''Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories'' is an action-adventure game developed in a collaboration between

Rockstar Leeds Rockstar Leeds Limited (formerly Möbius Entertainment Limited) is a British video game developer and a studio of Rockstar Games based in Leeds. Ian J. Bowden, Dave Box, Gordon Hall, and Jason McGann founded the company as Möbius Entertainmen ...

and

Rockstar North Rockstar North Limited (formerly DMA Design Limited) is a British video game development company and a studio of Rockstar Games based in Edinburgh. The company was founded as DMA Design in Dundee in 1987 by David Jones, soon hiring former clas ...

, and published by

Rockstar Games Rockstar Games, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in New York City. The company was established in December 1998 as a subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive, using the assets Take-Two had previously acquired from BMG Interactive. Foun ...

. The ninth installment in the ''Grand Theft Auto'' series, it was initially released as a PlayStation Portable exclusive in October 2005. A

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...

for the PlayStation 2 was later released in June 2006. At the time of release, the recommended retail price of the PS2 port was around half the price of the PSP version, because the PS2 version does not feature the custom soundtrack ripping capability of the PSP version. Ports for

iOS iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also include ...

, Android and

Fire OS Fire OS is a mobile operating system based on the Android Open Source Project, it is developed by Amazon for their devices. Fire OS includes proprietary software, a customized user interface primarily centered on content consumption, and heavy ...

devices were also released in December 2015, February 2016, and March 2016, respectively. The game is the first 3D title in the series to be released for handheld devices, and acts as a prequel to 2001's '' Grand Theft Auto III'', using the same setting of Liberty City (a fictional parody of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

). The single-player story, set in 1998, follows

mobster A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from '' mob'' and the suffix '' -ster''. Gangs provide a level of organization and ...

Toni Cipriani, a character first introduced in ''Grand Theft Auto III'', and his efforts to rise through the ranks of the Leone

crime family A crime family is a unit of an organized crime syndicate, particularly in Italian organized crime and especially in the Sicilian Mafia and Italian American Mafia, often operating within a specific geographic territory or a specific set of activ ...

, while slowly becoming involved in a power struggle among the city's various

Mafia "Mafia" is an informal term that is used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the original “Mafia”, the Sicilian Mafia and Italian Mafia. The central activity of such an organization would be the arbitration of d ...

organisations. The PSP version of the game also includes a

multiplayer A multiplayer video game is a video game in which more than one person can play in the same game environment at the same time, either locally on the same computing system ( couch co-op), on different computing systems via a local area network, or ...

mode through a

wireless ad hoc network A wireless ad hoc network (WANET) or mobile ad hoc network (MANET) is a decentralized type of wireless network. The network is ad hoc because it does not rely on a pre-existing infrastructure, such as routers in wired networks or access points ...

, which allows up to six players to engage in several different game modes. ''Liberty City Stories'' received generally positive reviews from critics, and was a commercial success, selling over 8 million copies as of March 2008 and becoming the best selling PSP game of all time. It was followed in October 2006 by '' Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories'', a prequel to 2002's '' Grand Theft Auto: Vice City''.

Gameplay

''Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories'' is an action-adventure game set in an open world environment and played from a

third-person perspective Narration is the use of a written or spoken commentary to convey a story to an audience. Narration is conveyed by a narrator: a specific person, or unspecified literary voice, developed by the creator of the story to deliver information to the ...

. Liberty City's layout is largely similar to '' Grand Theft Auto III'', but it also incorporates elements found in ''Grand Theft Auto IIIs successors, such as more indoor environments, clothing changes, and motorcycles. Though flyable aeroplanes and helicopters are available in ''Vice City'' and ''San Andreas'', flyable aeroplanes cannot be found in ''Liberty City Stories'' while helicopters are only accessible through certain exploits. In keeping with recent ''Grand Theft Auto'' games, the player has more flexibility in terms of moving the camera around for viewing surroundings (''Grand Theft Auto III'' is noticeably limited in that respect). In contrast to previous release in the "3D Universe", '' Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas'', the ''Liberty City Stories'' protagonist lacks the ability to climb and the ability to swim – contact with deep bodies of water is instantly fatal. The overall game's open world, as it is based upon the original Liberty City layout, is considerably smaller than that of ''San Andreas''. The PSP version of ''Liberty City Stories ''has a

mode, for up to six players through Wi-Fi ad-hoc mode (same area). The game features seven modes of wireless multiplayer gaming, in which various pedestrian and character models are from the single player mode

avatars Avatar (, ; ), is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means "descent". It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, goddess or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appearanc ...

