Part 9

Master the settings menu in Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars! Learn how to optimize controls, camera, radar, and more to enhance your gameplay experience.

Hey there! This section is all about tweaking the game's settings to make your Chinatown Wars experience smoother. Think of it like fine-tuning your ride before hitting the streets of Liberty City. We'll go through each option so you can set things up just right.

Game Settings Explained:

1. Save Progress: The game can auto-save after missions. The guide writer recommends keeping this OFF. This lets you replay missions if you mess up or want to try for a better score without an unwanted save overwriting your progress.
2. Control Layout: This is where you can check out and change how your buttons are mapped. If the default setup feels weird, this is your chance to fix it.
3. Steering Assist: This helps keep your car aligned with the road. It's super helpful for beginners, so the writer strongly suggests keeping it ON. If you're feeling confident, you can turn it off for a more challenging drive.
4. Auto Drive-By: Honestly, the writer couldn't tell a difference with this on or off, even with it set to ON. It might affect how you automatically shoot while driving, but it's not a major setting for most players.
5. Vehicle Camera: This likely controls how fast the camera swings around when you're driving. A faster camera might help you keep an eye on things, but it can also be distracting.
6. Auto Reverse: When you're driving backward, this setting automatically flips the camera so you can see where you're going. It's a handy feature to avoid hitting things when you're in a tight spot.
7. Hide Radar: This lets you remove the radar from your screen. The writer prefers to keep it OFF, but if you want a cleaner view, you can hide it.
8. World GPS: This is a big one! The writer highly recommends setting this to ON. It shows your route directly on the street, so you don't have to constantly glance at the radar. Super useful for navigation.
9. Rotating Radar: Similar to GTA IV, this makes the radar spin as you turn. Keeping it ON is recommended to match the familiar GTA feel.
10. Auto Switch Weapons: When you pick up a new weapon, this setting automatically switches you to it. The writer strongly advises setting this to OFF. It's usually better to manually choose your weapon so you don't accidentally switch to something you don't want in the middle of a fight.
11. Animate Cutscene Text: When ON, dialogue text appears letter by letter. When OFF, the whole sentence pops up at once. It's purely a visual preference.
12. Badger OS: This just shows a little message related to the Badger operating system used in the game. It doesn't affect gameplay.

The GPS System: Your In-Game Map

The GPS is your best friend for navigating Liberty City. You can access it by tapping the GPS option in the Game Menu or by tapping the Radar on the Touch Screen. It pauses the game, giving you a moment to plan your route.

The entire city map is shown on the Top Screen, while a zoomed-in section is on your Touch Screen. You can move this zoomed-in area around with the stylus. It'll show important locations like Safehouses, Dealers, Gas Stations, Pay 'N' Sprays, and the Bomb Garage. There's an up arrow on the GPS screen that'll re-center the view on your character.

On the left side of the GPS screen, you'll find two main buttons:

• Contacts: This shows your current Main Story contacts and Dealers. You can see how far away they are and set a GPS course to them.
• Points of Interest: This works similarly but lists other key locations like Safehouses, Pay 'N' Sprays, Gas Stations, Unique Stunt Jumps, Security Cameras, Odd Jobs, Rampages, Scratch Card Shops, and the Bomb Garage. Many of these places only show up after you've discovered or interacted with them in the game.