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San Diego Rockstar Hiring for New Open World Game Development

Justin Carter — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 17:00:18 +0000

At this point, open world games and Rockstar go together like the Super Bowl and awful halftime shows. It just feels right. Never one to break tradition, Rockstar San Diego is currently hiring for a new open world game. Rockstar San Diego’s best known for the Midnight Club series and Red Dead Redemption. On Gamasutra, they have need for a Tools Programmer, along with:

Network Programmer–a networking programmer who specializes in the synchronization of the wide range of gameplay mechanics found in a Rockstar open world game”
Gameplay Programmer–”ready for the challenges posed by large scale open worlds with complex AI and physics.”

Currently, there isn’t any real clue as to what the game could be. Odds are on a sequel to Red Dead Redemption, but if some of you remember, Rockstar said they may work on Bully 2 once Max Payne 3 was finished. And with Max just a few months away, maybe the San Diego team is getting to work on Bully 2. It’s a long shot, but you never know.

Max Payne 3 Out on May 15 for Consoles, May 29 for PC

Justin Carter — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 23:15:02 +0000

Rockstar has been hard at work on Max Payne 3, delaying it for the past few years. That’s no longer the case.

In their latest earnings report, publisher Take-Two announced that you’ll step into Max’s tormented boots on May 15 for the Xbox 360 and PS3. The PC version will arrive two weeks later on the 29th. And, if you’re lucky, you may end up in the game!

Town from Red Dead Redemption Recreated in Minecraft

Sam Naylor — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 22:00:22 +0000

A Minecraft player and Red Dead Redemption fan has recreated the iconic town of Blackwater.

User technoanimate100 is the creator of this fine work of art, a total recreation of the biggest town in Rockstar‘s superb open world western.

You can view a gallery of images showing the town here, as well as download the world file and have a look around for yourself. Despite being a Minecraft story really, I want to play Red Dead again now- despite the problems with the story. It really was a stunning game.

If you’ve yet to pick Red Dead up, check out our review from May of 2010.

Via [Rockstar Games' Blog]

Rockstar Delays Max Payne 3, Now Coming This May

Sam Naylor — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 17:16:04 +0000

Rockstar Games has announced the release dates for Max Payne 3, on consoles and PC- and almost all fall in May this year.

Max Payne 3 will come out for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on May 15 in North America and May 18 internationally. The PC version will arrive May 29 in North America and June 1 internationally.

Nice to see Rockstar announcing a release date for the PC version of a game before the console version comes out. Considering Red Dead Redemption it’s nice to get a PC version at all, to be honest.

New Max Payne 3 Screens Feature Stylized Ass-Kicking Multiplayer Action

Garrett Hartman — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 19:59:46 +0000

Rockstar has unleashed a slew of new Max Payne 3 screenshots which display both campaign and multiplayer action. The screens show just what fans of the series want to see – Ass-kicking bullet time action.

Check them out below.

Max Payne 3 releases in March for the PS3, PC and Xbox 360.

Follow Rockstar on Twitter For a Chance To Be in Max Payne 3

Catherine Cai — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 20:00:06 +0000

Rockstar Games is offering their Twitter followers the chance to be the face for one of eight multiplayer characters in Max Payne 3.

How do you enter? Follow these two easy steps:

1. Follow @Rockstargames on Twitter.
2. Tweet about Max Payne 3 using the hashtag #MaxPayne3

Huzzah. You’ll be entered into the contest. Rockstar will be picking ten contestants every week up until January 13, 2012. Those who have been chosen will be contacted by tweet or direct message to submit a photo for consideration, so make sure you pretty yourself up before you take a picture. Two people will be chosen from each group of ten to make up the eight winners.

Stay Tweety, my friends.

Grand Theft Auto Having a Ridiculous iOS/Mac Holiday Sale

Catherine Cai — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 00:00:17 +0000

I love the holidays. Besides the good food, free things, and the holiday-themed candy, there are the deals.

Ever since the commercialization of Christmas, people just tend to be a little more loose with their wallet during the holidays. If they’re already splurging on ridiculous amounts of Ferrero Rocher chocolate and Christmas-themed wrapping paper in preparation for the great generic gift hand-out, why not spend a little extra on things that they want themselves? It’s not like they’re going to get anything else besides Ferrero Roche chocolate in return.

Anyway, in the spirit of holiday deals, Rockstar is hosting a ridiculous Mac/iOS sale for the Grand Theft Auto series. If you’re an iOS/Mac kind of person and you’ve never had a chance to play Grand Theft Auto, here’s your chance. Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars for the iPad and the iPhone is only $2.99.