. These multiplayer modes were removed in the PS2 and mobile versions.

Synopsis

Setting

''Liberty City Stories'' takes place in early 1998 within the fictional Liberty City, and forms part of the "3D Universe"

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...

of the ''Grand Theft Auto'' series. Set three years before the events of '' Grand Theft Auto III'', the game's setting features several areas that are different from the 2001 version of Liberty City, including locations that are being constructed, or facilities and buildings that are demolished by 2001. For instance the Callahan Bridge is unfinished in 1998 so a ferry service is the main link between Staunton Island and Portland. Another example is Fort Staunton, initially a "

Little Italy Little Italy is a general name for an ethnic enclave populated primarily by Italians or people of Italian ancestry, usually in an urban neighborhood. The concept of "Little Italy" holds many different aspects of the Italian culture. There are ...

" district in the game, until events later in the storyline lead to it being mostly destroyed and becoming a construction site by 2001.

Characters

Like previous ''Grand Theft Auto'' games, ''Liberty City Stories'' features an array of notable actors in its cast. Several characters from ''Grand Theft Auto III'' make appearances in the game, receiving notable changes in appearance and lifestyles to reflect who they were in 1998. Although

Frank Vincent Frank Vincent Gattuso Jr. (April 15, 1937 – September 13, 2017) was an American actor. During a five-decade career, Vincent often portrayed mobsters. He was a frequent collaborator of filmmaker Martin Scorsese, appearing as Salvy in ''Raging B ...

Guru Guru ( sa, गुरु, IAST: ''guru;'' Pali'': garu'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: traditionally, the guru is a reverential ...

, and

Sondra James Sondra James (July 21, 1939 – September 12, 2021) was an American sound coordinator and actress. Early life Sondra James was born Sondra Weil on July 21, 1939, in the Lower East Side, New York City. She graduated from the Bronx High School of ...

return to reprise their roles as Salvatore Leone, 8-Ball, and Ma Cipriani, respectively, from ''Grand Theft Auto III'' (and, in Vincent's case, also '' Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas''), other returning characters from ''Grand Theft Auto III'' were voiced by new actors. For instance,

Danny Mastrogiorgio Danny Mastrogiorgio (born October 26, 1964) is an American actor who has also provided voice work for video games. He is best known for providing the voice of Toni Cipriani in the 2005 video game '' Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories'' and f ...

replaced

Michael Madsen Michael Søren Madsen (born September 25, 1957) is an American actor. He has starred in many films and television series, frequently collaborating with director Quentin Tarantino, most famously in the latter's debut film '' Reservoir Dogs'' (1 ...

as Toni Cipriani, Fiona Gallagher replaced

Debi Mazar Deborah Anne Mazar Corcos (; born August 13, 1964) is an American actress and television personality, known for playing sharp-tongued women. She began her career with supporting roles in ''Goodfellas'' (1990), '' Little Man Tate'' (1991) and ''S ...

as Maria Latore, Peter Appel replaced

Robert Loggia Salvatore "Robert" Loggia ( , ; January 3, 1930 – December 4, 2015) was an American actor. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for '' Jagged Edge'' (1985) and won the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor for ...

as Ray Machowski, and Will Janowitz replaced

Kyle MacLachlan Kyle Merritt MacLachlan (; ' McLachlan, February 22, 1959) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Dale Cooper in '' Twin Peaks'' (1990–1991; 2017) and its film prequel '' Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me'' (1992), as well as roles ...

as Donald Love.

