Those of you hoping to end 2012 in Los Santos with Grand Theft Auto V may be a bit disappointed as a top analyst is suggesting that the game will release in March of next year, rather than later on this year as previously thought.

Financial analysts at Sterne Agee are warning potential investors, who look to make more than a sufficient amount of money on the game’s inevitable retail success that Rockstar will take the extra time to polish the game, and a 2012 release is unlikely.  On an interesting note, L.A. Noire, Red Dead Redepmtion and Grand Theft Auto V all launched in the March-May timeframe.

Rockstar has not yet announced a release date for the game.

Over the last few years, the staff here at Blast has been working on a list of what we view as the top 100 games of all time. We hope to finalize it so it’s out early next year, but It hasn’t been an easy process and we’ve all argued back and forth about just what should be number one, but I’ve stayed strong on what I think it should be – Rockstar’s genre defining open world crime adventure Grand Theft Auto III.

You see, GTA III kind of saved video games for me. There was a time when I really didn’t care about the industry and I was one of those “casual gamers.” Then my brother came home with GTA III and everything changed. For the first time ever a video game didn’t fit into a tiny box, it felt like it didn’t just end when I turned the power off. This was a living, breathing virtual playground and I was free to do just what I want. I spent countless nights just seeing what I could do, I missed dates, parties and holidays for GTA III.

I was admittedly a bit unsure about how this experience would translate to tablets and smart phones, but it was all for not – the tenth anniversary edition of Grand Theft Auto III is exactly how you remember it and still feels incredibly fun and rewarding to play. Sure, I could gripe on a few things, but GTA III is greater than the sum of all of its parts, and it’s a must have for anyone who loves the series and owns a device that can run it.

The mot impressive aspect of this version of GTA is just how impressively complete it is. Like the other games in the series, GTA III is a massive game and it’s quite the feat that Rockstar’s was able to convert the entire experience to the new medium. Immediately upon loading the game ( well, as soon as I could), I took to the roads and looked for things I remember from my time with the game and it’s all there. Perhaps most impressive is the fact that the game’s entire soundtrack is in tact, a rare feat in this modern day of licensing agreements. The sound on the game, especially the character’s voices can sound a bit tinny at times, but this is rare and doesn’t get in the way of how well the experience translates.

But maybe it’s too much of the same. For this tenth anniversary edition, I was really hoping for some extra director’s cut type content. What about the deleted scenes we heard so much about? What about the recently released concept art for the game? I would gladly pay a few extra dollars to see this kind of stuff for an experience that shaped my love of games.

What I was out worried about with The new version of GTA III was how the game’s controls would translate to touch screens. I played the game on an iPad 2 and within the first few seconds of driving a car, I had it flipped over and in flames. Whoops. Then I took my time and just let the controls handle themselves and realized that it felt extremely fluid. On the PS2, the controls were more of a pedal to the floor, always going type of experience, but here – they’re based more on, timing and rhythm and it fits the experience quite beautifully. Where there times when I “accidentally” lost control and mowed down a few pedestrians? Of course, but it’s all part of the GTA experience.

The Blast Factor: Grand Theft Auto III is a bit personal to me, so I was happy to see it get such a superb re-release on a very modern platform. It’s a game that shows its age a bit, but still feels incredibly rewarding and immersive as ever. For me, it’s not just a great re-release, it’s the game that verifies that tablets and smart phones can not only be impressive gaming devices, but can hold their own against consoles.

Rockstar Games today delayed the release of “Grand Theft Auto: Episodes From Liberty City” for PC and PS3 two weeks.

GTA: Episodes.

Rockstar said the decision was “forced” upon them by Sony Europe to accommodate “minor content changes” for the European regions. Rockstar said “there are different regional requirements for content” and so such a delay could not be avoided.

The packs will now arrive for Windows and PS3 April 13 in North America and April 16 in all other regions.

Here’s the apology.

“Despite our best efforts to work through this quickly, the two weeks were needed to complete submission.  We understand and sympathise with the fans that will be upset by this delay.  We want to assure our fans that the minor changes made to the game will not affect the gamers enjoyment of the games, these will not affect any gameplay elements and were not related to any local ratings requirements.”

Looks like you’ll have to wait a couple weeks longer PC and PS3 gamers. But you’ve waited this long, two weeks more won’t kill, will it?

To celebrate the Year of the Tiger, Rockstar Games slashed 30-percent off the award winning Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars for Apple products.

So. Very. Cheap.

Starting Friday, February 12 and running through until Sunday, Feb. 14, one of the highest-rated games available on the iPhone and iPod Touch will be available for 30-percent off, or a really enticing $7.

If you’ve yet to experience the stellar top-down GTA creation, now is absolutely, unequivocally, the time to do so.

As promised, Rockstar Games released an iPhone/iPod Touch version of the award-winning portable Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars this week and it looks and sounds like a winner.

For $9.99, yes, a penny less than an even $10, you can score yourself the same game available for PSP and DS, and then some.

New to the iPhone/iPod Touch version is Independence FM, an in-game radio station that allows you to import iTunes playlists to enjoy during the game, enhanced 480×320 resolution, multi-touch controls, adjusted difficulty levels, and more.

Enough words. Here’s the action.

