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Vice City Stories: flying, driving and more
The folks over at IGN got a chance to play with the upcoming Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories. We're expecting great things from it, and it looks like we won't be disappointed. The preview goes over the handling of vehicles, and surprisingly: they all work quite well. Riding a helicopter seems to run without a hitch, which is quite a technical marvel, considering how the game must render all of Vice City while you're in the sky. The ATV controls seem to be realistic and based on physics. It's a little difficult to get used to, but as IGN notes: "this is exactly how it should be."The missions of Vice City Stories will be a bit more complex than the simple quests provided by Liberty City Stories. Missions will have you traveling across all kinds of environments: you may be in a car chase, then go on the ground, only to get inside a helicopter, and end in a race on the ocean. The potential depth of these missions is really exciting, especially when you consider the game has very short load times. It looks like Rockstar has created yet another technical benchmark for the PSP, and I can't wait for the game's release on October 31st.[Thanks, steve!]
Dissecting Rockstar's formula: Joystiq previews Vice City Stories (PSP) & Bully (PS2)
The headquarters of Rockstar Games, a thin 6-story building squeezed between Best Buy and Adidas, stands just north of where Broadway cuts through Houston Street flowing downward into a mecca of trend -- or shopping for trends -- known as SoHo. A few blocks away Sony has erected one of the world's largest PSP displays (seen here), which towers over the intersection of Lafayette and Houston. But it's not just neighboring downtown-Manhattan real estate that connects Rockstar and Sony.
Free t-shirt with Vice City pre-order
You probably don't need any more motivation than awesome graphics and gameplay in order to pick up Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories. Or maybe you do. That's where free t-shirts come in. According to janamil of the PlayStation.com forums, EBGames is offering a free t-shirt for pre-ordering the game. Not too shabby. So, if you've run out of things to wear, head over to GameSpot/EBGames and give them your money. (While you're there, don't forget to ask for a few free demo UMDs that they're sure to be hoarding!)
New GTA trailer titillates
Ah, gotta love suggestive headlines. You click them because you're intruiged. You're wondering if I've done some kind of word play, hinting at something risque. Of course, some of you may not even know what titillate means. Well, according to Merriam-Webster, it means "to excite pleasurably." And this trailer does exactly that. The game comes out on October 31st, exclusively for PSP.
A helicopter ride through Vice City [Update 1]
Looks like Rockstar took advantage of this slow news day to release a brief, but nonetheless tantalizing clip of Vice City Stories in motion. The music, as usual, is awesome... and the draw distance is jaw-dropping. Check out 1UP to see two new screens of the game. The game releases on October 31st.[Update 1: It appears that IGN has scored a brief new video as well. Check it out.]
An empire of new features for Vice City Stories
GTAPortable.com has been keeping an eye out for everything Vice City Stories-related, and they've uncovered a plethora of new information for this highly anticipated PSP exclusive. Golf is now a playable mini-game. It will be played using only one button. "Empire Building" mode allows you to act like The Godfather and invest in businesses throughout the city. Depending on how much you've invested, and how the business is doing, you can make a fair sum of money... so long as you provide the proper protection. You can hire bodyguards, and when the business isn't being hit, it acts like a Safe House for you to save at. Taking a page from Sim City, you'll be able to place the businesses throughout the city, and proper placement can lead to the mad profit (an example cited by GTAPortable.com is a drug extortion business nearby an airport). Spanning over thirty buildings, this mode seems to add a hefty amount of gameplay to an already massive game. Business types can include protection, extortion, and prostitution, with many more to come. Like in Liberty City Stories, there will be load times between the major islands, but surprisingly this time around, the loads will be even shorter, according to TotalVideoGames. Not only can you ride around in helicopters, you can ride around in jets, according to an IGN preview. Although there is no infrstructure multiplayer, there will be more multiplayer modes to compete in. And unfortunately for German and Australian players, the game will be censored, according to Gamepro.de. This really does seem like it's going to be one of the best games of 2006, not only on the PSP, but across all platforms. The depth of this game is incredible, and the fact that it's on a handheld is even more amazing. The game comes out on October 30th for $50.
Vice City Stories Video Sandwich special!
Vice City Stories looks like it'll have some truly epic battles. Sure, you have the army men with their automatic rifles, and the tank... but what really gets me excited is the helicopter. It looks absolutely sweet, and the thought of being able to drive that baby, and use its minigun on the go is kick-ass.But, if that seems a bit too Hollywood for you, maybe you'll want to slow things down Hillbilly style. It looks like you can rough up the trailer trash in the game as well. I'm less impressed by the clip below, but maybe you can re-create scenes from Dukes of Hazzard or something. You can download high-res versions of these videos at GameTrailers.com (include an iPod/PSP formatted version). Vice City Stories will hit the PSP exclusively this October.