But here’s the kicker: Grand Theft Auto III, Vice City, AND San Andreas are all available on Mac for $6.99 each. This deal lasts until November 28th, so it’s probably a good idea to buy them now, particularly Vice City and San Andreas, which are, in my opinion, the two best in the series.

Head over to the iTunes app store to take advantage now!

Max Payne 3 Special Edition Available for a Limited Time Only (Details)

Dave Oshry — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 16:55:23 +0000

What’s so special about this special edition? Lots of things.

Check it:

The contents of the Max Payne 3 Special Edition will be available from November 21 to January 15 and will include:

A copy of Max Payne 3; (NO WAY?!)

10 tall Collectible Max Payne Statue created in a
collaboration between TriForce and Rockstar Games; (SWEET)

Series of game-inspired Original Still Life Art Prints that
depict some of Max Payne s inner demons and vices; (ALSO SWEET)

Copper and brass-plated iron, bullet-shaped Bullet Keychain
featuring a screw-off back; (I’D USE IT)

Classic Multiplayer Character Pack of eight playable
multiplayer characters for Max Payne 3 Multiplayer,
including fan favorites from the original Max Payne and Max
Payne 2 like Max Payne from Max Payne 2, Mona Sax and Vladimir
Lem; (TYPICAL SPECIAL EDITION)

Disorderly Conduct Multiplayer Weapons Pack for Max Payne
3 Multiplayer that includes the Hammerhead Auto Shotgun, G9
Grenade Launcher and Molotov cocktail; (YOU KNEW THAT WAS COMING)

Max Payne 3 Official Soundtrack featuring the game’s instrumental score. (WORD)

The Max Payne 3 Special Edition is ideal for fans andplayers looking for premium and collectible Max Payne content, including digital character and weapon packs not found anywhere else. MaxPayne 3 Special Edition will retail for $99.99 in North America and is available for pre-order from now until January 15, 2012 whilesupplies last.

I dig it.

In other news, DAT BOX ART!!

Rockstar Says Bully 2 May Come After Max Payne 3

Justin Carter — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 21:13:06 +0000

Back in 2006, Rockstar released a little game called Bully. A lot of people liked Bully , and for the past few years, demands for a sequel have been high. Recently, Rockstar VP Dan Houser talked to Gamasutra about Rockstar’s method for working on sequels, and the possibility of a Bully 2.

“Contrary to a lot of people, we like to take a little bit of time at the end of a game before starting a sequel, so we can wait for
the excitement or disappointment and everything else of the experience to shake down and really see what we should do in the next game,” Houser said. “So we knew that we didn’t want to start doing the Bully sequel instantly at that second with those guys — even though it is a property that, like Max, we adore
and might come back to in the future. There was just no impetus to do that then.”

“So we said, ‘You can do Max, and then we will see what we can do with Bully.’ So it was really waiting for the slot to open up and the group to open up to at least start work on it.”

There you have it folks. Before you get a chance to play with Jimmy and the others at Bullworth Academy, you’ll have to do some bullet time with Max in Brazil.

Source: [Gamasutra] via [Game Informer]

Rockstar Shows Off Their New Tech With Max Payne 3

Dave Oshry — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 03:00:36 +0000

Max Payne 3 keeps looking better and better.

Rockstar’s latest video shows us why and how.

The debut video in the Design and Technology Series offers a first look at the targeting mechanics, movement and animation, enemy intelligence and other technical design innovations going into building an advanced, intense and immersive action-shooter with Max Payne 3.

Max Payne 3 is set to release spring 2012. It’s bullet time.

L.A. Noire: The Complete Edition Now Available for PC – Watch the Launch Trailer!

Garrett Hartman — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 19:26:29 +0000

Finally, PC gamers will be able to experience one of the best games of 2011 as L.A. Noire: The Complete Edition is now available for the PC. We at RipTen enjoyed the console version and gave it a 9.5!

To make up for the wait, consumers who purchase L.A. Noire: The Complete Edition will receive a multi-use code to
access all downloadable add-ons and cases. This includes all previously released DLC from console versions, including the “Nicholson Electroplating” Arson case, “Reefer Madness” Vice case, “The Consul’s Car” Traffic case, “The Naked City” Vice case and “A Slip of the Tongue” Traffic case.

Check out the launch trailer below.

What We Saw In The GTA V Trailer: Dogs, Jets, Blimps, BMX, Two Interesting Characters and More

Chris Carlson — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 09:02:25 +0000

Seeing how the official trailer for GTA V was finally released today and fans creamed their pants in glory of returning to San Andreas, you’ve probably seen about a hundred of these articles. Therefore, I won’t point out the complete obvious, but I would like to share some things I noticed throughout the trailer that you might have missed.