Grand Theft Auto has taught me many  lessons over the years, most of which are illegal, but all of which are now ingrained in my mind (for better or worse!).

Last week on Family Guy bumbling Peter had some driving issues so Lois set him up with Grand Theft Auto, hoping the game would teach him everything about how to become a more effective driver.

Did it work? Have a look.

Boston Police said a ticked off mom called 911 on Saturday complaining that she couldn’t get her son to stop playing video games.

Around 2:30 a.m., police received a domestic disturbance call for a Boston mother whose son refused to go to sleep, said Boston Police spokesman Eddy Crispin, in a phone interview. The mother told police that her son was playing Grand Theft Auto all night, and refused to go to bed when she told him to. The son, 14, also reportedly ran around the house turning all the lights on when the mother ordered him to bed.

Crispin said police receive calls all the time about kids who refuse to obey their parents, but it was the first time he could remember video games being involved.

“I can’t say never — you name it, we’ve gotten it,” Crispin said.

Two police officers responded and talked with the boy, convincing him to listen to his mother and go to bed.

After playing Grand Theft Auto IV for the first time, the first thing I said to myself was, “You know what this game needs?  More drugs, violence and storylines!”

Of course, this was clearly an exercise of sarcasm as Grand Theft Auto IV was a perfect representation of how to develop a game.  Yet, it seems that the people at Rockstar went ahead and fulfilled my request anyway with their release of Episodes from Liberty City.

This stand-alone title, available for around $40, allows veterans and new fans of the series to play the add-ons for GTA IV, the critically acclaimed Lost and the Damned and the highly anticipated release of The Ballad of Gay Tony, without actually having to own a copy of the original game.  This set-up is perfect for those who played Grand Theft Auto IV as a rental or just never bothered to download the additional episodes, combined with the drop of The Ballad of Gay Tony and a fair price (costing as much as downloading the two separate add-ons in the Xbox Live Marketplace) make Episodes from Liberty City a very intriguing title heading into the holiday season.

First, let’s briefly go over The Lost and the Damned before we focus on The Ballad of Gay Tony and then review the complete package of Episodes of Liberty City as a whole.  (For our more in-depth review of The Lost and the Damned, check out this link). The Lost and the Damned allows players to take control of Johnny Klebitz, a member of the biker gang called The Lost.  Johnny, vice president of the club, is tasked with spending most of his time fixing the mistakes of the president, Billy, who has been in rehab for narcotics possession for a long while.  Of course, upon the release of Billy from rehab, the club is divided by those who prefer Johnny as their leader and those who prefer Billy.  Now, players must find a way to reunite the club, while also dealing with controlling Billy’s out-of-control behavior, gang wars, jail raids and other craziness.  Like The Ballad of Gay Tony, The Lost of the Damned has plenty of mini games and multiplayer modes unique to the add-on.  By itself, The Lost and the Damned is worth downloading due to its unique story and decent amount of gameplay, but how will it look when combined with another add-on?

The Ballad of Gay Tony is the newest release from the folks at Rockstar, which will be available both in downloadable and hardcopy format as found in Episodes From Liberty City, which we’ve been focusing on in this article.  This add-on has a completely different vibe than the previously described The Lost and the Damned episode, which should not really come as a surprise.  Instead of being centered around the gritty activities and conflicts of a biker gang, The Ballad of Gay Tony focuses on the not-so-glamorous life behind the velvet ropes and glitz of the Liberty City club scene.

Players take control of Luis Lopez, a juvenile delinquent turned club-owner body guard.  Luis is introduced as Gay Tony’s (AKA Tony Price) confidant, muscle and eventual business partner.  Of course, coming from a childhood of crime and mischief, Luis has plenty of profitable and questionable connections and opportunities with his life back home as well.  Throughout the game, Mr. Lopez will have to deal with the struggles of balancing business with family in order to become the biggest success he can be.  Plenty of in-game decisions will have to be made by the player, so be prepared to have to make some moral choices as you try to make it to the top.

The Ballad of Gay Tony begins with a funky intro; the term “funky” meaning filled with 70′s and 80′s style of music, complete with synthesizers and heavy bass slaps…. not strange or odorous.  Anyway, the point is that The Ballad of Gay Tony lets you know right from the start that this episode is not like any other Grand Theft Auto title that you’ve seen.  This installment will be filled with a new level of flamboyancy and classiness that players have only gotten mere tastes of in the previous games.  However, rest assured that there are plenty of drugs, swearing, murders and conflicts in this episode, which will surely keep the GTA purists satisfied to a reasonable extent.

Today’s the day you’ve been waiting for, as both The Ballad of Gay Tony and Episodes from Liberty City are available for Grand Theft Auto fans that own an Xbox 360. You can pick up the brand new DLC for one of our Game’s of the Year from 2008, Grand Theft Auto IV, over Xbox Live; you’ll be fabulous in no time as you enter the world of Gay Tony and the club scene of Liberty City. Don’t own Grand Theft Auto IV? Or maybe you missed out on the first expansion, The Lost and the Damned? Rockstar has you covered on that note too, as Episodes from Liberty City is a standalone Grand Theft Auto experience, with its own multiplayer component and no GTA IV requirements whatsoever.

