Parents' Guide to Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories

Game PSP 2006
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Common Sense Media Review

By Aaron Lazenby , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 18+

Very well done, but VERY mature content.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 18+?

Any Positive Content?

Parent and Kid Reviews

age 12+

Based on 13 parent reviews

Parents say the game is generally considered a fun and engaging prequel to its predecessor, featuring immersive open-world gameplay with crime-related themes. However, reviews highlight the presence of mature content, including violence, strong language, and adult themes, making it essential for parents to assess its suitability based on their child's maturity level.

  • mature content
  • open-world gameplay
  • age recommendations
  • consequences depicted
  • parental discretion
Summarized with AI

age 14+

Based on 29 kid 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 ( 13 ):
Kids say ( 29 ):

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
  • Pricing structure :
  • 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 19, 2019

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