Yesterday was the official release date for Rockstar’s latest installment of the Grand Theft Auto franchise. GTA: Chinatown Wars is the first game of the franchise to cross over onto the DS. I being a big DS fan, was estatic to hear about this upcoming release, and I made sure I stopped by the GTA booth during NYCC to make sure I would really dig the game.

To celebrate the release of the game, Rockstar and friends held a launch party Monday (really Tuesday) at NYC’s Nintendo World. I, of course, made it a point to stop by and support the release. According to the press release that I’d received a couple of days before, the first 25 people on line would have the option of receiving either a custom DS made especially for the launch (see photo above), or a pack of the already existing Kubricks (Vice City, GTA:III, San Andreas).

Although I didn’t make it to Nintendo World on time to be one of the first 20 on line, I did enjoy the very modest crowd that attended that night. I overheard that the first person on line was standing there since 3pm! Crazy– I don’t think I’m that dedicated to anything, maybe. Once the doors opened, people got the opportunity to purchase the game (which retails for $35+ tax) and even if you weren’t part of the first 20, R* still hooked buyers up with stickers and promotional tees. The freebie that got me all giddy were the GTA:CTW chopstick styluses (pictured above).

All-in-all, I thought the evening was a success for a beginning of the week midnight release. I loved the atmosphere and the R*/ Nintendo crew that were there seemed like very cool people who were proud of their latest release. I, plan on playing my copy this weekend, since work is kicking my ass– and hopefully get some thoughts up in case any of you are on the fence about purchasing it– or you can head on over to Amazon and order your copy today. Until then, check out more pics below.