We’ll have a full review of the new packaged title, Episodes from Liberty City, in the near future. Personally, I’m looking forward to it for the same reason I love Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars: it looks completely over the top and like Rockstar pulled out all of the stops on both a humor and action level.

"We’re thrilled to share the final chapter of this epic Liberty City tale," said Sam Houser, Founder of Rockstar Games. "The team at Rockstar North has exceeded every expectation with The Ballad of Gay Tony, creating an explosive conclusion to the Grand Theft Auto IV saga."

See, explosive. Explosive is good.

You can pick up Episodes from Liberty City for $39.99 at retail, or The Ballad of Gay Tony for 1600 MS points.

Grand Theft Auto: Episodes From Liberty City has launched, so we’re in for a hell of a treat. This weekend, from Friday, Oct 30 to Sunday, Nov 1, we’ll be able to experience multiplayer in Liberty City with special gamers from Rockstar North and singer/composer Henry Santos Jetere (from Aventura). The Multiplayer experience will be FREE all weekend for people playing Grand Theft Auto IV or Episodes from Liberty City. Here’s the breakdown:

Friday, October 30: 5 — 10 p.m. ET: Game with Developers session featuring members of the Rockstar North team.

Gamertags: GwRockstar1, GwRockstar2, GwRockstar3, GwRockstar4, GwRockstar5, GwRockstar6, GwRockstar7, GwRockstar8, GwRockstar9, GwRockstar10, GwRockstar11, GwRockstar12, GwRockstar13, GwRockstar14, GwRockstar15, GwRockstar16

Saturday, October 31: Xbox LIVE All-nighter – Jump in to Xbox LIVE and play Grand Theft Auto from dusk ‘til dawn with the Xbox LIVE community.

Sunday, November 1: 3 — 5 p.m. ET: Game with Fame session featuring Henry Santos Jeter of Aventura.

Gamertag: GwFHenryHH

And if that wasn’t enough, here’s something to get you in the mood for the weekend. Here’s a character clip which highlights a new character, Luis Lopez. Luis Lopez is “Gay Tony” Prince’s personal bodyguard. He watches after Tony despite the impresario’s uncontrollable neuroses and drug problems.

Everything’s looking good for Rock Star. With the new release of GTA: Chinatown Wars and Episodes from Liberty City, it’s no surprise they want to give something back to us, their fans. So if any of you are on the fence about checking out Episodes from Liberty City, we have a set of new screens from The Ballad of Gay Tony. The graphics look awesome and hopefully the game will be as good (if not better) than Grand Theft Auto 4.

Source: Rock Star Games

Rockstar Games today unleashed a video depicting some of the multiplayer BASE jumping challenges scattered throughout the expanses of our fair Liberty City.

These challenges can only be played in the game’s “Free Mode” multiplayer game mode and will test participants’ ability to seek out, and jump from, the 9 “unique” locations.

Now, if your buddy doesn’t want you to succeed, he or she can always whip out an RPG and kindly violently, tell you to “come down from there.”

Additionally, the new game mode is fully supported by the Rockstar Social Club, and according to the press release will track “total completion time for all 9 jumps, distance to ground upon opening the chute, time spent gliding, and more.”

Take a look at the video for the new multiplayer component embedded below, and look for GTA:Episodes from Liberty City on shelves Oct. 29.

In traditional sarcastic Rockstar fashion, this episode of the “Weazel News” highlights Liberty City’s growing weapons trade problem, and really makes us want to blow sh*t up!

We’re told sticky bombs, automatic shotguns, advanced sniper rifles, exploding bullets, and a rocket-strapped helicopter, “The Buzzard,” are some of the newly available weapons.

We’ll get our hands on these new tools of destruction through Rockstar’s second batch of DLC for Grand Theft Auto IV, “The Ballad of Gay Tony,” and the “Episodes From Liberty City” pack when they both release next month.

Watch the sarcastic trailer below and let us know what you think.

The newest entry to Grand Theft Auto is the upcoming expansion content for GTA 4: Episodes From Liberty City. In order to hold over the rabid fans, here’s a new clip focusing on Tony Prince, aka “Gay Tony.” The clip focuses on Gay Tony trying (and failing) to balance his mounting debt and his desire to live the glamorous world of life beyond the velvet ropes. Enjoy the clip and be sure to comment below with your thoughts and feelings!

Game development Gods Rockstar today announced that Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony will hit digital shelves two days before Halloween on October 29, 2009.

As Rockstar so normally operates, namely in secret, we don’t know much about this latest expansion, only that “Gay Tony” will focus primarily on the glitzy high-end night life of Liberty City through the eyes of Luis Lopez, or Tony “Gay Tony” Prince.

Also hitting shelves October 29 is GTA: Tales From Liberty City, which includes, you guessed it, both The Lost and Damned, and Gay Tony. Rockstar hasn’t pegged the combo pack with a price point as of yet, so stay tuned!

Priced at $19.99, or more than a third of the current retail price, “Gay Tony” is likely worth the price-tag, as Rockstar clearly has this thing called game development in hand.

