New GTA-like crime game is the Chinatown Wars successor you’ve been waiting for
The world is impatiently awaiting the launch of GTA 6, leaving us all looking for alternatives to pass the time. You probably didn’t know it, but there’s a fresh game on the Google Play Store right now that feels like a tribute to Rockstar Games’ iconic crime game series. Roadman is less like Grand Theft Auto 5, and more like a return to Rockstar’s mid-2000s roots, especially that of GTA: Chinatown Wars.
In my book, GTA: Chinatown Wars is one of the best DS games ever made, and it’s criminal that Rockstar Games never followed up on its approach to the long-running open world game franchise. Roadman does a good job at trying, though, as it merges Chinatown War’s crime management aspects with social status elements that affect your reputation.
Set in unknown, grim, and withered cities across the United States and the United Kingdom, the game’s developer, also known as Roadman, shares that the new mobile game sees players “build a gang, claim territory, manage resources, and dominate their rivals all while navigating a city that’s as dangerous as it is absurd.” Tonally, it feels more akin to the misery of GTA 3, with satire that utilizes the game’s incredibly hostile environment.
Roadman’s social mechanics factor in your gender, class, and aesthetic, with NPCs and key characters reacting to these factors in specific ways. As you may expect, many of these reactions are unfavourable, with the studio aiming to provide a social commentary where “opportunity and discrimination collide.”
The free mobile game’s action unfolds in a third-person shooter perspective, with weapons ranging from crude blunt objects to familiar GTA staples like SMGs. Other players are after your turf too, with real-time battles for dominance over the city proving to be a challenging task in itself.
Roadman’s development team includes Shaun Leach, part of three three-person trio behind Iron Fish, a deep-sea adventure title with a psychological twist, the deeper you venture below the depths. According to a statement on the game’s website, Roadman is born out of Leach’s desire to chase a new project, after taking time out of the gaming industry following the sale of his company, leading to an early retirement at just 30 years old.
Speaking about the Roadman’s PVP, Leach adds that “our players may be able to form alliances, make deals, deceive the opposition, so that they can make it to the top while managing their resources and protecting themselves.” You can give Roadman a try here on the Google Play Store, although an iPhone version is currently unavailable.
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