Of course this is all speculation, but with a minute and a half trailer, what else can you do? Because you know damn well we’re not going to be hearing much from GTA V for a while. That’s just how Rockstar rolls. Anyway, lets get to it shall we!

This first image is the man everyone has been speculating about. Everyone is in an agreement that this man is the voice over from the start of the trailer. When it comes down to who he actually is, some will say an older version of Tommy Vercetti (it’s been confirmed Ray Liotta is not the voice in the trailer), some say an older version of Claude from GTA 3, and some just don’t give a damn and want the game already. Fact is, this man appears in the trailer on four different occasions. It’s a safe bet that he is the protagonist…….or is he?

What makes this guy so interesting is that he’s the only other character to appear multiple times throughout the trailer. If you look very closely to the shot in the bottom left, the guy actually driving the van is the same guy driving the red sports car in both the other shots. What’s really makes that shot special is that it indicates both of these characters shown multiple times throughout the trailer some how know one another. Not only that, but two of those times he’s by himself. Could this be the first GTA that features multiple playable main characters, or something similar to GTA IV where Roman played a big role but was never playable? Only time will tell.

Ahhhh Blimps. For the first time in the series it appears that blimps are making an appearance. These appear many times during the trailer, four times in fact. Will they actually be flyable? That’s obviously to be determined, but my guess is they were added to make the city(s) more life like. Imagine flying a blimp in GTA? Yeah, that would be… boring as hell.

This shot was actually very quick in the trailer. If you paused and went frame by frame you probably quickly realized it was a jet rather than a plane like the one shown at the end of the trailer. Also, if you look closely, there’s fucking rockets. Remember the Hydra from GTA SA? It looks as if it will be returning (or at least some sort of version of it). I’m starting to believe Rockstar is going back to their old ways. That, or this son of a bitch will be apart of the military force that will come after you at 6 stars. Wouldn’t that be a bitch?

Within the first few seconds of the trailer there’s a beautiful beach scene with a couple walking. But did you manage to notice the dog walking with them? Rockstar has balls. They take risks. Will they actually allow killing dogs in GTA V? I highly doubt it, but being able to have your own dog (Hey Fable!) would be pretty sweet if he could chase down enemies. The top left shot shows a bunch of gym equipment on the beach. If you’ve played GTA SA, you’ll know this exact location already exists in Los Santos and you were able to work out. The big question is, will Rockstar return the slight RPG elements of GTA SA? Personally, I’d love to see them return.

To the right, I’m sure many of you noticed the man putting a foreclosure sign in the front of his house, indicating the possibility of purchasing multiple safe houses. What some of you may have failed to notice was the BMX bike in the background. If I remember correctly, GTA V never had any of these laying around, even if they were broken. The one here is missing the front tire, but that doesn’t completely count out the possibility of BMX bikes returning. With the new physics engine introduced in GTA IV, it would be interesting to see how well these babies would handle.

To the right you’ll notice a sign that says “Wigs: Wigs and Styling”. Typical corner store. But if you look closely (hard to tell in the actual pic, but better in the trailer) it appears as if that building is actually enterable. And you know what that means. More customization. Just for shits and giggles, I managed to find some of Rockstar’s humor hidden within the trailer. The middle shot features a standard banner, but at the top you’ll notice the logo for the contracting company is “STD” ha-ha-ha, giggle, giggle, move on. To the left I found pretty hilarious. Instead of a normal “Walk” sign, you now have the man on the sign doing the “Pimp Walk”. Nice little funny touches like these is what makes Rockstar so great.

So there you have it. Did I point out anything you missed? I hope so. With the trailer only being a minute and a half, there’s only so much to look at, but Rockstar did a fantastic job of giving GTA fans tons of information to work with and speculate until the next trailer drops. For more on GTA V, stay tuned to RipTen. Chances are you’ll see another one of these when the second trailer drops.

This Is The First Grand Theft Auto V Trailer

Chris Carlson — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 16:00:31 +0000

Just last week, Rockstar Games came out of left field and finally made GTA V official. We all knew it was coming, but having a proper reveal was oh-so satisfying.

Now the time has finally come and Rockstar has revealed the first official trailer for the game.

So, without further ado, behold the first official trailer for Grand Theft Auto V!!

Yep, we’re going back to San Andreas.

Stay tuned to RipTen as the story unfolds.