“Crank 2: High Voltage” is what you watch when you wish Rambo was more badass. It’s what you watch when you have a craving for action that even Arnold can’t fill. It’s for when you need a bit of the old ultra-violence to go with your spot of tea. To put it simply, watching this movie is like watching the end of Rome: its decadence and hedonism are so extreme, that it manages parody itself as it’s happening. It’s self-indulgence for self-indulgence’s sake, and I loved it.

It sounds clichĩ and let me assure you it is. In the first film, Chev Chelios (Jason Statham) is a hitman, who is poisoned so that he needs adrenaline to keep him going. He ends up falling out of a helicopter, and doing his best bouncy ball impression when he hits the ground. Apparently, he survives. His body is stolen by a gang and is being harvested for organs when he breaks loose, with a shiny new plastic heart instead of his beating red one. To stay alive, he needs to constantly hit himself with electrical jolts or other convenient deus ex machinas to keep himself going. Like I said clichĩ.

Now I’m not going to ignore this films obvious lack of almost everything normally valuable in movies, like acting or plot. From a traditional standpoint, this might be the worst movie ever made. But who cares about those trivial things, when you can instead just have three times the sex and action instead. This film knows what it’s trying to do, and it does it well. The acting might not be top notch, but the characters certainly have personality. Chev is what James Bond would be like if he was balding, and replaced wit and subtly with the ability to kick ass even after major heart surgery. Doesn’t seem like a fair trade until you realize that most problems can be solved with a little elbow grease and a flurry of kicks.

Returning back from the first film is Chev’s best friend and personal doctor, aptly known only as Doc Miles. Doc is a cross between Dr. West from the Re-Animator and a pimp and plays the role of “Q” for Chev. Other various characters include a psychopathic villain who spends most of the movie laughing like a hyena; his sidekick who has tourette syndrome; his girlfriend has become an exhibitionist; and an Asian whore who loves Chev and can’t speak English.

The humor is crude and prevalent, ranging from its 70s style explanatory titles to shotgun sodomy. The sex scene about half way through the movie might outright be the funniest thing I have seen in several years. It’s in your face and it wouldn’t have it any other way. As you may have guessed, subtlety isn’t something this movie even attempts. To go with the crude humor is explosive action. That isn’t a buzzword; a lot of the action in this movie is literally explosive. In one of the most creative scenes in the movie, an entire fight is done in costumes and set up like an old Godzilla film, complete with a destructible foam set.

Despite its gruff and extreme exterior, there are some things that aren’t about vengeance and ass-kickery. There is a lot of allusion to video games and in fact both this and the first movie have more in common with video games than actual movies. Watching Chev steal a car, beat up cops and require power ups to get things done seems more like “Grand Theft Auto 4″ rather than “Saving Private Ryan.” He falls out of a helicopter in the first one, only to come back at full health and continue his mission. If that isn’t the concept of “respawning” put into a movie, then I don’t know what is. In a hallucination, and possible flashback, Chev sees himself as a kid, on a “Maury” like talk show, discussing how he spends all his days playing video games and committing crimes. It might actually show them in a negative light, but it’s nice to see video games influencing the big screen rather than just being poor translations and quick brand cash grabs.

Call it shallow. Call it pointless. Call it mindless. But also call it inventive and fun. Most movies never dare tread where on ground that “Crank 2″ plows through. The presentation is amazing, with its desaturated colors and fast-paced cuts that are still watchable. As a last note, the soundtrack for this is as unique as the movie. It’s made by musical chameleon and rock star Mike Patton, and fits the movie perfectly. So don’t go see “Crank 2: High Voltage” if you are a stick in the mud; under 18; a fan of quiet foreign films about love; or wish that Commando had a more cohesive plot. Otherwise, enjoy your 96 minutes of pure action and extravagance, try not to take it too seriously and wait patiently for “Crank 3″ like I am.

Grand Theft Auto: ChinaTown Wars released about a month ago and with a staggering Metacritic score of 94, as well as a 9.5 of our own, certainly is a masterpiece of handheld mayhem, but what about multi-player?

The kind folks at RockStar Games dropped us a line today, and clued us in to the frenzied multiplayer component to their precious baby.‚  The fifth trailer from RockStar, officially titled “Wi-Fi Mayhem” highlights the titles’ various multiplayer modes.

In total, three types of game-play are shown including the co-op defense oriented “Defend the Base,” the furious, blood-rending “Stash Dash,” and “Race Mode,” where players must put the pedal to the metal and out-drive opponents in any of Liberty City’s 20 courses.

Nintendo fans have missed out on the Grand Theft Auto experience this generation, but no longer; Rockstar Leeds has developed Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, exclusively for the Nintendo DS. In many ways, this is a definitive Grand Theft Auto experience that fans of the series cannot afford to miss; despite the transition to the dual-screen handheld after the grandiose and gigantic Grand Theft Auto IV, Chinatown Wars still comes off as impressive even before taking the hardware it’s on into account.

After New York Comic Con, we covered the game in detail and claimed that it may have been the best title showcased at the convention. More time in Liberty City has done nothing to detract from that opinion, as this is easily one of the top games available from the diverse and deep Nintendo DS library. Rockstar Leeds took many aspects from Grand Theft Auto’s impressive history, combining them together with new elements to create a game that sticks with the formula you expect from GTA titles but at the same time comes off as completely refreshing and unique.