Plot

In 1998, Leone mobster Antonio "Toni" Cipriani (

), forced to live abroad for four years following his murder of a

made man In the American and Sicilian Mafia, a made man is a fully initiated member of the Mafia. To become "made", an associate first must be Italian or of Italian descent and sponsored by another made man. An inductee will be required to take the oa ...

, returns home to Liberty City. His boss,

Don Don, don or DON and variants may refer to: Places *County Donegal, Ireland, Chapman code DON *Don (river), a river in European Russia *Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name *Don, Benin, a town in Benin *Don, Dang, a vill ...

Salvatore Leone (

), welcomes him back and assigns him to work under another Leone mobster, Vincenzo "Lucky" Cilli (

Joe Lo Truglio Joseph Vincent Lo Truglio (; born December 2, 1970) is an American actor, comedian, writer and producer. Best known for his role as Charles Boyle on the Fox/NBC sitcom '' Brooklyn Nine-Nine'', he also was a cast member on the television series ' ...

), who despises Toni, and a former member of the Sindacco family looking to switch allegiances, JD O'Toole ( Greg Wilson). At the same time, Toni finds that his mother (

) disapproves of his low rank in the Leone family, and is forced to stay away from her when she calls a hit on him. After Toni escapes being arrested on a job, he quickly discovers Vincenzo seeks to take his place within the Leone family. Vincenzo later leads Toni into another ambush to be killed, resulting in Toni escaping the trap and killing Vincenzo in revenge. Following Vincezo's death, Salvatore begins to personally assign work to Toni, including looking after his

trophy wife A trophy wife is a wife who is regarded as a status symbol for the husband. The term is often used in a derogatory or disparaging way, implying that the wife in question has little personal merit besides her physical attractiveness, requires sub ...

Maria (Fiona Gallagher). Toni soon uncovers evidence that Sicilian Mafia

underboss Underboss ( it, sottocapo) is a position within the leadership structure of certain organized crime groups, particularly in Sicilian, Greek, and Italian-American Mafia crime families. The underboss is second in command to the boss. The under ...

Massimo Torini (Duccio Faggella) is orchestrating plans for minor gangs to take control of the Leones' territory, whilst they're engaged in a war with the Sindacco and Forelli families. After helping to escort Salvatore downtown as problems arise, Toni earns his trust and becomes a made man within the Leone family, causing his mother to call off the hit on him. Toni soon finds himself entrusted with killing the city's mayor, controlled by the Forellis, and assisting media mogul Donald Love ( Will Janowitz) into becoming his replacement. However, Donald goes bankrupt after losing to his rival Miles O'Donovan (John Braden), who promptly has Salvatore arrested on several charges soon after his election. Toni remains loyal to Salvatore, and continues to take jobs from him in prison, including killing Don Paulie Sindacco (Jeff Gurner) as revenge for having Salvatore arrested. Meanwhile, Donald also enlists Toni's help in rebuilding his fortune, and hires him to destroy the Forelli-controlled district of Little Italy in Fort Staunton with explosives, so that Donald's company would receive city funding to redevelop it. With the Leones now the most powerful and sole-surviving Mafia family in Liberty City following the Sindaccos and the Forellis' defeat, Salvatore finds himself targeted by his rivals, forcing Toni to protect him before his trial. Upon being released on bail, Salvatore quickly deduces that Torini organised the mob war and rigged the mayoral elections. Suspecting Torini will likely kidnap Mayor O'Donovan to prevent him from dropping the charges against Salvatore, he joins Toni to rescue him and Toni proceeds to kill Torini. In return, Salvatore demands that O'Donovan grant his family protection, which he reluctantly accepts to do. Shortly after, Salvatore reveals to Toni that Torini was working for his uncle (

Bruce MacVittie Bruce James MacVittie (October 14, 1956 – May 7, 2022) was an American actor. He was known for playing Danny Scalercio in the fourth season of ''The Sopranos'', Mickey Mack in ''Million Dollar Baby'', and Detective Eastman in '' Lonely Hearts'' ...

