Review - Gangstar: West Coast Hustle

[hawks12thman]

Clones of Grand Theft Auto for the iPhone and iPod Touch aren't new to us, as we have seen the 2.5D Payback as well as the 2D Car Jack Streets step into the realm we call the App Store, however, for a large majority of people, Car Jacks Streets proved to be an overhyped failure that lost its appeal after just a little bit of play. As far as Payback, people failed to realize it was something to be taken seriously as Payback let everyone know that Grand Theft Auto on the iDevices are entirely possible. Most people went to these two games when they wanted a taste of mobile GTA, that was until Gangstar: West Coast Hustle was announced. And coming from Gameloft, we knew this wasn't something to scoff at. When Gangstar made a sudden entry into the App Store, many people were shocked and couldn't believe it was out, but...it was.

Unlike Car Jack Streets, the highly touted Gangstar did not disappoint. It was the first 3D GTA venture for the iDevices and compared to the two aforementioned apps, owns their sorry butts (Payback and Car Jack Streets that is). For those of you who were expecting a true GTA console-like experience, truth is, it likely will never happen, at least not in this era. So, for those of you wanting a review of me saying "GTA IV For iPhone and iPod Touch!", leave. Gameloft won't be able to beat out Rockstar Games, but for those of you thinking more realisticly, you will love this game. The 3D graphics are as promised and they look very good. Once again, we can see how much potential these two little devices have. But, what about the gameplay? It is just as good as the graphics, if not better? The storyline is that you are part of a Mexican Gang in what I believe is Los Angeles and you accomplish missions that are you given to you by your superiors. As you complete each individual mission, you will earn money. A good addition that improved the similarity to GTA (that Payback and CJS do not have) is you can spend your money on many things (ranging from cars to guns).

A focus of this game is put onto killing, many missions require you to kill members of opposing gangs. Sound boring and repetitive? Not, compared to the continual similarity of missions in Payback and CJS, Gangstar is a breath of fresh air every single mission. Every mission is unique in it's own way, and that, is probably the big reason this game is so spectacular. Although the depth of Gangstar is not as good as Payback or Car Jack Streets, I don't know about you, but I would much rather have 15 hours of excellent gameplay than 40 hours of non-sense bill paying and boringness (*cough*Car Jack Streets*cough*). I have played for a few hours and I am already 30% through the game (as stated in the game statistics), but the 30% of Gangstar thus far has been very good. Then again, this IS version 1.0, so Gangstar is not without it's faults, but the faults are minimal and there aren't many. Since the depth isn't really a bad thing, there is only one big issue I can think of. And that is the camera following you (sounds minimal right? Well yeah, it is), it is tough to explain, but my point is that the camera isn't always behind you and the car (or whatever you're in). It spins around you, so when you put the vehicle in reverse, the camera spins to point at the front of the car. Why is this a problem? It makes it confusing whether you should turn left or right. But considering it's the camera that I find the most troubling, thats saying there are few issues with this game.

As far as the controls go, say buh-bye to the crappy on-screen buttons of CJS, the controls are much more similar to the ones found on Payback, which use the accelerometer to turn left and right. This system works well (although it's hindered by the camera issue discussed above). Although Gameloft is known for its difficult to use on-screen joysticks, Gameloft does a good job with the on-screen joystick in Gangstar, and you should have no problems with it. Of course like any GTA game/clone, there are many cars to steal, many people to kill, many guns to pick up, etc. The map is also worth exploring, a lot of the times, I just like to ignore the missions and roam the city and just explore. The 3D aspect adds to the adventure, there are many details in the map that makes it so much fun (opposed to Payback and CJS). I won't give any of these particular "details" away, so it won't ruin your experience. But anyways, enough said, BUY THIS GAME ALREADY. You may have second thoughts with the $6.99 price tag, but screw that, this game has way too much upside for you not to get it.

FINAL VERDICT: 9.5 out of 10 points - Ladies and gentleman, this is about as good as it gets.