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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Most Anticipated Games of 2010

Most Anticipated Games of 2010

In 2009, the video game industry witnessed the triumphant return of beloved franchises, the appearance of numerous blockbuster sequels, a continued push for major downloadable content, and the arrival of brand-new properties. We've already seen some new faces and some familiar ones in the early part of 2010, and if the games in our Most Anticipated lineup are any indication, this year is going to have no shortage of excellent games on par with those released in 2009. But there's one major difference between this year and last: Both Sony and Microsoft are releasing new hardware in an effort to change the way we interact with games. Microsoft's Natal technology detects and uses your body's motions, while Sony's wand technology has more in common with what Nintendo has done with the Wii. Both platforms should produce some interesting results and provide for an incredibly entertaining year of gaming. Without further ado, and in no particular order, here are GameSpot's most anticipated games for 2010.

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Monkey Island 2 Special Edition: LeChuck's Revenge Impressions - First Look

Monkey Island 2 Special Edition: LeChuck's Revenge Impressions - First Look

We take our first look at LucasArts' next special edition of a classic adventure game: Monkey Island 2.

Way back when, the cult-classic Monkey Island graphical adventure series helped put LucasArts on the map as a development house that didn't just make Star Wars games. And perhaps in recognition of this fact, last year, the publisher brought back the very first Secret of Monkey Island in a "special edition" that contained both an updated version of the original game with new graphics and a new, in-depth hint system. And now the second game, LeChuck's Revenge, will get the same treatment in a new special edition packed with even more features.

Who's Making It: The new game is in development at LucasArts with input from some of the game's original creators: Telltale's Dave Grossman, Doublefine's Tim Schafer, and Deathspank creator (and Monkey Island creator) Ron Gilbert.

What It Looks Like: Like the previous special-edition game, Monkey Island 2 can be played with a brand-new graphical interface with colorful, cartoon-style 2D graphics that have several animated details, like fish hopping in the ocean below a bridge across which Guybrush walks, and moths circling the bridge's lantern. However, just like in the last special-edition game, you can switch back to the "classic" view in all its pixelated 2D glory.

What You Do: As Guybrush, you walk, talk, and interact with environmental objects to solve the puzzles that are immediately in front of you to progress through the game. All of Monkey Island 2's original humorous gags and puzzles are intact in this edition, including the memorable scene of stealing Wally's monocle.

How It Plays: The game can be played with the thumbsticks on a standard controller to directly control Guybrush's movements, though if you prefer, you can also use the classic point-and-click interface with a mouselike pointer to click on your destinations and any characters or objects with which you want to interact. While using the "new" control scheme, not only can you avail yourself of the game's stepwise hint system (which gradually gives you successively deeper hints on what to do next until it eventually reveals the full solution if you keep using it), but you can also immediately locate the nearest character or object with which to interact by pressing your controller's right bumper, which helpfully highlights the person/thing in question. Once you have your target selected, you can then pull up an easy-to-use radial menu that lists every single available option--though again, if you prefer, you can use the original point-and-click option menu.

In addition to offering both versions of the game, this special edition includes an in-game commentary mode that pulls up silhouettes of Grossman, Schafer, and Gilbert at the bottom-right corner (not unlike the presentation of Mystery Science Theater 3000) and the creators' witty commentary in text form at the top of the screen. Plus, the game also includes a concept-art gallery that lets you view the sketches that the LucasArts team used to create the graphical overhaul for the "new" version of the game.

What They Say: Monkey Island 2 Special Edition: LeChuck's Revenge has all the great content and gameplay of the original game, updated for a new generation of game players with new graphics, a hint system, and some fun extras.

What We Say: Yeah, sure. That sounds about right. The game will ship later this year.

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By Tom Mc Shea, GameSpot

By Tom Mc Shea, GameSpot
By Tom Mc Shea, GameSpot

We get a first look at Little Big Planet 2's forays into other genres.

