Another week, another wacky GTA 4 mod. Out guest star last time was the leader of the Autobots, so this time? The last good thing about Star Wars.

Though I will say, I certainly wouldn’t mind a mod in which Niko Bellic has been altered to resemble ]]>

Another week, another wacky GTA 4 mod. Out guest star last time was the leader of the Autobots, so this time? The last good thing about Star Wars.

Though I will say, I certainly wouldn’t mind a mod in which Niko Bellic has been altered to resemble Boba Fett, even though the once mysterious bounty hunter has since become overexposed and flat out ruined by Lucas’ machinations in recent years.

Still, R2 will always be awesome no matter what, and the main reason why he trumps the Optimus mod, in my mind at least, is how he’s actually true to scale here. Yes, that kind of stuff matters to me.

Everyone knows that GTA IV is the perfect crash course, but what if you replaced their generic, vaguely familiar vehicles with something that you’ve always wanted to test drive (and wreck)? The enjoyment factor is multiplied exponentially.

The video above, of a BMW M3 E30, is courtesy of a ]]>

Everyone knows that GTA IV is the perfect crash course, but what if you replaced their generic, vaguely familiar vehicles with something that you’ve always wanted to test drive (and wreck)? The enjoyment factor is multiplied exponentially.

The video above, of a BMW M3 E30, is courtesy of a YouTube user that Kotaku recently highlighted, who compiles mods of high end luxuries cars and then records himself putting them through their paces.

Oh, and for whatever reason, he also did a video featuring that Optimus Prime mod that we featured a little while ago. I can be seen here.

Unfortunately, those seeking catharsis, i.e. watching Michael Bay’s abominable reinterpretation of a childhood hero being knocked around like a pinball, will be disappointed. But you can see him getting a blowjob, hence why it’s somewhat NSFW.

Another week, another crazy ass sale from Amazon. This time, the focus is on PC gamers. To all the interested parties out there, hope you have a ton of hard drive space to spare, because you’ll need it.

The Amazon Spring Sale starting today, runs for ]]>

Another week, another crazy ass sale from Amazon. This time, the focus is on PC gamers. To all the interested parties out there, hope you have a ton of hard drive space to spare, because you’ll need it.

The Amazon Spring Sale starting today, runs for the next ten days, so it wraps up on the 15th. There are two primary components: first you have deep discounts on real deal games. 177 to be exact. The entire selection can be viewed here. Highlights include…

- Grand Theft Auto 4 – $4.99
- L.A. Noire – $4.99
- Shift 2: Unleashed – $4.99
- Crysis 2 – $7.49
- Dragon Age Pack (Dragon Age Origins Ultimate & Dragon Age 2) – $9.99
- The Darkness II – $12.49
- Major League Baseball 2K12 – $19.99
- Serious Sam 2 – $2.99
- Serious Sam 3: BFE – $11.99
- Serious Sam Double D – $2.39
- Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter – $4.49
- Serious Sam HD: The Second Encounter – $5.99
- Serious Sam: The Random Encounter – $1.49
- Kingdoms of Amalur: – $39.99
- Mass Effect 3 – $49.99

Plus you have an additional 301 casual titles to choose from. You can literally spend all day trying to find something worth downloading; almost everything is just three bucks.

Too bad there really isn’t a Retro City Rampage cereal, but at least the game, which is also supposed to be from the 80s, but actually isn’t, is in fact legit. Did that make any sense?

The video above could easily be considered another example of an April Fools ]]>

Too bad there really isn’t a Retro City Rampage cereal, but at least the game, which is also supposed to be from the 80s, but actually isn’t, is in fact legit. Did that make any sense?

The video above could easily be considered another example of an April Fools gag that actually works, since it came out on Sunday, but I’m viewing it as just further proof of the game makers’ ability to tap into the 80s brilliantly.

And thank God it’s almost here. I gave my first head’s up almost a year ago, and its been in development for way longer than that. Retro City Rampage finally arrives this May for the PC, Wii, Xbox 360, PS3, and Vita.

