Parents' Guide to

Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories

By Aaron Lazenby, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 18+

Very well done, but VERY mature content.

Game PSP 2006
Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this game.

Community Reviews

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age 10+

Based on 12 parent reviews

fuji apllle
fuji apllle Parent of 6, 12, 15, 16 and 17-year-old
October 28, 2022
age 2+

This title has:

Educational value
Great messages
Great role models
Easy to play/use
Nikostein
Nikostein Parent of 13-year-old
January 3, 2019
age 16+

16+

It’s has a lot of violence and foul language and some inappropriate references in the game. It’s should be ages 16+

This title has:

Easy to play/use
Too much violence
Too much sex
Too much swearing
Too much consumerism
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
See all 12 parent reviews

What’s It About?

GRAND THEFT AUTO: LIBERTY CITY STORIES shifts the series storyline away from the faux-L.A. of San Andreas and back to the site that spawned the series: Liberty City. This PSP-exclusive installment follows Tony Cipriani (a face familiar to anyone who played GTA3 or GTA: Vice City) in his return to the mean streets and ascent to the inner circles of the Leone crime family. Players guide Tony as he completes missions that endear him to the godfather of the family, prove to his mother he's man enough to be loved, and bloodies the streets in pursuit of money and respect.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (12 ):
Kids say (33 ):

Like the last three GTAs, Liberty City Stories is a landmark sandbox video game experience, allowing players to putter at their own pace in an expansive game universe. Every car on the road can be driven -- after yanking its driver out of the front seat by the hair, of course. Every location in the game universe can be explored. It's this flexibility and total immersion that's won the series its acclaim, despite the complaints about its graphic content.

But this impressive, expansive environment is filled with adults-only material. Storylines feature domestic violence, drug smuggling, contract killings, rigged elections, cannibalism, car bombings and police corruption. There is no doubt that GTA:LCS is an impressive feat for the still young PSP. It's too bad that a game of this imagination and production value doesn't exist for the system without the over-the-top explicit content.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about why, despite the negative attention, games like GTA keep getting made? How far will video games go in depicting sexual fetishes, extreme violence, and hateful language? Are there standards that should be enforced, or should game developers be able to express their visions in any way they choose? Is playing a game like GTA:LCS on a handheld system different from playing on a console system?

Game Details

  • Platform: PSP
  • Available online?: Not available online
  • Publisher: Rockstar Games
  • Release date: January 16, 2006
  • Genre: Action/Adventure
  • ESRB rating: M for Blood and Gore, Strong Sexual Content, Use of Drugs, Intense Sci-Fi Violence, Strong Violence
  • Last updated: November 4, 2015

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