Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars for Nintendo DS will be the biggest portable game Rockstar has ever made, bigger even than PSP’s Liberty City Stories and Vice City Stories. According to Rockstar Leeds’ president Gordon Hall, “Chinatown Wars is much bigger than anything we have ever done before [in terms of scope]: more odd jobs, deeper missions, and more moments of over-the-top action.”

In an interview with Nintendo power (via Nintendo Everything), Hall said of Chinatown Wars’ depth, “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.”

Put all that gameplay into an environment almost as big as GTA IV (it’s the same map, minus Alderney) and you’ve got yourself a DS stretching monter. Amazing really, considering the modest power of Nintendo’s handheld. GTA games are all about the size of the game world and the fun you can have within it, so it’s nice to see Rockstar showing (yet again) that they aren’t willing to compromise. Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars hits North America on March 17 and Europe on March 20.