Grand Theft Auto IV’s second downloadable episode, titled “The Ballad of Gay Tony”, is available on Xbox LIVE marketplace right now (complete with Sprunk Extreme Base Jumping) and will run you 1600 Microsoft Points (roughly 20 bucks).

If you get your hands on it, let us know what you think in the comments section.

A new teaser for Max Payne 3 was supposedly leaked today, and although it contains some incorrect information (the game was already delayed to 2010, so it’s not coming in winter of 2009) the teaser is looking incredible.

I can’t say the same for Mr. Payne, however. He could really use a shave and a clean shirt. Perhaps even a bald wig. I knew this one kid who was bald. Not because of a genetic disorder or a sickness, though, it was by choice. He looked hilarious wearing a wig. One day he wore an afro to school just to mess with everybody. I think his name was Derrick. Maybe it was David. I don’t know. What ever happened to that kid?

I forgot what I was talking about. Max Payne 3? Bullet-time? Have I already made a “hammer time!” joke? Okay, well let’s just throw one of those in here and call it a day.

Rockstar have announced today that the third instalment of their bullet-time third-person action game series will be arriving during “Winter 2009″. The game “tells the story of a retired police detective embroiled in a world of corruption, turmoil and intense violence,” Rockstar says. Max Payne 3 will include “hyper-intense action” (”that fans have come to love”), and will move the story in a “new direction.”

Rockstar also notes that Max is “a few years older, more world-weary and cynical than ever. We experience the downward spiral of his life after the events of Max Payne 2 and witness his last chance for salvation.” The game is set for PS3, Xbox 360 and PC, and may or may not be a good game. You never know with Rockstar.

Via Dtoid.

Grand Theft Auto IV is coming to PC, Take-Two Interactive confirmed today. GTA IV will be arriving on the PC on November 18th in North America, and on the 21st in Europe.

The announcement isn’t much of a surprise, as we posted earlier.

Hit up rockstargames.com/IV for more info.

Here we go again. An 18 year old in Thailand confessed to the robbery and murder of a 54 year old taxi cab driver, claiming he was trying to recreate a scene from the Grand Theft Auto video game.

Distributors of the game in Thailand are now being instructed to remove the game from their shelves indefinitely it would seem. Sales and Marketing Director for New Era Interactive Media, Sakchai Chotikachinda, was quoted saying:

“We are sending out requests today to outlets and shops to pull the games off their shelves and we will replace them with other games … We are also urging video game arcades to pull the games from service …”

Police explained that the teen exhibited no signs of mental illness and openly took admitted to the crime citing the game as his motive. According to authorities, the boy stated that:

“He said he wanted to find out if it was as easy in real life to rob a taxi as it was in the game …”

He then added that it was not his intent to kill the man however he proceeded to do so once he started to fight back. Currently detained until his trial, if found guilty, the teenager faces death by lethal injection.

A Thailand Culture Ministry senior official stated that this latest act of violence should serve as a “wake-up-call”, urging that authorities crack down on video game violence.

Personally, I think that when the time comes, whoever injects him should whisper in his ear right before doing so — saying something like “I saw this in a movie once and I’ve been dying to try it out!”

Afterthought: What do you think? Is this just another case of a deranged teenager, or are games like GTA to blame?

Source: news.yahoo.com

My friend Pete over at slashfilm.com discovered some original poster art measuring 39.5 x 12 inches (in final print format) created by resident Rockstar Games artist, Andrew Wilson.

Andrew, who works in Rockstar’s San Diego office, created the enormous illustration, jam packed with pop culture icons, for Crazy 4 Cult 2 event being held on August 22nd between the hours of 7pm and 11pm at Gallery 1988 in LA.

If you want a copy of the print, it will run you $35 at the door. In the mean time, click the image below to feast your eyes on the slashfilm exclusive high res print, and see how many people you can pick out. Jay and Silent Bob FTW!

