It’s now even harder to avoid playing Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars as Rockstar has announced that a version of the game for the iPhone will be joining the PSP version when it is released this autumn.

Rockstar president Sam Houser believes that the game is a “perfect match” for the iPhone;

“Chinatown Wars is a perfect match for the iPhone and iPod touch. We are very excited to bring this incredibly ambitious version of Liberty City, with this level of detail and immersive gameplay on Apple’s new gaming platforms,” (Source)

The best thing about this announcement is that the iPhone version won’t have to sacrifice the touch screen controls like the PSP version had to, so hopefully this version will be mostly similar to the DS version. I do have some reservations about how you will control Huang Lee (the main character), as some previous iPhone ports have used an on-screen d-pad which can often be a bit frustrating to use.

There are no screenshots yet (unlike the PSP version) but I expect it won’t be too long until we see some.

Rockstar is also bringing Beaterator to the iPhone (originally announced for PSN and PSP), a music mixer that has been developed in collaboration with Timbaland. Let’s hope that people will use earphones when creating their own tunes on the bus or train.

Both games will be out in autumn, with a firm release date to come at a later date.

Back in June I told you that Rockstar had decided to bring GTA: Chinatown Wars to the PSP. Rockstar dated it earlier this week – giving us a 20 October release date – but we didn’t really get any further information on the game or any screenshot showing what the game will actually look like compared to the Nintendo DS version. That has now changed, as Rockstar today released some screenshots of the upcoming PSP version.

If you compare it to the DS version then obviously the game is graphically better looking, but it’s nice to see they have kept the semi-3D top-down perspective instead of going full 3D like Liberty City Stories and Vice City Stories were. The lighting effects look to be a lot better, obviously taking advantage of the PSP’s power over the DS. Overall it is looking a lot better, but graphics aren’t everything when we still don’t know how the game will play.

The DS version made use of the touch screen through mini-games; such as smashing the window when you get trapped in a sinking car, or sorting through rubbish to find a concealed weapon. Will these mini-games disappear from the PSP version? Or will Rockstar find another way to implement them? It won’t be the same if they simply put a cursor in that you have to control with the analog or d-pad. At least we’ll get better music to make up for it, well hopefully anyway.

I guess, as I seem to say a lot these days, we’ll just have to wait and see. Hopefully it will sell more than the DS version, which is probably what prompted Rockstar to port the game to the PSP in the first place.

The game will be available in both UMD form and by download through the Playstation Network.

Rockstar announced today that the second downloadable episode for Grand Theft Auto IV - “The Ballad of Gay Tony” - will release worldwide on the Xbox 360 on 29th October.

The downloadable content will sell for 1600 Microsoft points, which is around £13. If you don’t want to download it, or you haven’t played the previous episode “The Lost and Damned“, Rockstar is releasing both episodes on a disc packaged as Grand Theft Auto: Episodes From Liberty City.

As I mentioned previously the DLC will concentrate on the “glitzy high-end night life” of Liberty City. That doesn’t mean you’ll be the dancing the night away as you will be doing all the dirty work for Tony “Gay Tony” Prince.

I STILL haven’t played “The Lost and Damned“, but let me tell you a short story surrounding that. I recently bought 2100 Microsoft Points so I could buy Fallout 3’s “Broken Steel“. After buying that I went to look at how much I had left so I could possibly buy “The Lost and Damned“, since I already had some from a previous purchase. I had 1550 points, and the content was 1600, which was highly annoying. It seems that Microsoft structures the point system in a way in which you have to buy another big chunk just so you can get 50 extra points.

I wish they would just use real money like PSN, but of course that would mean that Microsoft couldn’t easily overcharge us.

(Image source: Kotaku)

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• GTA: IV’s Next DLC - The Ballad of Gay Tony

Forget about Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars being exclusive to the Nintendo DS because Rockstar have now confirmed that they’re porting it to the PSP in time for autumn.

The PSP will reportedly take advantage of the PSP’s more powerful hardware, meaning a graphical update and new story missions. Rockstar will also offer a downloadable version for the PSP Go!, alongside the regular UMD release.

“Rockstar’s work with the GTA series has been an enormous part of the success of PlayStation platforms,” said Jack Tretton, President and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment America. “We’re excited to welcome the critically acclaimed Chinatown Wars to the outstanding line-up of great games headed to the PSP platform this fall”- Kotaku

I think Chinatown Wars is an amazing game, and it’s probably the best game available on the DS, but maybe the DS wasn’t the right platform when it comes to mature games as the sales seem to reflect that. These poor sales have obviously prompted Rockstar to look to other platforms to make a profit, or maybe they were planning this all along - who knows? Whatever the case it’s good news for those that only have a PSP, but I’m curious about whether or not the touch screen mini-games will lose their appeal with you obviously not being able to use a touch screen.

While we all knew that Rockstar had another downloadable Grand Theft Auto IV episode in the works the popular opinion was that Microsoft would announce it at their press conference at the upcoming E3. Instead Rockstar chose yesterday to announce their next episode, which is titled The Ballad of Gay Tony.

Moving away from The Lost and Damned’s seedy biker gang The Ballad of Gay Tony focuses on the glitzy “high-end night life” of Liberty City. You will play the role of Luis Lopez, who does the dirty work for the impresario Tony “Gay Tony” Prince.

