We've seen a teaser of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City imported into Grand Theft Auto IV's visual and physics engine, RAGE. Another mod team is hard at work on the same conversion for Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.

At work since December, the team hopes to release a public beta this fall. Above is about 20 minutes of footage from what they've built so far, beginning at the Bone County Airport and plane graveyard, flying over San Fierro and the Gant Bridge, touring Las Venturas at night, plunging from atop Mount Chiliad, and much more.

Vehicle conversions and many other details still need work, but if you are intimately familiar with the San Andreas map, this is a mesmerizing trip down memory lane.

The mod's official site is here, and you can read much more about its work in progress, with more videos and screenshots in this thread on GTA Forums (begins at the most recent post.)

In 2011, the protagonist of 1980s crime saga Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, Tommy Vercetti, would be 55.

Full image below:

GTA: Vice City 2011 [Patrick Brown Thanks, Morris!]

Mac owners, get ready to game like it's 2001, as the Grand Theft Auto III trilogy has finally come to Apple computers. Better late than never, right?

Thanks to Rockstar Games and TransGaming's Cider engine, those of us who prefer Mac OS X to Windows can play Grand Theft Auto III, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City on their home computers, running down pedestrians on Macbooks and committing heinous acts of creative violence on iMacs.

The three open-world crime sprees are now available via GameTreeMac right now—each title is priced at $14.99 USD—and at retailers across Europe. The Grand Theft Auto trilogy will be available at retail in North America starting November 22.

TransGaming's Cider Portability Engine is the tech that powers Windows to Mac conversions like Dragon Age, Prince of Persia, The Sims 3 and more. We're sure the Mac versions of Grand Theft Auto IV, Manhunt, Bully and Red Dead Redemption are just around the corner. No? Maybe State of Emergency?

When I was thirteen, Ice-T was the baddest dude on the planet, rapping about pushing dope and killing cops. There were no musicians who seemed as hard as him. The guy was scary. Now?

Even as he eases into middle age, Ice-T still seems like someone you wouldn't want to set off, but over the years, he's increasingly become known less as an urban terror and more of a virtual one. These days he's kicking ass and taking names in Call of Duty.

Ice-T started doing video game voice work way back in 2000 with action title Sanity: Aiken's Artifact and followed that up with appearances in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas in 2004 and Scarface: The World Is Yours in 2006. He's even lending his voice to the upcoming Gears of War 3.

From James Woods to George Clinton, loads of celebrities did voice work in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. But when Call Of Duty: Black Ops launched, was James Woods huffing the limited edition bundle?

Ice-T is, no doubt, a super sharp guy and has always been hard to pigeonhole. He first made his name as a rapper, but then went on to successfully blend hip-hop and metal. He's enjoyed a highly successful acting career in both film and television.

But it was in 2008 that Ice-T the gamer came on our gaming radar with an interview in which he gave his gamertag LORD 187X and said if you see him in Call of Duty, "you gonna die". An appearance on The Jace Hall Show and pics of him with the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 night goggles helped seal his reputation as a serious COD player. And it's not only Call of Duty, Ice-T dispenses his opinion on whatever he's playing, whether it be Fallout New Vegas or Medal Of Honor.

This is the same guy that decades earlier pioneered gangster rap and pissed off police officers, President George Bush, Tipper Gore and even Charlton Heston with his song "Cop Killer"! Now, he's on his way to become a gaming icon, something that would have been unthinkable in the gangsta rap days of 1992. Then video games were still viewed as children's toys and not mainstream adult entertainment. It just goes to show how far gaming has come — and how far Ice-T has come as well. He's no longer rapping about killing cops, he's playing one on TV.

Answering reader mail, Rockstar Games today said it will be bringing Grand Theft Auto III, Vice City and San Andreas to Mac gamers "later this year."

"Look for the long-awaited release of the classic Grand Theft Auto Trilogy (Grand Theft Auto III, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas) for Mac - most likely later this year," the studio said in its "Asked and Answered" feature. "We'll have much more info and a proper announcement soon."

Wonder if it's at all related to the curious re-rating - at least in Australia - for a "modified" and "multiplatform" version of Vice City.

Technically, any Mac gamer with a copy of Windows installed has been able to play these games on his machine for some time. A native version is nicer to have. And its nice to see Rockstar climbing aboard in its support of the platform.

No pricing or other details.

Asked & Answered: Red Dead Downloadable Content, Soundtrack, Classic GTAs on Mac, The Banhammer, and Much More [Rockstar Games on Facebook]

Curiously, a new rating turned up yesterday on Australia's Classification Board website for a game that was first released nearly eight years ago. Wonder why that would be?

As you can see below, the rating is fresh as of yesterday, for what's tagged as a "modified" version of the classic Grand Theft Auto title Vice City. There's little else of use to be gained from the rating (the "Multi Platform" bit is often inaccurate on Aussie ratings).

Vice City was never banned in Australia, and has already been released in both standard and budget editions on the PC, Xbox and PS2. For a new rating to turn up, this is probably a version of the classic - which I think is the best Grand Theft Auto ever made - for a new platform.

It would be very interesting if this was a PlayStation Network re-release, as downloadable PS2 games have been something gamers have been crying out for ever since Sony gutted backwards compatibility from newer models of the PlayStation 3.

And if it's available on the PSN, could it also be available on Xbox Live Arcade? It's not like the 360 is without precedent for such a thing...

UPDATE - While the game is set for a re-release in the near future, it's not as exciting as I got to speculating before. Rockstar's re-rating is down to "back catalogue PC business", re-submitted to the Classification Board "as part of ongoing work with history products".

It's strange to be doing this - I have an Australian budget copy on the shelf in front of me, and it's already been rated - but hey, Rockstar work in mysterious ways.

