Animals:

In the first game scene (at 0:07), there is an obvious dog walking on the beach with its owners. With the amount of wildlife found in Red Dead Redemption, it wouldn’t be too farfetched for Rockstar to re-use the technology and animations for GTA V.

Blimps:

At 0:17 there is a large blimp in the top right hand corner. Will these be drivable? Will it be possible to parachute from them? Or are they like the jets in GTA IV?

Silencers:

At 0:47 a silencer can clearly be seen on the front machine gun, is this just a gun for a scripted mission? Or does it hint at gun customisation?

Fighter Jet:

At 1:00, a fighter jet zooms through some skyscrapers. With the civilian jet flying over Vinewood at 1:11, it seems highly likely we will be able to drive them.

Better Police AI:

At 1:05, a character can be seen running from three policemen. It is interesting to note that the policemen have left their cars and are pursuing on foot. While most likely a scripted scene, it could hint towards police actually giving chase on foot.

As expected, Rockstar Games has revealed the Grand Theft Auto V teaser trailer. It certainly doesn’t reveal much in the way of plot to game, you can easily tell we’re headed back to California once again. Check out the full trailer above for Rockstar’s newest entry in the franchise.

At New York Comic Con this year, I was treated to a behind closed doors preview of an eyes-only session for Max Payne 3. This was an eyes-only presentation showed off on the Xbox 360.

Max Payne 3 features a whole new experience for gamers, and picks up where Max Payne 2 left off. Max is still haunted by the traumatic events of his past. I am first shown an early level in the game in Max’s apartment in New Jersey, where an older more cynical Max with a head of hair, is visibly distraught and tired. He just looks like he’s waiting for someone to walk in the front door and hand him the bullet to end his life while abusing painkillers. An old friend, Raul, from his police academy days appears and offers him a job in the world of private security in Brazil. Max of course didn’t have much time to think about the offer as he had just killed Anthony’s only son prior to the meeting with his friend Raul and the mobster of course is out to get revenge.

The game at this point has switched seamlessly from cut scenes to gameplay and Rockstar mentions they have worked hard to bring this transition smooth and unaffected to the user experience. They also mentioned any item pick-ups like different weapons or accessories get carried/shown into the cut scenes as you progress through the intense story. As the gameplay begins some gang members are already in the same floor as soon as Max opens the door from his apartment in New Jersey. But these thugs are easily taken out as bullet-time kicks in. It certainly wouldn’t be a Max Payne game without bullet-time and Max Payne 3 continues to build on that feature. Bullets are animated with complete detail and you’ll visibly see where your targets are hit and react in the manner of which they were killed. Rockstar mentions you’ll have many choices to use throughout the game whether it’s free form all out shooting or target-locking depending on different play styles.

As Max continues through the apartment complex, a gang member with a shotgun knocks him down and just before he is taken out a hobo bursts out of the door and takes out the gang member saving Max. The random hobo starts spewing some sort of dialect and runs off to fight off the invading gang members. Here is where Rockstar guided Max into the hobo’s apartment and explained about the amount of detail given to the environments and finds a bottle of painkillers. Max Payne 3 will not use regenerating health as most modern games have become accustomed too. You’ll have to find painkillers to heal yourself up during the fight.

Max can carry up to three weapons at a time with one slot for two-handed weapon (like a rifle or two pistols), and two other slots for other single-handed weapons. You can also dual single-handed weapons like a rifle and a pistol. Max also has the ability for detailed melee attacks. So if you’re up close to an enemy and hit the trigger Max will perform a pre-scripted melee kill. The bottom right of the screen shows a silhouette of Max with a number inside of him indicating how many painkillers you have on you. Also to the right is a meter indicating how much bullet time is available and below that is where your ammo count is located. This area of the demo ends where Max is seen firing bullets through the apartment windows to thugs on the other side of the roof and Rockstar again mentions the destructibility within the windows and wood destruction. We are forwarded to a point in the game where Max is in Brazil and bald-headed looking like he’s about take out someone like Jack from and episode of 24. In this part of the demo, the now bald-headed hero is on the run with Raul’s girlfriend Giovanna in Brazil. In the cut scene, you notice that the original voce actor James McCaffrey has returned to reprise his role as Max and Rockstar felt he should be given a work out and motion capture his movements as well. Rockstar mentions that sets were built to scale to capture the in-game environments you see Max interacting with. So in the next scene we see Max and Giovanna climbing over barricades, going through fences and climbing into buses, you would be well to remember that with motion capture, those actors climbed over those obstacles in real life.

