GTA: Vice City Cheat Codes

GTA: Vice City Cheat Codes

Cheat	Effect
O, L1, D, L2, L, X, R1, L1, R, X	Fake Code (doesn't do anything)
R2, R1, X, T, X, T, U, D	Pedestrians have weapons
R, L1, O, L2, L, X, R1, L1, L1, X	Gals Drop Weapons
R2, O, U, L1, R, R1, R, U, S, T	Media Level Meter
Right, R2, Circle, R1, L2, Square, R1, R2	Hovering Cars
R1, X, Triangle, Right, R2, Square, Up, Down, Square	Weird Wheels
R1, R2, L1, X, Left, Down, Right, Up, Left, Down, Right, Up	Armor Code
R2,X,L1,L1,L2,L2,L2,Triangle	Sunny Weather
Triangle, Up, Right, Down, Square, R2, R1	Slow Motion
Circle,L1,Down,L2,Left,X,R1,L1,Right,Circle	Pink Cars
R2,Circle,R1,L2,Left,R1,L1,R2,L2	Mad Cars
R2,Up,L2,Left,Left,R1,L1,Circle,Right	Spawn A Love Fist Limo
R1, R2, L1, O, Left, Down, Right, Up, Left, Down, Right, Up	Health Code
Right, R2, O, R1, L2, Down, L1, R1	Flying Cars
Circle,X,L1,L1,R2,X,X,Circle,Triangle	Fanny Magnet (Girls follow Tommy)
Right,L1,Circle,L2,Left,X,R1,L1,L1,X	Chicks with Guns
R1, R2, L1, R2, L, D, R, U, L, D, R, U	All Weapons #1
R1, R2, L1, R2, L, D, R, U, L, D, D, L	All Weapons #2
R1, R2, L1, R2, L, D, R, U, L, D, D, D	All Weapons #3
R, L2, D, R1, L, L, R1, L1, L2, L1	Commit Suicide
R1, R1, O, R2, L, R, L, R, L, R	Raise Wanted Level
R1, R1, O, R2, U, D, U, D, U, D	Lower Wanted Level
R, R, L, U, L1, L2, L, U, D, R	Change Clothes
L1, L2, R1, R2, D, L1, R2, L2	Play As Ricardo Diaz
O, L2, L, X, R1, L1, X, L1	Play As Lance Vance
O, R2, D, R1, L, R, R1, L1, X, L2	Play As Candy Suxxx
R, L1, U, L2, L1, R, R1, L1, X, R1	Play As Ken Rosenberg
R1, O, R2, L1, R, R1, L1, X, R2	Play As Hilary King
D, L1, D, L2, L, X, R1, L1, X, X	Play As Love Fist Guy #1
R1, L2, R2, L1, R, R2, L, X, S, L1	Play As Love Fist Guy #2
R, R1, U, R2, L1, R, R1, L1 ,R, O	Play As Phil Cassady
O, L1, O, L2, L, X, R1, L1, X, X	Play As Sonny Forelli
R2, L1, U, L1, R, R1, R, U, O, T	Play As Mercedes
O, O, L1, O, O, O, L1, L2, R1, T, O, T	Spawn A Rhino
D, R1, O, L2, L2, X, R1, L1, L, L	Spawn A Bloodring Racer
U, R, R, L1, R, U, S, L2	Spawn A Bloodring Banger
R1, O, R2, R, L1, L2, X, X, S, R1	Spawn A Hotring Racer #1
R2, L1, O, R, L1, R1, R, U, O, R2	Spawn A Hotring Racer #2
D, R2, D, R1, L2, L, R1, L1, L, R	Spawn A Romero's Hearse
O, R1, O, R1, L, L, R1, L1, O, R	Spawn A Trashmaster
R, L2, D, L2, L2, X, R1, L1, O, L	Spawn A Sabre Turbo
O, L1, U, R1, L2, X, R1, L1, O, X	Spawn A Caddie
R2, L2, R1, L1, L2, R2, S, T, O, T, L2, L1	Blow Up Cars
O, L2, U, R1, L, X, R1, L1, L, O	Black Cars
T, R1, R1, L, R1, L1, R2, L1	Perfect Handling
R2, X, L1, L1, L2, L2, L2, T	Cloudy Weather
R2, X, L1, L1, L2, L2, L2, S	Very Cloudy Weather
R2, X, L1, L1, L2, L2, L2, O	Stormy Weather
R2, X, L1, L1, L2, L2, L2, X	Foggy Weather
O, O, L1, S, L1, S, S, S, L1, T, O, T	Speed Up Time
D, L, U, L, X, R2, R1, L2, L1	Pedestrian Riot (cannot be turned off)
D, U, U, U, X, R2, R1, L2, L2	Pedestrian Attack (cannot be turned off)
Triangle, Up, Right, Down, L2, L1, Square	Fast Motion
Triangle, L1, Triangle, R2, Square, L1, L1	All Vehicles Invisible (except motorcycles)
R2, Circle, Up, L1, Right, R1, Right, Up, Square, Triangle	Hovering Boats
R2, L1, circle, right, L1, R1, right, up, circle, R2	Spawns the Hot Ring Racer
Right, R1, Up, L2, L2, Left, R1 ,L1, R1, R1	All Traffic lights will remain green.

