Mar 29, 2011

Grand Theft Auto IV Trailer - contact@rockpapershotgun.com (Alec Meer)

Let’s face it – the next GTA game, rumours of which currently have consoleland all a-flutter, ever arriving on PC is pretty unlikely. Red Dead Redemption never made it this way (something I rue enormously), there’s no news of LA Noire doing it either, and Rockstar probably weren’t super-happy about the scathing reaction to the belated, bloatware-afflicted PC version of GTA IV. Bah. Bah, I said.

Still, we can at least have things the console fun-toys cannot: such as the series’ neon-lit finest hour, Vice City, recreated in the rather meatier GTA IV engine.
(more…)

Mar 22, 2011

Original Grand Theft Auto design docs

Grand Theft Auto III

Grand Theft Auto was once known by the provisional title Race'n'Chase and was planned for release on SEGA Saturn and "Ultra 64" (Nintendo 64).

Race'n'Chase would pack a mode whereby players could be cops and chase chase criminals, hurriedly consulting an accompanying printed map while street names were barked over the radio.

That's according to the original design documents, which have been uploaded to Flickr by Mike Dailly - part of the original DMA GTA team.

"The aim of Race'n'Chase is to produce a fun, addictive and fast multi-player car racing and crashing game which uses a novel graphics method," the design document pledged.

"Players will be able to drive cars and possibly other vehicles such as boats, helicopters, or lorries. Cars can be stolen, raced, collided, crashed (ramraiding?) and have to be navigated about a large map. It will also be possible for players to get our of their car to steal another one. This will mean controlling a vulnerable pedestrian for a short time. Trying to steal a car may result in the alarm being set off which will, of course, attract the police."

Back then there were to be multiple modes: Cannonball Run (a straight race with the option of bots); Demolition Derby (free-roaming smash-'em-up where the last man standing wins, although an alternative version where players would be reincarnated and their successful smashes totted was also mentioned); Bank Robbery (rob a bank and race to a safe point while hotly pursued by police) and Bank Robbery (Cop), where the roles are reversed.

The document promised that "when enough crimes have been completed, the player can move on to a different city". However, "the robber's game is up when he gets killed or is captured by the police".

DMA talked of a "very, very large - multiple screens" playing world, and of how rubbish PCs could reduce detail, making the cityscape look "something like the original Sim City". Those who wanted to run the flashy SVGA mode would need "a very fast processor (e.g. Pentium)".

But be careful, there are pedestrians, and they're "wandering about all of the time". "They can be run over by cars," the document grimly pointed out - pedestrians such as "school children and lollipop lady" and "dogs".

In total, Grand Theft Auto would require code space of 1MB and sound space of 1MB.

Grand Theft Auto was eventually released for PC and PlayStation in 1997 - a delay of over a year, according to the design documents.

The start date was to be 4th April 1995 and the game design completed by 31st May 1995. The first milestone, the engine, would be reached by 3rd July 1995; the second milestone, "Look & Feel", by 2nd October 1995; the third milestone, "1st Play", by 3rd January 1996; and the fourth milestone, Alpha, by 1st April 1996.

The end of the project was scheduled for 1st July 1996.

And the rest, they say, is history.

Video: Today, GTA can be squashed onto an iPhone.

Nov 12, 2010

Grand Theft Auto Finally Jacks The Mac

Grand Theft Auto III

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?

Sep 9, 2010

Classic Grand Theft Auto Trilogy Coming To Mac, Says Rockstar

Grand Theft Auto III

Classic Grand Theft Auto Trilogy Coming To Mac, Says Rockstar 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]

Jul 7, 2010

Rockstar Re-Releasing The Greatest Grand Theft Auto Of Them All? [Update]

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City

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!]