Why you want Vice City Stories: the interview
Ever since the official trailer for Vice City Stories dropped on us, Rockstar has been very actively hyping this PSP-exclusive follow-up to the insanely successful Liberty City Stories. (Of course Rockstar doesn't have much of a choice: this game may be the only thing that saves the company from financial ruin.) IGN recently had a chance to talk to Gordon Hall from Rockstar, and Mr. Hall (obviously) has a lot of good things to tell us: Game features twice the number of polygons and a new radiosity lighting model. A new way to have the CPU and GPU communicate to each other was developed so that improvements could be made across the board. A new streaming process and lossless animation streaming allows the game to load more data at once. "With the Jet Ski you can dive under water and come bursting back up, you can really feel it bounce off the waves as the weather conditions change, you can turn on a dime and really send the water spraying." (Sounds like they packed in an entire water racing game in our GTA!) "The combat system has more depth to it than any other Grand Theft Auto game." Targeting and combat has been tweaked just a bit: you can now fight unarmed and do grappling moves and throws. "The soundtrack has over 100 tracks, and is probably the best, deepest collection of songs ever assembled for any one project -- TV, Film, or Game." (But the game includes Custom Soundtracks too if you don't like retro music.) Call me stunned. I know this is mostly PR hype, but considering how amazing the original Liberty City Stories was, I'm willing to believe that Rockstar is making this game a masterpiece. It sounds to be this could be the best GTA yet... handheld and console. And you didn't even have to wait until 12:01 AM for such amazing news. The game hits America the same time as Killzone. Ouch: my wallet's already crying.
Vice City Stories website wastes hours of my life
Not only did Rockstar release an awesomely sweet trailer for their upcoming Vice City Stories, they also updated the official website. The site includes aforementioned trailer, but in PSP format, tons of screenshots, wallpapers, and a sampling of the ever-popular (and always amazing) radio. Yes: I listened until the feed looped... twice. The trailer and the radio were enough to secure a pre-order from me. The game will release in October.[Thanks, ZENegade!]
Feel the love of Vice City's first trailer
I wanna know what love is....I wanna feel what love is...Are you ready for it? The new Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories trailer is finally upon us. And it is good. Watch and marvel at the graphics, the music and the fashion. 'Nuff said.[Via IGN]
Take-Two looks to the PSP for comfort
Take-Two, the company behind the mega-popular brand Rockstar Games, is facing some troubles. Although the company has greater revenues this year than last, Take-Two is facing some serious issues. Firstly, the company has "received additional grand jury subpoenas issued by the District Attorney of the County of New York requesting documents ... regarding stock options and other equity based compensation." Also, Wall Street analysts think that the stock for the company is overvalued: "the current analyst consensus EPS estimates for its third quarter, and revenue and EPS [earnings per share ]estimates for its fourth quarter are too high."With plummeting stock prices, Take-Two looks towards the PSP for solace. The company speaks of the upcoming Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories and "a Rockstar PSP title based on a premier brand out of the fourth quarter" as upcoming releases that should more than move a few units. The company hasn't revealed what the mystery PSP title is, but it appears that all bets are on Sony's handheld for the company now.See also:TTWO shares drop on earnings warning, stock option investigation[Via Gamespot]
More Vice City screenshots and details
What's this "Grand Theft Auto" game that I keep on hearing about? What does it mean that GTAPortable.com has even more pictures and scans from the UK Official PlayStation Magazine? You start the game off pretty damn broke: you start the game in an all-new trailer park. The city has actually gotten bigger. Higher resolution textures, so that you can really appreciate the billboards in the game. Biker gangs return. Best thing ever: better looking palm trees! Many have proclaimed that Vice City was by far the best of the modern 3D GTA games, so a return with Vice City Stories is more than welcomed. Let's hope for more details soon. amazon.com is offering pre-orders for $48 shipped.[Via QJ]
First-ever GTA: Vice City Stories screenshots
GTA: Vice City Stories is a game that's so important, that we're willing to do box art stories on it. Every single morsel of info that trickles down to us seems so very precious. Well, it appears that the Australian version of GamePro has a cover story on Vice City Stories, and thanks to the beauty of the Internet, all of us can share in the details: The game takes place two years before PS2's Vice City: 1984. The game will feature multiplayer, similar to Liberty City Stories. VCS is "much bigger than Vice City." Helicopters now join the list of usable vehicles! Unlike Tony, you won't drown instantly in water: you can swim! New weather effects, including hurricanes. Better graphics: more crowded streets, better animation, greater draw distance, more variety of character models. I have to admit, just thinking about all these features makes me giddy with anticipation. You can read more at PSP Hacks, and then check out screenshots here.