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TGS 2009: Wrap-Up

Tokyo Game Show 2009 has wound down now, but before we all head home, here's a collection of closing thoughts from the team.

Ricardo: There was a lot of talk about how underwhelming the show was this year, and that's partially right. The number of exhibitors was down from last year (show documentation we got at check-in showed 180 exhibitors this year versus last year's 209), which led to fewer games, 879 last year versus 758 this year. There also weren't any brand-new, earth-shattering games announced, just publishers doing follow-up, like Microsoft showing off Japanese Natal stuff behind closed doors and Capcom making an announcement on Sony's motion control. There was still plenty on display at the show, but it didn't have the kick of stuff from last year's show, like the Halo 3: ODST announcement, the Little Big Planet Metal Gear level pack, and Square's Mega-Theater. That said, the show was still crowded, and there were lines aplenty. I'll follow up with more on the show in a bit. Until then, here's a collection of thoughts form the team.

Laura Parker: This was my first TGS, so I hardly knew what to expect. People told me Tokyo was a crazy and exciting place. They told me I had to prepare myself for not only the language barrier but a host of bizarre experiences related to video game culture. Now that it's over, I can hardly believe I was so scared. It was an amazing week, full of cultural wonders, new things to see and do, and, of course, great culinary treats.

The Tokyo Game Show itself was very hectic. I ran from place to place, always in constant awe at the sheer size and spectacle of what I was seeing. I was lucky in that I was able to play some of the titles I was most looking forward to: Okamiden, Halo 3: ODST, Heavy Rain: The Origami Killer, and Left 4 Dead 2. I also had a chance to see Project Natal behind closed doors, which impressed me and turned me into a skeptic at the same time.

I know people are saying that this year's TGS wasn't as big or as flashy as previous shows, but for me, a newcomer to the wonderment that is Tokyo and the gaming culture of Japan, TGS was everything I had hoped for.

Sophia: This is always an exciting time of year because we’re coming up on the holidays (yay games!), and the opportunity to leave the country for a bit to enjoy the food and games in Japan is a fantastic experience. This year’s TGS was not as big and flashy as last year’s, because a lot of the games that were here were demos we'd already seen before. E3, GamesCom, and TGS are so close together that it can be hard for publishers to put out something new each time. Nonetheless, TGS is always a ton of fun, and trying to decipher role-playing games in Japanese--frequently without a translator--is a challenge in itself.

It seems that a lot of great RPGs are heading to the handhelds, like Okamiden: Chisaki Taiyou, Lunar: Silver Star Harmony, Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep, and Ninokuni. Another Professor Layton game is on its way, so I will have plenty of games to play during my long commute into work. It’s just too bad I won’t get to play these during my flight back to the States. It has been a long week, and we’re all exhausted, but it was worth it. We’ll see you next year, Tokyo!

Randolph: It was crowded, hot, and full of colourful individuals. So it certainly felt like your typical Tokyo Game Show, except for one thing--the weird and wacky game gems which have become a hallmark of TGS. While there were some top titles (Peace Walker, FFXIII, and Dead Rising 2, for example) and some significant announcements (Sony's motion controller details), the show floor just seemed oddly, well, devoid of real character.