During the game, you see Max and Giovanna working together much like Monkey and Trip working together in Enslaved: Odyssey to the West. You’ll see her pulling down ladders for you and helping you getting into the hard to reach places. I should mention that during all of this the enemy AI wasn’t stupid. They’ll react based on the position you’re in and where you’re firing. Also, in the beginning of one section of the demo we were shown, Max is hiding as a group of thugs enters a junkyard, and you’ll have to move quickly to avoid detection, as the enemy will search every nook and cranny. The one thing I could see players getting frustrated with is the continuous switching from shooting section to cut scene. You’ll be fighting to reach every checkpoint and get to that next save point.

Multiplayer wasn’t mentioned, but given the success Rockstar received with its multiplayer in Red Dead Redemption, it wouldn’t be surprising if we see some sort of multiplayer showing up at some point. This is where our demo ended and we see that Max Payne 3 will hit store shelves in March 2012 for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC.

Coming from Rockstar Games, this is their latest title in development, no its not Grand Theft Auto V just yet, but I’m sure that’s in their pipeline of announcements to come. Everything shown in the trailer is in-engine footage, no CGI here.

Max Payne 3 will hit store shelves in March 2012 for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC.

Have you wanted to step into the world of the Wild Wild West and live out your fantasy as a cowboy?

Now you’ll be able too, with the new Red Dead Redemption Game of the Year Edition. This edition will include the full game plus all the premium downloadable content including Undead Nightmare. The game has garnered more then 160 Game of the Year awards from various publications.
•             Original Red Dead Redemption game with a brand-new hardcore single-player mode;

•             Undead Nightmare single-player campaign and multiplayer* modes;

•             Legends and Killers Pack*, featuring additional multiplayer map locations, multiplayer characters, and the Tomahawk projectile weapon;

•             Liars and Cheats Pack*, including the Stronghold multiplayer competitive mode, Free Roam gambling games, multiplayer horse races with combat, and the Explosive Rifle.

•             Hunting and Trading Outfits Pack, featuring two outfits with corresponding gameplay challenges for John Marston;

•             Outlaws To The End Co-Op Mission Pack*, including six co-op missions for up to four players;

•             All original pre-order content, including the Deadly Assassin Outfit, War Horse, and Golden Guns Weapon Pack;

•             Solomon’s Folly single-player gang hideout and challenges available for the first time on Xbox 360;

•             Just-released Myths and Mavericks Bonus Pack, featuring fan-favorite multiplayer characters and all-new locations to battle in.

Red Dead Redemption: Game of the Year Edition will be released in North America on October 11, 2011, and October 14, 2011, internationally for the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft

Rockstar Games has announced today the official release date for the upcoming sequel, Max Payne 3 set for release in March 2012.

The game is expected to launch on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC platforms in North America and Europe. The game picks up where Max Payne 2 left off, Max has moved to Sao Paulo, Brazil working private security for a wealthy  industrialist until something unorthodox happens. Gangs target his family and he’s forced to save his clients to clear his name and end the torture he’s endured for so long.

The game will also be the first time the series will offer a full multiplayer mode. Rockstar promises the multiplayer aims to deliver a compelling experience that dynamically alters maps and mode progression for all players in a match. Along with traditional multiplayer modes, Max Payne 3 will also include a deep reward and leveling system, persistent clans and multiple strategic load-out options. also within this announcement Rockstar revealed they will be releasing an full HD treatment for the original Max Payne on mobile devices. Available for the first time on mobile, Max Payne will have connectivity to the Rockstar Games Social Club and boast the same features as its PC counterparts – including HD graphics and high-resolution textures that take advantage of the latest mobile technologies, including incredibly customizable controls and support for wired controllers.