Rockstar says that “players will struggle with the competing loyalties of family and friends, and with the uncertainty about who is real and who is fake in a world in which everyone has a price.”

The next episode is slated for an autumn release and will be priced at 1600 Microsoft points through Xbox Live.

I have yet to play The Lost and Damned, but that’s mainly due to sheer laziness because Xbox Live doesn’t accept my credit card so I have to buy those points cards through Amazon (I’ve come across a few instant-by-email sites but I’m yet to try them, apart from one that I use for my monthly subscriptions).

In case you haven’t guessed from the title of this post (and the video lying above this) Rockstar have released the first official trailer of GTA: Chinatown Wars. Unfortunately there are only a few glimpses of actual gameplay, but what we can see still looks pretty interesting. The main thing is not to blink.

So, from what we can gather from the trailer (being that it pretty much tells you in the trailer), you will play as Huang Lee. Lee is out to avenge his father’s death and restore his family’s honour, which means that Rockstar just stepped even further into the realm of cliché storytelling.

Whatever the case GTA: Chiantown Wars is looking like a must buy for the DS; a handheld that has a distinct lack of anything remotely violent and adult rated. Oh, and there’s always the fact that Rockstar may cause the usual controversy by allowing the player to deal drugs.

Sounds like a great game to me!

Come 12th March Midnight Club: Los Angeles, which received generally favourable reviews, will get a pretty substantial update. Rockstar’s downloadable South Central (an iconic district in LA) content will hit both Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 for free, with an extra premium pack costing $9.99 (which should be around £6.80, but I bet we end up paying more) or 800 Microsoft points.

The free portion of the content - which was accidentally leaked back in December - will add a new area to the game’s already large map that includes new online races. The premium pack adds 9 new vehicles, 26 races, 12 battle maps, 10 delivery missions and more. Vehicles include the ‘2008 Range Rover Supercharged’ and the ‘1970 Chevy Chevelle’.

Sounds worth the price to me!

A rumour in the latest issue of Game Informer is suggesting that Rockstar North are already at work on the next installment in the Grand Theft Auto franchise. While this may not seem all that surprising it gets even more exciting when the rumour states that the game may be ready for release by the end of the year.

“We’re not talking about new DLC or a collection of previously available DLC, we’re talking about a full retail game. We expect this title to follow the suit of previous GTAs and use a subtitle such as GTA: San Andreas, etc. Tokyo might be a possible setting for the game, but details are non-existent at this time.” - Game Informer Issue 190 (Via PSU)

Rockstar North are already working on a DLC pack for GTA IV and is supposed to be releasing more this year. Let’s not forget that they are also releasing GTA: Chinatown Wars on the Nintendo DS later this year. Can they possibly complete a whole new current generation GTA whilst doing all this? Maybe, and I certainly hope we do get a new GTA this year. Take Two, of course, most likely prefer the bucket loads of profits that a new GTA would bring in compared to a few DLC packs; so maybe there is some truth in this rumour afterall.

UPDATE: Rockstar have confirmed that the rumour is just a rumour and they have no plans to release a new GTA this year.

The first downloadable content “The Lost and Damned” will be available next month. Rockstar also stated that they’re aiming for a second downloadable content pack to be released by 31st October.

I was always amazed that Rockstar managed to fit fully fledged GTA’s onto the PSP, as it’s a testament to just how far the power of handhelds have come. So, imagine my surprise when Rockstar Leeds President Gordon Hall tells Nintendo Power this;

“Chinatown Wars is much bigger than anything we have ever done before [in terms of scope]: more odd jobs, deeper missions, and more moments of over-the-top action,” Hall explained in an interview with Nintendo Power. “We have a huge interaction with the Rockstar Social Club, a massive [narcotics trafficking] game that would stand alone on its own. The list goes on and on; this thing is huge. We are very proud of all of the PSP games we have made, especially the two GTA games, but this game is far bigger.” - 1up.com

So, it’s not just bigger in terms of the map (apparently it’s just as big as GTA IV’s map, minus Alderney) but also bigger in terms of how much playtime you’re going to get out of it and, hopefully, fun. The surprising thing about all this is that it’s coming out on the DS, a handheld not known for epic scale games. Although the game is in top-down format rather than the PSP GTA’s full 3D; it’s nothing short of a miracle that Rockstar have managed to fit such a package on the humble-yet-delightful Nintendo DS.

Let’s just hope that it’s all worth it and the game actually turns out good. Personally I can’t wait to play more stories from the most fully-realised virtual city that we’ve ever seen. It’s also a game that just may revive my interest in the DS, as I’ve found absolutely no reason to pick mine up lately (save from checking on my Animal Crossing: Wild World town from time to time).

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The Spike VGA Awards were held in the US last night, and it had its fair share of exclusive trailers and information. Amongst them was the first trailer of Grand Theft Auto IV’s first downloadable content pack - The Lost and Damned. The story will follow Johnny Klebitz and his biker gang, The Lost, which previously featured in several GTA IV missions. Unfortunately there’s no word on pricing yet, but we’ll most likely know closer to the pack’s 17th February release date.

It was a good night for GTA IV at the awards; with the game picking up ‘Game of the Year’, ‘Best Action Game’ and ‘Best Male Voice’ went to Michael Hollick, who played Niko Bellic.

I personally can’t wait for more stories set in Liberty City, but we’ll soon see if other gamers feel the same way and justify Microsoft paying $50 million for the exclusive Xbox 360 content.