You play as Huang Lee, a member of the Triads whose father has just been killed in Hong Kong. He’s in Liberty City to deliver a sword-Yu Jian-to his Uncle Kenny, who is vying to become the new leader of the Triads. Huang is ambushed by unknown assailants along the way, and is thought to be dead. You are tasked with finding out where the sword has gone and who killed your father, and like in any Grand Theft Auto game, you will meet a cast of characters with missions for you to carry out on your way to reaching these goals.

While the story is good enough, it’s certainly one of the weaker parts of the title, especially when compared to other recent GTA games. “Weaker” is a relative term though, as almost everything else works incredibly, and there is so much to do outside of the story that you would be forgiven for ignoring your Uncle Kenny’s wishes for hours at a time.

Despite what screens have led you to believe, this game is fully 3D, and seen from an aerial perspective. The camera rotates at 360 degrees, showing off the 3D models and interactive environment. The little things, like mail boxes, street signs and lamp posts all use realistic physics to react to your crashing and bumping into them. You will crash into a car, and that car will flip through the air just like it would on a home console-this is the moment where you realize just how powerful Chinatown Wars is graphically, despite being on the DS.

Chinatown Wars uses a semi cel-shaded style that works very well on the system, and cutscenes, though told through text and character portraits, have that trademark GTA art style down, and they work effectively. Though characters and cars may appear small at first, you shouldn’t lost track of what’s going on, and you can tell what is happening on screen. Driving, for example, is easier than you think it would be given you are using a directional pad; your car can auto-align to center itself, and you can use the shoulder buttons as brakes to make turns more effectively. You can also set your GPS routes to appear on the city roads themselves, which is useful while learning your way around the city-I know I’m always overwhelmed the first few times I boot up a GTA game and have to find my way around-and also for those who don’t want to keep an eye on two screens at once.

Rockstar promised this would be the most action-intensive GTA we have seen, and they were not lying. Everything happens very fast, with more arcade influence than some of the game’s console cousins; there are tons of explosions, bullets, police officers, gang members, fires-if it’s dangerous, there’s a lot of it around Liberty City. Ridiculous weapons like the flamethrower and chainsaws are back, and they are a blast to use, especially when you start to get cornered by gang members jumping out of speedy cars. Missions will see you accomplishing a variety of tasks, but there is an emphasis on taking down entire groups of gang members before they can get you, as well as high speed car chases where guns are fired and Molotov Cocktails are tossed out windows to slow your pursuers. If it’s action you are looking for, I’m happy to report that Chinatown Wars delivers in spades. Even better, you can now replay any mission you have completed by checking out the white board in your apartment; you are able to improve your times and scores on these missions from here, which can then be uploaded, along with the rest of your stats, to the Rockstar Social Club, where Rockstar will hold contests for prizes. Those who participate in the Rockstar Social Club will also have access to some exclusive missions down the line, a nice bonus and incentive to keep playing.

What really ups the action in Chinatown Wars though is the new police evasion system. Rather than simply outrun the cops when you cause trouble, you must now actively engage them to impede their chase. When you get a single star (or are back down to one star) you can utilize the old system of laying low, but you will find yourself in far more trouble than that given the level of action in this game. In those cases, you will need to “disable” the cop cars by ramming into them, causing them to crash into buildings, walls, other cars, or just smashing them around with your vehicle while at high speeds. This kind of turns things around, making you more of the hunter than you are used to. Remember, the goal is not to blow up or destroy the cars, so don’t think you will be off the hook by tossing hand grenades out the window at oncoming cruisers. Instead, you just need to get rid of those who are chasing you by taking out their vehicles-they can’t very well catch up with you if they are on foot and you are in a sports car.

Today is Saint Patrick’s Day, and if in all the excitement you forgot that the ambitious, portable, Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars came out today, this trailer, detailing the plethora of weapons available in Rampage mode will surely remind you.

To activate Rampage mode, players must find and access any one of the city’s dozens of skulls, arm themselves, and then go to town, causing as much havoc, death and destruction as possible in the allotted time.

For those who missed it, Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars was easily one of my favorite games at New York Comic Con last month. Now, with the release date less than a week away, Rockstar has sent along this gameplay trailer, that shows you some of the things you need to do in order to raise some cash. Namely, deal drugs.

Of course, Huang runs into trouble, as you can see the cops chasing him in this; this is probably something you never thought you would be doing with a stylus (assuming you don’t deal drugs with a PDA in your spare time, of course), so it’s worth it to check it out.

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars releases next Tuesday, March 17, exclusively for the Nintendo DS. Make sure to check back for more information leading up to the release, as well as our eventual review.

NEW YORK — We’ve all seen screens for Grand Theft Auto Chinatown Wars since it was first announced at E3. Many of us had this image in our heads that since it was going on the DS, it was going to be like the old-school GTA games, the top-down viewpoint with less story and a completely different kind of game than the recent epics we are used to dealing with. Take those thoughts, put them in a pile, and toss a flaming Molotov cocktail on top of them, because all of us who thought that were wrong.

