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Video: 15 days in GTA IV's Liberty City

by David Hinkle { Nov 6th 2009 at 1:00AM }

Time lapse videos were all the rage back in -- actually, we don't think they were ever rage caliber stuff, but in the case of this GTA IV video that shows 15 days go by Liberty City, it's at least reached "oh, that's neat!" territory. The video comes courtesy of DigitalFoundry (you can watch it over at Eurogamer) and reminds us just how much life there is in the virtual sand box, as cars drive along to their respective destinations, pedestrians shuffle about doing their own thing and, in the case of that one lady around the 32-second mark, loaf around the riverside all day and night. We just hope she's not doing what we think she's doing. It'd be such an unbecoming thing of the purest city in all of gaming, amirite?

Rockstar revamps Social Club's online leaderboards and stat tracking for Gay Tony

by Ben Gilbert { Oct 29th 2009 at 3:45PM }

With the release of this week's second Grand Theft Auto IV expansion The Ballad of Gay Tony, the game's developer has decided to update the online multiplayer statistics tracking in order to reflect the new multiplayer game types. The addition of "BASE Jump" to the mulitplayer as well as "new, tighter Deathmatch arenas" helped spur the leaderboard overhaul, according to the developer blog. The various new additions being made due to the DLC will even get their own section on the Rockstar Social Club, presumably for the four of you tracking your new GTAIV DLC stats after Modern Warfare 2 releases in a couple weeks.

GTA's 'Next Stop' teased in Liberty City Episodes manual

by Griffin McElroy { Oct 28th 2009 at 5:55PM }

We'd thought the Grand Theft Auto franchise had taken us to lovingly rendered simulacra of every metropolitan city-type known to man, but apparently, we thought wrong. In the back of the GTA IV: Episodes from Liberty City manual, a fake advertisement points to the series' "Next Stop" (seen above). Of course, the destination being teased is quite obviously the lovely town of Clip Artington, Minnesota. Surely you've heard of Clip Artington! It's renowned for its apple butter festivals.

On the off chance the teaser is pointing to a different city, we've ... we've really got no idea. Looks like a desert, though, right? And a mountain? And some conical, obsidian monoliths? What? Trees? Oh, yeah, that makes a lot more sense. We'd love to hear your speculation in a well-written, thought-provoking comment! There's a place for those right after the jump, you know.

[Image credit: VGChartz]

Latest Ballad of Gay Tony trailer showcases Luis Lopez's many exploits

by Ben Gilbert { Oct 28th 2009 at 2:15PM }

Rather than offer interesting social commentary or moody atmospheric tone, the just-released Ballad of Gay Tony teaser instead teaches us that Luis Lopez is not a joking around kinda guy. He takes shots, tosses dudes off buildings – he even goes to the driving range!

In case it weren't already glaringly obvious to you, the second Grand Theft Auto IV expansion will be taking itself quite a bit less seriously than the first digital release. Thankfully, the wait is nearly over and we can find out for ourselves tomorrow just how much Rockstar Games has twisted its latest opus.

Gallery: GTA IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony

New Gay Tony in-game anime is all too familiar

by Richard Mitchell { Oct 26th 2009 at 6:23PM }

Grand Theft Auto has always been heavy on satire, making exaggerated observations about the world for the sake of a few cheap yuks. It's readily apparent on the in-game radio programs, which poke fun at both extremes of political talk radio. The in-game TV programming does much the same (if you haven't, we suggest you make time to watch "Republican Space Rangers"). It looks like The Ballad of Gay Tony will continue the tradition with "Princess Robot Bubblegum," an anime parody to be featured on the in-game CNT channel. The show will serve as part of the new TV lineup in the upcoming expansion.

In Rockstar's own words, "Princess Robot Bubblegum" features the hallmarks of more than a few animes: "Incomprehensible narrative, wretched dialogue and creepy, misogynistic sexuality." See it all in the trailer above.

New 'Episodes from Liberty City' introduces Armando & Henrique

by David Hinkle { Oct 2nd 2009 at 11:15AM }

Good friends are hard to come by, especially on the seedy streets of Liberty City. That's why we're so glad the above trailer for Episodes from Liberty City (which features snippets from The Ballad of Gay Tony and The Lost and the Damned) emphasizes the comradery one can experience in the city's many boroughs.

Don't believe us? Just ask The Ballad of Gay Tony protagonist Luis Lopez's childhood friends Armando Torres and Henrique Bardas, who have stuck with Lopez through thick and thin.

Catch a gold bar from Yusuf Amir in the new Ballad of Gay Tony trailer

by Ben Gilbert { Sep 24th 2009 at 1:58PM }

It would be outright unfair to spoil any of the hilarious, minute-long trailer for upcoming GTA IV expansion The Ballad of Gay Tony that we've dropped above. We would like to highlight its introduction of Yusuf Amir, a character who seems to be on the level of Brucie in terms of sheer personality. With any luck, we'll get to hang out with Mr. Amir quite a bit while playing through The Ballad of Gay Tony when it's released on October 29.