The first Little Big Planet ushered in the age of easily creating and sharing tools for consoles, but though some enterprising designers forced their creative visions beyond the game's boundaries, it was still primarily a platformer. Sony showed off new footage of Little Big Planet 2 at its press conference, and it looks to go far beyond even its ambitions progenitor.

Today we got a look at some of the other genres you can easily create levels for in LBP2. You can design your own real-time strategy, role-playing, puzzle, and racing game, as well as 2D shooters. You can also test them out in a simple competitive mode, which we got to quickly see. A puzzle game was whipped together that separated the playing field into four separate columns, each controlled by a different player. This game was built purely on dexterity, forcing players to quickly tap the highlighted button before their competitors.

Other multiplayer minigames included a top-down arena battle in which you needed to push your opponents out of an electrified ring and a 2D shooter in which players had jetpacks strapped to their backs and shot missiles at their opponents. Other genre types were shown off in a single-player setting. There was a 2D side-scrolling shooter reminiscent of Gradius; a light gun game that looked an awful lot like Duck Hunt; a top-down boxing match; and a top-down shooter that was similar to Ikari Warriors. There was also an RTS within the single-player campaign, and one boss fight ended with a psychedelic shooting section that would make Jeff Minter proud.

Little Big Planet 2 looks to be overflowing with variety and fun. Stay tuned to GameSpot to see our hands-on impressions for this cool-looking game.

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FEAR 3 Updated Impressions

Fountains of blood, flashbacks, and disturbing dreams: All in a day's work for FEAR 3's two heroes.

The next installment in the FEAR franchise will take the trademark first-person shooter action and horror atmosphere of the series and introduce a third ingredient into the formula: teamwork. Cooperative play is coming to the franchise for the first time ever, as one player assumes control of supersoldier Point Man and his ghostly brother Paxton Fettel. It's a bold move on the part of developer Day 1 Studios for a pair of reasons. First, the series has traditionally relied quite heavily on alone-in-the-dark scares, and second, the style of co-op the developer is aiming for--an uneasy alliance between two people who don't trust each other--is fairly novel for the genre.

Previous Coverage: We got our first look at FEAR 3 last month with a demo that showed off some basic combat differences between the two brothers, as well as a sequence showing off the game's focus on mech combat. All in all, it was a pretty action-oriented demo.

What's New: The demo we saw at E3 had a decidedly different tone from the last one. Here, the combat was punctuated by frequent apparitions and flashbacks. At one moment, Point Man and Paxton were working in tandem to proceed through an abandoned building riddled with ghastly thugs--the enemies that might torment the nightmares of someone with a crippling fear of drug dealers. A highlight: Point Man used his slow-motion ability to let Paxton sneak into the middle of five or six thugs, at which point Paxton used his telekinetic powers to emit a violent energy that exploded everyone in the room into a fountain of blood. It was...gruesome. That's a good way to put it.

Contrasting that visceral team-focused combat were frequent head-trip moments like the one that suddenly teleported the two from said abandoned building into a dark forest with nothing around but a creaking carousel. At another moment, they capped off a violent shootout against armed soldiers by suddenly finding two small boys cowering out in a clearing. Turns out, Point Man and Paxton were experiencing bizarre flashbacks of their childhood together, as the game's roller-coaster storytelling includes intense gore, abstract imagery, and creepy images of the two men as children--definitely an odd trio of themes.

What's Changed: Nothing, really--it’s only been a month since our last look at the game. The only thing that's really changed was the environment in which we saw the game. Warner Brothers went to town decorating the private FEAR 3 demo room at E3, scrawling crazy messages in red paint on the wall and sticking kitchen knives all over the place. It was more than a little bit unsettling.

Final Word: FEAR 3 looks very interesting. We're eager to see how the whole fragile alliance element plays out in later stages of the game, as what we've seen so far suggests that the two protagonists have little choice but to work together to avoid certain death.