Rockstar Leeds has done something that from the outset seems impossible: they have created a Grand Theft Auto title for the DS that is as action-packed and engaging as its console cousins. Just because the game is called “Chinatown Wars” and focuses on the Triads doesn’t mean you’re stuck in that area; you will visit the other Liberty City locales you remember from GTA IV such as Dukes, Bohan, Broker and Algonquin. The world is also fully realized, as the AI citizens wandering around are not doing so aimlessly; they are all individually programmed to have lives and jobs, and if you were to follow one all day after they left their house you would see them go to work, drive to do errands, then head home at the end of the day to start it again the next one. Impressive work considering the hardware limitations of the platform, for sure.

Graphically, it looks like one of the most impressive and ambitious titles on the handheld, as Rockstar Leeds has put together the game in full 3D and without the use of repeating textures. You can rotate the camera 360 degrees, the cartoon rendering is done live and is generated in render time, and the art style used for the game is wonderful; the concept art in advertisements that you have seen is what this game’s style looks like. Chinatown Wars looks great in motion, far better than the screens have led many of us to believe.

Let’s start with the story. You play as Huang Lee, who enjoys the splendors of the Triad life without any of the bloodshed as a spoiled and rich member of the family. His father is assassinated in Hong Kong, so Lee shows up in Liberty City to deliver the Yu Jian, a sword his father says has been in the family for generations, to his uncle, who wants to use the sword’s status as a way of becoming the leader of the Triads in Liberty City. Things go awry when Lee shows up at the airport though, as he is shot in the head and dumped in the river after an ambush.

You set out to solve the mystery of your father’s assassination, in the hopes of finding out why it happened and also to secure your large inheritance. Part of what makes this inheritance portion of the story work is the fact that will not be a millionaire walking around the streets of Liberty City halfway through the game; you are going to need to perform a lot of missions in order to earn cash, and you will need that cash to get through the game. This helps keep you going and motivated to perform more missions and progress through the story.

Story is important, but you want to know more about the features, or why you should pay attention to this game when it releases. Taking the idea of the cell phone one step further, you now have use of an In-game PDA, thanks to the touch screen and the stylus capabilities of the Nintendo DS. You receive e-mails, use it as a GPS and map system, a music player, your contacts database, and as a resource for the trade-information that you will need to follow thanks to the inclusion of the in-game economy. The PDA is also used to send messages to your friends over the Nintendo Wi-Fi connection, something we will get to later.

That in-game economy has to do with the drug market you have been thrown into. Huang Lee will sell drugs-six different types, actually-and prices fluctuate, meaning you need to know when and how much to sell in order to make the biggest profit. You get a boost from sales if you sell in an area surveyed by police cameras, but you can also take the cameras out as a way to help reach 100% completion.

Thankfully, if you want to remember where those cameras are, you can mark them on your map for later. Not just the cameras though, as you can mark whatever points of interest you find on the map for future reference, and then set paths to them just like you could in GTA IV. This makes gaming on the go a cinch, and also makes navigating the streets of Liberty City a breeze.

Grand Theft Auto III‚ changed everything.

Featuring a brave, bold and truly open three dimensional world where players could come and go as they please; and their actions had deeper consequences then a game-over screen, coupled with innovative graphics and an incredibly deep branching storyline, one thing was evident “" the gaming industry was growing up.‚  Now, nearly a decade later, the series is rewriting everything we thought we knew.‚  From the massive size of Liberty City, to its strikingly gritty, yet gorgeous visuals “" everything about‚ GTA IVis truly an achievement.

Fresh off the boat from Eastern Europe, Niko Bellic,‚ GTA IV’s protagonist, is looking for a fresh start and his shot at “the American Dream.” However, the visions of an endless supply of money, women and fame his cousin Roman promised quickly fade and reality sinks in as Niko finds himself in the middle of a gang-war that will grip Liberty City by its core. Of course you’ll be stealing, shooting and killing like in previous installments of the series, butGTA IV‚ manages to make even these series standards seem new and exciting.

Sure, Niko is the game’s poster boy, but undoubtedly‚ GTA IV’s main character is Liberty City itself.‚  Yes, you’ve been to Liberty City before, but not like this “" not even close. More than ever, Liberty (clearly based off New York City), is alive. From the bums in the back alleys to the suits in the financial district, Rockstar has done a great job creating a‚  believably rich and populated environment that seems like it could go on even without you there. You’ll get stuck in traffic, watch construction jobs go from start to completion, even establish relationships with your fellow city folk, but remember “" this is‚ GTA, and most people you meet aren’t the type to bring home to mom and dad.

Truly,‚ GTA IV‚ is the deepest title of the franchise, if not the entire industry has ever seen. Think of it as the love-child of‚ The Godfather‚ and‚ The Sims. Like‚ Vice City‚ and‚ San Andreasbefore it,‚ GTA IV‚ gives players the freedom to truly explore and enjoy the city around them. Feel like hitting up the local bowling alley, but don’t want to leave the house?‚ GTA IVfeatures its own fully functional bowling-alley complete with bowling mini-game and purchasable snacks. You can go out to nightclubs (and yes, that includes those nightclubs), restaurants, amusement parks and even famous landmarks like the Statue Of Happiness; Liberty’s version of the Statue of Liberty.

