I’ve been having some serious dental woes lately, so I’ve spent a lot of time jacked up on pain meds and bored to death. Mr. Ivy picked up the copy of Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars for the DS that I had preordered, and no longer was I bored.

I completely love a portable game that doesn’t take too much thought. When you’re in a waiting room or just laying down to bed, I want something that isn’t too taxing on my brain. But I also like a game that is really challenging when I’m looking to play for fun. GTA:CW has both of this. You can choose to do missions, or you can do as I mainly do and drive around town on a baggage cart and sell drugs and blow up surveilance cameras. Oh, by the way, did I mention:

This game is not for kids!

?? Well, it’s not. Nintendo has been wisely realizing the appeal the DS has to adults. Many of us are moms and dads who have been playing video games since they were brand new. It’s about time Nintendo came out with a really good, long lasting game that is purely for adults. Sure, I love the crossword puzzle games that are really aimed at my age and demographic, but I’m also part of the demographic that likes the hard core games that “real” gamers play too. It’s nice to have it in portable version.

If you’ve played the previous GTA games on the consoles, you’ll notice a huge downgrade in the graphics, which are downright fantastic in GTA 4 for the PS3 and Xbox360. I was truly worried about what a hit the graphics would take in the transition for DS, but I must admit it’s actually just fine.

The addition of some of the things it can do with the dual screen on the DS ranges from seriously annoying to quite fun. Lottery scratch-offs for the win! The sound is not bad considering it’s on the DS which doesn’t have the capabilities the console games do. Overall, I find it to be an amazingly fun game and totally worth the $34.99 price I paid for it.