Time for yet another wacky Grand Theft Auto 4 mod. Previously, we saw the underbelly of the internet’s de facto representative, the troll face, roaming around Liberty City. Now it’s the champion of Cybertron’s turn.

And as you can see, it’s somehow weirder than the previous mod, ]]>

Time for yet another wacky Grand Theft Auto 4 mod. Previously, we saw the underbelly of the internet’s de facto representative, the troll face, roaming around Liberty City. Now it’s the champion of Cybertron’s turn.

And as you can see, it’s somehow weirder than the previous mod, as well as even less realistic somehow. The fact that he’s not as big as he’s supposed to be is the biggest problem. Along with how he doesn’t transform.

But most of all is the straightforward look at the Prime of today, without all the fancy camera work that generally accompanies every Michael Bay flick. Which mostly hides how not only God awful stupid he looks, but also moves.

For a number of reasons, I’m personally not all excited about the upcoming big screen reboot of the franchise. But an Amazing Spider-Man game based upon the movie? That’s a different story; it’s looks absolutely and insanely incredible.

One primary reason is because the past couple of games have ]]>

For a number of reasons, I’m personally not all excited about the upcoming big screen reboot of the franchise. But an Amazing Spider-Man game based upon the movie? That’s a different story; it’s looks absolutely and insanely incredible.

One primary reason is because the past couple of games have so utterly lame, due to old web-head running around in some goofy future cityscape (and often indoors). Meanwhile, here you swinging around in a vibrant recreation of the Big Apple that we all know and love.

It’s too early to say if this is going to be the Grand Theft Auto: Marvel Comics Edition that we’ve all be fantasizing of, but it looks pretty damn close. And hopefully there will be additional costumes, because that new look still ain’t working for me, sorry.

If one was to pretend that the troll face from 4chan, Reddit, Tumblr, etc. was a real person, he’d be a guy still living at home. Who either decided to grow up or simply got kicked out, because he now has a new place of residence: Grand Theft Auto’s take ]]>

If one was to pretend that the troll face from 4chan, Reddit, Tumblr, etc. was a real person, he’d be a guy still living at home. Who either decided to grow up or simply got kicked out, because he now has a new place of residence: Grand Theft Auto’s take on NY, Liberty City.

The video, which was first dug up by Kotaku, is both hilarious and creepy. Like seriously, if I saw such a thing running down the street, especially towards me, with a knife, I would soil myself. And my face would be similar to Forever Alone guy perhaps.

A shame he doesn’t make a cameo, but I’m sure someone is already working on that one at this very moment.

The already eye-popping (and graphics card pushing) iCEnhancer mod has been updated, to once again make that wait for GTA V all the more tolerable.

Said it before, and I’ll say it again: do we honestly need Grand Theft Auto 5? Other than a brand new story, what ]]>

The already eye-popping (and graphics card pushing) iCEnhancer mod has been updated, to once again make that wait for GTA V all the more tolerable.

Said it before, and I’ll say it again: do we honestly need Grand Theft Auto 5? Other than a brand new story, what else does it offer? Gee, virtual LA, splendid. Sorry, but I still want my virtual NY, and the aforementioned mod that makes a 4 year old game look as if it was for a brand new console that’s 4 years from now, keeps looking better…

According to Joystiq, the reasons why the reflections look kinda funky is because of Rockstar’s video editor, and is not all indicative of the final experience.

To obtain the mod, simply head look for the download button here. All you need is the PC version of the game (obviously), which can be obtained fairly cheaply these days, around $20. Though to even get it running normally, you’ll need a fairly souped up PC to begin with, FYI.

Playing violent video games; it’s one of the finest pastimes there is. But did you know it also provides an outlet for real-life aggression and acts as a stress reliever? So again, hooray for violence in video games! In the spirit of that I’d like to comment on some ]]>

Playing violent video games; it’s one of the finest pastimes there is. But did you know it also provides an outlet for real-life aggression and acts as a stress reliever? So again, hooray for violence in video games! In the spirit of that I’d like to comment on some of the most ridiculously brutal games that produce the most visceral results when said violence is lovingly applied.

