This week I?m going to be rambling about Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories for PSP. I?m amazed with this title I mean, the concept that you can have a game that is so in-depth yet on a handheld is mightily impressive I?d say. I was expecting that this was actually going to be just a chopped up version of one of the GTA?s for PS2, in fact, I wouldn’t have been surprised if this title was the top-down 2-D view as it was when it first came out. But no, this game has a huge environment as well as a brand new story.

You start off with Toni Cipriani, who is the same thug we met on PS2, and once again you have the choice to roam around and see how long you can survive after creating random chaos for the police or follow the missions and move up in the Italian mafia.

I don’t have any complaints for this title simply because all the same great elements that have made the series a success so far are in there: the freedom of the huge 3-D environment, the grand selection of vehicles, even the loading time is impressive, as it only does so once at the beginning. Needles to say, loading times on PSP games so far has been inconsistent. Some games boot and load up fast while others do take a while, and I am a rather patient man. The graphics obviously don?t come close to compare with what you get on a console but they are still sharp for the most part. Regardless, the gameplay is smooth for the most part and the environments are rich with detail.

I don?t feel like I can say too much about this game simply because if you?ve played any of the GTA titles it?s basically the same deal. There isn?t anything too new that?ll blow your mind with the game itself but with the exception of some new features.

For starters, it actually has a great multiplayer mode. Since it is such a huge world and you?re dealing with real players as opposed to computer A.I., it has the feel of an online adventure. You hunt down your opponent in a huge city scattered with weapons and finding your opponent takes a while sometimes, which is seldom the case for multiplayer modes.

Secondly, you have the option of importing your own music to listen to on the radio stations. To do this you need a USB cable and you need download the software, which takes no time to find. For some reason the software won?t let you just transfer MP3?s from your hard drive, the files have to come from a CD. I suppose record companies, such as I don?t know, Sony, want to make sure people by CD?s. To be honest, the music in the game is fantastic and I often look forward to the music tracks when a new GTA title hits the shelves but man-oh-man is it such a bonus to be able to pump old school DMX and cruise around in a Hummer.

If you?ve never played GTA before I?d recommend playing San Andreas first if you can. That particular title gave you the option of customizing your character and had a much more in-depth storyline. The voice acting in the PSP version is nice, but as far as the story goes, Toni just gets jerked around and that?s basically it.

If you have played GTA before and you?ve come to be a fan now, I don?t think you even need to rent this game, you?re sure to love it. Until I try Battlefront II I?m tempted to say this might very well be the best PSP title out there right now.