Total Grand Theft Auto

In an article posted over on USA Today, it is said that the police are now using games such as Grand Theft Auto IV in sting operations to arrest pedophiles. Check it out:

Sexual predators are using gaming consoles such as the Wii, PlayStation and Xbox to meet children online.

"Child predators are migrating from traditional methods to alternate media," says Detective Lt. Thomas Kish of the Michigan State Police. "They are going to places where children are."

Predators view games that allow kids to access the Internet and text message other players as a "foot in the door," he says.

Parents may not realize that gaming consoles have become Internet devices or that savvy kids can bypass parental controls, says Marc Rogers, director of Purdue University's Cyber Forensics Lab.

Police who have been doing stings in Internet chat rooms for years now are going undercover to catch predators playing interactive games, ranging from Grand Theft Auto to old-fashioned chess and checkers. They're making arrests.

If you'd like to read the rest of this article describing other games used for capturing criminals, click here.

Computer and Video Games published an article today that tells how 2K Games was perhaps tricked into revealing the PC version of GTAIV. Check it out:

We'll warn you to take this with a pinch of salt right now as Rockstar won't comment on it at all. But it wouldn't surprise us at all to see the game coming to PC, it's been heavily rumoured already, but to get the news out of a customer support team? That's just silly...

The story goes that a couple of guys emailed the support team saying they were having problems with their surround sound while they were playing the PC version. "The first person driving view is simply amazing and the Nico Bellic character really makes me feel like I'm living the storyline. So much so that I feel bad in finding something to complain about, that being the surround sound. At times the back left speaker cuts out, specially when characters like little Jacob are speaking. Also when I call 911, the automated response starts, but cuts out when I am given emergency options."

Had us convinced right there, but it doesn't take much.

After a few responses they received the reply: "The PC version of GTA IV has not even been announced for release and is still in development so is not about to be released on a website we have no knowledge of."

When pressed further on a release, the 'pranksters' were told: "We are unsure when the PC version of the game will be released as we are only technical support and do not receive information on the matter. I would suggest keeping an eye on www.rockstargames.com for any information." Opps...

For more info on this story be sure to visit here.

After addressing a security problem recently, the SA-MP developers have released a new optional version of their modification.

This update whilst not mandatory, is highly recommended.

Apart from security updates, the 0.2.2 R3 client also fixes some crashes/bugs from previous versions. The following updates have been made:

- Removed all SAC code. This fixes a security vulnerability mentioned earlier.
- Fixed problem with clipboard text not copying externally.
- Fixed time/fog/lighting flickering when the passing of time is disabled.
- Fixed some vehicle audio problems (silent cars/planes/boats/helis).
- Fixed texture lag/streaming popups when many models were loaded.
- Fixed some car mod shop crashes.
- Alternate siren for police vehicles is now synced.
- TextDraw code is completely rewritten. It now works in interiors and will disable with the scoreboard.
- Crashes caused by DestroyVehicle script are fixed.
- Imported some of the 0.2.5 vehicle surfing code.
- Added command /fpslimit to adjust the frame rate limiter. Valid /fpslimit values are 20-100.

Download Patch

Rockstar Social Club have posted up patch details for GTA IV.

Rockstar Games has released patches today for Grand Theft Auto IV for the PlayStation®3 and Xbox 360™. These patches fix the issues we have identified for each system, specifically multiplayer connectivity issues including freezes during certain modes, continuation when players leave matches, and bugs within races and race lobbies.

- Fixed an issue where players were unable to enter or exit vehicles in GTA Race.
- Fixed an issue where scripted vehicles were causing games to unexpectedly crash.
- Improved reliability and frequency of PS3™ online leaderboard updates.
- Fixed a rare hang some players encountered when moving from a Race or GTA Race lobby into gameplay.
- Fixed a hang that would occur when players were switching teams during the countdown in the lobby.
- Fixed an issue where players were able to get ridiculously high scores from Cops 'n Crooks matches.
- Changed GTA Race and Race so that the last player remaining always receives a reward of $250.
- Fixed an issue where spectating players would prevent the game from finishing.
- Fixed an issue where players were unable to spectate in Round 2 of Cops 'n Crooks games.
- Changed countdown timer in lobby so that it no longer resets when new players join a game.
- Changed the kick option so that kicked players are no longer brought back to single player.

In the unlikely event that you experience problems with the new patch, contact Rockstar Support by clicking here.

Pixeloo, a unique illustrator has posted something rather special on his recent blog, a realistic photo of our favourite protagonist, Niko Bellic.

Take-Two Legally Unable to Make GTA Movie. Read On:

Today, LA Weekly blogger Nikki Finke commented on the likelihood of a movie based around the Grand Theft Auto games. She reports that Fox Atomic owns the rights to Grand Theft Auto, a 1977 movie by Ron Howard (who would later direct Cocoon, Cinderella Man and A Beautiful Mind). Because of a legal agreement between Fox and Take-Two, the former can't make a game version of their movie and the latter cannot make a movie version of their game. Despite the continued popularity (and notoriety) of the Grand Theft Auto name, Fox has shown no inclination to make a movie sequel to the Roger Corman film.

"Yes, Fox owns the Corman movie," said an insider to Finke. "Yes, it has been one of 400 development projects for several years. But they are nowhere on the script. It has certainly not been a front-burner project."

Read the rest of the article here.

An article with MTV Multiplayer discussed music being on foot in GTA IV, a feature which was in the game, at one stage until it was taken out for the final version.

Instead, Niko can only listen to music in cars and a few buildings, pretty much the “GTA” franchise norm. So why did Rockstar keep it that way? Here’s what they told us…

“Some people on the team didn’t like the music/mobile phone idea for various reasons, but they went back and forth on the idea until the very end,” Rockstar spokesperson Darlan Monterisi explained in an e-mail on Tuesday. “This is VERY common. We do it in every game we make. We still prefer the balance of music in car and the ambient world’s noise on foot, but we are constantly reviewing this stuff.”

You can read the full article here.

This is an interesting article written by cracked.com. Please be sure to read it before commenting:

Like almost every other being on this planet with functional eyes and opposable thumbs, I've spent the last month playing Grand Theft Auto IV and neglecting my loved ones. I've only just now gotten beyond the novelty factor of Liberty City enough to honestly consider the game itself, and I have reluctantly come to this conclusion:

It is sh*t.

It's repetitive, poorly implemented, riddled with design flaws, awkward, and above all, glitchy. Yet I understand every word of gushing praise. Everything the reviewers say about the city and its scale is absolutely true.

It's the little things that do it to you: Like how...

Read the rest of the article here

Chris O'Neill has created a rather entertaining flash summary of the Grand Theft Auto IV experience over at Newgrounds.

GamesRadar have recreated the Naked Gun introduction on Grand Theft Auto 4. Here it is:


For those not acquainted with the Naked Gun introduction, here it is:


Source