10 Soldier of Fortune Games
How Violent is it?
This was one of the first games that had character models that were designed for dismemberment. I’ll never forget using a knife to hack off a mercenary’s arm and wondering (a) how the hell a knife was able to do that and (b) where violence in video games could possibly go from there.

Violence Rating: 6 out of 10 Bloodbaths

9 Serious Sam Games
How Violent is it?
Serious Sam isn’t so much about blood and guts as it is about killing the shit out of shit as fast and efficiently as you can so that you don’t get overwhelmed by wave after wave of more incoming shit. Why am I referring to the enemies as shit? Because you’ll find yourself saying “oh, shit!” more than you can imagine as your screen fills up with anywhere from a dozen to a hundred enemies at a time.

Violence Rating: 6 out of 10 Bloodbaths

8 Grand Theft Auto Games
How Violent is it?
To some people banging a hooker in a stolen car and then killing her in public and driving off is just another Saturday night. But that became commonplace (albeit, virtually) thanks to the antics you can get yourself in in the world of Grand Theft Auto. Add random civilian killing sprees, intentional police showdowns and the collateral damage that ensues and you’ve got yourself a fiendishly good time.

Violence Rating: 7 out of 10 Bloodbaths

7 Limbo
How Violent is it?
A game with a grey scale color palette about a little cartoon boy making his way through the woods doesn’t sound like it would be so violent, but this one really is. Most of this brutality is achieved with such crunchy, visceral audio that the shadowy visuals are more than enough to represent what’s happening. See if you can keep from cringing when you’re electrocuted or shuddering when you’ve been impaled by the enormous spider that stalks you throughout the unforgiving forest.

Violence Rating: 7 out of 10 Bloodbaths

6 Turok: Dinosaur Hunter Games
How Violent is it?
Wasn’t there a gun in this game where the ammo drilled itself into your enemy’s brain and then exploded from within their skull? Oh yeah, it was called the CEREBRAL BORE. That ferocious nomenclature is enough to boil the blood of any gamer.

Violence Rating: 8 out of 10 Bloodbaths

5 Painkiller
How Violent is it?
The default weapon has three functions: you can use its spinning blade as a way to trim the hell spawn into manageable portions, or shoot the blade out to massacre your enemies. What about the third? Oh, well that would be the laser that trails the projectile, slicing and burning any bad guy that happens to be in the blade’s trajectory. Again, that is the DEFAULT weapon. It just gets more awesome from there.

Violence Rating: 8 out of 10 Bloodbaths

4 Dead Space Games
How Violent is it?
Here’s a game where stomping bodies into a bloody pulp with your steel space boots nets you whatever item they were holding onto (or had somehow ingested?). You can’t go five minutes without either tearing an enemy limb-from-limb (literally) with your makeshift space engineer weapons or being maimed by an airlock shaft as you’re in the process of being catapulted out of it into the frigid void of space.

Violence Rating: 10 out of 10 Bloodbaths

3 Original Doom Games
How Violent is it?
These are some of the goriest games of all time, which makes them fascinating to this day despite their reliance on 90s era sprite-based graphics. For those who don’t remember, there’s actually an enemy that once killed collapses into its exposed and broken insides as it emits a sound not unlike a tentacle slapping wildly against wet gravel. Disgawstsome.

Violence Rating: 10 out of 10 Bloodbaths

2 God of War 3
How Violent is it?
The main character, Kratos, wears the ashes of his dead family’s bodies on his skin as a mark of his pain and suffering. Woe to the enemies that stand in his way. With titles like the Nemesis Whip, Blades of Exile and Claws of Hades his weapons sound savage enough on their own without even taking into account what they’re capable of. There’s a scene where having bested Hercules, Kratos pilfers his weapons (an enormous, lion-faced pair of gauntlets) and uses them to beat face directly into skull. There’s also a particularly brutal death scene that shows a close up of the sun God Helios as Kratos literally pulls his head off his body.