Even with all of its functionality, Liberty City looks amazing. In the game’s opening moments, we’re treated to a cinematic opening that rivals that of most major Hollywood productions, and things just keep getting better from there. The city and the characters (especially in the superbly acted cut scenes), the entire world that‚ GTA IV‚ pulls us into is covered in a brilliantly gritty art scheme that seems to combine real life with the seedy side of New York City we see in the movies. It’s hard not to marvel at certain moments in the game “" watching the sunset over the river or standing in the middle of Times Squa…excuse me, I mean Star Junction… is nothing short of breathtaking.

This summer, everyone and their mom was talking about EA’s hostile attempts to purchase Take-Two for a reported $2-billion. When the offer fell through, the company said it was still in discussions with other parties regarding what they called “strategic alternatives.” Now, nearly one month later, the company, ‚ best known for the mega successful Grand Theft Auto series has officially ceased all discussions with the interested parties and has opted to stay an independent publisher.

“Take-Two’s recent performance demonstrates our potential to create value for the long term,” said Take-Two CEO Ben Feder, adding that the company has no debt and an undrawn $140 million credit facility.
There are some in the industry who believe that the announcement is a mere formality. Pointing to the fact that no smaller company would be able to match EA’s bid (which was called “inadequate” by Take-Two), analysts believe much credit can be given to the fact that Take-Two has grown as a company since EA’s initial bid and that what happens from here will be strongly contingent on what happens with Grand Theft Auto developers Rockstar games, whose contract expires in early 2009.

Call it proof that the justice system actually does work.

This week, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that everyone’s favorite anti-game activist Jack Thompson will be permanently disbarred as of October 25.

According to a report on Game-politics, Thompson’s well-known history of public misconduct, as well as official recommendations given by Judge Dava Tunis, who presided over Thompson’s 2007 ethics trial, led to the decision.

According to the official court order, which can be obtained here‚ in it’s entirety,‚ Thompson has also been ordered to pay restitution of more than $43,000.

Though he considers himself an advocate for conservative Christian moral standards, most will remember Thompson as one of the video game industry’s toughest critics. Among other high profile cases, Thompson brought forth suits against a number of high profile game developers, including id Software and Capcom after he linked numerous school shootings to the violent content in games along with leading the charge against Rockstar Games during the “hot coffee” scandal.

Never one to stay quiet for long, Thompson has filed a request with the U.S. District Court for an emergency meeting to debate the Supreme Court’s decision, as well as issued a press release, claiming that the decision was merely “in retaliation for Thompson’s Tyndale House book Out of Harm’s Way, published in 2005, which blew the whistle on the Florida Supreme Court’s earlier efforts in the 1990′s to literally pathologize his faith-based and successful activism against the American entertainment industry.”

Stay with Blast for more on this developing story

It looks like everyone was saving the E3 news for Leipzig this year.

Electronic Arts and tis Black Box studio released some new details on Need for Speed: Undercover, which comes out November 18 in the U.S. for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, Wii and PlayStation 2 with PSP, DS and mobile versions available.

“Need for Speed Undercover has players racing through speedways, dodging cops and chasing rivals as they go deep undercover to take down an International crime syndicate,” the companies said Wednesday in a statement. “The new game heralds the return of high-intensity police chases and introduces the all-new ‘Heroic Driving Engine’ — a unique technology that generates incredible high-performance moves at 180 miles per hour during breathtaking highway battles.”

“Need for Speed Undercover puts you at the center of a big-budget Hollywood movie with all of the drama, action and dazzling chase scenes, right on your gaming console. The unique Heroic Driving Engine will give you ultimate control over the hottest cars and push you to use every ounce of skill to outrun the law and take down criminal adversaries,” said Executive Producer Bill Harrison.

The game will mix graphics/CGI with live-action movies with 80 miles of open-world to explore, to get the gamer to really feel the “Tri-City Bay Area” experience. It looks like GTA without all the guns.

“Need for Speed Undercover features more aggressive and intelligent cops whose sole purpose is to take down the player quickly and by any means necessary,” the statement read.

Cars featured in the game include the Audi R8, BMW M6 and Lexus IS-F.

EA is also unveiling information on the Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince game and Godfather 2.

Electronic Arts said Monday it had withdrawn its $2 billion offer to purchase rival Take-Two Interactive, drawing to a close the five-month  bid for the game maker

Take-Two is known as the producer of the Grand Theft Auto franchise and its 2K Sports line.

More in the New York Times

Hoping to preempt Rockstar’s impending Grand Theft Auto IV for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, Nintendo has pushed up the release date for Mario Kart Wii to April 27.

Mario Kart Wii is the latest chapter in one of Nintendo’s core — and most beloved — franchises.

The game will feature 32 race courses, including 16 brand new tracks and several others that have been updated from previous games. There will also be 10 battle courses as well. Gamespot reported recently that Mario Kart Wii will also feature 12-player online racing, with two players being able to share one console online.

Mario Kart 64 was available quickly and often bundled with the Nintendo 64 console. The Wii version comes long after the console’s release and at a pivotal gaming time. It has been one of the most antipated Wii titles.

Goichi “Suda 51″ Suda is kind of a weird guy.

The Japanese producer, famous for works like “The Silver Case” and the highly under appreciated cult favorite Gamecube title Killer 7, is known for his unique sense of style both in and out of his games.

