Back in June I told you that Rockstar had decided to bring GTA: Chinatown Wars to the PSP. Rockstar dated it earlier this week – giving us a 20 October release date – but we didn’t really get any further information on the game or any screenshot showing what the game will actually look like compared to the Nintendo DS version. That has now changed, as Rockstar today released some screenshots of the upcoming PSP version.

If you compare it to the DS version then obviously the game is graphically better looking, but it’s nice to see they have kept the semi-3D top-down perspective instead of going full 3D like Liberty City Stories and Vice City Stories were. The lighting effects look to be a lot better, obviously taking advantage of the PSP’s power over the DS. Overall it is looking a lot better, but graphics aren’t everything when we still don’t know how the game will play.

The DS version made use of the touch screen through mini-games; such as smashing the window when you get trapped in a sinking car, or sorting through rubbish to find a concealed weapon. Will these mini-games disappear from the PSP version? Or will Rockstar find another way to implement them? It won’t be the same if they simply put a cursor in that you have to control with the analog or d-pad. At least we’ll get better music to make up for it, well hopefully anyway.

I guess, as I seem to say a lot these days, we’ll just have to wait and see. Hopefully it will sell more than the DS version, which is probably what prompted Rockstar to port the game to the PSP in the first place.

The game will be available in both UMD form and by download through the Playstation Network.