Violence Rating: 10 out of 10 bloodbaths

1 Manhunt Games
How Violent is it?
Manhunt is one of the most gleeful yet somber (that could only make sense to those who have played the games) experiences of violence achieved via controller by anyone aside from sociopaths who have access to military remote controlled weaponry. In this third-person stealth game, the object is often to sneak up behind your enemies and choose how terrible you want their deaths to be based on long you hold down the attack button. Piano wire, plastic bags and shards of glass aren’t standard weapons in video games and that’s mostly because they are truly the stuff that nightmares are made of.

Violence Rating: 10 out of 10 Bloodbaths

Two game related items that have to do with an old Schwarzenegger film in a span of 24 hours? It’s just one of those days, I guess.

The following is yet another mod that demonstrates that Grand Theft Auto 4 for the PC truly is the most versatile ]]>

Two game related items that have to do with an old Schwarzenegger film in a span of 24 hours? It’s just one of those days, I guess.

The following is yet another mod that demonstrates that Grand Theft Auto 4 for the PC truly is the most versatile game in recent memory. Or, at least offers the kinds of flexibility that matters to regular folks like you and me; I know already that much more can, and perhaps has been done with Second Life. But who the hell wants to deal with furries?

Granted, it’s not quite as fleshed out as one might hope. Meaning, you don’t start out as Arnold, and how bits and pieces of his flesh don’t deteriorate as he gets shot, to reveal the T-800 underneath. But it’s still pretty neat nonetheless.

It’s also a reminder of how there honestly hasn’t been any good Terminator games, like ever. There’s certainly been a few, but if they were actually any good, I’m pretty sure we would be able to remember it. At least that one game in which he faces off against Robocop was “interesting”…

There’s now a real deal controller available, called the 60beat.

Via Cult of Mac comes something for those of us who would like certain iPhone and iPad games a lot more if we could only, you know, control them properly…

Doesn’t look half bad; I’ve certainly ]]>

There’s now a real deal controller available, called the 60beat.

Via Cult of Mac comes something for those of us who would like certain iPhone and iPad games a lot more if we could only, you know, control them properly…

Doesn’t look half bad; I’ve certainly seen worse Dual Shock wannabes. And using the audio jack as the control port is kind of ingenious! Though that also means you won’t be able to play games and listen to audio via headphones either. Oh well.

Though the real issue is how, at the moment, only two games support the device. And you just saw them, and no, they aren’t anything special. Basically, game makers will need to get their hands on the appropriate software to add such functionality into their titles, either right off the back or via updates.

So will Rockstar give these little guys the time of day by adding 60beat drivers into their iOS port of Grand Theft Auto 3? Unless the controller sells an ass load, I doubt it. Plus, much time is put towards creating those virtual buttons, and I can see a few not wanting to concede that actual buttons are indeed better.

But you never know. Though also, at $50? That’s another issue right there.

The indie gaming sandbox sensation shows no signs of slowing down, especially with its users whipping up every increasingly awesome (and legitimately mind-blowing) creations.

First, we’ve already seen Katamari, Minecraft, Halo, all done via Minecraft. Well, behold, Grand Theft Auto V, but in block form…

… True, ]]>

The indie gaming sandbox sensation shows no signs of slowing down, especially with its users whipping up every increasingly awesome (and legitimately mind-blowing) creations.

First, we’ve already seen Katamari, Minecraft, Halo, all done via Minecraft. Well, behold, Grand Theft Auto V, but in block form…

… True, it’s just the launch trailer, redone, and not a real deal game. At least not yet. The lack of cars, which is at the very heart of every single GTA is also a fairly major blow, but it’s impressive nonetheless!

Though pretty much everything pales in comparison to the following: it’s an actual video game built within Minecraft…

… It’s a tad bit rudimentary, but I repeat: it’s an actual video game built within Minecraft. And what have you been doing with your life lately? One can actually download the game and check it out for yourself! Just follow Joystiq‘s lead.

