Grand Theft Auto IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony, the next DLC for Grand Theft Auto IV, will be released on October 29. It’ll be available on both Xbox Live and on a retail disc bundled together with The Lost and Damned for $39.99. → Read More
The Spike TV Video Game Awards were handed out last night in a star-studded event at Sony Picture Studios somewhere in “California.” It was hosted by Jack Black and was mostly abysmal, judging by the 15 minutes or so I wasted watching it. Everything is fueled by Dew for some reason (whereas I’ve never had Mountain Dew in my life). The big winner was Grand Theft Auto IV, which surprises no one. → Read More
The PC version of Grand Theft Auto IV, which will be downloadable via Steam, comes out on Wednesday. The reviews embargo, however, must have lifted overnight in Europe as magazines there already have posted their reviews online. EuroGamer—the review written by one of the Rock, Paper, Shotgun gents—gives it a 9/10, calling the game groundbreaking and so on while acknowledging that it isn’t perfect. The lack of a mid-mission checkpoint feature is the main annoyance and big reason why they didn’t give it a 10/10. A fair point, I might add: oh, the number of expletives I’ve strung together because a car ran into mine as I was trying to flee the scene as part of a mission! → Read More
You know how in trailers of terrible “family” movies there’s always a part where the announcers says, “Here we go again!” in that dumb “enthusiastic announcer guy voice”? Think of that right now, only juxtaposed with the sights and sounds of Liberty City, for it has been revealed that Grand Theft Auto IV uses SecurROM DRM. That’s the same DRM that upset so many would-be Spore players (but didn’t bother Fallout 3 players). Straight from a Rockstar rep: GTA IV PC uses SecuROM for protecting our EXE… Product Activation is a one time only online authentication when installing the game. GTA IV has no install limits for the retail disc version of the game, and that version can be installed on an unlimited number of PCs by the retail disk owner. So, if we’re to believe this shadowy Rockstar fellow, the actual restrictions imposed by SecuROM seem to be minimal. That is to say there are none, as all it’s used for is to validate your CD key. Certainly that seems reasonable. You should also know that the game requires Games For Windows Live—how in God’s name did Microsoft manage to foist that upon savvy PC gamers?—is required to play the game. Grand Theft Auto IV for the PC is to be released on December 2. SecuROM or not, expect to find cracks available within two seconds of its release, if not before then. Such is life. via Rock, Paper, Shotgun → Read More
Grand Theft Auto IV comes out for the PC this fall, but Rockstar’s in Leipzig showing it off at the Games Convention. It’s the same game you’ve already played to death, but running at a much higher resolution. Like, 2560×1600. Gaming in 1080p on a plasma isn’t so impressive when you’re a PC gamer. (But I’m not so it doesn’t bother me.) Other than an overall higher resolution, the game benefits from higher-res textures, better streaming, longer draw distances, and better anti-aliasing. The multiplayer game also has some improvements, like a higher player number limit. If you’re ever played the PS2 GTA games on the PC, then you know just how big an improvement the PC version is over the console one. It’s enough to make you want to play through again. → Read More
One of the many boring announcements made by Microsoft at E3 last month was that, with the next Dashboard update, users will be able to install games to the Xbox 360′s hard drive. This video shows someone doing just that, installing Grand Theft Auto IV to the console’s hard drive. You’ll note at the end how the Xbox still asks you to insert the game disc. That rules out borrowing your friend’s copy of a game and installing it to your Xbox, for now. I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s some sort of hack within minutes of the Dashboard update’s release. I must say, seeing the new Dashboard in action fills me with more confidence than all the crummy screenshots I’ve seen had. Sure, it’s a Cover Flow ripoff, but at least it’s a well done ripoff. via Xbox-Scene → Read More
Rockstar Games has just announced that Grand Theft Auto IV will be coming to a PC near you on November 18. Those of you across the pond in Europe will be able to purchase it on November 21. → Read More
Grand Theft Auto IV is still among the top five torrented video games on Blackcats, the premiere, video game-specific, private BitTorrent tracker. With something like 970 seeders (the numbers fluctuate by the minute it seems) between both the PAL and NTSC version, the game trails only the just-released Race Driver Grid and Enemy Territory Quake Wars. And did everyone beat the game yet? I got up to the first mission where you’re allowed into Manhattan and haven’t played since. I tire very easily of games these days, sad face. → Read More