), who wanted to weaken his nephew's control over the city as revenge for not paying him tribute. When Salvatore and Toni confront him, Uncle Leone admits defeat and decides to leave for

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

for good. With his uncle no longer a threat, Salvatore settles in with controlling the city, while Toni is promoted to ''

caporegime A caporegime or capodecina, usually shortened to capo or informally referred to as "captain" or "skipper", is a rank used in the Mafia (both the Sicilian Mafia and Italian-American Mafia) for a '' made member'' of an Italian crime family who he ...

'' as repayment for his assistance.

Development

As stated in an IGN preview, "Rockstar dropped Renderware in favor of a brand new in-house engine to best utilize the resolution, texture density and particle effects of the PSP". Until the release of ''Liberty City Stories'',

RenderWare RenderWare is a video game engine developed by British game developer Criterion Software. Overview Released in 1993, RenderWare is a 3D computer graphics, 3D Application programming interface, API and graphics rendering Game engine#Game middlewa ...

had been the game engine behind every 3D game in the ''Grand Theft Auto III'' era. ''Liberty City Stories'' used Image Metrics for the game's facial animation. In April 2013, the game was released on

PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on November 11, 2006, in Japan, November ...

via the PlayStation Network using the PlayStation 2 backward compatibility. An enhanced port of the game, with

touchscreen A touchscreen or touch screen is the assembly of both an input ('touch panel') and output ('display') device. The touch panel is normally layered on the top of an electronic visual display of an information processing system. The display is ofte ...

controls, real-time lighting, high-definition textures and

draw distance In computer graphics, draw distance (render distance or view distance) is the maximum distance of objects in a three-dimensional scene that are drawn by the rendering engine. Polygons that lie beyond the draw distance will not be drawn to the ...

, was released in December 2015 for

, February 2016 for Android and March 2016 for

Soundtrack

''Liberty City Stories'' features ten radio stations, which consist of a mix of both licensed music and tracks created specifically for the game, and

talk radio Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often featu ...

stations. A feature for the PSP version of the game is the ability to listen to custom soundtracks. To implement the custom soundtrack feature, Rockstar placed the application called "Rockstar Custom Tracks v1.0" on the official site under the "Downloads" section. This then gave people the chance to use the custom soundtracks feature. The application is based on

Exact Audio Copy Exact Audio Copy (EAC) is a CD ripping program for Microsoft Windows. The program has been developed by Andre Wiethoff since 1998. Wiethoff's motivation for creating the program was that other such software only performed jitter correction whil ...

Reception

''Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories'' received "generally favorable reviews" on both platforms from critics, according to

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

website

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

Sales

In the United States, the PlayStation 2 version of ''Liberty City Stories'' had sold 1 million copies by February 2007. In the United States alone, ''Liberty City Stories'' PSP release sold 980,000 copies and earned $48 million by August 2006. During the period between January 2000 and August 2006, it was the 16th highest-selling game launched for the PlayStation Portable in that country. As of 26 March 2008, ''Liberty City Stories'' sold 8 million copies according to

Take-Two Interactive Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. is an American video game holding company based in New York City and founded by Ryan Brant in September 1993. The company owns two major publishing labels, Rockstar Games and 2K, which operate internal ...

. The PlayStation Portable version of ''Liberty City Stories'' received a "Double Platinum" sales award from the

Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association The Association for UK Interactive Entertainment (Ukie) is a non-profit trade association for the video game industry in the United Kingdom (UK). Ukie was originally founded as the European Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA), and the ...

(ELSPA), indicating sales of at least 600,000 copies in the United Kingdom. ELSPA gave the game's PlayStation 2 version a "Platinum" certification, for sales of at least 300,000 copies in the region.

Notes

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2005 video games Action-adventure games Android (operating system) games Cultural depictions of the Mafia Liberty City Stories Interquel video games IOS games Lucid Games games Multiplayer and single-player video games Open-world video games Organized crime video games PlayStation 2 games PlayStation Network games PlayStation Portable games Rockstar Games games Take-Two Interactive games Video game prequels Video games developed in the United Kingdom Video games produced by Leslie Benzies Video games set in 1998 Video games set in the United States Video games set on fictional islands Video games with custom soundtrack support Video games written by Dan Houser Works about the Yakuza