Moving on, here we have a bunch of kids reacting to the game and the phenomena…

… Yes, that Minecraft convention is a very real thing…

And finally, here we have a fairly recent clip from everyone’s favorite video game lovin’, proficient at After Effects Asian on the internet. Though this one features either his girlfriend or sister…

Behold a nightmare scenario that would literally have people jumping off buildings if it ever came true. Thankfully, Rockstar is not dumb/desperate for money like that. We hope.

It’s funny how Rockstar’s overly macho sensibilities, which used to make my eyes roll, have become part of an extremely effective and ]]>

Behold a nightmare scenario that would literally have people jumping off buildings if it ever came true. Thankfully, Rockstar is not dumb/desperate for money like that. We hope.

It’s funny how Rockstar’s overly macho sensibilities, which used to make my eyes roll, have become part of an extremely effective and winning formula. Sorry, but I wasn’t so keen on earlier efforts, like GTA 3, in which attempts at appealing to a more “mature” audience were way too rough around the edges, and which came off as rather juvenile as a result. Yeah, I used to write off Grand Theft Auto as “that cop killing, hooker banging game.”

Though I was clearly in the minority, and they did well enough to make money. LOTS of money, and all those profits were smartly put back into the product. Which meant they could hire the right artists to get the intended message across. Furthermore, the tech also caught up, hence why I’m foaming at the mouth for GTA 5. As is tons of other folks.

The key to their success has been knowing their audience and not listening to the distractors (like the haters, such as myself once upon a time… hey, I have no problems admitting that I was wrong). And Rockstar probably knows already that if they ever tried the following, they’d lose all their street cred, which is pretty much impossible for anyone to accumulate these days…

Via Destructoid. Anyhow, since we’re talking about GTA, here’s what the Taiwanese CGI news crew predicted the game would look like, shortly before the official trailer was unveiled…

Speaking as a card-carrying fan of Next Media Animation, my initial reaction was “seriously, that’s it?” But then it reminded me of Bully, and I totally wouldn’t mind another one of those, especially if it revolves around a bunch of 4 years olds.

After yesterday’s auspicious unveiling. Rockstar has finally offered a few scant details behind the game.

Honestly, it’s not much… mostly confirmation of what many had been guessing or assumed… but that’s better than nothing.

Like how, obviously, the game takes place in their version ]]>

After yesterday’s auspicious unveiling. Rockstar has finally offered a few scant details behind the game.

Honestly, it’s not much… mostly confirmation of what many had been guessing or assumed… but that’s better than nothing.

Like how, obviously, the game takes place in their version of Los Angeles, Los Santos, plus other places. Story-wise, all we know is how: “Grand Theft Auto V focuses on the pursuit of the almighty dollar in a re-imagined, present-day Southern California.”

Basically, there’s no DC action, which was a place I figured might be touched up, given the legal tender roman numeral. Though more importantly, it has finally been confirmed that online multiplayer is indeed back! Single player-wise, it’ll still be the combination of open world and mission based storytelling that we all know and love.

The press release also states: “Grand Theft Auto V is another radical reinvention of the Grand Theft Auto universe… We are incredibly excited to share our new vision with our fans” sez Sam Houser, one of the chief architects of the Rockstar empire.

No word yet if there will be multiplayer characters in the single player side. Thus far, we just have one guy (and not a female lead, as some had also speculated. But one thing is clear: it’s definitely not Tommy Vercetti, from Vice City, nor the actor who lent his vocal chords to that game, Ray Liotta, as some people have thought.

How anyone could mistake that guy for Liotta is beyond me. Has any of those folks ever seen any of this movies? They’re NOTHING alike!

Grand Theft Auto V doesn’t have a release date or even any confirmed details about where it’ll take place. But as of noon Eastern time today, it has a trailer. Watch the GTA V trailer embedded here now.

12:03PM UPDATE: Looks like the Rockstar servers are getting slammed but ]]>

Grand Theft Auto V doesn’t have a release date or even any confirmed details about where it’ll take place. But as of noon Eastern time today, it has a trailer. Watch the GTA V trailer embedded here now.