The Grand Theft Auto franchise is probably one of the most popular series of open-world, sandbox games. It won over millions of fans with its intriguing gameplay and compelling story, and was released on quite a few consoles, including the PlayStation 2, the PlayStation 3, the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation Portable handheld system.

But now the company responsible with this IP (Intellectual Property), Rockstar, has tasked its Leeds studio with creating a game specifically for the Nintendo DS handheld console. Although at first quite a lot of industry analysts thought that this title might not have the same feel as other GTA games, Gordon Hall, the head of the Rockstar Leeds studio, said on several occasions that Chinatown Wars would take things to a whole new level.

Now, in an interview with Nintendo Power, the game designer compares this future game with the other handheld titles in the GTA lineup, developed exclusively for the PSP, Liberty City Stories and Vice City Stories. Hall goes on to say that this game, which is slated for a March release, will be bigger than the games made for the PSP, which were also developed by his studio.

“Chinatown Wars is much bigger than anything we have ever done before: more odd jobs, deeper missions, and more moments of over-the-top action. We have a huge interaction with the Rockstar Social Club, a massive narcotics trafficking game that would stand alone on its own. The list goes on and on; this thing is huge. We are very proud of all of the PSP games we have made, especially the two GTA games, but this game is far bigger.”

It does seem that the team at Rockstar Leeds is very confident in this game. Let's just hope that it will deliver a great experience and that it will keep the promise it has made to take DS games to a whole new level. Look forward to this title on March 17 in North American and March 20 in Europe.