Thanks to a dedicated community, the PC version of Grand Theft Auto IV has been continually polished and upgraded since its release all those years ago. To the point where, now, it looks like something from the future.

The iCEnhancer series of mods, which we've featured before, are being updated to 2.5 (this is an alpha preview), and the results are amazing.

This looks as good as a quality first-person shooter. The fact that this kind of fidelity can be applied to an open world game the size of Liberty City is just mind-boggling.

iCEnhancer 2.5 Alpha - First preview [YouTube]

Lazlow Jones co-wrote the radio scripts for all the Grand Theft Auto games (save Chinatown Wars, of course) going back to III, and appears as a radio personality in all of the games. He also, evidently, has all of the master copies of the recordings. In his home. Which is on Long Island. Or, well, a barrier island off Long Island.

Ordinarily this isn't much of a problem. but it was as Hurricane Sandy came barreling in late October, and Long Island was whomped particularly bad by the stormacane, or whatever it was at that stage. In a visit to the Opie & Anthony Show last week, where Lazlow's a regular guest, he related what his priorities were as the storm came barreling in.

1. Get the GTA III master recording.
2. Get the GTA: Vice City master recording.
3. Get the GTA: San Andreas master recording.
4. You get the idea.

"My studio is on the ground floor," he said on the show. "That's where GTA 3, Vice City, San Andreas, all those masters like the full recordings with Axl Rose and everything. I mean, all this stuff," he said. "I started freaking out and grabbing, just boxes of masters and putting it up on the second floor. Cause I was like 'I'm not going to let this stuff get ruined.'"

Asked if he was storing the recordings elsewhere, Lazlow said he'd learned he shouldn't "keep a lot of amazing masters from some epic video games on the ground floor near a sand bar."

If you're curious if he said anything about Grand Theft Auto V, he did, but only to say the game was due in the coming spring.

GTA master audio tapes almost lost during Superstorm Sandy [Original Gamer]

Eight years and one month ago, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas released on the PlayStation 2. It begins rather abruptly—C.J. in an airport, saying that after five years on the east coast, it was time to return to San Andreas.

The game's official soundtrack included a DVD of "The Introduction," a 20-minute in-game cinematic explaining all the reasons why Carl Johnson returned. Rockstar this week finally made it public via its Social Club and YouTube (where others had uploaded it before. This one went up on Aug. 27, 2005, four months after the first YouTube video was uploaded.) Here you may see it in full quality, and if you haven't already, take the 20 minutes to do so. For those who have, hey, Sunday afternoons are always good for reruns.

I shouldn't have to tell any self—respecting gamer to go drop $4.99 on the tenth anniversary edition of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City on iOS or Android (once it's live). For those that lack self-respect, go drop $4.99 on the tenth anniversary edition of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. It's better than ever.

Along with the HD graphics and portability, the mobile version of the best game in Rockstar's beloved crime simulator series adds a number of enhancements to make the game worthy of another play-through. It's got enhanced targeting, complete with a tap-to-shoot option that makes shooting people fun. It's got a fully-customizable HUD, allowing players to move and resize interface elements and controls as they please. It's got a chase camera you can adjust by pinching and zooming, and a free-look camera that lets players experience the sights of Vice City from a fresh angle.

The Android version has full controller support. The iOS version supports cloud saves and custom soundtracks, in case you have absolutely no taste at all and don't like the game's 80s soundtrack.

It's everything Vice City on the PlayStation 2 was, only better. I am drowning in happy right now.

There's some debate as to whether the 1980s-set, neon-flecked entry in Rockstar's crime series is the best one. But it's hard to debate that the visuals for the upcoming mobile release look very impressive.

A seedy underground of Russian criminals has gotten so brazen it's taken to posting advertisements offering the services of its expert "bank robbers".

These crims, who mostly employ "cyberheists and tax fraud" to lift money from US banks, even go into detail about the kind of things they can offer prospective employers, as listed on the site of security expert Brian Krebs:

We provide convenient service to our partners:

Unique administrative interface – fast response
We will react momentarily to any new task
Adapt every action of a money mule to client's requirements
Timely payments via WebMoney/Liberty Reserve/Western Union, cash conversion with WU/MG
Cashout of tax return, D + P (dump & PIN, cashout of debit cards stolen via skimming)
Receive over mail or expensive merchandise pick up in a store
Mules are available for other interesting transactions
We work only by reference.

Amazing. Perhaps unsurprisingly, given the background and field these guys are "working" in (and I guess the fact Eastern European crooks gotta stick together?), what do they use as the enormous illustration on the ad? Some Grand Theft Auto IV fan art, of course, by none other than internet-famous Rockstar fan artist Patrick Brown.

Online Service Offers Bank Robbers for Hire [Krebs on Security, via Boing Boing]

The neon-soaked streets of Vice City have never looked as good as they do in next week's 10th Anniversary Edition for iOS and Android. The fingers are still fused together, but the bodies attached to them are better than ever.

When I first watched this trailer I was a little shocked. This is not how I remembered Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. The Vice City I played on the PlayStation 2 was perfect. The characters were shockingly life-like; the animations smooth and silky.

Then I checked out the original trailer.

Wow. It's amazing how fond memories color one's recollections, isn't it? I take this as proof that graphics don't matter as long as you're having a good time.

And we'll be having a damn good time when the Grand Theft Auto: Vice City 10th Anniversary Edition hits iTunes and Google Play on December 6.

We saw the first Grand Theft Auto V trailer recreated in the original San Andreas (GTA: San Andreas, to be exact). Then someone set it in Grand Theft Auto IV. So, with the second trailer's release earlier this week, it's natural we get that one rebuilt inside IV as well. This is by YouTube user underage117.

If you want to compare it to the original, it's embedded below. Or watch them side-by-side here (might want to mute the volume on one.) My suspicion is that this won't stop until Grand Theft Auto V is recreated in Grand Theft Auto IV, which will be a hell of a trick considering its map is, at most, about 1/7th the size of what GTA V's is said to be.

GTA V Trailer #2 remade in GTA IV uploaded by underage117 [h/t Adriaan V.]

When Grand Theft Auto: Vice City disappeared from Steam's marketplace a few days ago, some suspected it was because of the game's upcoming release for iOS devices. Instead, what appears to be a lapsed license for one of the songs appearing in the game has forced the takedown, until the matter is resolved.

Gaming Blend reports that the song in question is appropriately enough, "Wanna Be Startin' Something" by Michael Jackson, to which Sony Music Entertainment owns the rights. Rockstar Games, in a post on Steam's North American forums, didn't specify the song but did say music licensing was involved and "we'll make it available again as soon as possible."

Those who bought Grand Theft Auto: Vice City for PC via Steam may still redownload and install the game.

GTA: Vice City No Longer On Steam Due To RIAA Copyright Claim [Gaming Blend]

Who would go through such a painstaking process to recreate the poses and action of some of Grand Theft Auto V's screenshots, courtesy of Game Informer? RomanBOY123 would, apparently.

He put GTA IV on max settings on his PC (1920x1080 resolution, with HD tree mods) and came up with some amazingly accurate screenshots to match those of GTA V's. Check out one of them above by using the slider the reveal more of each. GTA IV is on the left, while GTA V is on the right.

Be sure to hit the GTA forums to see the rest of them, because they're truly well done.

GTA IV vs GTA V graphics comparision [GTA Forums via Reddit]