Gangstar 2: Kings of LA

Grand Theft Auto is still yet to come to mobile phone, so you can hardly be surprised that the likes of Gameloft are releasing games that are remarkably similar to it, along with I-play (Car Jack Streets), and THQ (Saints Row 2). After all, someone needs to be keeping happy a vast audience who enjoy nothing more than crushing policemen under the tyres of their car and punching prostitutes in the face.

Charming world we live in, eh?

Gangstar 2: Kings of LA does little to pretend it hasn't lifted most of its ideas and a lot of its style from the famous Rockstar series. We can easily picture that company's head honcho, Sam Houser, booting it up on his phone then incredulously spitting his Starbucks all over the screen. Perhaps shaking a fist at it for good measure.

Sure, lifting GTA's sandbox approach, mission-filled city, car jacking and violence is fair enough. It's okay too to borrow the five-star wanted meter approach and changeable radio stations in vehicles – after all, we can't think of a better way to deal with in-game music or a visual indicator of how much trouble you're in with the police.

But also nicking GTA's art style seems a bit cheeky. Still, at Gameloft has come up with its own name for its lead character. He's not Niko, as in GTA IV. He's called, er, Chico.

Chico begins the game busting through the Mexican border and cruising into LA looking to make a life (and a lot of money) for himself as a gangster. This essentially involves doing jobs for his extended family – jobs like breaking into garages, taking out members of rival gangs and shuttling his cousin across town to hook up with his lady.

The fun doesn't end there, though. In fact, Gangstar 2's 75 missions only make up about half of what you can get up to in the game. Outside the missions, there's plenty to check out in the different hoods (or neighbourhoods as we tend to call them).

There's 'candy' to deal by buying it in one area then selling it in another at an inflated price. Meanwhile, gun shops enable you to stock up on weaponry, bullet-proof vests and first aid kits.

Then there's general mayhem to cause. You can jack any car by holding '0' for a few seconds, which causes you to chuck its inhabitant onto the pavement and then take to the wheel (yes, that includes police cars, although it's a riskier business, and even motorbikes), engaging in pulling stunts once you're in them.

There's also a variety of weapons scattered around the city you can collect and, if you like, use against its inhabitants in order to pick up the odd goody from their bloodied, bullet-ridden corpses.

Deterrent for this criminal behaviour comes in the form of the game's familiar wanted system. Commit a crime, such as running over a police officer or smashing up some cars on the road, and one star is lit up meaning the police give chase when they spot you.

If a cop gets within grabbing distance of you and you don't leg it in time, you'll be arrested and your cash and weapons reduced to zero. Meanwhile, if you carry on your crime spree and light up more stars, the police get more aggressive in their pursuit and the streets become packed with 'black 'n' whites' all trying to mow you down.

At times like this, Gangstar 2 technically shines. It's a big and clever game to be packed into a mobile phone and one that works nearly all of the time, save a few glitches when cars or people get stuck in walls. An auto-aim system makes shooting a breeze and driving is just as smooth once you get used to it.

Of course, the game's missions are clearly more restricted than you'd get in, say, GTA on PSP. But they're still impressively varied. Use is made of being able to jump onto low objects, so some missions call for you to find a way of breaking in, which is usually a crate pushed against a wall. There's even Metal Gear-style stealth missions where enemies have a cone of vision you have to avoid straying into.

Gangstar 2's attention to detail is immense. That's not to say a few things haven't been overlooked. For instance, the slightly odd perspective and city layout can make it hard to work out at speed what is road and what is roof, resulting in a fair few collisions with walls. There's also a bit of a lack of thrills since you're rarely up against any sort of time limit and driving like an OAP is a more effective tactic when you're more likely to avoid the attention of the police that way.

But as a GTA-a-like on mobile, Gangstar 2: Kings of LA is one of the best you'll find. It's got all the guns, violence and dodgy street speak today's gaming audience could possibly ask for, and some.