It’s a little late, but late is better then never right? So rare have we seen video games explore the dark sides of the field of criminal justice and even more so in the time period of the 1940s. However, thanks to Rockstar Games, both areas collide to bring us LA Noire. LA Noire takes an ambitious step with new technology and film style to bridge the gap between realism and fantasy in this industry. Is it a step in the right direction, or is the game headed straight for the morgue? I decided to take a look into LA Noire to find out, read more below!

You play as Cole Phelps, a celebrated war hero with a keen sense of direction and an eye for detail. After coming home from the war, a few medals earned him a spot in the traffic division of the LAPD (Los Angeles Police Department), however, its not long before you join the ranks of the Homicide department and become a Detective on your first case. You’ll start off with a few feeler traffic cases to get your feet wet before a series of murders has the game placing you on the trail of a serial killer. Finally the game takes you on a roller coaster of twists and turns in the story as you start following up on drug rings and scandals towards the final acts of the game. There are other plot threads lying underneath as well that try too filling in rest of the story. You’ll find yourself engaged in frequent flashbacks to Phelps’ past in the war as well as you’ll find newspapers lying around the ground pertaining too certain events going on independently of your investigations. The game isn’t without its fair share of drama, as you’ll find yourself in all kinds of twists; cops aren’t always on the same side, search warrants are given out like candy and even racial tensions are over the scale. It certainly doesn’t shy away from the harsh topics even with a linear script.

Although the game is free roaming, there is still a set of “rules” barring how you go about roaming around. You unfortunately can’t draw your gun in public you are a man in blue, so any wild driving like running over pedestrians and causing trouble will be marked down on your case reports. All of the firefights, fisticuffs and driving chases are all but reserved for when the game mandates it. With a linear story, the cases are presented as such though there is a bit of room as to how you approach your locations you have too scout and witnesses you interrogate. After each investigation you’re given a rating based on the clues you collected and how well you conducted your interviews. Once you finish each case you can go back and replay them to get a higher rating, which there is an achievement for. You are awarded for your efforts as you rank up with intuition points for investigations as well as new uniform choices to play around with. Outside of that you have over 30 landmarks to find, about 90 vehicles to find, and finally over 40 short street crime side missions to tackle if you want a break from the main case. If you need help you can bring up Phelps’ notebook, which has everything from clues to locations and your current objectives. Although there is no surprise here that there isn’t any multiplayer, despite that you do play with a partner, unfortunately as the opportunity for co-op isn’t realized.

If you’re used to playing open world games going guns blazing, then LA Noire isn’t for you. Unfortunately, you’re stuck being the good guy in this one; however, the gameplay does leave you with options to spread your wings a bit. If you played GTA 4 you’ll notice the gun gameplay and generous auto-lock and cover mechanics are back. So, unless you travel to more of the side missions, the gun-play is pretty standard till the final acts. Other then that, you’ll be chasing suspects on foot, and by shooting them down by car. The biggest hurdles though aside from the fences are trying to line Phelps up at times to discover new clues. Although LA was never as huge as it is now, it’ll still take you a good few minutes to get from one side of the map to the other. Using the map, you can elect to let your partner take the wheel for quicker routes. So, while the main mechanics of the game have their limitations, it’s good to note that the major parts of the game is ironed out in your investigations and this is where the dirty work is. Each act is set up where you receive a case from your superiors and set off to the crime scene. Once you arrive you have to search for clues indicated by the rumble of your controller. Specific items can be rotated to find hidden clues and sometimes even new objectives. After that you can search any bodies lying around which will normally give you your first leave, just make sure you don’t forget to search their pockets. The final step is questioning any potential witnesses for their statement and interrogating them to find out what they know or saw that will lead you to suspects.