Case in point: Killer 7 was a bloody, brain-scratching art house title that failed to catch on with anyone outside of the most hardcore gamers. Who would have thought that something so odd would come from a man who donned a lucha libre mask while promoting the game?

Suda 51′s latest title, No More Heroes for the Nintendo Wii is just as weird as his previous works — if not more so. It’s a bloody, sex-driven romp filled with a mix of styles and gameplay elements that make it one of the most eclectic and intriguing titles to hit the North American market in quite some time.

In “Heroes,” you play as Travis Touchdown, your average, everyday anime fan in Santa Destroy, California. After buying a brand new beam katana on an internet auction, Travis enters into a tournament of sorts to become the top ranked assassin in the world.

For a nominal fee, Travis is given the name, bio and location of the next ranked assassin (who oddly all live in this small town). Each assassin’s hideout is crawling with thousands of nameless copies of the same cronies looking to take you out in any way possible. Get through them, and it’s on to your ranked fight.

This is where Heroes truly shines. Sure, it’s quite repetitive, in the same way that a Final Fight or Double Dragon was in the golden age of gaming, but there’s something sublimely satisfying about the combat system. Perhaps it’s that it does bring back those memories of games gone by, but credit must be given to the simple on the surface, yet deceptively deep control scheme.

Heroes avoids many of the pitfalls of previous action games on the Wii by not depending on the motion controls too heavily. You control Travis by way of the thumbstick and attack with the A-button (minor moves, like dodges and throws are done via other face buttons).

The Wiimote’s motion capabilities come in to play in a matter similar to that of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, only in a much, much more sinister fashion. After depleting your enemies life bar, an icon will appear on screen telling you which way to move swing your Wii-mote to administer the “death blow.” These moves are over the top, violent acts of aggression not short of decapitating your opponent or slicing them directly in half.

You’ll also find yourself using the Wii-mote to charge your Beam Katana and initiate duels, which, when won, leave your opponent wide open for the death blow.

Travis can be in two different stances while in battle mode: high (initiated by holding the Wii-mote straight up like a baseball bat) or low (like a hockey stick), and can perform different moves based on the situation and what stance he is in. For instance, charging the attack button while in the High stance will cause Travis to perform a heavy upwards slash attack, while charging in the low stance will result in an awesome cyclone swing, taking out most enemies around you.

The motion controls feel fresh and important, not like a tacked on gimmick. What’s more, the game finds other small ways to implement the controls including lifting weights and mowing lawns.

Yeah, really, mowing lawns.

Travis is able to travel all throughout Santa Destroy on his motorcycle to perform odd-jobs to collect money towards his entrance fees for the ranked matches. These jobs are broken up by class and range from collecting coconuts, to the after-mentioned lawn mowing and, of course, side assassin missions.

The side missions are reminiscent of those found in the Grand Theft Auto series. Wait — scratch that — the missions are more like one of those bad GTA clones that only 13-year-old play.

While doing the jobs, you’ll find yourself just wanting to get them over with and get back to the hack and slash gameplay. The cities are not as detailed as a Liberty City or San Andreas, as sans a few landmarks, buildings seem to just go by in orange, yellow and gray blurs. What makes things worse is that the driving mechanics of Travis’ motorcycle are just plain atrocious. It’s unresponsive and slow, and the collision detection is almost absent. Invisible walls form around most objects as you’re almost hit them, only letting you crash on random occasions.

Suda openly admits to using movies as inspiration for a lot of his games, and it’s very obvious in No More Heroes. While he mentioned that most of the game comes from a mixture of Japanese art-house flicks — I couldn’t stop thinking about Kill Bill while playing through the game.

The obvious link is the assassin VS assassin gameplay, but more than that — the dialogue and art styles are reminiscent of Tarantino’s slash fest. While they don’t exchange pleasantries, Travis and his opponents quip about life and other mundane topics while getting ready to enter in the kill-or-be-killed battles.

At a few points in the game, we even hear Travis’ thoughts as he battles with bosses and other characters throughout the game. Oh, and the buckets of blood don’t hamper the comparison either.

Blood, innuendo, extreme violence and profanity; No More Heroes makes no bones about the fact that it’s a mature game aimed at hardcore gamers. The opening cut scene has Travis decapitating two guards, while calling them “fuck-heads.”

Women in Santa Destroy are smart and sassy sex objects that seem to serve no purpose other than to drive Travis’ libido crazy (after killing the first assassin, Travis even asks one of the ladies if she’ll “do it with him” if he makes the next kill). This is half of the reason No More Heroes sticks out on the Wii — it’s so different than anything else that available. It’s not exactly Sonic and Mario at the Olympics.

No More Heroes deserves to be played by anyone (of age) with a Wii, even if merely for its novelty factor. Even with plenty of flaws. It’s not the best game on the system, but it’s definitely the most original.

Quick hits:

Publisher: Ubisoft/ Marvelous Entertainment
Developer: Grasshopper Maufacture
Platform: Wii
Genre: Action, fighter, puzzle…coconut collecting.
Players: 1
Launch Date: January 14

Playability: 4 out of 5 stars
Learning Curve: 3 out of 5 stars
Sound: 3 out of 5 stars
Graphics: 3 out of 5 stars
Overall: 3 out of 5 stars