GTA: Chinatown Wars Receives First "18" Rating on DS from BBFC

GTA: Chinatown Wars Receives First "18" Rating on DS from BBFC

Take-Two has stated in the past that Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars is their testbed for mature content on the DS and Wii, and a new content rating in the U.K. brings them one step closer to it. Edge Online reports that the game has received an "18" certificate from the British Board of Film Classification, marking it as the first DS title to receive such a high age rating from the organization.

It passed with no cuts made to content, a significant event after Rockstar famously clashed with the BBFC over the content of Manhunt 2. "[Chinatown Wars] can't be softened to make it family-friendly - that's not the game we're making," said Dan Houser. "We've never not done well by sticking to our guns."

This makes an M-rating from the ESRB almost a certainty. Though it wouldn't be the first M-rated DS game in the States, it will certainly be the biggest franchise to carry the mature tag. The rating would come as no surprise to a game with a drug-dealing minigame, which has already sparked some controversy. If Chinatown Wars is a financial success, we may see Take-Two and Rockstar putting more mature content on the Wii and DS, as well as other developers considering the platforms more viable.


Castlevania 3 Arrives On Virtual Console

Apparently my wish is Nintendo's command. In last week's update, I politely requested Castlevania 3: Dracula's Curse for the American Virtual Console, and voila! It has appeared!

Castlevania 3 has finally arrived on Virtual Console for the standard price of 500 Wii Points ($5). For fans of later Castlevanias, this is an important one -- Dawn of Sorrow, Symphony of the Night and others all make reference to Trevor's adventures. It also marks the debut of vampire dreamboat Alucard, who would go on to star in Symphony of the Night.

For those who are feeling a bit weary of vampires (and with all the Twilight stuff floating around, who can blame them), this week's WiiWare offerings are the card game Jungle Speed for 1000 Wii Points ($10) and quirky platformer Planet Pachinko for 500 Wii Points ($5).