Once you’re in the groove talking to suspects or witnesses, you have to determine if they are telling the truth, being suspicious or just lying. If you choose the lie, you have to make sure you have evidence to back you up; otherwise you’ll loose a potential break in the case that’ll lead up to an arrest. Finally, you can use intuition points to help in breaking down the interrogation to discover what answer you should go for.

The incredible introduction of the Facial Capture technology helps to make it easier in determining witnesses’ stories. The amazing detail in facial expressions and graphics alone in the game make you fee like you’re right in the time period or watching a detective film from the era. All in all, Rockstar has made LA Noire as authentic as possible and succeeded. The presentation is top notch and deserves every amount of praise it gets. You’ll spend most of the time just watching and interacting, which is fun, as the main gameplay does get rather repetitive after a while. The musical work in the game is outstanding as well as the voice over work. Every once in a while you’ll encounter a frame rate issues or glitches and the vehicle camera could use some work, but overall it’s an exciting experience.

Bottom Line: Despite little of its flaws, LA Noire is an excellent title to give a try if you’re into crime solving and detective work. The introduction of Facial Capture technology is a big step for the gaming industry and one that I hope is used in future games, as it makes them all the more real both in presentation and gameplay interaction. If there is one big flaw on its part, LA Noire is a bit too linear for its own good, however, that’s also its biggest strength based on the way the game and story play out in front of you.

Rocksteady has revealed that Batman: Arkham City will be five times bigger than Batman: Arkham Asylum. However, Arkham City won’t be an open-ended sandbox but Rocksteady is convinced it won’t be a strictly linear experience. The footprint of Arkham City is about five times bigger than Arkham Island, but our primary intention was never to create a bigger game world just for the sake of it,” game director Sefton Hill explained.

“In Batman: Arkham Asylum, we really focused our effort on creating an intense, pressure-cooker atmosphere by locking Batman in the madhouse and allowing The Joker to turn up the heat. In Arkham City, we want to take that attitude to the next level, so we created an experience in which gamers will have a huge amount of navigational freedom, but they will also feel the extreme pressure of the challenges that they face.”

“Players will be able to go anywhere at any time, but we have made sure that players will always have a very clear idea of where they are needed most if they want to just stick to the core narrative path of the game. Explore the streets of Arkham City and you will find many side missions, secrets and street brawls, so players won’t find it difficult to get into some trouble if that’s what they are looking for.”

Rockstar has officially dated L.A. Noire. It will be released in the US on May 17th and in the UK on May 20th. The notorious developer also released a new trailer for the game, which you can see above. Apparently, it was made entirely from in-game footage. We think it looks decent enough, and Rockstar hasn’t let us down recently. Current rumours suggest that L.A. Noire will use the same mechanics as Grand Theft Auto IV and Red Dead Redemption so it can’t go far wrong with a pedigree like that.

A leaked trailer for Rockstar’s L.A. Noire has revealed that the game will be released on 17th May in the US and 20th May in the UK. The trailer didn’t confirm if that was a worldwide date or whether it was just for North America. The video was pulled from YouTube after Take-Two went crazy and obliterated every copy of it on the video sharing website.

However, the trailer is due to officially go up today. It hasn’t appeared yet, but we guess that’s because the US PR folk aren’t awake/at work at the moment. Most are probably celebrating the Green Bay Packers’ historic win last night as they charge into the Super Bowl. When it does arrive, we’ll post it.

L.A. Noire is a 1940s crime thriller based on you rising through the ranks of the infamous Los Angeles Police Department. It seems ever so like L.A. Confidential to us, but that definitely isn’t a bad thing. The game revolves around a deeply entrenched motion capture system that records the look, voice and actions of real-life actors and chucks them into the game. Expect a massive script to go with this and an apparently ‘sophisticated’ interrogation mechanic. We’ll be the judge of that, wiseguy.

