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The planes, trucks, and helicopters of Grand Theft Auto 5
For the third time this week, Rockstar Games lifted the lid on a small handful of Grand Theft Auto 5 screenshots. Like previous releases, these screens depict just some of the things you'll be doing in Rockstar's next big GTA entry. For instance, jumping onto a moving truck while police trail behind. Or flying a propellor plane. Naturally!%Gallery-163291%
New Grand Theft Auto 5 screens: Fly a jet, ride a bike, zip around in a Cheetah
In the wake of last week's huge European game expo, Rockstar Games released several new images for Grand Theft Auto 5 this morning, effectively hijacking our interest. The images feature three vehicles from the upcoming open-world adventure: a road bicycle, a return of GTA classic sports car "Cheeta," and a damn fighter jet (seen above). Also of note, the Cheeta's license plate has a "San Andreas" wrapper – not a huge surprise given what we know about GTA5 5's setting, but neat nonetheless.Not enough to sate your thirst for more GTA 5 news? Rockstar says there'll be more revealed "this week," so there!%Gallery-162873%
Grand Theft Auto 3 coming to PSN next Tuesday, no word on Vice City just yet
When ESRB ratings for Grand Theft Auto 3 and Vice City on PlayStation 3 sprang up earlier this year, it seemed assured that the games were headed to PSN's PS2 classics section. Indeed, Grand Theft Auto 3 is joining the no-frills lineup next Tuesday for $10.The news was revealed on the latest PlayStation podcast among other PSN releases for next week. Like all PS2 classics, GTA3 isn't getting an HD update or Trophy support. Also, that Vice City ESRB listing hasn't panned out just yet, but we're sure it's on the way.
GTA IV mod has R2-D2 destroying Liberty City
A new Grand Theft Auto IV mod has surfaced, and features quite an angry little robot. Created by YouTube user jmoorfoot4, the mod gives players the ability to roam the streets of Liberty City as R2-D2.As the video above demonstrates, R2-D2 is just as pushy and capable of destruction as Niko Bellic ever was. Watch it for a good laugh, though we're not sure it tops the removal of wheel friction in the game.
Rockstar North employee CV gives Grand Theft Auto V an October launch window [update: CV pulled]
Like several major games in the franchise, Grand Theft Auto V is being developed by Rockstar's Edinburgh, Scotland-based Rockstar North studio. Character animator Alex O'Dwyer is an employee at Rockstar North, according to both his LinkedIn page and his CV, and he seems to think that Grand Theft Auto V will launch this October.As seen in the image above, O'Dwyer's CV puts GTA V's launch window firmly in the holiday season – not exactly a bizarre concept considering Rockstar's history of launching GTA titles during the holidays (with the exception of Grand Theft Auto IV, that is). It would also put sufficient time between Rockstar's May launch of Max Payne 3, but would totally buck the trend of Rockstar releasing more than one title in any given year. It's worth noting that Rockstar's parent company, Take-Two Interactive, may not be keen on launching GTA V in the same month as BioShock Infinite.Regardless, we've reached out to Rockstar and O'Dwyer for comment, but, well ... it's Easter. Hopefully we'll hear something soon. For now, we're putting this squarely in the "rumor" column.Update: Mr. O'Dwyer's CV was pulled down. We still haven't heard from Rockstar, nor have we heard from Mr. O'Dwyer regarding the date.
GTA III mobile out next week for $5 on select devices
If you've been aching to wrap your thumbs around the smartphone-based Grand Theft Auto III: 10 Year Anniversary Edition (despite our concerns), you'll have your chance next week. Rockstar has announced that the title will arrive on select iOS and Android devices December 15, for the low, low price of $4.99. You can check out the full list of supported devices after the jump. We did not elect to include the PlayStation 2, Xbox and PC, because, well, you're smart enough to figure that one out on your own.