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Twisted Metal First Impressions

Twisted Metal First Impressions

• By Chris Watters, GameSpot
• Jun 15, 2010 7:43 pm PT

The iconic car combat series is coming to the PlayStation 3, complete with helicopters, chainsaws, and everyone's favorite demonic ice-cream-truck driver, Sweet Tooth.

For over a decade, owners of any PlayStation system have been able to ram, shoot, and otherwise blow each other up in the vicious car combat offered by the Twisted Metal series. Next year, PlayStation 3 players will get their opportunity for mayhem when Twisted Metal crashes into their living rooms. This year at Sony's E3 press conference, series cocreator David Jaffe gave a demo of the game's team deathmatch mode as well as an expansive new mode called Nuke. Explosions and flying shrapnel filled the screen, and we were able to glean some solid information about this new entry in the long-running series.

The demo kicked off with team deathmatch and an immediate surprise: the first vehicle onscreen was a helicopter. The pilot flew between bombed-out buildings as a second player fired a powerful chaingun from the passenger side of the vehicle, showing off the robust destructibility at work (see trailer above). The air superiority advantage was clear, but then the pilot pulled another new trick. He stopped above a friendly car, lowered a large magnet, picked up the car, and flew off. While many of the vehicles can no doubt cruise around at respectable speeds, nothing beats the convenience of an airlift. But before you go thinking that this new ride is too overpowered, rest assured that we saw visual evidence that the helicopter can go boom just like every other vehicle in the game.

They may have a better view of the action, but not even helicopters are safe from destruction.

And speaking of other vehicles, it wasn't long before the action hopped over to a motorcycle tearing around the city streets. We had just enough time to see the driver whip out a large chainsaw before the action switched again, this time showing off a muscle car armed to the gills with a chaingun and a missile launcher. The driver used his destructive power to knock out a few small buildings, then appeared to lean out the window and pull out something unexpected: a sniper rifle. There seemed to be a bit of aim assist at work here, a much-needed aid for such a hyper-accurate weapon. The player moved a small circle around onscreen until he had locked on to a target, and then he zoomed in a few levels and blasted the unlucky victim. The zooming took place in the small circle in the area of the screen where the enemy was located--a clever design trick that seemed to work quite well.

Next up was Nuke mode, which sounds like an open world where a lot of online players can engage in all sorts of simultaneous mayhem. The map was clearly structured for creative driving, as evidenced by the abundance of clearly drivable rooftops. There was also a freeway system in place, including an incomplete on-ramp that led into a hanging commercial airplane chassis. Nuke supports faction-versus-faction play, and from the looks of things, there were 30 or more players in there at one time.

See if you can spot what's twisted about this picture.

The factions we saw clash were the clowns (led by Sweet Tooth, naturally) and the dolls (creepy in their own special way). The end goal of the match was to destroy a massive statue representing the opposing faction that was being airlifted around the map. In order to do so, a faction must activate its missile launcher. Naturally, missile launchers require the sacrifice of a kidnapped faction leader, so the first goal in the match is to get past your enemies and grab yourself a hostage. This proved to be no easy task. Not only must you deal with the trigger-happy defenders, but the target himself is planted in a powerful stationary turret.

A lot of fiery explosions later, the clowns had made off with their hostage and were dragging him behind the car as they sped toward the missile launcher. Once there, the launcher took a few moments to gear up, meaning another frantic standoff as the dolls desperately tried to get their leader back. The clowns held them off, though, and soon the gaping, grinding maw of the twisted launcher had opened, welcoming the sacrifice into its flaming jaws. This triggered the launch of the missile, which the player then had to guide around the city, dodging buildings and seeking out its target. The clowns claimed victory as the missile smashed into the dolls' statue, blowing it to pieces.

With the focus squarely on mayhem and destruction, Twisted Metal certainly knows its audience. Deathmatch looked as explosive as ever, and Nuke is poised to take online car combat to a whole new level. Be sure to check out the gameplay in the latter half of the trailer for a visual taste of what's to come.

