Accessories

nothing bad, only good!
There were multible times when people said that this game isn't finished, has many bugs and that the controls are horrible. All of this is wrong. I've played this game by 1/4, but I already have my opoinion. You can't crouch in this game, you can't block enemy's punches and you can't grab onto things. That's definetely bad. But that's not because the game is on psp(Rockstar Games are to blame), don't blame the great console! The good thing is that the graphics are awesome, there is no difference between the ps2 GTA games. Also, the game features almost everything that GTA games usually offer(Vice City stories offer more) and all that stuff is easy to find around Liberty City and enjoy. Plus, the game's story(though just a "bonus package" to GTA3) is quite interesting and funny. Liberty City Stories have some good music and, by the way, it is a long game, packed with lots of stuff for GTA enthusiasts.

GTA Rocks!
Great game, similar to all the other GTA franchise. Great story, same game play mechanics as the other GTA's, Cool missions. Multiplayer wasn't as great as it should be. The characters were both too powerful. However, I'm reviewing this game 2, 3 years after I bought it so it was actually something cool during that time. For now, just save your money and buy GTA 4 for the PS3 or Xbox 360.

Meh
I am an avid fan of Playstation 2 Grand Theft Auto 3, Vice City, and San Andreas, and have played all of them in their entirety. I really think this one is lame. Maybe it's just that I don't like the size of the PSP display, or maybe the tiny joysticks are too hard to control, or maybe I'm just getting too old, but the game bored me and I didn't play it for very long. I think I wasted my money on this one.

Awsome
Very hard to stop playing. Almost addicted to it. Can spend hours at a time playing Loving it. This according to my 14 year old son.

4.5; Impressive for a handheld game
A lot of times when you buy a new system, you tend to check out the games that are sort of unanimously agreed on as a game to get. After awhile of playing my DS and Wii, I thought I'd give in and get a PSP as well and many games were suggested or looked intriguing but familiarity and a good price brought me to Liberty City Stories. While the content isn't exactly for all ages, LCS shows what exactly Sony's tiny machine can pull off and aside from a few hiccups, this is a great game to check out for recent PSP purchasers or longtime owners - provided you're old enough for this of course.

Story: Taking place in 1998, 3 years before the original Grand Theft Auto III, Tony Cipriani as just arrived to Liberty City after laying low from killing a "made man" which is a big mafia no-no. But his absence has left others taking over what he had so Tony has to rise up again in the ranks and take on various tasks to be where he used to be or maybe even further.

Graphics: Despite its smaller system, the PSP always looked like it could handle more complex games like God of War or Crisis Core and while graphically LCS doesn't impress on a aesthetic level, the fact it's even on this system with all 3 islands (Portland Island, Staunton Island and Shoreside Vale), the streets and the exact map layout of each. As for how the game looks, the GTA series has never really had an attractive look and on the PSP, it's a bit more forgiveable.

Sound/Music: The GTA series has always had great voice acting and in this one, there's a few notable roles that work well while others just don't really fit and lack a certain something. Tony for example doesn't really have the drive of Tommy or the care of CJ (yes I said care), this guy just feels more "angry mode" than anything. The music comes from the radio stations when you're on a vehicle and I never did like GTA3's radio stations and often listened to the Chatterbox though in some cases on a more intense mission, I had big operatic orchestral music on like Double Clef FM.

Gameplay: III started the whole "open-ended gameplay" that many have been copying which allow you to traverse the city and do whatever you feel like. That's here as well from taxi and vigilante missions to the main stories, or just doing insane jumps and finding hidden packages, completists could have a ball with this one. The main story missions are the same as always: pick someone up and drop em off and/or shake off cops, blow up something or go on assassin sprees where you have to off someone. The problem comes in the narrative where there was always a drive to the missions but since the story wasn't that intriguing, the missions felt more like tasks to do or errands.

Controlling on the PSP did feel different since I was so used to the Dual Shock and the analog gets the job done although sometimes it was too finicky with me trying to correct myself and the lack of a good camera control doesn't help. Pushing the L shoulder and moving the analog allows a rotating camera but it always felt awkward. The other notable problem is the targeting system where it's way too easy to target civilians or others instead of the guy you want and enabling the free-aim by pressing the down button felt sluggish and it's best to just reposition. Other than that, the game still controls the same, although you can't swim (poo).

If you're old enough and were a fan of the game, it's a good idea to check out Liberty City Stories. It's not quite the best in the series or the worst but it's worth looking into it anyway.