In previous years, it usually wasn't too hard to find some truly weird, oddball, and downright strange games, which, while probably never likely to be available in the West, gave the Tokyo Game Show its own unique personality (last year, for example, we found a little gem of a game whose name we can't really even mention--let's just say it involved a lot of feces). This year, the oddest game we came across was a PC game which required you to hold a broom handle with a boxing glove attached to one end, while onscreen you had to punch the air above to hit stealthy ninjas trying to crawl on your roof. Yes, it's as weird as it sounds, but that was about as strange as it got on the show floor.

Perhaps it was the size of the show, which had significantly fewer exhibitors than in previous years, that could be blamed for the lack of quirky titles. When we're back next year, hopefully the strange games will make a return, along with the charm of TGS.

Giancarlo: Needless to say, I was pretty excited that Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker was at this year's show. We had the chance to check out the first playable demo of Peace Walker and got a handle on the controls as well as some of the co-op features, and while I wasn't really digging the controls at first, I've become a bit more comfortable with them after messing around with the demo for a few hours.

Project Natal was also a pretty big deal for me at TGS since I didn't get to see much of it at E3. Microsoft's Kudo Tsunoda gave us the basic rundown of the 360's motion-sensing Natal technology, and we got to try out a new Natal-enabled version of Katamari Damacy. All of these things were great examples of how the technology can work, but I'm eagerly waiting to see full-blown games specifically created for the technology.

Shaun: The show may have been a bit smaller than what I experienced last year, but that doesn't mean it was any less exciting. I managed to meet with a number of Japanese and Western developers and talk to them about what they're working on. My favorite of these meets came on day one, when I did with Jun Takeuchi, the producer for Lost Planet 2. Of all the games I saw at the show, I don't think I had any more fun than when I was taking down giant Akrid in Lost Planet 2's new desert level.

One of the most criminally overlooked games of 2007 was Crackdown, an over-the-top sandbox action game that felt like it was designed exactly with me in mind. Now the sequel is in the hands of Ruffian Games, and it's looking like even more fun than the original. I got some face time with James Cope from Ruffian to talk about some of the big changes in Crackdown 2.

Dead Rising 2 wasn't on the show floor this year, but that doesn't mean Capcom wasn't going to give folks a look at it. It held an offsite event that mainly focused on the multiplayer, which Randolph Ramsay did a great job of covering. But it also showed a quick snippet of what we should expect from the single-player game, so naturally I went to town detailing all the horrible ways I maimed, killed, and griefed the game's zombies.

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GTA Liberty City Stories Cheat Codes