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Vanquish Impressions

We check out some new gameplay footage of the futuristic third-person shooter from PlatinumGames.

It's an odd feeling watching the first gameplay footage of a new PlatinumGames title without being immediately blown away by the carefully crafted over-the-top violence and irreverent humor. It's an even odder feeling making it through the entire demo without coming across either of these Platinum trademarks. During our behind-closed-doors session with upcoming sci-fi shooter Vanquish at E3 2010, we took a closer look at the game's combat and asked Sega why things have suddenly become so serious.

Vanquish is the last title in the four-game deal between Sega and PlatinumGames, following MadWorld, Bayonetta, and Infinite Space. Directed by Resident Evil director Shinji Mikami, the third-person shooter is all about fast-paced, frantic action and a little something called the Augmented Reaction System (ARS).

The hands-off demo began with an introduction to the game's hero, Sam, a US government agent sent to wrench back his country's space station from the hands of some pesky Russians. Decked in a full-body battle suit and backed by a team of US agents, Sam immediately launched into action, shooting down a group of Russians (also in power suits) in what looked like a power station. Interestingly, players will not have to waste time manually picking up weapons as they progress through the game--Sam's suit allows him to scan the weapons he comes across and then replicate them directly in his hand. A weapon gauge on the bottom right-hand corner of the screen will let players know which weapon Sam is currently using and allow him to switch among four different types (during our demo, we saw Sam using a standard shotgun, assault rifle, and a sniper rifle). When scanning a weapon type he already owns, Sam will instead receive extra ammo for that weapon and eventually an upgrade.

In the second environment Sega showed us, we saw Sam immersed in a heavy firefight with several enemy aircraft while riding on a moving platform. It was at this point that the action became frantic: Aircraft approached rapidly from all directions while Sam began a frenzied attack of gunfire and grenades until the screen resembled a large, moving blur. After a minute of this incomprehensible craziness, the full power of Sam's suit finally kicked into gear--on occasions where battles become too frantic or Sam is attacked by too many enemies, his suit will automatically turn on the ARS and temporarily slow down time to allow Sam to either destroy his opponents without being attacked or retreat to cover.

The system can also be triggered voluntarily by performing either a power-slide boost move (which sees Sam surge forward in one rapid, fluid movement) or jumping over cover. However, all these moves are controlled by a heat gauge on the bottom right-hand corner of the screen. Performing power-slide boosts and melee attacks, as well as using the ARS will deplete the gauge, so Sam must either take cover or shoot himself out of a tricky situation.

The last environment of the demo saw Sam on his way to fight one of the game's midlevel bosses, a giant human-controlled robot standing atop a hill overlooking a sprawling metropolis. Here, we finally got to see the game's cover system in action. While making his way up the hill, deflecting fire from both the boss and swarms of Russians, Sam used some strategically placed metal crates to jump and slide his way from cover to cover while continuing to dish out a never-ending stream of bullets. While the cover system appears to work quite smoothly (especially when coupled with the power-slide boost), Sega told us that the game will reward players who are a bit more brazen in their combat technique (which means no cowering behind cover and letting your AI buddies do all the work). While Sega admitted that you can play the game this way if you wish, it was quite clear that it's not the way it was meant to be experienced.

Our demo ended there. Fielding questions about why PlatinumGames took the aggressive combat approach with Vanquish, Sega told us that Mikami wanted players to explore the battlefield as much as possible, making use of everything available to emerge victorious and earn rewards for being bold and taking risks. The publisher also made mention of the fact that Vanquish's story will include some aspects of quirky PlatinumGames humor but refused to comment on whether the game is geared more toward a Western audience following the lackluster reception of the studio's last three titles outside Japan.

Vanquish will be released in October 2010.

by:http://e3.gamespot.com

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