5 reasons to play GTA Chinatown Wars in 2025

GTA Chinatown Wars is a unique addition to the Grand Theft Auto series that every player must try in 2025. It includes a unique gameplay style that is different from the traditional GTA games and alludes more to the early titles — the ones from before 2001. However, Chinatown Wars’ story, characters, and missions have their own characteristics that should not be overlooked.

This article lists five solid reasons why you should play GTA Chinatown Wars in 2025.

Note: This article is subjective and only reflects the writer’s opinions.

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Five reasons why you should play GTA Chinatown Wars in 2025

1) Best handheld Grand Theft Auto title

Grand Theft Auto Chinatown Wars is officially a handheld-only game (Image via Rockstar Games)

GTA Chinatown Wars has always been a handheld device game. If you love playing video games on the go, you must definitely try this 2009-released title in 2025. Following are the consoles/platforms where you can officially play the game:

• PlayStation Portable
• Nintendo DS
• Apple iOS
• Android

Since the first two gaming consoles are difficult to find these days, we suggest you try Chinatown Wars on supported Android or iOS devices. The entire gameplay is well-optimized for a better handheld gaming experience.

Furthermore, the title can be played offline. It is a fun game to play while you wait for Grand Theft Auto 6’s release.

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2) Free for GTA Plus members

If you play Grand Theft Auto 5 Online on PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X|S and have an active GTA Plus subscription, you can play GTA Chinatown Wars for free. On October 19, 2023, Rockstar Games included the 2009 title as one of the benefits for paid subscribers.

Keep in mind that you will get only the Android and iOS versions of GTA Chinatown Wars for free. Moreover, you will have access only till you have the subscription active in the GTA Online Expanded and Enhanced version. Once you discontinue the membership, you will no longer be able to play the mobile game.

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3) Top-down perspective gameplay

GTA Chinatown Wars is a part of the HD Universe of the Grand Theft Auto series. However, unlike other titles of this universe that use third-person and first-person perspectives, the 2009 title uses a top-down perspective only. It is worth noting that the top-down perspective was majorly discontinued from the series since the emergence of the 3D Universe in 2001.

Despite the fact that Chinatown Wars uses a top-down camera angle, it does not feel old-school at all. The video game has high-quality graphics and looks great on smartphones with high-resolution screens.

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4) A different police mechanism

One of the special things in GTA Chinatown Wars is that it uses different police and wanted-level mechanisms. Other Grand Theft Auto games require you to move away from the cops to remove the wanted level stars. If you attack or confront them, they become more aggressive.

In Chinatown Wars, you can evade the cops by ramming into their vehicles. Destroying police vehicles takes you off their radar and you will be able to escape more quickly. It is certainly a fun mechanism that you should try in 2025.

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5) Comic book-style cutscenes

Chinatown Wars’ storytelling is different from other Grand Theft Auto titles (Image via Rockstar Games)

While other mainstream Grand Theft Auto titles use in-game cutscenes to elaborate certain plots, GTA Chinatown Wars uses artworks and presents them in a "comic book" style. You will have to read the dialogs from the screen to understand the particular cutscene — much like the 2003 Ubisoft title, XIII.

These comic book-styled cutscenes offer a unique flavor to the game. Additionally, the inclusion of proper background music during the sequences makes the experience more interesting. Therefore, if you haven't explored the unique stuff in Grand Theft Auto Chinatown Wars yet, we suggest you do so in 2025.

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