Codes

Enter these during gameplay

Cheat	Effect
UP, SQUARE, SQUARE, DOWN, LEFT, SQUARE, SQUARE, RIGHT	Weapon set 1
UP, CIRCLE, CIRCLE, DOWN, LEFT, CIRCLE, CIRCLE, RIGHT	Weapon set 2
UP, X, X, DOWN, LEFT, X, X, RIGHT	Weapon set 3
L1, R1, TRIANGLE, L1, R1, CIRCLE, L1, R1	Money Cheat ($250,000)
L1, R1, CIRCLE, L1, R1, X, L1, R1	Full Armor (Blue Bar)
L1, R1, X, L1, R1, SQUARE, L1, R1	Full Health (Red Bar)
L1, R1, SQUARE, L1, R1, TRIANGLE, L1, R1	Raise Wanted Level
L1, L1, TRIANGLE, R1, R1, X, SQUARE, CIRCLE	Never Wanted
CIRCLE, X, DOWN, CIRCLE, X, UP, L1, L1	Cars Drive On Water
X, X, R1, CIRCLE, CIRCLE, L1, TRIANGLE, TRIANGLE	White Cars
CIRCLE, CIRCLE, R1, TRIANGLE, TRIANGLE, L1, SQUARE, SQUARE	Black Cars
L1, UP, RIGHT, R1, TRIANGLE, SQUARE, DOWN, X	Raise Media Attention
TRIANGLE, CIRCLE, DOWN, TRIANGLE, CIRCLE, UP, L1, L1	Spawn Trashmaster
L1, L1, CIRCLE, R1, R1, SQUARE, TRIANGLE, X	Sunny Weather
UP, DOWN, CIRCLE, UP, DOWN, SQUARE, L1, R1	Clear Weather
UP, DOWN, X, UP, DOWN, TRIANGLE, L1, R1	Overcast Weather
UP, DOWN, SQUARE, UP, DOWN, CIRCLE, L1, R1	Rainy Weather
UP, DOWN, TRIANGLE, UP, DOWN, X, L1, R1	Foggy Weather
L1, L1, LEFT, L1, L1, RIGHT, TRIANGLE, CIRCLE	Spawn Rhino
L1, L1, LEFT, L1, L1, RIGHT, CIRCLE, X	Faster Clock
L1, L1, LEFT, L1, L1, RIGHT, X, SQUARE	Destroy All Cars
L1, L1, R1, L1, L1, R1, LEFT, SQUARE	Peds Riot
L1, L1, R1, L1, L1, R1, UP, TRIANGLE	Peds Attack You
R1, R1, L1, R1, R1, L1, RIGHT, CIRCLE	Peds Have Weapons
R1, R1, L1, R1, R1, L1, DOWN, X	Faster Gameplay
R1, TRIANGLE, X, R1, SQUARE, CIRCLE, LEFT, RIGHT	Slower Gameplay
L1, UP, LEFT, R1, TRIANGLE, CIRCLE, DOWN, X	Perfect Traction
L1, DOWN, LEFT, R1, X, CIRCLE, UP, TRIANGLE	Commit Suicide
TRIANGLE, TRIANGLE, R1, SQUARE, SQUARE, L1, X, X	All Green Lights
SQUARE, SQUARE, R1, X, X, L1, CIRCLE, CIRCLE	Aggressive Drivers
DOWN, DOWN, DOWN, TRIANGLE, TRIANGLE, CIRCLE, L1, R1	Have People Follow You
DOWN, DOWN, DOWN, CIRCLE, CIRCLE, X, L1, R1	Bobble Head World
L1, R1, L1, R1, UP, DOWN, L1, R1	Display Game Credits
CIRCLE, RIGHT, X, UP, RIGHT, X, L1, SQUARE	Change Bike Tire Size
TRIANGLE, R1, L1, DOWN, DOWN, R1, R1, TRIANGLE	All Vehicles Chrome Plated
X, Square, Down, X, Square, Up, R1, R1	Calls closest Ped to come hop on/in your vehicle.

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Capcom gives us a sneak peek at the next installment in the Street Fighter series.

Super Street Fighter IV Impressions - First Look

By Ricardo Torres, GameSpotPosted Sep 28, 2009 6:00 pm PT

Capcom gives us a sneak peek at the next installment in the Street Fighter series.

Now that Street Fighter IV has successfully revived the Street Fighter franchise, Capcom is looking to keep the series going with a new expansion. The new game, Super Street Fighter IV, aims to build on the foundation laid by this year's SFIV by adding new content that includes more playable characters, improved online features, and rebalanced characters. We got a demonstration of the work-in-progress Xbox 360 version from producer Yoshinori Ono and have much to report.

Check out this teaser trailer for Super Street Fighter IV.

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Before we dive in, we should explain what Super Street Fighter IV is, and more importantly, what it isn't. This is not a downloadable add-on for Street Fighter IV. You may be wondering, as we did, why Capcom didn't simply release Super Street Fighter IV's additions as downloadable content in the same way that Fallout and Grand Theft Auto IV received massive updates by way of DLC. However, Capcom has decided that the new game will come on a separate disc. Ono explained that when Street Fighter IV was originally being developed, certain aspects of the game code weren't laid out in such a way as to support the features that are being added in Super Street Fighter IV. While Capcom had initially considered making SSFIV's content a download pack of some kind, it became clear that just tacking the new content onto the old game wasn't going to be possible. As a result, SSFIV will be released as a stand-alone disc that won't be sold at full price. But, the producer explained, before you get rid of your SFIV disc, be advised that SSFIV will offer current SFIV owners a bonus that Capcom isn't revealing at this time.

T. Hawk and his mighty typhoon grapples return in Super Street Fighter IV.

This is what you can expect from the new game: Super Street Fighter IV will offer a mix of content that's directly related to the Street Fighter community's feedback about Street Fighter IV, as well as content the team had originally planned to add in a future installment after wrapping up SFIV. The topic of new characters was an area where fans and the development team were both in sync. As a result, the game's original roster of 25 characters is being bumped up by roughly eight new playable characters. Our demo showed off two of them: a brand-new, original female character named Juri; and the returning character T. Hawk, who originally debuted in Super Street Fighter II. The remaining additions to the roster are still up in the air, and Ono stated that although the team is currently planning for eight additional characters, that number may change based on the course of development, as well as fan feedback now that word on the game is out. The current plan is to pull in more classic characters, as well as toss some new ones into the mix. From the sound of it, exactly how many classic characters versus how many new characters make it in still hasn't been finalized and may change, depending on fan feedback--so it'll be interesting to see the final lineup. It's also safe to assume that there will be new background stages for the new characters as well, although we didn't see any in our demo.

