Recently, it seems my iPod touch has become surgically implanted into my hands. Okay, I’m exaggerating, but it might as well be true considering I cannot put down “Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars“. This is one of the greatest handheld experiences for any platform. I played Chinatown Wars for DS and its incomparable to the iPod experience. There’s nothing like listening to your favorite playlist while running around town making thousands and thousands of dollars selling drugs.

The missions are unique and interesting and will keep you occupied for hours. Overall, it is a great game with smooth gameplay and tons of stuff to do. It is well worth the $10 I spent; I even went to the trouble of un-jailbreaking and losing all of the other games I had. It was so worth it, I love this game and have probably already logged over 15 hours playing it.

The game starts off simply as most games in the GTA series. The ability to flip drugs comes first. I got carried away and made over $50,000 before actually starting more missions. Eventually you are able to buy guns and cars, but for now they are easy enough to steal. The shooting and driving are a little hard to manage but gets easier as time goes on. The missions are detailed and explained. I like how the game features a PDA that you use the submenus through. The realism is unmatched by any other iPod touch game I have seen.

My recommendations for gameplay are put “World GPS” on, put “steering assist” on, and make a playlist called GTA for music. These three little menu modifications make the game much more playable and fun. GTA Chinatown Wars is truly a great game and is well worth the money.

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