Peter Molydeux (note: still not Peter Molyneux) returns to Twitter, challenges UK game industry
"Just stuck my fingers up @rockstar_north (aka pig factory) and walked out. Cog in a machine? Not anymore, now I'M the machine," the mysterious Peter "Molydeux" Twitter account proprietor and UK game developer exclaimed this morning on his second Twitter account, "@dougiedeux." As previous interviews have revealed, the man behind the fake -- and often hilarious -- Twitter account "@petermolydeux" is a game developer who's worked on a variety of high profile titles. It appears his latest work was with Grand Theft Auto V studio Rockstar North, based out of Edinburgh, Scotland. Is that high profile enough? Anyway, after "Molydeux" was banished from Twitter recently -- a result of an unknown user or users "reporting" his faux account to the Twitter mothership, possibly confused with the actual Peter Molyneux -- followers, friends, and media outlets voiced concern. Where would we be without his hilarious game design proposals every day? Nowhere, that's where! Thankfully, Twitter reinstated the account as of today, with two messages from its operator thanking supporters and promoting his other account, "@dougiedeux." With that account, he plans on running an ongoing dev diary of his indie project, post-Rockstar North. That project? "Save the UK Games Industry from collapse." Good luck, mystery man!
Yes, Grand Theft Auto V is set in Los Santos and will have multiplayer
You've likely gleaned as much from yesterday's big Grand Theft Auto V debut trailer, but this morning's official announcement of the game from Rockstar confirms a "Los Santos" (Los Angeles-ish) setting, as well as the return of online multiplayer. "Grand Theft Auto V focuses on the pursuit of the almighty dollar in a re-imagined, present-day Southern California," the release reads, specifically pointing to "Los Santos and surrounding hills, countryside, and beaches" as the locales. Predictably, the announcement calls GTAV "the largest and most ambitious game Rockstar has yet created," and company co-head Sam Houser characterizes the project as "another radical reinvention of the Grand Theft Auto universe." From that debut teaser, we're ... awaiting further evidence of that "radical reinvention" Houser promises. But hey, at least it looks like planes are back in the mix! Despite making the game even more official, Rockstar has yet to announce a release window or platforms for the Rockstar North-led project.
Grand Theft Auto V trailer is here!
So there you have it, the first trailer for Grand Theft Auto V. Can you believe it actually loaded? We noticed a lot of disparate environments, but all centered around Vinewood, a stand-in for Los Angeles. We're definitely getting back into some of the GTA: San Andreas stomping grounds. Our hero is a dad who says he's trying to be a good guy, but, well, it's a Grand Theft Auto game, so you can guess how well that works out. There are also a lot of images of financial ruin, so we're guessing the current economic crisis is going to play a big role. What'd you notice?
Report: GTA V to be set in Los Angeles, will feature multiple playable characters
Citing anonymous sources "familiar with the game," Kotaku reports that Grand Theft Auto V will take place in a Rockstarified version of Los Angeles, one of the cities mocked up in an earlier installment in the franchise, San Andreas. We suppose the locale makes sense -- wouldn't adapting it be as easy as taking all their assets from L.A. Noire, then applying 75 years of wear, tear and technological progress to the structures therein? The source also claims that more than one character will be playable during Five's campaign, which similarly makes sense, considering the extra protagonists which appeared in Grand Theft Auto IV's expansions. We've contacted Rockstar, and are encasing ourselves in suspended animation for the next week or so, shortening the amount of time between us and the game's debut trailer on November 2.
Hijacking the fun: Grand Theft Auto 3 on iPad
It's hard not to react to seeing Grand Theft Auto 3 on an iPad with anything less than expletive-laden surprise. Approaching the Rockstar booth at New York Comic Con this past weekend, I knew that the game would be playable on iPad, but my reaction was still that of shocked disbelief when I actually saw the thing running. It's GTA3! But it's totally on a little portable tablet! Incredible! Here's something, however, that won't surprise you: what I played was still totally Grand Theft Auto 3, flaws and all. And here's something else that won't surprise you: virtual buttons still totally suck.
