Gangstar 2: Kings of L.A.

Genre: Top-Down Action

Players: 1

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Review:

Gangstar 2 is a Top-Down Action game first released on mobile devices in 2008, with the game later being ported to the Nintendo DSi via the DSiWare service in 2012, which was later grandfathered into the Nintendo 3DS eShop when the Nintendo 3DS released. The Gangstar series has been a long-running mobile franchise going back to even the days before smartphones, with the apparent goal of being a pocket-sized alternative to the Grand Theft Auto series. Gangstar 2 appears to follow in that same tradition, though of course the question is exactly how well this game manages to copy the Grand Theft Auto formula.

Graphically, Gangstar 2 uses pretty simple 2D visuals that work well enough for the game but are not in any way impressive. This is backed by a synthesized soundtrack in a variety of different styles, designed to imitate the “radio stations” from the Grand Theft Auto games.

When it comes to the gameplay, this game seems to run down a list of bullet points for how to do a Grand Theft Auto game. Open world? Check. Gang violence and aggressive cops? Check. Beating up or killing pedestrians for quick cash and hijacking cars? Check. A star meter to inform you how much trouble you’re in with the law? Check. A focus on a story about gang members caught up in events bigger than they are? Check. And as noted above, changing radio stations? Check.

Unfortunately, the devil is in the details, and this game has a lot of devils hiding under the surface. That open world I mentioned is absurdly small, and players will be able to easily travel from one end of it to another within a span of a few seconds. There’s also very little to actually do in the open world beyond the story missions and just causing random violence for no reason. Attack innocents or steal a car and cops may chase you, but they’re hilariously inept at doing so, being thwarted by strategies as complex as… turning your car around. Also, if you want to fill out that star meter, you’ve got your work cut out for you – I went on a killing rampage for a while and never got past one star. Finally, the story here is so absurdly poorly-written and features such embarrassing stereotypes that you’ll quickly find yourself wanting to skip it. Oh, and just to top things off, even the core gameplay isn’t very good, with noticeably poor hit detection.

If you’re looking for Grand Theft Auto on your Nintendo DSi or Nintendo 3DS… you already have that – just snag a Nintendo DS copy of Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, which is still excellent. However, if you’re looking for a cheap Grand Theft Auto knockoff for $5, Gangstar 2 seems to have all the core elements in place, but it does all of those things so poorly that you’re better off saving your money and waiting until you can get Chinatown Wars instead.

tl;dr – Gangstar 2 is a Top-Down Action Game that’s clearly inspired by the Grand Theft Auto series, and while it manages to capture the core gameplay elements that made those games a success, it does so extremely poorly, with virtually everything this game does being flawed in some way. Even on the Nintendo 3DS, you have at least one better option for a Grand Theft Auto-alike (the Nintendo DS game Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars), and it’s so clearly superior that even this game’s small $5 price tag doesn’t make up for how much worse this game is.

Grade: D+

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