Take-Two Interactive has announced they have managed to make profits of $42.5 million for the twelve months ending October 31st 2010. What’s bizarre is that the publisher sustained losses of $140m over the same period last year. There’s a bit of imbalance going on at Take-Two, with the company only going into profit when they release a big game.

Red Dead Redemption helped raise net revenue to $1.16 billion, which is an increase of 65% on the previous year. The game has now sold almost eight million copies and the DLC is also helping to rake in the cash. NBA 2K11 also did well, selling more than three million thanks to some good reviews and EA dramatically cancelling NBA Elite.

Ben Feder, CEO, said: “We have achieved our goal of profitability in a year without a new release of Grand Theft Auto. Our better-than-expected revenue growth and margin expansion were driven by strong demand for our diverse portfolio of games.”

Strauss Zelnick, chairman, added: “We plan to build on the talents of our world-class creative team to deliver an increasingly diverse portfolio of high-quality titles.

“We will also pursue opportunities to enter newer areas of the interactive entertainment business, such as digitally delivered content and the expanding Asian and Latin American markets.”

Rockstar has released the first proper trailer for L.A. Noire. It confirms that the game will be released in spring 2011 on the 360 and PS3. The trailer is made from in-game footage apparently. L.A. Noire was announced way back in 2005. It’s a 1940s crime thriller set around you rising through the ranks of the Los Angeles Police Department. It sort of looks like LA Confidential but starts a little bit before that. There’s a brand new motion-capture system on show here and we have to admit it’s shaping up quite nicely.

“L.A. Noire is the first game to really explore what it means to be a detective, and offers players the opportunity to solve crimes blending classic action, investigation and interrogation, in the endless pursuit of what’s right,” Rockstar said.

Rockstar has confirmed that they will be releasing a new proper trailer for LA Noire this week. It will be available at noon (Eastern Time) on Thursday (11th November). That works out to 5pm UK time. LA Noire is still down for a “first half of calendar 2011” release. The game is a 1940s crime thriller set in the Los Angeles Police Department, with a 300 page script and a pretty swish motion-capture system.

Rockstar Games has announced that the Undead Nightmare Red Dead Redemption standalone DLC disc will be released on 23rd November in the US and 26th November in Europe. The disc bundles all of Red Dead Redemption’s DLC together and will retail for £24.99 on the PS3 and 360. It has the Undead Nightmare Pack, the Outlaws to the End Co-op Mission Pack, the Legends and Killers Pack, the Liars and Cheats Pack as well as all the Multiplayer Free Roam modes that have been released so far.

Rockstar has clarified Land Grab Mode, an upcoming addition in the Undead Nightmare DLC for Red Dead Redemption. The mode is accessible in multiplayer free roam, with players having to fight for control over a section of land in one of seven different towns in the game world. When one of seven posts marked “Land Grab” is activated, a countdown triggers and players are given control over a bit of territory.

Players must remain inside the radius and defend against oncoming enemies. If you leave the area or get killed, you will surrender your claim to the land. Obviously, claiming land will get you more XP at the end of the game. All players can partake in an active Land Grab, but only those with the Undead Nightmare Pack can initiate a game. The Undead Nightmare Pack will be released next week on the PSN and Xbox Live. It will cost £7.99/800 Allards.

Rockstar has announced that they will be releasing a standalone disc that bundles all of Red Dead Redemption’s DLC together. They’re calling the disc “Undead Nightmare” after the upcoming DLC pack of the same name. It’s not currently known when it will be released. However, Rockstar has confirmed that it will cost £24.99 and that it won’t need a copy of Red Dead Redemption to play.

Undead Nightmare will contain the Undead Nightmare Pack (which will be released on 26th October), Outlaws to the End Co-op Mission Pack, the Legends and Killers Pack, the Liars and Cheats Pack and all the Multiplayer Free Roam modes currently released.

Rockstar has confirmed reports that they will bundle all of the Grant Theft Auto IV DLC into a special edition with the full game. It’s due out on both the PS3 and 360 on 26th October in the US. It contains the original GTA IV game, the Lost and Damned and the Ballad of Gay Tony. It’s not currently known if this collection will be released outside the states, but it’s looking likely.