Rockstar: Red Dead Redemption on PC isn't happening, not 'viable'
We've got bad news for you and your custom-built, Western-themed PC gaming rig (complete with tumbleweed HDD and whiskey-distilling cooling fan). Rockstar has confirmed that Red Dead Redemption is not coming to the PC. In a Q&A on the company's blog, Rockstar explains, "All we can say is that whenever it is viable (technically, developmentally and business-wise) for us to release a game for PC (or any other particular platform) – we will and we usually do; unfortunately, that is just not the case 100% of the time for all platforms." The post adds, "To PC gamers, we hope that between the Grand Theft Auto titles, and the forthcoming L.A. Noire and Max Payne 3, you'll have plenty of great Rockstar action to enjoy." Just, you know, no cowboy action. Which is like, the best kind of action.
Agent's first art pops up on concept artist's portfolio
(click to embiggen) Rockstar's PlayStation 3 exclusive, Agent, remains a mystery. The game has yet to be shown off by the GTA developer since its first reveal in 2009, but a concept artist's portfolio, which was recently discovered by GameSpot, seems to show off the game's first visuals. Former concept artist Leigh Donoghue outed the images on his personal website, which have since been removed. Donoghue is currently employed as an architecture visualization specialist (a concept artist for reality, if you will), though he presumably drew up the concept art for Agent at Rockstar North during his employment there from April 2005 to November 2009 -- an employment which ended just months after Agent's E3 reveal that year. We've reached out to Rockstar and Take-Two for comment, but the fact that the images have been removed, not to mention the fact that Donoghue drew concept art for a variety of other Rockstar projects while employed there, lend plenty of credence to their validity. Otherwise, the most recent news from Take-Two/Rockstar about Agent is that it's "still in development," alongside the rarely seen Max Payne 3. Perhaps the Agent and Mr. Payne are cavorting around South America together? [Image credit: GameSpot]
Red Dead Redemption 'Myths and Mavericks' DLC dated for September
It's time to dust off your dusters and revolve your revolvers, as Rockstar has announced yet another DLC pack for the multiplayer component of Red Dead Redemption. The "Myths and Mavericks" pack, scheduled for this September at the low, low price of no dollars, will add a few "fan-favorite" character skins to players' rosters, as well as a few new battlegrounds to Deathmatch, Gang, Grab the Bag and "other popular online modes." One of the beloved characters therein will be Landon Ricketts, the grizzled justice-doler who serves as an occasional mentor to protagonist John Marston. He's a decent addition, but based on the title of the DLC pack, if we don't get a playable Bret Maverick in the mix, we're going to be sorely disappointed.
Grand Theft Auto 4's Liberty City mapped in Google Street View
We know that most of you have probably memorized every square inch of Grand Theft Auto 4's massive metropolitan playground, but for the less cartographically inclined, GTA4.net has created an invaluable resource. Using the Google Maps API and over 80,000 screenshots, the site has created an interactive, near-complete map of Rockstar's virtual New York City. The map's coolest feature is, hands down, its ability to look through each and every avenue of Liberty City using Street View, which makes locating each and every Burger Shot an absolute breeze. In fact, this feature is so neat, we hope they somehow find a way to put a map together for L.A. Noire's setting! Oh, wait.