As ever, T. Hawk is ready to rise to any occasion with his trusty tomahawk buster.

Based on what we did see in action, fans should be pleased. T.Hawk has undergone the same update that the classic characters did in SFIV. His 3D model is faithful to the look of his old 2D sprite, and his moves have also been carefully translated to 3D. His super and ultra combos have gotten a spectacular, special-effects-laden face-lift that make his typhoon grapples look painful (and satisfying) to see in action. But whereas T.Hawk is the same powerhouse we all know and love, Juri appears to offer an alternative for players looking for speed and finesse. Juri is a Korean fighter, a first for the series, who uses tae kwon do and relies on an extensive array of kicks that reminds us a bit of Kim Kaphwan from SNK's King of Fighters and Fatal Fury games. The amazingly flexible and sensibly dressed vixen is fast and appears to use a variation of the soul energy Bison and Rose use. In addition to the expected array of kicks, Juri uses the energy for projectiles and an enhanced radial kick that looks to be pretty handy at dealing with enemies in the ground or air. Her supers are painful to watch; one starts with her breaking her opponent's back with a mighty slam and then lifting him up to taunt him before finishing the move.

SSFIV will also make another less-flashy-but-key addition in the form of a comprehensive tuning to each of the existing fighters. The work will include balance tweaks the team members wanted to include based on their own experiences, as well as feedback from fans. Returning fighters will get new ultra combos in addition to those seen in Street Fighter IV, which will require players to refine their fighting strategies. This work will be key to SSFIV's online matches, which are getting some serious work done to them. While Ono wouldn't go into specific details--mostly saying that SSFIV will feature an online experience that is considerably enhanced over the one in SFIV--he dropped a pretty big hint that some form of a lobby system may be added. The only downside to all this is that SSFIV won't be compatible with SFIV online because of all the upcoming changes.

The visuals in the game haven't undergone a tremendous change from SFIV. The returning characters and stages we saw looked pretty much the same. Juri and T.Hawk are done in the same art style as the rest of the roster and fit right into the game. Even though the demo we were being shown on the Xbox 360 was a work in progress, the game was already humming along at full speed.

Juri is a new femme fatale with fast feet.

Based on this early look, Super Street Fighter IV is shaping up to be a smart evolution of the groundwork laid by Street Fighter IV's revival. The new content and gameplay tweaks seem like meaty additions that will offer fans a lot to tear into and master. While the incompatibility with SFIV is a downer, we're happy to hear that Capcom won't be selling SSFIV at full price (although our happiness will be directly tied to exactly how much it sells for). Super Street Fighter IV is slated to ship in spring of 2010 for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Look for more on the game in the coming months.

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GTA Liberty City Stories Cheat Codes

