GTA V is here! So....

Enjoy your time in Los Santos! Its been worth the wait!

GTA V - 4 Days to go

Later than planned, but here is todays entry in the countdown to GTA V. Thankfully a busy day at work has kept me occupied and away from forums like neogaf. You see its out there now. Several people are not only playing but capturing gameplay from GTA V. Rockstars copyright Ninjas have been in full effect over at Youtube and no sooner than a video goes up, it goes down in seconds.

As always the interwbe finds a way. This time Vine and Instagram video seems to be free from Rockstar's grip and both services are filling up with 7 or 15 seconds snippets in to the world of Los Santos. Many of these started by showing various aspects of the game like vehicle damage, pedestrian bashing and of course Dog sex (yes, really). Then soon after the videos started showing actual story spoilers and that is where I tuned out.

Best clip I have seen is one showing a guy sitting a soft top car and pressing a button to lower the roof. The way that roof lowers into the boot is a thing of beauty and testament to the level of detail you can expect in any Rockstar game.

Now I have to go and bury my head under a pillow to stop me from watching spoilers!

GTA V - 5 Days to go

5 Days to go and everywhere I look there are people trying to give away any information regarding Grand Theft Auto V. There are some excellent fakes out there and some not so good. Here is a tip to anyone wanting to fool the internet into believing that you have a game before release date. If you are going to mock up and print a fake box cover don't use the US cover art and then stack it on top of your PEGI rated European games, its a big give away.

Meanwhile today, people have been showing scans from the manual or guide that show the track listing for the radio stations. Want to see it? Well if you don't look away.....NOW!

GTA V - One week to go...

This time next week, I will at Game Watford waiting patiently to collect my pre-order of the most anticipated game of the year, Grand Theft Auto V. The next day is booked off work in preparation for an all night session in the beautiful sunshine of Los Santos. Though in these final days before the release, the wait can become unbearable. The advertising ramps up, the streets start to fill with promotional posters that may or may not hint at game details.

Then there are the professional games journalists that have been privileged enough to actually play the game and find it hard to let littlest of details out to gamers. As well as those naughty hackers that like to find details in source code files of pre-order PSN downloads. Finally Rockstar themselves are in full hype mode and their fantastic travel site for Los Santos and Blaine County is almost complete and holds so much information about different aspects of the game. These snippets of info are likely to make the mos cynical of gamers, salivate to get their hands on a copy.

So what can you do to survive the next seven days. Well, I am have decided to take the time to familiarise myself with the streets of Los Santos, by playing the PS2 version of GTA: San Andreas on the PS3. How about a radio show dedicated to GTA.Well tune into Absolute Radio on Sunday night for a very special show...

The Grand Theft Radio Show with Pete & Lazlow
Absolute Radio on Sunday 15 September, 8pm
Lazlow gets his own radio show on the eve of the biggest game launch of 2013. He'll be chatting with listeners and playing some classic tracks from GTA games gone-by. Pete Donaldson will be desperately trying to keep things under control.

The only other option is to trawl the Web every day for slightest snip or clip of anything to do with GTA V. To get you started, have a look at this video showing some of the in game TV adverts. The usual Rockstar brand of satire is delivered in its usual unsubtle approach. Its part of why we love GTA.



This leaves me with another chance to link to talented rapper, Dan Bull and his truly amazing gaming raps. In particular his GTA V rap from last year.



Hope this next 7 days are kind to you all. Its going to be tough, but it will be worth it!

GTA V - The countdown begins

It’s hard to believe than in just a few weeks now, we can get our hands on Rockstar’s latest crime opus, Grand Theft Auto V. As per usual Rockstar having playing their cards close to their chest regarding the details. Well, except for an embarrassing leak of a Pre-order image on Sony’s EU PlayStation Store, which lead to some details leaking. Rockstar are masters of the “Hype Train” and once again they have controlled it perfectly for the release for this their second GTA this generation. So what do we know so far…

GTA V - Official Gameplay Trailer

Stop Everything! Rockstar Games just released this 4 minute insight into the gameplay of Grand Theft Auto V. You're Welcome!



OH MY!

GTA V - Michael, Franklin and Trevor Trailers released

Words are pretty pointless here. You just want to see the goods. Well here they are three new trailers for GTA V. Each trailer focusing on each of the main characters, starting with...

Michael,


Franklin


and finally loveable psycho, Trevor


I know what you are thinking, why the hell isn't it September already!

GTA V - The Second Trailer cometh!

There isn't much to say really, so here it is...



Errr... WOWOHMYGODTHATLOOKSSOFREAKINAWESOMEANDDIDYOUSEETHEDOGSASWELL!!

Grand Theft Auto 5 - The first details emerge.

Last night, the first details of GTA V appeared on the internet via the latest digital edition of Game Informer magazine. The biggest reveal was that you play not one, but three characters. You can switch between them during mission points and at will outside of the mission structure. The trio are the typical Rockstar set of gangsters, hustlers and psychos.




Michael; a retired bank robber in his early 40s who lives in a posh Rockford Hills (a Beverly Hill stand-in) estate with his spiteful trophy wife, bratty teenage daughter and 20 year old son. He's in the witness protection program, but still leads a luxurious life due to an "unconventional deal with the FIB." His money is running dry due to his wife's spending habits, so he inevitably returns to a life of crime.






Trevor; a junkie and ex-military pilot prone to fits of rage. He resides in Blaine County, a desert region full of bikers and meth heads (similar to the area around the Salton Sea). An old friend of Michael's, he joins up for another heist. A hands-off demo showed him set fire to a car just for the hell of it, apparently.







Franklin; a hustler in his mid 20s working for an Armenian car dealership where he plays the role of thuggish repo man. He lives in Vespucci Beach (like Venice Beach), and wants to move up in the world. He comes in contact with Michael after targeting him for a hustle.





