Alright. This game is super-sweet.

There are some obvious things about a DS Grand Theft Auto to be apprehensive about. No, the overhead driving and shooting are not as exciting as 3D over-the-shoulder. No, the radio does not have lyrics, or real popular songs. No, steering and accelerating with digital inputs is not as convenient as full analog controls. No, there are no hilarious voice-acted cutscenes.

Yes, there are touch-screen minigames e.g. for hotwiring some cars, and they are actually cool (they only last a few seconds). Yes, you can evade the police by wrecking their cruisers as they pursue you. Yes, you can make mad bank by buying and selling drugs, based on dealer tips and market rate information. Yes, not only are the missions short and to the point, they are also fully loaded with quick retries (trip skip). You can even re-play old missions at your leisure, if that's your kind of thing. And yes, the 2D, text-based slideshow cutscenes are actually great, not only stylistically smooth but hilariously written.

In short, Chinatown Wars is most of the things that are great about GTA, in a handheld package. And some things are actually better in this game than they've been in any other franchise entry. The pause menu, and GTA4's cell phone and GPS, have been combined into a single PDA unit, which works with the touchscreen exactly like you imagine it would. Not only can you use it to check stats, save and load (which you can do whenever you aren't on a mission - there's even an optional autosave!), read e-mail, and plot routes; you can also read trade reports based on your drug-dealing results.

No more having to drive to the AmmuNation; you can order guns from their website on the PDA, and they're delivered to your safehouse! And, and, you can turn on an option to show GPS routes on the road, as in, an arrow path in front of you shows you the way! Oh, and did I mention that there's a real website (the Rockstar Social Club) that you can sync your DS game to over Nintendo WiFi? I can check my stats at work! (As if I wasn't already bringing the game with me to work)

I'm only at the 1/8 point, with just under an hour and a half of game time, so there's still plenty of room for error. But right now, Chinatown Wars really impresses the fuck out of me. Yeah, there are some concessions in the form of translating the series' core gameplay elements of driving and shooting, but these 2D facsimilies are amazingly fun nonetheless. There's no shortage of ambient junk - and pedestrians! - for me to run into while I'm driving, and honestly, the simple targeting system in this game is at least as successful as the messy one from the PS2 entries.

Hitting a pedestrian at high speed produces an incredibly satisfying splat sound. That in itself is good enough for me.

Progress: 12.54%

Rating: Good