GTA Liberty City Stories Cheat Codes

Codes

Enter these during gameplay

Cheat	Effect
UP, SQUARE, SQUARE, DOWN, LEFT, SQUARE, SQUARE, RIGHT	Weapon set 1
UP, CIRCLE, CIRCLE, DOWN, LEFT, CIRCLE, CIRCLE, RIGHT	Weapon set 2
UP, X, X, DOWN, LEFT, X, X, RIGHT	Weapon set 3
L1, R1, TRIANGLE, L1, R1, CIRCLE, L1, R1	Money Cheat ($250,000)
L1, R1, CIRCLE, L1, R1, X, L1, R1	Full Armor (Blue Bar)
L1, R1, X, L1, R1, SQUARE, L1, R1	Full Health (Red Bar)
L1, R1, SQUARE, L1, R1, TRIANGLE, L1, R1	Raise Wanted Level
L1, L1, TRIANGLE, R1, R1, X, SQUARE, CIRCLE	Never Wanted
CIRCLE, X, DOWN, CIRCLE, X, UP, L1, L1	Cars Drive On Water
X, X, R1, CIRCLE, CIRCLE, L1, TRIANGLE, TRIANGLE	White Cars
CIRCLE, CIRCLE, R1, TRIANGLE, TRIANGLE, L1, SQUARE, SQUARE	Black Cars
L1, UP, RIGHT, R1, TRIANGLE, SQUARE, DOWN, X	Raise Media Attention
TRIANGLE, CIRCLE, DOWN, TRIANGLE, CIRCLE, UP, L1, L1	Spawn Trashmaster
L1, L1, LEFT, L1, L1, RIGHT, SQUARE, TRIANGLE	Random Ped Outfit
L1, L1, CIRCLE, R1, R1, SQUARE, TRIANGLE, X	Sunny Weather
UP, DOWN, CIRCLE, UP, DOWN, SQUARE, L1, R1	Clear Weather
UP, DOWN, X, UP, DOWN, TRIANGLE, L1, R1	Overcast Weather
UP, DOWN, SQUARE, UP, DOWN, CIRCLE, L1, R1	Rainy Weather
UP, DOWN, TRIANGLE, UP, DOWN, X, L1, R1	Foggy Weather
L1, L1, LEFT, L1, L1, RIGHT, TRIANGLE, CIRCLE	Spawn Rhino
L1, L1, LEFT, L1, L1, RIGHT, CIRCLE, X	Faster Clock
L1, L1, LEFT, L1, L1, RIGHT, X, SQUARE	Destroy All Cars
L1, L1, R1, L1, L1, R1, LEFT, SQUARE	Peds Riot
L1, L1, R1, L1, L1, R1, UP, TRIANGLE	Peds Attack You
R1, R1, L1, R1, R1, L1, RIGHT, CIRCLE	Peds Have Weapons
R1, R1, L1, R1, R1, L1, DOWN, X	Faster Gameplay
R1, TRIANGLE, X, R1, SQUARE, CIRCLE, LEFT, RIGHT	Slower Gameplay
L1, UP, LEFT, R1, TRIANGLE, CIRCLE, DOWN, X	Perfect Traction
L1, DOWN, LEFT, R1, X, CIRCLE, UP, TRIANGLE	Commit Suicide
TRIANGLE, TRIANGLE, R1, SQUARE, SQUARE, L1, X, X	All Green Lights
SQUARE, SQUARE, R1, X, X, L1, CIRCLE, CIRCLE	Aggressive Drivers
DOWN, DOWN, DOWN, TRIANGLE, TRIANGLE, CIRCLE, L1, R1	Have People Follow You
DOWN, DOWN, DOWN, CIRCLE, CIRCLE, X, L1, R1	Bobble Head World
L1, R1, L1, R1, UP, DOWN, L1, R1	Display Game Credits
DOWN, DOWN, DOWN, X, X, SQUARE, R1, L1	Upside Down Gameplay
CIRCLE, RIGHT, X, UP, RIGHT, X, L1, SQUARE	Change Bike Tire Size
TRIANGLE, R1, L1, DOWN, DOWN, R1, R1, TRIANGLE	All Vehicles Chrome Plated
Triangle, Triangle, Triangle, Up, Up, Right, L, R	Upside Up
UP, UP, UP, TRIANGLE, TRIANGLE, CIRCLE, L1, R1	Unlock multiplayer skins
UP, UP, UP, CIRCLE, CIRCLE, X, L1, R1	4 Gangs+28 Characters (Multiplayer)
UP, UP, UP, X, X, SQUARE, R1, L1	7 Gangs+43 Characters (Multiplayrer)
UP, UP, UP, SQUARE, SQUARE, TRIANGLE, R1, L1	2 Gangs+14 Characters (Multiplayer)
X, X, X, DOWN, DOWN, RIGHT, L1, R1	Upside Down Gameplay2
X, Square, Down, X, Square, Up, R1, R1	Calls closest Ped to come hop on/in your vehicle.

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Yamauchi Talks Gran Turismo 5

We get the latest on the upcoming PS3 racer straight from the HQ of Polyphony Digital.

Kazunori Yamauchi is more than just a game developer.

You don't have to travel far in the Polyphony Digital offices to find accolades. The home of the Gran Turismo developer is chock-full of platinum sales awards, excellence awards, and trophies galore. Yet there's one award that might just outshine all of the rest, at least for GT series creator Kazunori Yamauchi--a best-in-class trophy he won while driving a four-hour race at Germany's Nurburgring in August. Yamauchi won the race driving a Lexus IS-F and set fastest lap among the three drivers that drove for his team (an impressive 10 minutes, 9 seconds).