Rockstar are really trying to convey the diversity of Los Angeles (Los Santos) in GTA V and do this they have created a game map that is larger than GTA IV, San Andreas and Red Dead Redemption combined! If you try to visualise that in your head, you make your brain bleed so don't try it. Lets just leave it at this, the map is so large you can scuba and explore the ocean floor.

Bicycles are back! As well as Flip Flops! Best of all you can combine the two together. Check it out...

Oh alright! There's Jet Ski's, quad bikes, bi-planes, helicopters, sports cars and fighter jets. I still think you can't beat a gentle ride on a bike through the valleys though.

Of course, we will find out even more next week when the second trailer is released. I would expect this one to detailed at least one of the characters in more detail.

Check back here for the trailer, next Wednesday.

GTA V - Trailer 2 next week + Pre-Order now!

 

Rockstar Games have been responsible for some of the greatest games of the last 10 years. Such is the level of their success that all they need to do is this...

 

and the internet goes wild. Speculators are wildly spinning ideas of what this trailer may hold. Hopefully a hint to storyline and characters would be a good start. There seems to be a lot of people (well younger people) that do not want to play the "fat old guy" hinted at in the first trailer. Looks like Max Payne didn't fly the flag for ageing video game characters very well.

 

Also, it is worth mentioning that you can go to your local video game retailer now and pre-order GTA V for its Spring 2013 release date. At certain stores, you will even receive a special poster to look at until next May comes around.

 

Check back next week for the trailer itself.

Max Payne 3 - Who is Max Payne?

After a nine year absence, Max Payne returns this week with another episode of his damned existance. To some gamers though, Max is someone they might not of heard of or played. So who is Max Payne?

Max Payne - 2001

3 years before the events of the first game, Max arrived home to his wife and baby girl to found them brutally murdered by a gang addicted to a new designer drug, Valkyr. Vowing to get to the people who created and distribute the drug. Max signs up a with the DEA and goes deep undercover.

When Max got too close to minds behind Valkyr, he was set-up and framed for the murder of his DEA colleague and best friend, Alex Balder.

So began his one man war and the majority of New York's organised crime and bent corporations.

The video below explains it better...

Max Payne 2 - 2003

Two years after the Aesir Massacre, Payne had left the DEA and was back as a Detective in the NYPD. Alfred Woden had kept his promise and kept Max out of prison.

Deputy Chief Jim Bravura, is now Max's boss and he has partnered him with the straight laced Detective Winterson. Whilst out, Max responds to a call to shots fired at one of Vladimar Lem's warehouses and soon he finds himself out manned and out gunned by a group of hit men calling themselves the Cleaners.

During the shootout, Mona Sax appears, alive and well and helps Max take out the Cleaners.

Follow the videos below to find out what happens.








So Max hasn't had the sunniest of lives, so far. So maybe its time he took some time in the sun himself...

Max Payne 3 - 2012

Not much is know for certain about the new game. Although the official site has this up for offer.

"For Max Payne, the tragedies that took his loved ones years ago are wounds that refuse to heal. No longer a cop, close to washed up and addicted to pain killers, Max takes a job in São Paulo, Brazil, protecting the family of wealthy real estate mogul Rodrigo Branco, in an effort to finally escape his troubled past. But as events spiral out of his control, Max Payne finds himself alone on the streets of an unfamiliar city, desperately searching for the truth and fighting for a way out."


Max Payne 3 is out this Friday on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 and following on PC in June 2012.

Rockstar release Max Payne 3 TV Spot

Rockstar are the masters of the trailer and this new Max Payne 3 is no exception. Beautiful in game visuals and hint of Tony Scott's Man on Fire set the scene for Max's death jaunt down to Rio. Guns, Bullets and Explosions all appear to feature heavily in the game. As well as looking rough as hell no matter how much hair you have on your head or face, for that matter too.

Once again, though it is the music that has captured my attention. Which has led me on a internet hunt to find out who is behind the music. So let me introduce to a Californian Noise Rock band (according to their Wiki page) called HEALTH. HEALTH have been described as having "artfully crafted noise and raw synth, haunting monotone vocals, and drum skills that are borderline insane".  They are writing the entire soundtrack for Max Payne 3 and it sounds like it will be a great score.

Only a month to go until we can hear it in action.

Find out more about HEALTH at their myspace page here
and on twitter @_HEALTH_

GTA V: Trailer Showdown

Rockstar are the masters of many things in gaming today. One of these is the teaser trailer. GTA IV, Red Dead Redemption and LA Noire have all had amazing trailers. Each released trailer slowly shows us more and more of the world and characters on offer.

Look at the trailer for GTA IV all those years ago...



The voice-over starts the tale of the protagonist and immediately draws you in. The visuals all show sweeping shots of the environments and world effects to show off what new additions they have made. Now look today's trailer...



Same formula, same results. Solid gold. As I watched this trailer for the first time I felt the same anticipation as when I watched the teaser for GTA IV.

The internet is already de-constructing the GTA V trailer and the rumours are flying...

- Is it Los Santos or all of San Andreas? (It certainly looks like most of the San Andreas area)
- Is that CJ at 1:02? (Could Tommy and CJ from the previous games be making a return?)
- Is the customisation of the last game coming back? (The muscle beach could suggest the return)
- Is that a hiking mini game? (Here's hoping!)

I am sure these questions and many will be answered over the next few months. The main question for me though is.

When is it out?

Grand Theft Auto V - Trailer Released Today

This time last week, from out of nowhere, Rockstar announced that the first trailer for Grand Theft Auto 5 would be released on the 2 November. So here it is the first trailer for GTA V.



Let the discussion begin...