Gallery: GTA IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony

GTA: Chinatown Wars losing nothing in PSP port

by Randy Nelson { Sep 18th 2009 at 4:45PM }

Meeting with Rockstar yesterday for our first hands-on with the PSP "remastering" of Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, we kicked things off with a question that's on everyone's minds: What's happening to the DS version's touch-based minigames? The answer: They're all still in the game, just adapted to a button-based format.

We hotwired a car to try it out and were presented with a comic book panel-like inset that had us rotate the analog stick, time L and R button presses and rotate the stick again. According to Rockstar, similar mods have been made to all the minigames, but no minigames have been added exclusively for the PSP release. (Developer Rockstar Leeds did, however, deem the need to pay bridge tolls unnecessary.)

We were quickly pointed toward some added elements, specifically a new aiming "arc" for lobbing grenades and Molotovs while driving, copious bloom lighting (it was a rainy night) and punched-up explosions. The in-game "PDA" has also been redesigned slightly to mimic the PSP XMB interface.

Check out freshly captured new screens in the gallery below:

Gallery: Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (PSP)

GTA IV: Episodes from Liberty City gets box arted

by Ben Gilbert { Aug 31st 2009 at 3:57PM }

Though we'd love to spend our precious time poring over the just-released cover of upcoming Grand Theft Auto IV DLC retail pack, Episodes from Liberty City, we're not entirely certain of what to pick apart. The usual sexified lady and mean-looking gentlemen are present and accounted for, as is another helicopter to remind us of The Ballad of Gay Tony's apparent vehicle of choice. A few friends from the The Lost & Damned also make an appearance, but there isn't much else to ogle.

We still don't have a release date for the expansion or much more than a handful of screenshots, so we really hope you enjoy this box art until the first trailer hits tomorrow afternoon.

Gallery: GTA IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony

First screens for The Ballad of Gay Tony go airborne

by Ben Gilbert { Aug 29th 2009 at 5:30PM }

Earlier today, Rockstar Games released its first volley of screens for upcoming GTA IV expansion, The Ballad of Gay Tony. From what we can see in the four images -- handed "exclusively to fan sites," according to the Rockstar Games website -- it appears as though air-based warfare will be the focus this time around.

Eagle-eyed fans will also notice that the protagonist is wearing the same letterman jacket found in the teaser image Rockstar released last week for the game's second DLC, still scheduled to arrive this Winter, further confirming his main characteriness. All will be revealed this Tuesday we hope, with the arrival of the first trailer (and hopefully some new media alongside that). For the time being, peep all four images right here.

Gallery: GTA IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony

[Thanks, Adriaan!]

The Ballad of Gay Tony gets its first trailer this Tuesday

by Ben Gilbert { Aug 27th 2009 at 7:10PM }

Notorious for not saying much about the GTA series until the very last minute, Rockstar Games stuck to form today in announcing the first trailer for upcoming GTA IV expansion The Ballad of Gay Tony. According to the company's website, a trailer for Episodes from Liberty City will be released this Tuesday, "featuring The Ballad of Gay Tony."

The only images we've seen so far from the DLC haven't been much more than loading screen art, and now the shot above of what looks to be Luis jumping out of a plane. Wait, jumping out of a plane? There were no planes in GTA IV! What is this madness?!

GTA IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony, Episodes from Liberty City hitting Oct. 29

by Randy Nelson { Jul 22nd 2009 at 7:30PM }

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.

Analyst: 2 more GTA IV episodes on the way, GTA V by fiscal 2011

by Andrew Yoon { Jul 3rd 2009 at 12:30PM }

Do you want more Grand Theft Auto? Well, that's what Todd Mitchell, analyst for Kaufman Bros. Equity Research wants. Nay, expects! Speaking to GI.biz, Mitchell stated that he's anticipating two more downloadable GTA IV episodes to launch after The Ballad of Gay Tony. "It's been indicated to me that would be the case," he said. Additionally, with Microsoft's exclusivity deal covering only two episodes, these DLC add-ons may also appear on PS3.

In addition to new GTA IV episodes, the analyst believes GTA V will debut some time in the 2011 fiscal year. The only reason it wasn't announced or teased in any way during E3, he believes, is "Rockstar's track record with delivering on time."

The most curious of statements Mitchell made was regarding the possibility of a new Grand Theft Auto hitting the PlayStation 2 system. No, you read that right. He believes a PS2 port of the PSP port of the formerly DS-exclusive Chinatown Wars may hit the aging Sony system, although he admits he's not too "confident" about that prediction. Pachter, eat your heart out.

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars breaking out on PSP this fall

by Jem Alexander { Jun 22nd 2009 at 8:33AM }

Rockstar has announced that Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, the latest portable offering in the open-ended crime series, will be making the jump from DS to PSP. The game will be available in both UMD and digital download format when it's released in the US and Europe this autumn. Featuring enhanced widescreen graphics, improved lighting and animation and additional story missions, this version of Chinatown Wars "will take full advantage of the power of the PSP system."

No new assets have been released for the PSP version -- in fact, the official website still says it's exclusive to the DS -- but we should see more of this new addition to the ever-growing 2009 PSP lineup soon. See the PSP box art, after the break.

Gallery: GTA: Chinatown Wars (DS)

Continued →

Rockstar, Media Molecule lead 2009 Develop Awards nods

by Jason Dobson { Jun 5th 2009 at 11:00AM }

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.