quote Source

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars
- True GTA game - sandbox gameplay, open-world environment, gritty crime narrative.
- M-rating
- Isometric camera angle
- Cel-shaded polygons w/ black borders
- good touch-screen implementation - "tasteful" minigames, streamlining interface
- UI based on a PDA - hub for email, contacts, map, music player, GPS, stat-tracking
- stats uploaded to Rockstar Social Club website via Wi-Fi
- finger-sized icons
- missions designed for shorter periods of play, arcade quality
- aiming with control pad, auto targeting with R button
- subtle autosteer
- if you fail a mission, you can jump back to the action sequence
- chain gun, flamethrower
- good portion of Liberty City is modeled in the game (different routes than console games)
- no probems with load times, draw-in or frame rate
- lots of pedestrians, cars, etc on screen
- Wanted system - objective is to disable police cars any way possible
- real-time weather effects, 24-hour day/night cycle
- lots of radio stations to listen to (more instrumentals than vocals)
- 800,000 lines of hand-optimized source code (hey, the people like the info, right?)
- no details yet on multiplayer/Wi-Fi features

Hmm...sounds good but I'm not sure how GTA would look in an isometric view though?

Maybe I'm wrong, but in this generation of games, I can't even begin to imagine any real interest in a brand new "top down" GTA game. This is the 3D age, and I am amazed that people actualy give a rat's ass about this one. I have a DS, and to be quite honest, after the absolute abortion that GTA Gameboy was when it released a few years ago, I think this will be the first NEW GTA game in 8 years that I pass on. This shit reminds me of all the Pac Man games that came out for the XBox, GC, and PS2. In other words, so what?

Good thread, though, FB.

It's an isometric camera angle though mate, that's not technically top down. At least not in the sense that GTA and GTA 2 were top down.

I don't see the real difference. If I understand what you are saying it is still top down, but it is like looking down on a world that is sort of 3 inches thick rather than perfectly flat. If I remember right, GTA Gameboy had this quality too. Dress it up all you like, but top down is still top down in my book.

Just to clarify then, this is an example of an isometric game.



I can see what you mean but it's still different to the first GTA games. Either way, I have very strong reservations about a new GTA game in this perspective.

Well if it is like that, I would consider giving it a look. I have a DS in mothballs, so I wuldn't mind checking it out. But I doubt that it will be that advanced. I personally would love to see Rockstar Leeds pick up the GTA gauntlet and continue the fine PSP series they began with LCS and VCS, but that is the topic for another thread.

Isometric is just a perspective set to particular angles. Namely 30°, 60° and 120°. It's used a lot in engineering and was widely used for old RPG games and the like. It was used to give the game a "3D" look when in reality it was still 2D.

I personally think it would be terrible for a GTA game. I know that technically it is more advanced than top down, but it doesn't lend itself well to that type of game. It's better for slower paced, more RPG style games. I guess we'll need to wait for some screens before we can fully judge though.

I* would tend to agree. Not only that, but with this kind of an angle, it will probably play like the old Resident Evil games, which for a GTA title would completely suck ass in my opinion.

Isometric was dropped in most genres for the simple fact depending on the angle and the angle of the plane the game rests on, the characters cannot walk straight, case point Fallout 2 an Isometric RPG and the character has to zig zag as the plane does not allow free movement thats how Isometric as in most cases always been too, sure you have the likes of Sonic 3D on the Genesis which was Isometric with free movement but it was also impossible to play.

Yeah I know what you mean about the zig zagging. It made every character move like Qbert haha.

Which would be fine if you are jumping on squares to turn them different colors. But for GTA, not so much.

Isometric? Talk about restrictive.

I agree. The problem is that the DS is just not powerful enough to handle a full blown GTA game like the PSP is, so they have to really make it primitive. No offense to any DS fans here, by the way. In addition to not having the graphics capabilities, it is a cartridge based console with nowhere near the media space of a UMD.

_{You know, I'll laugh my ass off if this game becomes a monstrous hit and we still having this same talk about how the DS can't handle GTA.}