Rockstar quietly published the Android version of the highly anticipated GTA side-story game, Liberty City Stories, after just short of two months of waiting. This game was released on December 17, 2015 for the iOS platform, with no word of an Android port coming; although, the sudden release of that version today wasn’t really a surprise, as Rockstar did the same with all previous GTA titles too. This title was originally a PSP game, released in 2005, but later it was ported to PS2, and now the mobile versions gave new life to it.
According to the Play Store page, the game supports cross-platform cloud saves via the Rockstar Social Club, enhanced graphics, re-balanced touch-based controls, and support for physical controllers such as the MOGA. The game’s requirements are fairly high: Android 4.0 or above, which in itself isn’t a huge issue, but the game requires 2 GB of free space on the device. According to users on Reddit, the currently published version of the game is prone to crashing, and many report that the Play Store lists their devices as incompatible, even though they meet the game’s supposed requirements. But this was mostly the same with other Rockstar releases on Android, and they got fixed after a few days or weeks after launch.
The game takes place in the same city as GTA III did. The gameplay is also mostly the same as we have gotten used to in the GTA III-San Andreas period: players roam the city mostly freely, taking on story missions to make progress and unlock new areas of the city. The missions involve doing heinous crimes, from stealing vehicles, killing people and wreaking havoc in Liberty City, which was inspired by the real-life New York. The main protagonist is Toni Cipriani, a named hero with a voice, unlike GTA III which featured a silent, nameless protagonist. Players do missions for various kinds of criminals they encounter in Liberty City, including the Cipriani familiy, which might be familiar from GTA III.