1Up And IGN GTA: Chinatown Wars Reviews

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars takes GTA back to it's roots you might know from the first two games. All reviews I see for this game are good, the gameplay is even better.
Here's what IGN has to say:

But that’s one of few gripes about a game that makes little compromise on its journey to the small screen. Chinatown Wars takes the template of the old games and makes them feel completely new, taking the lessons learned from the 3D games and mixing them in with some nuanced use of the touch-screen. Working in perfect harmony with the DS’s unique capabilities, it’s no less than a fully featured GTA - a standalone entry that not only holds its own amongst its esteemed company but acts as a celebration of all that has come before it. The definitive GTA? That depends where your tastes lie, but either way there’s no denying this is a masterpiece of handheld gaming.

9.2/10

And 1Up thinks:

In bringing GTA to the DS, Rockstar Leeds makes an installment that's less about exploration and more about the actual, structured game that's underneath. On the surface, it's not so different: pull up to a location, get a new mission, and do the job (be it shooting down some rival gang members, following someone to a secret spot, or just racing cars for respect). And it helps that missions in GTA games have always been bite-size, so it translates well to Chinatown Wars -- pick the game up, clear a few missions, then come back to it later. Nor are your tasks too challenging: Regular enemy thugs aren't exactly gifted shooters. With a clear overhead view of the area, you can easily find spots to hide behind.
[...]
Altogether, Chinatown Wars is what I expected -- it takes an understandable few steps back from GTA4, but also takes a couple forward (a touch screen can do that). It's a well-honed "core" GTA on the handheld, not merely a one-to-one clone of its console parents.

Rating: A-