GTA: Chinatown Wars shooting up App Store this fall

Launched to critical acclaim if not commercial success on the DS, Rockstar Leed’s brilliant GTA: Chinatown Wars is already pencilled on for an appearance on PSP (on the 20th October), and now it's been confirmed as coming to iPhone and iPod touch too.

"Chinatown Wars is a perfect match for the iPhone and iPod touch," said Sam Houser, Rockstar Games co-founder.

"We are very excited to bring this incredibly ambitious version of Liberty City, with this level of detail and immersive gameplay on Apple's new gaming platforms."

The game follows the story of Huang Lee, a young Triad who travels to Liberty City after the mysterious death of his father, and has you fighting your way through the streets to uncover the truth behind an epic tale of crime and corruption within the Triad crime syndicate.

Obviously the main areas of interest for this new version will be how the touchscreen controls work and whether there's an option to use the accelerometer. Presumably, we'll end up with virtual D-pads too.

(By the way, we're using a PSP screenshot until iPhone ones arrive.)

Another significant aspect will be the game's price.

Will Rockstar bite the bullet at $9.99 or go for a volume approach with $6.99 as Gameloft recently did with its GTA-inspired Gangstar: West Coast Hustle?

And will there be any new content, or support for social networking?

Probably not as this looks more like a porting job than a true made-for-iPhone game, but we can hope. Rockstar usually has some tricks up its sleeve.