[thanks Simon!]

After years of top-down and isometric views, EA is taking the Monopoly franchise to the streets, transforming it from board game to a "dynamic, living, 3D world." Will this be Monopoly's Grand Theft Auto III?

While the Grand Theft Auto series is known today for creating living, breathing, immersive 3D worlds, the series started off with a basic, top-down view. When Rockstar delivered Grand Theft Auto III in full 3D it quickly became a smash hit, ushering in a new era of free-roaming sandbox titles. Will EA's Monopoly Streets be just as revolutionary?

Monopoly Streets is an EA Play label being developed in celebration of the 75th anniversary of Hasbro's Monopoly brand. It takes players off the game board and puts them on the streets of Monopoly's city, with the world changing dynamically as players acquire and upgrade new properties.

The game, slated for release this Holiday season on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Nintendo Wii, will feature online multiplayer, allowing players to hook up with friends via the internet and walk the streets together. Downloadable content will be available in the form of themed boards, characters, tokens, and, in the Xbox 360's case, avatar gear. Yes, Xbox 360 players will be able to play with their avatars, populating their cities with their friends' online representations, while Wii owners can do the same with their Miis.

"We're taking Hasbro's No. 1 family game brand and masterfully striking the balance of offering the classic MONOPOLY play experience and adding a spectacular new visual treatment as we bring the classic board to life with players walking the streets of MONOPOLY," said Chip Lange, General Manager and Senior Vice President of EA's Hasbro Division. "MONOPOLY Streets will bring people together and connect families all over the world by offering online gameplay through their gaming consoles. We think this unique, combined offering will bring families together around the TV this holiday season for a classic family gaming tradition they'll remember for years to come."

The question is, will Monopoly fans embrace this new game, or shun it? When Grand Theft Auto went 3D, there were a few purists out there who dreaded the change, and GTA is a franchise that only had a four year history at the time.

With 75 years of tradition behind the Monopoly franchise, is it time for a change, or is it far too late? We'll find out this holiday season.
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Keith Elam, a hip-hop artist who performed under the name Guru, died Monday after ending a long battle with cancer. Elam voiced 8-Ball, the demolitions artist with whom the protagonist escapes at the very beginning of Grand Theft Auto III.

Rockstar Games noted Elam's passing in a brief obituary on its newswire today. "Guru was truly a hip-hop legend, one of the genre's greatest voices, and we are eternally grateful for his contributions to the Grand Theft Auto series as the character 8-Ball," the studio said. "Our condolences to the entire Elam family, to our good friend and his long-time Gang Starr collaborator DJ Premier, and to everyone else who had the pleasure of knowing or working with the man."

In the game, Elam's character is the first associate of Claude, the main character, although their partnership presumably ends when it's revealed that 8-Ball rigs with explosives a vehicle Claude is meant to drive, as part of a trap devised by mob boss Salvatore Leone. 8-Ball later appears in Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories

As Guru, Elam was one half of the rap duo Gang Starr, and made eight albums between 1993 and 2009.

In Memory of Keith Elam aka Guru [Rockstar, thanks James H.]

If you ever owned a copy of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, specifically the naughty version that contained the crude, digital doggy-styling mission known as "Hot Coffee," you may already be five U.S. dollars richer. Publisher Take-Two is sending out checks.

Those checks are part of publisher Take-Two Interactive's efforts to "voluntarily fulfill all properly-submitted claims" over the Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas "Hot Coffee" incident and lawsuit. The game, originally released in 2004 on the PlayStation 2, featured hidden data for a playable sex mini-game that was not meant to be accessed by players. That data was eventually accessed by Patrick Wildenborg, a Dutch modder, via the PC version of the game, released in 2005.

In the ensuing fallout, the ESRB re-rated the game "AO," meaning it was appropriate for Adults Only, and prompted a recall and relabeling of the original version. Publisher Take-Two was later hit with multiple lawsuits over the incident.

As part of the Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas settlement, owners of the original version of the Rockstar Games-developed PlayStation 2, Xbox and PC game could receive cash compensation for their offended sensibilities. Those payouts, ranging from $5 USD to $35 USD, are on their way to claimants now, as at least one Kotaku reader can attest.

According to the official GTA Settlement web site, "All those who filed claims for benefits prior to the May 16, 2008, deadline will receive those benefits prior to April 15, 2010."

Here's the official letter:

Dear Eligible Claimant:

Although the court hearing this action decided not to certify a settlement class, Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. will voluntarily fulfill all properly-submitted claims.

By depositing the attached check, you will release any and all claims, of any nature whatsoever, including unknown claims, arising out of your purchase or use of the Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas video game, against the Defendants, their officers, employees and representatives, and all persons or entities that designed, manufactured, supplied, advertised and marketed Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. You also will be deemed to have waived any and all rights that you have under any law or regulation that would otherwise limit the effect of this release to claims actually known or suspected to exist at the time of execution of this Settlement Agreement, including, but not limited to, the provisions of Section 1542 of the California Civil Code, to the extent deemed applicable, which provides as follows:

1542. "GENERAL RELEASE-CLAIMS EXTINGUISHED. A GENERAL RELEASE DOES NOT EXTEND TO CLAIMS WHICH THE CREDITOR DOES NOT KNOW OR SUSPECT TO EXIST IN HIS FAVOR AT THE TIME OF EXECUTING THE RELEASE, WHICH IF KNOWN BY HIM MUST HAVE MATERIALLY AFFECTED HIS SETTLEMENT WITH THE DEBTOR."

Sincerely,
GTA: San Andreas 1st Edition Settlement Administrator

Five dollars. Now that's gangster.

Thanks to SouthernerIsuppose for the tip.