Unlike its portable predecessors, Chinatown Wars will be neither topdown (as seen in GTA Advance) nor fully 3D (as seen in Liberty City Stories and Vice City Stories). The game is played from an isometric perspective, meaning slightly topdown yet slightly 3D. All elements of the environment are cel-shaded, so everything has a black border to help distinguish between objects.

A good portion of GTA IV's version of Liberty City is included in the game, including the boroughs (albeit slightly scaled down versions) of Dukes, Broker, Bohan, and Algonquin. Other details include weather and time of day effects, transparent car headlights, flashing weapon fire, and exploding cars.

The game will contain a wide variety of radio stations that you can listen to, but the songs are mostly instrumentals.

The HUD will be much like that of GTA IV. The map appears on the bottom screen with your health and armor lebels wrapped around it. The currently selected weapon, its ammunition, and the amount of money you have all appear to the right of the map on the same screen with icons very similar to GTA IV.

Wanted levels will work the same way as in GTA IV - the extent of police activity will be shown on your radar and to drop your wanted level you'll have to escape the circle.

You will have access to a PDA, which will be controlled through the DS's touch-screen function. The PDA is a hub for emails and contacts, a map, a portable music player, a GPS while driving, and a stat-tracker that can upload information to the Rockstar Games Social Club through the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. Its buttons are finger-sized so using the stylus on your PDA is not necessary.