Ireland trying to court Realtime Worlds, other Scottish devs with tax holiday
In an attempt to kick-start its own video game industry, Ireland has begun to target a number of high-profile Scottish game development studios, attempting to woo them over to the Emerald Isle by offering a five-year tax holiday. Colin Macdonald, manager of Dundee-based APB developer Realtime Worlds, responded by saying "if the package on offer in Ireland was attractive we'd have to give it serious consideration." Other Scottish developers who could be influenced by the tax holiday include Rockstar North, Denki, Ruffian Games and Dynamo Games. Macdonald went on to say that Scotland's going to need to do more to preserve its burgeoning gaming industry in light of attractive offers from countries such as Ireland and Canada, who Realtime "lost some of [its] key staff to" in the past few years. We can't help but wonder if this might have had less to do with the strength of Canada's gaming industry, and more to do with the deliciousness of their bacon. [Via Gamasutra]
Rockstar's Agent sneaks into 2010 release window
Aside from the game's exclusivity to the PlayStation 3 and the logo you see above, we've seen little else about upcoming '70s espionage game Agent. But while answering some fan questions about next month's GTA IV expansion, The Ballad of Gay Tony, on its forums, Rockstar North mentions that it's "working hard on a lineup of PlayStation 3 releases for 2010 ... including Red Dead Redemption, Max Payne 3, and the PlayStation 3 exclusive AGENT." The statement goes on to tease "yet to be announced" titles, possibly lending some credence to Michael Pachter's statements on another GTA game in the not- so-distant future. Considering Rockstar's statements were made in response to queries about GTA IV DLC coming to PS3, we wouldn't be surprised if those "yet to be announced" titles are the result of Microsoft's timed-exclusivity expiring. [Via Superannuation]
GTA IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony, Episodes from Liberty City hitting Oct. 29
Rockstar has dated the second Xbox 360-exclusive DLC expansion for Grand Theft Auto IV, The Ballad of Gay Tony, for October 29. A disc-based retail compilation of the new episode and the game's first add-on, The Lost and Damned, titled Episodes From Liberty City, will be available the same day for 360. The news comes via a tweet on the company's Twitter feed and two official site updates. The new DLC will be priced at 1600 ($20) while Episodes will run $39.99 and will not require a copy of GTA IV in order to play. To coincide with the announcement, Rockstar has updated the official Ballad of Gay Tony site with a new desktop background -- there's even an iPhone-formatted version for you mobile mobstas.
Rockstar, Media Molecule lead 2009 Develop Awards nods
Rockstar Leeds and Rockstar North, together with LittleBigPlanet dev Media Molecule have netted an impressive eleven nominations for the 2009 Develop Industry Excellence Awards, the UK's annual prize patrol for all things excellent in the industry. The Rockstar houses pocketed six of their own for work on GTA: Chinatown Wars and GTA IV: The Lost and the Damned, including nods for visual arts, technical innovation and audio. Rockstar Leeds is also up for the award for best handheld game studio, while both are in the running for being recognized as the best in-house team. Media Molecule is up for five awards as well, including best indie studio and best new IP. The Guildford studio is also up for the technical innovation award, where it's not only up against the Rockstar folks, but the teams behind Killzone 2, PlayStation Home, Football Manager Live and Fable II. We wish all nominees the best of luck and remind them not to forget to thanks their moms should they take the stage and accept an award during the July 15 ceremony.
Blizzard bumps Nintendo off #1 spot on Develop's top 100 studios list
Develop Magazine releases a list every year of the 100 most bankable game studios in the world, known as the Develop 100. The list for 2009 has just gone out, and guess who has moved up in the world? Going from #47 last year all the way to the top this year is Blizzard Entertainment -- you know, those chaps that are responsible for World of Warcraft, among other things. Fellow money-printing outfit Nintendo was relegated to second place due to this mighty ascension. Our sister-site WoW Insider did a bit of digging to find out why Blizzard jumped so much in a single year. It seems to be due to a few things combined; Blizzard's Activision merger, the release of Wrath of the Lich King, and a change in the way Develop is calculating their figures, particularly in relation to MMOs. Here's a summary of the judging standards found on the Develop 100 page:Develop 100 ranks the world's most bankable games development studios based on a variety of key criteria including sales data, critical success and industry standing.Things get a bit wonky when it comes to sales data and MMOs, due to significant revenue coming from subscriptions and online purchases instead of retail sales. WotLK's release and resulting retail sales undoubtedly had a great deal to do with Blizzard's new number one standing, and we wonder how old Blizz' would have fared on the Develop 100 without a new box to put on store shelves. Regardless, they're the champions for 2009. For those interested, the top 5 in order are: Blizzard Entertainment, Nintendo, Rockstar North, EA Canada, and Capcom.