Yes, as we all know, Grand Theft Auto IV was leaked onto the Internet earlier this week. But just how many people have grabbed the game, roughly, from some of the bigger sites out there? Blackcats-Games, one of the biggest private, games-only BitTorrent trackers, has 45,747 users, of which a total of 4,207 users have snatched either the PAL or NTSC version. So, about 9 percent of those guys have grabbed the game. TorrentLeech.org, which is more of a general purpose torrent site, has seen a combined total of 8,334 downloads. No idea how many users there. The Pirate Bay, with who-knows-how-many users, and temporarily re-named “Liberty Bay” to celebrate the game’s “release,” makes it difficult to determine how many downloads have occurred. Right now, the NTSC version has about 160 seeders. But that number is essentially meaningless, given how many people “hit-and-run” torrents there. Then there’s the Usenet downloads. I imagine more than a few people got the game from there. Just some Saturday kickin’ about, is all. And no, I do not have any invites to the aforementioned private sites. → Read More
As we approach the game’s April 29 release date, Rockstar keeps adding and adding content to the Grand Theft Auto IV Web site. A couple of new radio stations were added either last night or the night before (I try to check the site one a day, because I’m a dork), including Electro Choc (electronic/dance music) and Liberty City Hardcore (punk nonsense). There’s also a call-in radio show “The Men’s Room with Bas and Jeremy,” who look awfully like Opie & Anthony. I know they’re supposed to be in the game (they’ve admitted as much in recent days), but I have no idea if “The Men’s Room” is actually them. Probably the only game I’ve looked forward to since junior high. → Read More
Break out your telescope Unlike Manhunt 2 before it, Grand Theft Auto IV has passed that British censor board just fine. In so doing, however, we’re given a quick little play-by-play of what to expect from the game’s more “adult” moments. “During gameplay the character can pick up prostitutes… What follows is an un-detailed portrayal of masturbation, fellatio and intercourse.” Oh, man! Someone call Jack Thomson! And inside, a fun “tourist” video showing off Liberty City. Lots of in-game footage for you to stare at. → Read More
[photopress:gta4_x360_pre_500.jpg,full,pp_image] This is probably the coolest Special Edition package for any game I’ve ever seen. Way better than any of the Halo 3 packages. I’m pretty sure this is going to sell out so act quick. The SE includes an art book, soundtrack, Rockstar keychain with a safety deposit box and a Rockstar duffel bag. Amazon even has an exclusive for you that includes a license plate. What are you waiting for?! Xbox 360 pre-order PS3 pre-order → Read More
[photopress:gta4sweep.jpg,full,center] Grand Theft Auto IV is supposedly coming out for the PS3 (and maybe exclusively thereafter?), but you wouldn’t know it listening to Microsoft. Redmond is having itself a little contest to celebrate the cultural phenomenon that is GTA. The grand prize is a trip to New York for the game’s launch (I imagine there’ll be some sort of party). Other goodies for non-grand-prize-winners include Xbox 360 Elites (there’s 100 of those), Xbox Live memberships and oodles of Microsoft points. You need to be 18 years old by April 14 and have an XBL account to enter. I will be entering as soon as I finish writing this. Xbox Live GTA IV Sweepstakes [Microsoft via Xbox-Scene] → Read More
There are a slew of updates to game play such as having no control over your inebriated body or something more useful like autosave after each mission. It gets a tiny bit dramatic when you’re in sniper mode. You won’t be winning any Oscars or anything, but the whole thing turns into a short film. Throwing grenades sound pretty cool because you get to see your victim disintegrate. Cool, right? You can read the rest of the details here, but you’re probably more interested in when it comes out. April 29, 2008. Bam! → Read More
http://www.crunchgear.com/video/player.swf?movie=gta.flv Like a bad case of blue balls. Here’s the latest trailer from Rockstar of the forthcoming (hopefully soon) next installment of the ever-popular Grand Theft Auto series, GTA IV. Enjoy. → Read More
Don’t blame the heads of Sony and Microsoft’s game divisions for wanting to sleep in today; they just learned that Grand Theft Auto IV has been delayed until next spring, throwing off their respective holiday lineups. Take Two, the game’s publisher, which had the final say in the matter vis-à-vis Rockstar, delayed the game for “additional development time required to complete the title.” Another high-profile video game delayed. How I wish more developers would simply adopt the “when it’s done” policy. This release date one-two step is like one long, drawn out tease. → Read More
http://www.gametrailers.com/remote_wrap.php?mid=20932 Nearly lost in all the commotion of “something” last week was the release of the second Grand Theft Auto IV trailer. What’s most impressive about this trailer is that it’s far more “hip” and “stylish” than anything I’ve seen any CE company put out, save for Apple. We get a lot more gameplay footage than the first trailer and a decent song in the background. Well done, Rockstar. Hopefully this one won’t be banned. Trailer 2: “Looking For That Special Someone” [Rockstar Games] → Read More
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