LCPD Then & Now

One of the most important aspects of the Grand Theft Auto series is the police. The game wouldn't be the same without them. Who else could you get involved in a high speed chase with after causing a bunch of mayhem? As we approach the one year mark on Grand Theft Auto IV, lets take a look at the evolution of the Liberty City Police Department over the past year.

GTA IV & Lost & Damned
In Grand Theft Auto IV the cops are more user friendly if you ask me. They have this vibe about them that says they really don't want to get out of the car unless you give them a reason.The radar makes it fairly easy to escape, and getting busted is considered taboo in the eyes of some players. It's never too hard to get your wanted level up since cops are usually close by.


GTA: Chinatown Wars
In 2009 the LCPD went handheld again, but this time on the Nintendo DS. In Chinatown Wars the cops are way more of a hassle. Tap a cop car as you drive and you've got a star. There's no zone on the radar that you must escape from to lose your wanted level. Instead you have to find clever ways of causing the cops to crash. The amount of cop cars you have to destroy depends on your wanted level. If you have 2 stars, 2 cop cars must be destroyed before going down to one star. It's a lot easier for a cop to pull you out of a car which has resulted in me being busted multiple times.

Some things still hold true for the LCPD though. If you steal a cop car, you still get a shotgun with five shells, the Pay N Spray's still won't respray cop cars, the helicopter still comes out after 3 stars.