Nintendo DS comes of age

Grand Theft Auto Chinatown Wars is the first game to be rated BBFC 18 on Nintendo's popular hand-held. Is there room for more?

Only Rockstar could be so bold. Flying in the face of public perception of what Nintendo DS could, or even should, be capable of comes Grand Theft Auto Chinatown Wars. Have no doubt, this mini GTA is every bit as antagonistic as its PlayStation and Xbox cousins. But while the theme is mature this doesn't stand in the way of Rockstar producing a videogame masterpiece.

We're confident that Chinatown Wars will be the first all-format Number One for DS since Pokémon Diamond & Pearl in July 2007. And with its arrival only a few weeks ahead of the new and improved Nintendo DSi console GTA could become a system seller. In short the concept has worked brilliantly.

It's time we got to see more ‘grown-up' content for DS. The highly stylised antics of Huang Lee in Chinatown Wars show the way forward for game designers eager to share more than just puzzle games and pet simulations with the world. Should GTA attract a new audience to DS just as the likes of Brain Training and Nintendogs achieved before, it will be interesting to see what other publishers will offer up next.

Hopefully it'll be more imaginative than strip poker.