Via: slashfilm.com

Many of us have been holding our breath since EA made its initial offer to buy Take-Two, and the company’s comment, stating that they would wait until the release of Grand Theft Auto IV before discussing the offer any further, did very little to ease that sick feeling in our stomachs.

EA, who has been known to tone down the violent content of their games and splurge on in game advertising (as shown above), is set to destroy our beloved Grand Theft Auto franchise. The top secret tech demo showcasing EA’s take on the series is not for the faint of heart.

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

How could Take-Two ever let something like this happen? The Grand Theft Auto franchise deserves to go down in history as one of the greatest games ever made — remembered for its controversy, not its excessive in game advertising. The horror!

Ok, you got me, this is an obvious satire piece, however it does offer a potential eerie glimpse into the future. Hopefully this crosses the desk of a few key individuals at Take-Two and makes them think twice before allowing EA to place their thumb print on such a beloved franchise.

Special thanks to Jon over at slashfilm for the Coke video suggestion.

Following up on a story that our own Patrick Steen reported on earlier in the week, the British Board of Film Classification has successfully halted – yet again – the release of Manhunt 2 in the UK.

Folks following the story know that Rockstar appealed the gruesome sequel’s initial ban earlier this year, only to have their hopes shot down more than once. Early on in December, when Rockstar finally got the Video Appeals Committee to approve the game’s release, it looked as if Manhunt 2 might see the light of day.

That fantasy was short lived, however, as the BBFC successfully appealed that decision and won the right to fight the game in the High Court. The censors argued that the Video Appeals Committee approved the game’s release on a misinterpretation of the law. The judge agreed, granted their appeal, and halted the VAC’s decision to release the game. A hearing will take place before the end of January of next year.

Just when gamers were getting excited, all of that excitement gets beheaded like an escaped mental patient beheading an asylum guard. While it’s not exactly square one, Manhunt 2 still has a long battle ahead of itself.

Via BBC News

When you’re a Democrat running for President in a time of war, what’s the best way to score points with conservative Middle America? How about sniping at the videogame industry?

If that sounds crazy to you, maybe videogames haven’t fully rotted away your brain. Banking on the fact that ignorant, reactive parents are going to pay more attention to her moral crusade than voting-age gamers, prospective Democratic Presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) has come out swinging her Wii-mote of righteous rage at the ESRB.

Along with Senators Joe Lieberman, Evan Bayh, and Sam Brownback, Clinton signed a letter to the ESRB taking it to task for not sticking Manhunt 2 with an AO rating, even after Rockstar made significant (and in some ways, fatal) changes to the game’s gore factor. And Clinton used to be so friendly with Gore!

Recycling the same junk science that put Jack Thompson in the Fox News rolodex, Clinton and company are also afraid that the Nintendo Wii will allow children to become intimately familiar with the downward stabbing motion. As if the shower scene from Psycho 48 years ago didn’t teach everyone that already.

Not to get too political here, but if you don’t want your rights as a thinking person to be trampled, or you want to see the ESRB treated with at least the same tolerance of free speech as the MPAA or other self-regulating industry organizations, better let the candidates know where you stand. To see the gaming business thrive, people need to stand up for the ESRB, or the next time Ripten writes a Top Ten Badass Weapons list, it’ll only include Nerf guns and Wiffle bats.

Source: GamePolitics

Box art for the upcoming GTA IV made its way on to the web today, as XboxFamily reports that Rockstar sent them three empty boxes each displaying a different design. Rumor has it that there is a forth design in the works as well, though no information has been made available yet.

We put an email in to our trusty source at Rockstar, and within a few seconds we got a reply stating:

“… the GTA box art that you’ve been seeing online, I can confirm that it is not final box art. Those are just mock boxes that were sent out to retailers.”

There you have it. It appears the art is not final, and the design team at Rockstar is still working away.

This week Rockstar Games held an informal get-together for game journalists in the San Francisco Bay Area to hang out at a Metreon sports bar, have some drinks, and learn to play Table Tennis on the Wii.