Along with that real-world racing result, Yamauchi's day job--Gran Turismo 5 continues to creep closer to its own finish line. The game now has a release window--March 2010 in Japan--and, according to Yamauchi, that release for the rest of the world won't be too much different from the Japanese release.

"I don't think it's going to be that much later in the US and Europe," Yamauchi said during a press presentation on Gran Turismo PSP and Gran Turismo 5 from the Polyphony Digital offices on Saturday. "This is based on our production schedule. The reason why the dates for the US and [European] regions are not decided yet is because their marketing is still discussing their issues. It shouldn't be too far off from [the Japanese] date for the other regions as well."

Yamauchi gave a brief overview of what to expect from GT5 during the presentation, including a rundown on the numbers that fans can expect from the game: more than 950 cars, 20 locations, and 70 variations of tracks from which to choose. Yamauchi said the team at Polyphony Digital has been working on several different areas of late, including a new physics engine and damage, as well as adding moveable objects on the track (such as destructible tire walls on the Tokyo Route 246 track, playable on the show floor of TGS 2009). The team has also been working on the inclusion of hybrid and electrical vehicles into the ever-growing roster of cars.

Gran Turismo 5 in action.

Referring to damage specifically, Yamauchi mentioned some details about how damage will work in the game. There will be two types of damage, depending on the car you're driving. For regular production model cars, you'll be able scuff the paint job, as well as deform specific areas of the cars. For race model cars, like WRC and NASCAR models, damage will be extended to include parts falling off the car during particularly violent shunts.

Sony's Gran Turismo PSP, which is due for release this week, will have a connection with GT5; players will be able to move the cars they've collected from the PSP game to their garage in GT5. This is a good thing, considering the ease in which money and cars are available to players in the PSP game (Yamauchi estimates that the car acquisition rate in the PSP game is about 10 times as fast as in GT5). According to Yamauchi, players won't be able to move their credits from one version to the next.

Yamauchi also went over the modes in the GT5, and it's looking similar to what GT fans have come to expect from the series. As in previous games, the game will be split into Arcade and GT mode. In Arcade mode, you'll have a couple of different options--single-player race and split-screen two-player race. GT mode is where the majority of the players will spend their time. Players will have a world map to navigate around, their own garage to house their car collection, and dealerships and tuning shops to buy cars and parts. They'll also have championship race events and the ubiquitous license tests. The tuning shop will be more than just internal parts--there will also be external bits like bumpers, sidesteps, rear wings, and more.

Gran Turismo 5 will have an online presence, but it won't be quite as ambitious as originally planned...at least not yet. When GT5 ships, it will include online features, such as lobbies to set up races, text/voice chat, and private rooms, as well as places to share your photos and replays online (and even the ability to automatically upload your replays to YouTube). However, the plans outlined by Yamauchi back in 2006 for a marketplace that would let players download cars, tracks, and parts won't be part of the game at launch.

"It's a definite possibility of something we might do [in the future], but at the release of GT5, I don't think we'll have that functionality where you can buy single components for your car."

Elsewhere in the game, expect some new Photo mode enhancements, as well as a new and improved Gran Turismo TV with a new user interface, progressive downloading, and the ability to export videos to your PSP for later viewing. After the presentation, Yamauchi showed off a new trailer for the game that featured, among other things, peeks at some of the new courses that will be part of the game--including a quick look at the familiar tower from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which appears to be set for GT5.

More GT5 action.

Finally, what about the decision to include hybrid and EV cars, which--when compared to the high-end Mercedes models, Ferrari's, and souped-up imports--will likely feel a bit underwhelming? Yamauchi said the decision has more to do with Polyphony's interest in technology rather than the performance of the cars themselves.

"I tried driving EV cars and hybrids as they've been released, and I've found that they're actually fun to drive...[doing things like] monitoring the battery while you're on the road is actually kind of interesting," Yamauchi said. "And honestly, we have this curiosity for new technology. When a new technology is released into the world, we're interested in trying to [learn] about that system and trying it out." Afterword, I joked at the possibility of the inclusion resulting in Prius-based race series in the real world.

"No joke," Yamauchi said, "I think things like that will happen."