New Max Payne 3 Screens Get Down and Dirty

Dave Oshry — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 23:30:27 +0000

With the trailer for Grand Theft Auto 5 less than one day away, you may have already forgotten about Max Payne 3.

Well, if these new screens are any indication, you shouldn’t have:

Max Payne 3 slo-mo dives into stores this coming March.

Grand Theft Auto V is Official – Trailer Coming Next Week

Dave Oshry — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 11:15:40 +0000

I think I speak for everyone when I say, holy shit.

Grand Theft Auto V has been officially revealed by Rockstar Games.

Their website also says that a trailer is coming on 11.2.11, that’s next week!

I can’t wait that long.

In a related story, Rockstar just fucked up everyone’s day. Sorry Battlefield 3.

Rockstar Announces L.A Noire Complete Edition for Consoles

Dave Oshry — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 17:55:13 +0000

Rockstar Games has announced that L.A. Noire: The Complete Edition is coming to the PlayStation3 nd Xbox 360 on November 15, 2011 in North America and November 18, 2011 internationally.

Similar to its PC counterpart, L.A. Noire: The Complete Edition on consoles will feature all of the previously released downloadable content for L.A. Noire, including the “Nicholson Electroplating” Arson case, “Reefer Madness” Vice case, “The Consul’s Car” Traffic case, “The Naked City” Vice case , “A Slip of the Tongue” Traffic case, The Badge Pursuit Challenge, and all weapons and outfits released to date.

As if you didn’t know this was coming. Why do you people buy games new anymore, anyway? :-p

For more on L.A Noire, be sure to check out the RipTen Review!

Holy Sh!t, Team Bondi Owes Employees Over $1 Million

Justin Carter — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 22:42:31 +0000

L.A. Noire was looking like top dog when it first hit the stores earlier this year. Stellar reviews and great sales indicated that this ship would sail with no troubles, but fate had other plans. Developer Team Bondi has had pile upon pile of crap thrown at them the past few months since it came out that employees were being mistreated. Just a few weeks ago, the Australian developer was handed the killing blow when they were announced to be closing down. To make matters worse, it looks like they owe their employees a lot of money from unpaid wages. How much, you ask? Over $1 million.

Documents filed with the Australian Securities and Investigation Commision list off some of the company’s creditors. The Commision currently has a liquidator selling off Bondi’s remaining assets to pay off said creditors, and interestingly enough, some of the creditors are former employees. In addition to studio head Brendan McNamara, who’s claimed that he’s owed $102,495, there’s general manager Vicky Lord, gameplay lead David Heironymus, plus Depth Analysis, McNamara’s company that was responsible for Noire‘s animation technology that everyone loved to death. Their creditor claim is $145,795.83.

Stay tuned to Ripten as this story continues.

[Via GameInformer]

Chances of Seeing Red Dead Redemption on PC Are Getting Slimmer

Chris Carlson — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 01:00:03 +0000

Ever since the announcement of award winning Red Dead Redemption, PC gamers had just one question; “When can I play it?”. Since then and until this day, the answer has been never. A recent post on Rockstar‘s blog further decreases the chance of the PC version happening.

“We do know that, yes, there is just one title absent from our PC release plans – that game of course being Red Dead Redemption, and of course we’re well aware that some fans have been asking for it.

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 percent of the time for all platforms.

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.”

For such a widely successful game, you think a big company like Rockstar would get this bad boy on every available platform possible. Obviously that’s not the case, and it still looks as if we will never see Red Dead Redemption on the PC.

Team Bondi to Close as Liquidator Prepares to Sell Assets

Garrett Hartman — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 14:37:09 +0000

Embattled L.A. Noire developer Team Bondi will shut its doors as unpaid creditors appoint a liquidator to sell their assets. Today, forms were filed with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission to wind up the company and use its assets to pay outstanding debt.

Team Bondi’s demise occurs admidst controversy surrounding the successful release of L.A Noire. Despite being critically acclaimed and enjoying tremendous sales, a seven year development and complaints about abuse in the workplace proved costly. After Rockstar decided to drop the studio, its fate was just about sealed.

Rumors at one point indicated film studio KMM was looking to buy Bondi out, but never materialized.

via [Edge]

The First Max Payne 3 Trailer Pops Back Up – With New Info

Dave Oshry — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 21:33:06 +0000

You remember pop-up video right? That show on VH1 where little bits of information about the music video and artist would pop up on the screen? Yeah, you remember.

Well, today Rockstar has done just that with the debut Max Payne 3 trailer we saw last week.

These little tidbits help you to further understand the game, the character, and the setting.

Max Payne 3 is set to release on Xbox 360 and PS3 in March 2012.