Despite Rockstar’s controversial reputation, there was nothing in any way shocking about the event. No strippers, jello shots, or grisly stealth executions marred an evening with one of the safest bets on Nintendo’s family friendly system. Wii Table Tennis plays just like its Xbox 360 counterpart, with the obligatory motion control that is either extremely satisfying, or overly simplistic, depending on who you ask.

Some could be seen bopping along to music that nobody else heard, “dance fighting” their way up to a 90 hit rally. Others were more seriously involved, putting a Serena Williams-like grunt into every swing of the paddle. Either way, the result seemed to be the same.

There are three different control schemes for Wii Table Tennis, one of which even allows you to hold a drink in one hand and the controller in the other. This basic setup doesn’t use the nunchuck, so to put spin on the ball you use the D-pad at the top of the Wiimote. Holding the B button performs power shots, and you can serve the ball by making a subtle lifting gesture followed by a harder swat.

For more finesse, there is the Control Freak setup, which uses the nunchuck to position your player around the table. Sharpshooter mode lets you target corners, with a slight rumble to indicate if you are aiming out of bounds.

Table Tennis seems to be as basic as they come. All the players and arenas from the 360 version are included, and the graphics use a modified version of the 360’s RAGE engine. They’re not the most realistic graphics, but they’re decent and sure beat the heck out of those funky looking Miis. The visuals won’t blow anyone away, but the gameplay is everything you’d expect from a Table Tennis port on Wii.

A lot of games for Wii seem to be remakes of various Wii Sports games. Bowling, Golf, and Boxing all have full-price retail remakes coming to Wii, so it’s apparent that Nintendo really got the ball rolling, so to speak. But Table Tennis predates Wii Sports by a good six months, so it’s apparent that Rockstar had the idea for a simple family sports game long before Wii became a smash hit. The time is now right to bring Table Tennis out on Wii, as the sport hasn’t been this hot since Nixon sent Forrest Gump to China. Table Tennis hits the Wii in October.

The delay of Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto IV video game for the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 has fans and fanboys everywhere in an uproar. You can’t browse a video game website without running into something related to the delay. Whether it has to do with rumors of a refund regarding the exclusive downloadable content deal (which cost Microsoft 50 million) or as we are about to discuss, the many finger pointing articles being published across the web.

Some sites are entertaining the notion that the PS3 is the cause for the delay, with individuals such as industry analyst Michael Pachter stating that it is his belief Rockstar is struggling with development on the PS3 console. According to an interview with Gameindustry.biz, Pachter was quoted saying the following:

“We think it is likely that the Rockstar team had difficulty in building an exceptionally complicated game for the PS3, and failed to recognize how far away from completion the game truly was until recently,”

“We think it is also likely that Take-Two had a contractual commitment to Sony that it would not favor competitor Microsoft by launching the Xbox 360 version of GTA IV prior to launching the PS3 version, and believe that any delay of the PS3 version necessitated a delay of the Xbox 360 version,”

Food for thought? Sure, but far from a direct source and certainly unconfirmed. Rockstar has been developing GTA content for Sony since the PS1 so we aren’t buying this excuse. On to the next possibility …

Playstation 3 fanboys are outraged, screaming “it’s Microsoft’s fault” — and maybe it is. In a recent interview with GamePro.com, Microsoft Game Studios Corporate Vice President, Shane Kim was asked about a rumor that Grand Theft Auto IV would not be compatible with the Core system because the game may require a hard drive. Kim responded:

“No, we want to support all of the Xbox 360s, otherwise it becomes very confusing. We really want to avoid that as much as possible.”

GamePro then followed up by asking how the company (Microsoft) would respond if Rockstar demanded the use of hard drive to play the upcoming GTA IV. Kim responded:

“We get to make the call on who gets published on our platform … [inaudible] we’d push back on any publisher saying things like that.”

