Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars
Score: 91

Jack your little sister’s DS, pop in ‘Chinatown Wars’ and be amazed by a perfectly portable Liberty City that ranks among the best games available on Nintendo’s portable.

Instead of being a traditional shooter, Chinatown offers a top-down view of the cop-eluding action.

To ditch the cops, players have to ram police cars or force them to run into other cars or buildings. Disable enough cars in this manner and you’re off the hook.

Another difference from other GTA titles is how cars are stolen. Older cars can be started by jamming a screwdriver in the ignition via the touchscreen and rotating it. Other cars have to be hotwired, and more advanced cars must have their computers “hacked” via quick mini-games.

The anti-hero, spoiled rich kid Huang Lee, is visiting Liberty City to deliver a family heirloom to an uncle who is heavily involved in the drug trade.

After surviving an assassination attempt and being left for dead, the player begins recruiting gang members and peddling drugs. Up to six types of drugs can be procured (bought or stolen), but to really rack up the cash players have to keep track of market conditions and buy low, sell high.

While the drug theme and violence won’t appeal to all, fans of the GTA series will wonder how Rockstar has crammed so much gaming goodness on such a tiny cartridge.

The good:
** Libery City, minus the island of Aldernay, is here.
** The touchscreen works great for accessing the PDA, which controls e-mail, GPS, map and other functions.
** The colorful cell-shaded graphics are reminiscent of a comic book, and are above average for a DS game.
** The drug trade/ and gang-building game mechanic is complex and challenging.

The bad:
** Combat is too easy.
** Controlling the character via the directional pad is imprecise.
** Driving looks and feels like players are driving a brick.
** The plot and characters, compared to GTA IV, are cliche.