Today, Rockstar took the final step in a victory they should never have had to achieve. The veteran game developer’s publisher Take 2 accepted an undisclosed amount of money in damages from the Daily Star newspaper. This was after the tabloid published a story damning them over supposedly developing a Grand Theft Auto title based on the exploits of Raoul Moat.

Back in July during the fallout period from one of Britain’s most horrific gun crimes, the Daily Star was clearly having a slow news day. One of their ‘journalists’ created a story about Rockstar and how they were producing ‘Grand Theft Auto Rothbury’. This ‘journalist’ went so far as to interview the grandmother of one of the gunman’s victims, who said “It is sick – it’s blood money. The game is beyond belief.”

Of course, the story was entirely false and Rockstar was not producing the game.  Rockstar’s publisher Take 2 went ahead and claimed damages since its reputation may have been damaged, and today the case has been settled with an undisclosed sum.  The company’s solicitor Melanie Hart explained that: “The defendant now accepts that Rockstar Games never had any intention to create such a video game at any time. The story was entirely false.”

This isn’t the first (nor probably the last) time that the mainstream media has gone for the jugular in regards to the games industry. Many hoped that the rise of videogames (due to the popularity of the Wii and social network games such as FarmVille) would start to eradicate this bad press, but alas it seems that the industry remains a target. From FOX News’ coverage of the Mass Effect ‘sex scandal’ to a horrific gang-up on the Alan Titchmarsh show, our industry seems to be a constant victim to prejudice.

For an excellent insight into the suffering of the videogames industry at the hands of the tabloids, have a look at today’s Guardian Games Blog. It also features a great interview with CVG editor Tim Ingham, who was the victim in the Alan Titchmarsh incident.

Quote Source: Edge

Rockstar has lifted the lid on Stronghold Mode, which will be in the upcoming Liars and Cheats multiplayer DLC for Red Dead Redemption. Essentially, Stronghold Mode supports up to 16 players. Those players are divided into two teams with a set shared number of lives and tasked with taking controlling of each other’s strongholds. Rounds end when all of a team’s bases are captured, a team runs out of lives or the time limit is reached.

The mode is playable on Blackwater, Escalera, Fort Mercer and Thieves Landing. Safes around the new maps hold the new “explosive rifle”, but it takes valuable time to break into them and leaves you vulnerable to attack. The Liars and Cheats DLC will be released on 21st September. It will cost £7.99 on the PSN and 800 Allards on the XBLA. The pack includes multiplayer horse races, poker and Liar’s Dice, as well as new gang hideouts and hunting grounds.

Take-Two has confirmed that they made a profit in the third fiscal quarter that ended on July 31st, 2010. The company managed $354.1 million in sales, which is up from $94.9 million for the same quarter last year. Net income clocked in at $6 million, which is up from a loss of $56 million last year.

Red Dead Redemption has been credited with achieving most of these numbers. The game has now shipped 6.9 million units. Grand Theft Auto: Episodes From Liberty City, GTA IV, NBA 2K10 and Borderlands also managed to contribute. The company expects to be profitable for the full fiscal year with sales of $1.05 to $1.1 billion.

“Our results for the third quarter and our expectations for the remainder of fiscal 2010 reflect significant progress toward achieving our goals,” said Take-Two CEO Ben Feder. “First, we expect to be profitable in a fiscal year without a major multi-platform Grand Theft Auto release. Second, Take-Two’s broad array of hit franchises highlights our ability to deliver a diverse product line. Third, Red Dead Redemption has shown that our creative teams can produce multiple mega-hit franchises.”

“Our fourth quarter roster, including Mafia II, Sid Meier’s Civilization V and NBA 2K11, demonstrates our continued ability to create a well-balanced line-up across all of our labels and build upon Take-Two’s industry-leading franchises. Finally, we are making strides in extending the value of our intellectual property into two key areas, Asia and online distribution.”