This was all the PS3 faithful needed to hear. They were now convinced that the finger should in fact be pointed towards Microsoft and not their beloved PlayStation 3. What do we think? Well, we believe that the blame may be Microsoft’s, however not for this reason. Which brings us to our next possibility …

There was a rumor floating around over two months ago that Rockstar may delay the October launch of GTA IV due to an announcement made in May that Microsoft would be releasing Halo 3 at the end of September. In a “note to investors” industry analyst Michael Pachter (now that name looks familiar) was quoted by GameDaily.com saying:

“We believe that it is possible that the company will choose to ‘throw in the towel’ on FY:07 by shifting the release date for Grand Theft Auto IV by a few weeks, increasing the losses incurred this year and improving the company’s prospects for FY:08,”

“We believe that a two-week delay would provide a reasonable gap between the launch of Halo 3 and the launch of GTA IV, and would actually help sales of both games,”

The rumor was denied by Rockstar, stating that the game was still on track for an October release. Fast forward a few months and Halo 3 is still slated for release on September 25th, however fans looking to take control of Niko Bellic on both the 360 and PS3 consoles will be forced to wait until Q2: 2008.

So where do we stand? It is our belief that the delay has nothing to do with a lack of hard drive in the 360 Core System or the supposed development issues on the PS3, instead we believe it has everything to do with the release of Halo 3.

That said, we guess you could say it is Microsoft’s fault indirectly — however, if this is in fact the reason for the delay, angered fans should be pointing their fingers directly at Take Two Interactive.

We have all come to love the quirky SNL like in-game Grand Theft Auto radio commercials over the years. Below is a list of a few that will be broadcasted over the virtual air waves in this year’s release of GTA 4. Check em’ out.

From the people who brought you the Domestobot, we proudly present El Comercio Roboto! It’s the robot of the future… from south of the border!

‘Politicians may demand illegal aliens leave the country, but I want a Mexican gardener I can ogle!’

El Comercio Roboto! He can mow the lawn, if you know what I mean! Comes with six different attachments!

It’s a half robot, half radioactive plant destined to take over the world. Only one 15-year-old school girl can stop it… by sleeping with it [Japanese]. Princess Robot Bubblegum and the horny radioactive plant, in all good manga stores soon!

Simon and Nigel have long dominated the art world in Europe, and now there’s an incredibly retrospective. Back in the 1970s they proved that owls were sexual, by having sex with them. Then in 1987 they went wild in America with their coffee table art book called The Anorexic Gimp in Wonderland. It’s been none stop incongruity since!

Now these middle-aged twin transsexuals are photographing themselves re-enacting famous atrocities from history dressed as gorillas! Once you see Hitler portrayed as a gorilla, it’ll explain the war in a way you never imagined. It is truly shocking!

Are you ready to live the real estate dream? Whether you’re new on the market or an old hack we’ll take your dream to the limits of prestige in a spacious loft or an outstanding penthouse! It’s a 500-square ft glass-coated box in the sky! With windows that won’t open and a doorman that masturbates in your bed while you’re at work! Only three million dollars! Only three blocks from the ghetto! Apply now!

‘What kind of loser journalist are you?!’

‘You know, you make me shiver the way you look at me, like I shiver in the bath looking down at the urinal, and I say ‘man that’s a lot of men’s hair’, and then I say ‘Maurice, you are a fat ball of testosterone – you are massive!’

‘Eww!’

‘Is it just me or is it just this angle?! What was she talking about? My little boy got the job done! But you know what? I’m drifting. The fact remains they are the same thing; for the working man, too much work. For the fat cat, and in your case a very thin and sexless, nicotine-stained cat, too many regulations. The working man wants spare time, spare money…’

Sometimes the family wants that Italian taste without those tiny Italian portions, that’s why you should come to El Dentes – all the mama-mia you can eat! It’s Italian food like you’ll never get in Italy. That’s because it’s an American theme restaurant! So the portions are huge, and the food tasteless and unhealthy. We’ve got a special linguine with Cheesy Poof sauce!

