Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (2005)

Played the PS2 version through PCSX2. This is basically GTA 3 with most of Vice City's small improvements (bikes, outfits, an actual map etc). Also there are a few new supercars that don't appear in any other GTA game, but I found it really dissapointing that there was no flying vehicle. Not even a Dodo like in GTA 3.

The radio stations were similar to GTA 3: far from SA/VC quality, but still pretty enjoyable and diverse.

Toni Cipriani was a pretty solid protagonist and it was a nice change of pace to play as a loyal mafia member and not a gun for hire. The weakest part of the story was definitely the main antagonist who had barely any screen time. Hell, Tony's mother was a much better antagonist.

As an aside, I played this in the same period I was watching The Sopranos and I enjoyed finding some similarities (protagonist's name, mother issues, Frank Vincent voicing Don Salvatore).

All in all, this is probaby one of the weakest entries in the series, but still pretty great for a PSP title. I definitely recommend it for GTA fans.

TL;DR - In many ways, this game is the definitive version of the GTA III experience. It also takes place in Liberty City but it has a better main character, better missions, better radio, better graphics, and most of all, better gunplay. Not incredibly memorable, but a solid open-world title especially since it was designed for the PSP.

OPEN-WORLD ACTION - Centers on Toni Cipriani, who returns to Liberty City after a period of exile and becomes embroiled in a power struggle within the Leone crime family, as he battles rival gangs in order to restore his position and gain control of Liberty City's criminal empire.

PROS:

++ Improved gunplay. The gunplay still isn't amazing per se and is still flawed, but it is much improved compared to GTA III's gunplay. Auto-aim makes combat a tad bit easy, but it's snappy and reliable. And on top of that, there's also a visual indicator as to how much health an enemy has left.

++ Toni Cipriani. An improvement over the voiceless Claude of GTA III. Toni isn't an incredibly memorable character, but his loyalty to Salvatore Leone and his relationship with his mom were both highlights to me.

++ Driving. Just like GTA III, driving still feels fun! I did notice that the cars in the first area handled very poorly though. But the moment you get to Staunton Island and unlock the sports cars and the PCB bike, driving really becomes a joy.

++ Enhanced version of GTA III. Same map as GTA III, but everything is visually better.

-- Radio stations. I enjoyed the selection of radio stations. Most of the things that I found funny in this game were the commercials and the talk show on the radio. There was broad selection of music too!

CONS:

-- Basic story. It's definitely a better story than GTA III's but it's still nothing to write home about. At its core, it's just about climbing up the ranks of the Leone Family and helping Salvatore gain complete control over Liberty City.

-- Draw distance. Since it's a handheld game, the draw distance was quite short. It is very noticeable when driving at fast speeds. Building textures and cars are the main culprits.

-- Mission checkpoints. Mission checkpoints are still terrible. For the sake of time, I'm using save states. When failing a mission, you can't just retry immediately. You have to drive all the way to the mission's start and do it all over again. Quite frustrating if played as intended.

Acting as a prequel, we travel back to a Liberty City that's graphically smoother and visually subtly different than our previous adventure.

Adding to the original story, you portray a younger Toni Cipriani as he climbs the ranks of the Leonne family with more Goodfellas inspired story telling.

With better graphics and updated mechanics, Liberty City Stories is a worthy backdrop of the Grand Theft Auto series.