Grand Theft Auto will be doing more time before hitting the streets.

Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick announced yesterday Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars has been pushed back one quarter.

Originally promised for release by the end of the first quarter of 2009, the window has widened to the first half of 2009, which ends in April.

Early impressions of the game have been positive. Edge praised an early build in October, impressed by its “mesmerizing” action and stylized presentation of series stomping ground Liberty City.

Announced onstage during Nintendo’s E3 press conference in July, Chinatown Wars is an all-new entry in the popular Grand Theft Auto series developed exclusively for the Nintendo DS. It comes on the heels of multi-million seller Grand Theft Auto IV, which released in April for all next-generation consoles except Nintendo’s Wii.