03-20-03
03-13-03
03-06-03
03-04-03
R*'s
Hidden Package Contest
<10:42 PM CST - schu>
Rockstar has announced the winners of the Hidden Package Giveaway Thing!
Here is the email they sent out on it:
'Nuff respect going out to our grand prize winner, Tina Higgins of Syracuse, NY, marked by the hand of fate over thousands upon thousands of other entrants to receive the highly-coveted, limited-run Vice City neon sign and the accompanying official Vice City collectible prize package.
Also a big, super-dookie shout-out to our runners-up: Allan Smith, Jesse Holloway, Joe Tseng, Diane Chenier, Jean Treece, Patsy Ayres, Mike Bennett, Chris Burkey, Bruce Vrana and Nancy Gdowski - who each skate off with the collectible package.
Slow
Going With GTA?
<10:42 PM CST - schu>
Rev Ted sent in a few tips for new GTAers playing the free version of
GTA:
FYI: If you get crappy performance from GTA on a newer PC, trying hitting F8 (frame limiter).
The problem then becomes that it might run too fast, so you have to crank up the res to get it back down.
Another person recommended CPUKiller (Shareware) to emulate a P133:
[ http://digilander.libero.it/robyrobo/Products/index.html ]
I have not tried this and really couldn't verify whether that's even safe.
Here is a listing of extra keys for the original GTA. I'm not sure if they are mentioned in the readme that comes with the free version:
Key Function F1 - F3 Lets you send a message to an opponent during Multi-player Action. F4 Lets you send a message to ALL opponents during Multi-Player Action. F5 Tunes the radio to another station. F6 Pauses the game.
F7 Repeats the last pager message received. F8 Toggles the Frame Limiter ON and OFF during gameplay.
F9 Displays the current area name. F10 Repeats the last message received. F11 Calls up the on screen Display Options during gameplay. ESC Lets you quit during gameplay.
Announcements
<10:42 PM CST - schu>
- IGN is a little slow on the uptake apparently. They just now caught on to the fact that Rockstar registered gtasanandreas.com. I don't want to extol the virtues of G! too much, but I posted something on that back on December 6th, 2002 :) ... By the way, if you check the domain name for yourself, please, please, please do NOT bother Richard. I can assure you that he works for Rockstar and he will probably never make the mistake of registering another Rockstar domain using his name. Thanks to Insane2757 and Andrew for the IGN link.
- Rev Ted sent word that GTA3 PC is still in the top 10, take a look.
- IGN Insider did a huge article on the Big Games of 2003 which included the next GTA. Unfortunately they don't know any more than we do, and if they do, they aren't saying anything. Thanks to Insane2757 and Steve.
- Rockstar has updated their Midnight Club 2 website with a new Tokyo video. Check out rockstargames.com/midnightclub2 for details. Insane2757 also sent in this Gamers.com link for more MC2 action.
GTA3
GBA Not Quite Dead
<2:22 AM CST - schu>
The GameBoy Advance version of GTA3 is still in development according
to a recent article on C&VG.
The article states that Destination
Software is still working on the title which is due out later this
year. No official word from Rockstar at this point. Thanks
to Rev Ted for the link.
Announcements <2:22 AM CST - schu>
- Not too long ago Rockstar Games released a game based on the 1969 film, The Italian Job. The Italian Job is currently set to be remade as a new movie but this time around Eidos will be making a game of the same name but based on the new movie. Anyway, you read more about the whole issue on Gamers.com. I really can't think of any comments on this, other than the simple fact that I really can't understand why they keep remaking films that were great to begin with. 99.999% of the time they'll just release some POS knockoff to capitalize on the name of the original.
- I got a few emails from people having problems with the Rockstar Classics site. Apparently the free GTA download bogged down the server for awhile but it seems to be back up. If you were having problems before you should check back and give it another try. S3KT0R posted some of the changes made to the re-released free version of GTA in the forum.
- Insane2757 sent in the latest sales charts and VC is still holding strong in the top 10.
