-and-destruction is familiar. It’s the same “GTA” parent-groups have come to hate, only now it fits perfectly in a book bag.