Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars DS ROM (EU)

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars puts you in the role of Huang Lee, the spoiled son of a powerful Triad boss who has just been murdered in Hong Kong. Huang travels to Liberty City to deliver the family heirloom, a sword called the Yu Jian, to his uncle Wu "Kenny" Lee. His father won the sword in a card game and it is the key to deciding who will lead the family's Triad. Huang’s trouble begins the minute he lands. He is ambushed at the airport, shot and robbed of the sword and left for dead in the river. He is alive but broke, without sword and without a clue as to who sold him out. Huang takes a job with various people around the city in an effort to find the answers: his uncle Kenny, ageing Triad boss Hsin Jaoming and his ambitious son Chan, a corrupt cop named Wade Heston, and several rival gangs. Each job pulls him deeper into a power struggle between the Triads of Liberty City and slowly reveals who stole the Yu Jian and why. The game is set in a scaled down version of Liberty City from Grand Theft Auto IV. It has Broker, Dukes, Bohan and Algonquin, but not Alderney: The story is told through comic book-style cutscenes, featuring the sharp, dark humour that is a hallmark of the series.

Chinatown Wars takes Grand Theft Auto back to a top-down perspective, but with a rotating camera and a cel-shaded art style that makes the busy streets easy to read on the tiny DS screens. Open world and missions You can explore Liberty City on foot or behind the wheel of any car you can steal. The story missions are divided between different characters and feature car chases, gang fights, escorts and heists. The story moves forward and reveals new areas of the city. Fighting The L button can be used to punch, shoot and lock on to targets. You choose weapons from a weapon wheel on the touchscreen, ranging from pistols and shotguns to assault rifles. Flicking the stylus in the desired direction will throw grenades and Molotov cocktails. Touch screen mini-games That’s what makes the DS version special. The stylus is used to hack a car’s immobiliser, draw a tattoo, assemble a sniper rifle and other short tasks. The microphone can be used to whistle for a cab. The economy of drug trafficking There are six drugs: heroin, cocaine, acid, ecstacy, marijuana and depressants. Every part of the city has its own prices, so you buy low from suppliers and sell high to dealers. Dealers email you with special offers and this trading becomes the main way to make big money A new wanted system You can't just hide from the police. To reduce your wanted level you have to destroy police cars. To drop from 3 to 2 stars you have to take out 3 cop cars. The PDA The lower screen is Huang's PDA. This includes the map and GPS, your emails, the mission list, a record of the drug trade and the Ammu-Nation online shop which delivers weapons to your safehouse. Side events After the story you can continue to play with rampages, taxi and ambulance jobs, races and secret security cameras to destroy around the city. Multiplayer Two DS owners can play competitive and co-op modes on the local wireless.

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars is played from a top down camera angle. You walk, drive and shoot with the buttons, while the bottom touchscreen functions as Huang Lee's PDA (map, GPS, emails and the Ammu-Nation shop). Tips for first-timers: 1. Read the story first. The first missions unlock new areas of Liberty City and introduce the main characters. 2. Earn money selling drugs. Buy cheap from the suppliers and sell dear to the dealers who need it. Check your PDA frequently, dealers will email you when they have a good deal. 3. Losing the cops is another story here. Hiding is not an option. To drop one wanted star you have to wreck police cars: at 3 stars you need to take out 3 cop cars to go down to 2. 4. Use GPS. You can touch a point on the touchscreen map to set a waypoint and a route will appear on the top screen. 5. Stock up in safehouses. The game is not autosave everywhere so go to a safehouse after big missions. 6. Learn the touch mini games. The stylus (or the mouse on PC) is used to hack car immobilisers, throw grenades and molotovs, and use the sniper rifle. 7. Don’t feel like driving all the way across the map? Hit the X button to call a cab.

1. melonDS (Windows, macOS, Linux) - Our top pick. It’s the most accurate DS emulator, it’s free and it handles the 3D city and touch mini-games pretty well. Supports OpenGL renderrer for upscaling. 2. DraStic (Android) – Best in mobile phones. It’s fast even on mid-range devices and the touchscreen feels natural for the stylus mini games. 3. Delta (iPhone and iPad) – Free on the App Store, supports DS games with the melonDS core. 4. DeSmuME (Windows) – It is an old emulator but still works. It is slower than melonDS on low end PCs. Please be aware that melonDS’ .sav files and DraStic’s .dsv files are formatted differently. To convert a DraStic save to melonDS, you can use a free tool to convert DSV to SAV. Save states are not interchangeable between emulators.

Original Nintendo DS controls: On foot: D-Pad – Move A – Punch / Shoot B – Sprint Y – Jump X – Enter vehicle / Hail taxi L – Target people R – Move camera Start – Pause menu Touchscreen – Weapon wheel, PDA and GPS In a vehicle: B – Accelerate Y – Brake / Reverse D-Pad Left/Right – Steer D-Pad Down – Horn / Siren A – Shoot (drive-by) R – Handbrake X – Exit vehicle Touchscreen – Throw grenades or Molotovs, change radio station Recommended keyboard setup for melonDS (set this in Config → Input and hotkeys): W A S D – D-Pad K – B (accelerate / sprint) J – Y (brake / jump) L – A (shoot) F – X (enter / exit vehicle) Q – L (target) Space – R (handbrake / camera) Enter – Start Mouse – Touchscreen (stylus) Tip: keep one hand on the mouse. Many mini-games need the touchscreen, and a mouse is much easier than mapping the stylus to a controller.