- I just
wanted to clarify the current line on the next set of GTA games. There
is no official information on anything other than the PC version of
VC (due out on May 13th US / May 16th UK) so everything mentioned here
is based on rumors and speculation. The prevailing rumor is that
Rockstar will release one more game based off the same GTA3/VC technology...
Probably a game based in San Andreas, but it's all speculation at this
point so it could be based anywhere and in any time period.
GTA4 is slated as the actual sequel to GTA3 and might be released on a next gen console, and will probably overhaul the entire concept of a GTA type game before the formula goes stale...
So, we're looking at GTA: San Andreas (rumored) in early 2004 and GTA4 (rumored) due out sometime probably in 2005/6 or depending on when the PS3 is out... these are all just rumors and speculation so it's anyone's guess as to what will actually happen, but it all sounds pretty logical..
GTA
For Free!
<11:45 PM CST - schu>
I just got word from the Rockstar webmaster that the original PC version
of GTA is being released as a free download. Get over to www.rockstargames.com/classics
for details.
Dutch
- San Andreas Update
<11:45 PM CST - schu>
Many of you have written me about the San Andreas update on the Dutch
gaming site, GamemaG. Accompanying the article is a screenshot.
However, if you compare their
shot with this
VC screenshot you'll see that it's a fake and the Corvette in the
original shot was photoshopped in there with the rest of the content borrowed
from other VC and GTA3 shots. The article basically says that San
Andreas is in development and will be based in the 80's, but the fake
shot certainly doesn't aid its credibility. Thanks to Wags, Newtechnix,
and Superpukkie.
GTA4
In Development?
<8:15 PM CST - schu>
Computer
& Video Games is reporting that GTA4 is in development by a small
team at Rockstar North. The team is rumored to be working through
concepts for next gen consoles at this point, but as expected very little
is known. GTA4 is not to be confused with the next GTA game due
out sometime in 2004, GTA4 is expected to be the true sequel to GTA3,
whereas the next GTA title is expected to be another VC type title. Read
the full
article for details. I'd say their article certainly isn't out
of the question, but I'd still file it in the rumor bin. Thanks
to Luke, Rev Ted, and Asorano for the link.
2002
AIAS Awards
<8:15 PM CST - schu>
Both GTA3 and Vice City brought home an award in the 2002 Academy
of Interactive Arts and Sciences awards. GTA3 was awarded the
Computer Action Game of 2002 and Vice City picked up Console Action Adventure
Game of 2002. Thanks to Insane2757.
Take2's
2003 Lineup
<8:15 PM CST - schu>
Take2 has released yet another financial report giving a heads up on what
games to they plan on releasing over 2003 and into 2004. You can
find more information on IGN
or in the Take2 press
release. For a detailed rundown on the original conference call
related to this press release, check out this
post in the Gaming Age forums.
A related BBC article goes into detail about Vice City's success as related to Take2's other titles. Apparently Vice City is responsible for a full two-thirds of Take2's revenue. Thanks to jeff, Insane2757, Neo, IdeoPraxist, and stevie.
VC
on The Daily Show
<8:15 PM CST - schu>
This is actually really old, but for some reason it took them forever
to post the web version of this. Anyway, VC got a mention in a
Christmas report on The
Daily Show.
Latest
Dteam Contest Details
<8:15 PM CST - schu>
The guys over at Dteam have updated their contest details, here is what
they sent in:
"I wanted to let you know that we have updated our rules and added a list of prizes. First and second prize are still open for sponsorship! Third prize is also posted.
We also have some people talking about videos in our Games forum with a few new videos to grab."
Announcements
<8:15 PM CST - schu>
- I'm not sure what to think of this. I don't speak Dutch but I hope they are advertising this as a San Andreas mockup since I can probably peg most of the screenshots used to put it together. Thanks to Tommy and Tony.
- VH1 posted an interesting article on Kuwait City vs Vice City, check it out here. Thanks to Stalkerfest for the link.
- Rev Ted found an interview with the developers of the GTA3 multiplayer mod over on HomeLan Fed.
- I found an older VC article on Wired entitled, Making a Virtue of Vice City.
