The first solid details on the next iteration in the Grand Theft Auto series, sourced from an upcoming copy of Nintendo Power magazine, have been posted online.

A poster on the NeoGaf forums has confirmed that GTA Chinatown will feature cel-shaded graphics and an open world environment that will consist of short, "arcade quality" missions.

Check out the following features:

- True GTA game - sandbox gameplay, open-world environment, gritty crime narrative.
- M-rating
- Isometric camera angle
- Cel-shaded polygons w/ black borders
- good touch-screen implementation - "tasteful" minigames, streamlining interface
- UI based on a PDA - hub for email, contacts, map, music player, GPS, stat-tracking
- stats uploaded to Rockstar Social Club website via Wi-Fi
- finger-sized icons
- missions designed for shorter periods of play, arcade quality
- aiming with control pad, auto targeting with R button
- subtle autosteer
- if you fail a mission, you can jump back to the action sequence
- chain gun, flamethrower
- good portion of Liberty City is modeled in the game (different routes than console games)
- no probems with load times, draw-in or frame rate
- lots of pedestrians, cars, etc on screen
- Wanted system - objective is to disable police cars any way possible
- real-time weather effects, 24-hour day/night cycle
- lots of radio stations to listen to (more instrumentals than vocals)
- 800,000 lines of hand-optimized source code (hey, the people like the info, right?)
- no details yet on multiplayer/Wi-Fi features

A previous leak confirmed that GTA Chinatown will feature competitive and cooperative offline multiplayer, and 70 missions comprising 20 hours of gameplay. And like any good Nintendo DS game, it'll involve some stylus-based mini-games, like assembling a shotgun or hotwiring a car.

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Source :: NeoGaf