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Armored Core: Last Raven Portable Review

ike the source material it was ported from, Armored Core: Last Raven Portable is esoteric and difficult, with limited controls that don't help matters.
The Good

• A cavalcade of robot parts to buy and install

The Bad

• Frustrating controls, no matter how you customize them
• Bland presentation
• Unforgiving artificial intelligence.

Everyone likes a good giant robot battle now and then. Big weapons, big explosions, and tiny people scattering from the chaos all make for easy entertainment, and with a video game franchise like Armored Core, insanely deep customization options add a lot of intrigue to the mix. But Armored Core: Last Raven Portable, an almost direct port of the PlayStation 2 game, stumbles much in the way its progenitor did. Like Armored Core's other PlayStation Portable entries, it can be even clumsier, more frustrating, and as a result, much more unforgiving than the console original, largely because it's been shoehorned onto a platform without a second analog stick and a full set of shoulder buttons.

Dodging missiles is all in a day's work for a massive battle mech.

While a good chunk of your time will be spent piloting your mech in battle, the main appeal of Last Raven Portable is what goes on in the garage, where you're able to purchase, install, and fine-tune a plethora of mech parts. These include weaponry for your left and right arms, both in front and in the rear; cockpit parts; boosters; radar engines; legs; and more. You'll stumble across more parts while executing missions, and in fact, the PSP version has exclusive parts that weren't accessible in the console original.

The game stays out of your way so that you can tinker to your heart's content, as the plot is dispensed largely through e-mail messages and world-situation reports. A giant corporate conglomerate, which serves as the closest thing to a government this world has seen since it suffered the consequences of a devastating weapons malfunction, is being threatened by a rebel faction's massive, ultimate attack. This is supposed to take place 24 hours from the game's outset, but nothing about this story is particularly exciting, in part because of its bland presentation. A handful of new missions present themselves each time you succeed at a previous one, so depending on which missions you choose, you see different plot threads through in-engine cutscenes. Despite this variety, there isn't much to keep you interested.

Even though the vast amount of time you spend tweaking and tuning overshadows the thin story, you still have to put your customized mech to use. This is where the frustration really sets in because it's a struggle to keep up with enemy mechs using the PSP's unwieldy control configurations. No matter how you map your buttons, something will end up feeling unnatural, whether it's curling your left hand into a claw grip just to access secondary weapons fire or attempting to change the camera angle with the face buttons. Turning left and right is abhorrently slow, which--to be fair--makes sense because you're piloting this mammoth robot, but there's just so little that's enjoyable about controlling your metallic beast.

Taking things to another level, Last Raven Portable claims to boast faster-paced combat than its predecessors, which is a great bullet point for a press release, but means little when the controls are so cumbersome. Even the very first enemy armored core you face is prodigiously gifted at strafing out of your line of sight and zipping away from your locked-on missiles; meanwhile, it--and the other armored cores you'll battle--always seems to be able to stay locked onto you. With enough skill and technique, you will learn to dodge their attacks, but the learning curve is so incredibly steep that you're unlikely to stick around to see that day.

There's more fun to be had customizing your mechs than there is piloting them.

A lot of success in this game comes from trial and error, and not just from armored core battles. There are some recon, escort, and defense missions as well, and quite a few of them are likely to stump you at first until you realize that you have to go back to the garage and tune some parts. For instance, one early mission calls for you to eliminate threats around a pair of bridges so that your forces can advance. The bridge you start on is blown out, and so you must boost your way across the gap. The grunt on the other side will always pelt you with weak fire, but it's just enough to knock you away from your path before you can fully cross. It's highly improbable that your mech will ever make it across the gap until you realize that the only solution is to buy a more powerful booster (or a switch your robot legs out for a limbless hover mechanism).

Despite its maddening gameplay, Last Raven Portable retains that esoteric appeal common among all Armored Core games whereby you can spend dozens of hours just playing around with your mech configuration. It's unfortunate that no concessions were made to this port to make it more accessible because Armored Core: Formula Front did so by including an auto-battle option (which, when activated, put the emphasis squarely on the customization aspect). If you're an Armored Core fan who has been following its portable entries with gusto, you may feel right at home and will likely be encouraged to take down every enemy armored core in the game's virtual arena and complete every mission to see every ending. On the other hand, if you just really, really like giant robots and want to see things explode on a portable platform, you won't want to start with this Armored Core game.

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