‘Hey, when you’re at El Dentes everyone’s like family! A hyper, macho, food-obsessed, alcoholic family just like min!’

El Dentes – we’ve got more of what you love and less of what you don’t. Like more calories and fat, and a lot less taste and nutrients! That’s why it’s El Dentes! All the mama mia you can eat!

Source: CVG

Rockstar Games announced that the critically acclaimed game “Bully” will be hitting the Nintendo Wii and Microsoft Xbox 360. The press release stated that the game will have “additional new content” and make its way into stores this holiday season.

So maybe you made the jump to a next gen console and weren’t interested in picking up another PS2 game, well we here at ripten say, make sure you give this gaming gem a try. Bully just may be one of the best of the last games made for the PS2 console and now we can see it in HD with “new content” and lay the smack down on losers with our Wiimote.

No word yet as to whether or not Jack Thompson will declare this a “bully training device” but it wouldn’t surprise us one bit. Also noted on the press release was that the semi popular “Table Tennis” for the Xbox 360 will be served up on the Wii taking full advantage of the Wiimote.

When all was said and done, it took the combined efforts of a political, legal, and media “witch hunt” to finally put an end to a one companies release of a video game “manhunt”. Those same individuals do not understand the amount of sacrifice and dedication it takes to develop a product such as this, and it is likely they never will.

After receiving the dreaded “adults only” rating, both Nintendo and Sony officials decided to “close the lid” on Manhunt 2.

In response to the new rating Nintendo had this to say…

“Games made for Nintendo systems enjoy a broad variety of styles, genres and ratings. These are some of the reasons our Wii and Nintendo DS systems appeal to such a broad range of people. But as with books, television and movies, different content is meant for different audiences. That’s why the ESRB provides ratings to help consumers understand the content of a game before they purchase it. As stated on Nintendo.com, Nintendo does not allow any AO-rated content on its systems.“

While we have yet to contact Take 2 directly to obtain a comment, this is a very sad day for gamers of all ages, but more so for the young children who will now be missing out on crucial “Wii murder training”. It is unclear at this time just how much of an impact this will have on the future pool of assassins and hitmen across the globe, but the world can never have enough lawyers, right Jack?

Source: Gamepro.com

According to an article that was published here, Manhunt 2 has just become the first video game ever to be banned in Ireland. The Irish eyes over at Rockstar are definitively not smiling today.

According to an earnings call transcript with Take 2’s CFO Lainie Goldstein, Microsoft has spent a total of 50 million dollars acquiring downloadable content for the upcoming GTA IV title.

“The first 25 million is for the first episodic content package that ’s supposed to go out and that is in March of ’08. That’s why it moved into current because it’s in the next 12 months. The second 25 will be for the second episodic, the episode, and that will be later in fiscal ’08.” – Laine Goldstein.

A copy of the complete transcript can be obtained online by visiting this link.

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• A Rockstar keychain for the safe deposit box keys.
• A limited edition Rockstar duffel bag.
• Never-before-seen production artwork from GTA IV in the “Grand Theft Auto IV Art Book”.
• Selected soundtrack CD from Grand Theft Auto IV, featuring new material from top artists, only available on this release.
• A specially packaged version of the game for either PS3 or Xbox 360.

Limited pre-orders for the special edition of GTA IV are being taken now. The game and everything listed above will retail for a cool $89.00 in North America … hardly a “steal”.

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Take 2 Games is the parent company of both Rockstar and the 2kSports label. So what does all that mean? Well, in a recent interview regarding the application of NaturalMotion one of the employees was asked about technology and hinted that tests had been done using football situations such as tackling, catching, running, etc. When asked to elaborate he reinforced that both 2kSports and Rockstar are under the same umbrella company.

We followed up with them again last week via a telephone call to a sales rep. When asked about the possibility that 2kSports is using NaturalMotion in their soon to be released All-Pro Football he laughed and said “maybe”

Take from this what you will, but it sounds like 2kSports is ready to give the Madden franchise a run for its money … again.

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