Most Recent: Articles

Rockstar answers your questions: Is GTA3’s Claude a mute?

Posted on December 17, 2011 by John Scalzo

In honor of Grand Theft Auto III‘s release on iOS and Android devices, Rockstar has decided to answer your burning questions about one of the most famous video games ever. They even revealed the origins of Claude’s lack of vocality.

Turn back now if you don’t want to know THE TRUTH…

Rockstar says:
It may now seem obvious that people should all talk in games, but this was not necessarily the case in 2001, certainly not in an open world game. We were making up a lot of procedures as we went along, and we decided that the NPCs (Non Playable Characters) should talk and we would have to figure out how to make them talk (using motion captured cutscenes, something that had never really been done before, at least not on the scale we were doing it). So we decided that the game’s protagonist would not talk, partly to aid people identifying with him, but mostly because we had so many other problems to solve and this did not seem like a major issue. […] Oh and in San Andreas, CJ calls Claude a mute because he does not talk and CJ finds this unnerving.

So there you have it. Claude isn’t a mute, he’s just the original Johnny Tightlips.

Rockstar also confirmed that the three GTA “eras” are completely separate universes and will never cross over. So if you’re hoping to see Claude again, you can forget it:

[T]he “universes” are the worlds interpreted at different definitions, 2d, 3d and high definition, so we felt brands and radio / back ground characters would exist in both, but 3 dimensional characters would not. This is the logic (as far as it could be considered logical) behind it – so no, we don’t believe any GTA3 characters could exist in the GTA4 universe.

But following Rockstar’s logic, this means that Grand Theft Auto IV and Grand Theft Auto V will take place in the same “universe.” So who knows, we might get to see Niko one more time.

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Ninja Gaiden 3 slices its way into stores on March 20

Posted on December 17, 2011 by John Scalzo

Ryu Hayabusa returns to slice and dice more demons this Spring as Tecmo Keoi has announced a release date for Ninja Gaiden 3. Ninja Gaiden 3 is the first game in the series not developed by former Team Ninja head Tomonobu Itagaki as well as the first to be released on the PS3 and Xbox 360 at the same time.

And while we’re on this “firsts” theme, Ninja Gaiden 3 will also include the first time the public gets a chance to play Dead or Alive 5. Players who pre-order the game from GameStop will receive a DoA5 demo featuring Ryu Hayabusa and Hitomi. Meanwhile, those who place their pre-order through Amazon will receive a different demo, which features Ayane and Hayate. But if you buy the Ninja Gaiden 3 Collector’s Edition (available exclusively at GameStop), your demo will include all four characters.

The Collector’s Edition will take a $99.99 slice out of your wallet, but it includes a copy of the game, the DoA5 demo and a “Ninja Gaiden 3 ‘Unmask’ game art book, soundtrack CD, and a unique ‘Duel of the Masked’ figure.”

Ninja Gaiden 3 is also in development for the Wii U and will be available at the console’s launch, which is currently scheduled to take place sometime in 2012.

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New Releases: Star Wars The Old Republic

Posted on December 17, 2011 by John Scalzo

This is the news post where we’d normally list all of this week’s new releases. However, there’s only new release to talk about, so for this week, this is the news post where we talk about Star Wars: The Old Republic.

The Old Republic is the second attempt at a Star Wars MMORPG and it combines the talents of BioWare, LucasArts, and Electronic Arts while making liberal use of the Knights of the Old Republic setting last seen in the much-maligned Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords.

BioWare promised to have the game out before the end of the year and they made good on their pledge as The Old Republic will be the final game released before the calendar turns over to January.

So enjoy the rest of your 2011 folks! We’ll be back with another New Releases report in 2012!

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Minecraft tops Time Magazine’s top 10 video games of 2011

Posted on December 16, 2011 by Nicole Kline

Time Magazine has announced their “Top 10 Everything of 2011” lists, which of course contains a list of video games. Did your favorite games of this year make the list? Number 10…

10. Battlefield 3
9. Sword & Sworcery
8. Dark Souls
7. The Elder Scroll V: Skyrim
6. Bastion
5. Batman: Arkham City
4. Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception
3. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
2. Portal 2
1. Minecraft

My favorite game of 2011, Dead Space 2, did not make that list – nor have I seen it on any other lists. That’s what happens when games get released at the beginning of the year, I suppose. Ah well. For full commentary, check out the Time Magazine article.

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10 million copies of Skyrim shipped

Posted on December 16, 2011 by Nicole Kline

In an announcement surprising to no one, Bethesda Softworks said they’ve shipped 10 million copies of Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360. In PC games alone, it outsold all other PC games three to one in the first month of its release. Digitally speaking, it’s also the “fastest selling title in Steam’s history,” according to Jason Holtman, Director of Business Development at Valve Corporation.

Skyrim has also been raking in countless awards and attention, from Game of the Year at Spike TV’s VGAs to Raptr’s Most-Played Game of 2011. G4TV, Official Xbox Magazine, and Machinima.com also gave Skyrim their Game of the Year Award. This comes as no surprise, seeing as this same developer also got game of the year in 2006 with Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and in 2008 with Fallout 3.

I haven’t played any of the Elder Scrolls games, but this might be the year that I cave and get one. I might start with Oblivion and then ease my way into Skyrim. Don’t be alarmed – that sound you hear is just my backlog weeping.

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Risen 2: Dark Waters sets sail on April 24

Posted on December 16, 2011 by John Scalzo

Deep Silver has announced that Risen 2: Dark Waters, a pirate-themed RPG from developer Piranha Bytes, will be released for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 on April 24, 2012. You can also check out the newly-released box art to your left.

And if the name Risen 2: Dark Waters has left you scratching your head in confusion, here’s an official description from Deep Silver:

“Piranha Bytes combines Risen’s authentic role-playing gameplay with a fresh setting, new content, further-developed technology and multiple, thematically varied islands. With its highly interactive game world and dynamic day/night rotation – influencing countless aspects of the world – Risen 2 allows players to plunge into one of the most intense role-playing worlds ever created.”

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Anarchy Reigns moves the fight to July 2012

Posted on December 16, 2011 by John Scalzo

Sega has announced that Anarchy Reigns, the next game from new Metal Gear Rising developer Platinum Games, has been delayed again. The brawler, which was originally tagged with a Fall 2011 release date, will now be released for the PS3 and Xbox 360 in July 2012.

But it sounds like the cause of the delay is to make the game bigger and anarchy-er:

“Anarchy Reigns brings a new take to the brawler genre and we have decided to take a little more time to deliver the full knockout punch. I can’t reveal much now, but it has something to do with scale. Let’s just say traditional one-on-one or two versus two fighters will be a thing of the past…,” said Gary Knight, Senior Vice President of Marketing at Sega West.

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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 makes $1 billion in 16 days, surprises no one

Posted on December 16, 2011 by Nicole Kline

Activision announced on Monday that their latest blockbuster, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, made $1 billion in the first 16 days of its release, beating out the previous record set by Avatar in 2009, which got to that milestone in 17 days.

The press release was full of random facts, including this one, which gave me pause: “With more than 30 million gamers, the Call of Duty community now exceeds the combined populations of the cities of New York, London, Tokyo, Paris and Madrid.” For the record, the total population of those five cities is 42 million. You fail math forever, Activision!

The article went on to say that the CoD games are “now amongst that rarefied group of sustained franchises like Star Wars, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and the National Football League (NFL) that attract or engage tens of millions of people every year or every new release.”

Wow. Comparing Call of Duty to the NFL? That’s pretty intense. I still haven’t picked up my copy of Modern Warfare 3, but maybe Santa will leave it in my stocking.

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