Latest News
Welcome to The GTA Place. One of the most visited Grand Theft Auto fansites on the web. Our current main focus is of course on Grand Theft Auto IV. Check back often for all the latest news, screenshots, information and more, or subscribe to our RSS feed to receive news updates as soon as we post them on the website.
It appears you are not a member of our community, check out our forums where new members join everyday looking for a friendly and helpful community to be a part of. For questions, answers, support for all the GTA games, and just general discussion, register now!
Monday, June 22nd, 2009
Chinatown Wars headed to the PSP
Rockstar Games have just announced that they will be bringing Chinatown Wars to the PSP. From the press release:
New York, NY – June 22, 2009 – Rockstar Games, the world-renowned publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO), is pleased to announce that one of the highest-rated handheld games of all time, Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, will be making its way to the PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) handheld entertainment system. Developed by the award-winning studio Rockstar Leeds, in conjunction with series creator Rockstar North, Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars will be available at retail on UMD® and digitally from the PlayStation®Network in North America and Europe this fall.
"We're proud to extend this truly unique handheld Grand Theft Auto experience to PSP and offer a downloadable version of Chinatown Wars for PSP®go," said Sam Houser, Founder of Rockstar Games. "Rockstar Leeds has shown incredible talent in creating games that raise the bar in terms of depth and innovation on portables, and with Chinatown Wars we have a rich, fast-paced, and incredibly addictive entry into the series."
"Rockstar's work with the GTA series has been an enormous part of the success of PlayStation platforms," said Jack Tretton, President and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment America. "We're excited to welcome the critically acclaimed Chinatown Wars to the outstanding line-up of great games headed to the PSP platform this fall."
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars follows the story of Huang Lee, a young Triad who travels to Liberty City after the mysterious death of his father. Within the game, players will navigate their way through the streets as they uncover the truth behind an epic tale of crime and corruption within the Triad crime syndicate, delivering the unprecedented amount of depth that has become a true trademark of the franchise. Specifically built for the PSP platform with upscaled widescreen graphics, enhanced lighting and animation; and including all-new story missions; this version of Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars will take full advantage of the power of the PSP system.
"We're proud to extend this truly unique handheld Grand Theft Auto experience to PSP and offer a downloadable version of Chinatown Wars for PSP®go," said Sam Houser, Founder of Rockstar Games. "Rockstar Leeds has shown incredible talent in creating games that raise the bar in terms of depth and innovation on portables, and with Chinatown Wars we have a rich, fast-paced, and incredibly addictive entry into the series."
"Rockstar's work with the GTA series has been an enormous part of the success of PlayStation platforms," said Jack Tretton, President and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment America. "We're excited to welcome the critically acclaimed Chinatown Wars to the outstanding line-up of great games headed to the PSP platform this fall."
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars follows the story of Huang Lee, a young Triad who travels to Liberty City after the mysterious death of his father. Within the game, players will navigate their way through the streets as they uncover the truth behind an epic tale of crime and corruption within the Triad crime syndicate, delivering the unprecedented amount of depth that has become a true trademark of the franchise. Specifically built for the PSP platform with upscaled widescreen graphics, enhanced lighting and animation; and including all-new story missions; this version of Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars will take full advantage of the power of the PSP system.
Friday, June 19th, 2009
GTA IV PC patch 1.0.4.0 released
Looks like Rockstar have released a small game update for the PC version of GTA IV. Next time you log on to Games for Windows LIVE you'll be prompted to download it. The update includes everything from the previous patches, so if you don't already have the 1.0.3.0 patch you'll only need to install this one, not all of them.
Rockstar haven't yet added this to the official site yet, so we're not sure of the exact details of what it does. However, some players are reporting performance increases with an extra 5 fps, sometimes even more. Guess it all depends on your setup. Let us know in the comments how the patch effects your game. We'll post full details of the changelog once Rockstar put it up.
UPDATE: It's simply a maintenance update:
As an aside: Both ATi and nVidia this week released updates to their graphics card drivers. These can of course also help give you better performing games, so it's recommended you upgrade these as well.
Links: ATi Catalyst 9.6 or nVidia 186.18 for the latest drivers.
Rockstar haven't yet added this to the official site yet, so we're not sure of the exact details of what it does. However, some players are reporting performance increases with an extra 5 fps, sometimes even more. Guess it all depends on your setup. Let us know in the comments how the patch effects your game. We'll post full details of the changelog once Rockstar put it up.
UPDATE: It's simply a maintenance update:
Maintenance Update:
* -Resource management adjustments based on the operating system detected.
* -Resource management adjustments based on the operating system detected.
As an aside: Both ATi and nVidia this week released updates to their graphics card drivers. These can of course also help give you better performing games, so it's recommended you upgrade these as well.
Links: ATi Catalyst 9.6 or nVidia 186.18 for the latest drivers.
Tuesday, June 2nd, 2009
Play TLAD with Busta Rhymes
Following on from the previous announcement about The Lost and Damned weekend, Rockstar have also announced that you also have the chance to play a session of TLAD with rapper Busta Rhymes. Tomorrow night (2nd June) from 7:00 to 9:00 PM EST, if you're online, look out for the gamer tag BustaRhymes GWF.
Source: Official GTA IV website
Log on to Xbox LIVE® on Tuesday June 2nd from 7:00 until 9:00 PM EST with your copy of Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned to take part in a special Game With Fame event featuring the one and only Busta Rhymes. The electrifying rapper will be taking on all comers who dare to challenge him at The Lost and Damned's online multiplayer gameplay modes. Just log on at the date and time listed above, and look for the gamertag BustaRhymes GWF (*note space between BustaRhymes and GwF) to find him online and throw down the gauntlet.
Busta appears in Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned on radio station The Beat 102.7; you can hear him phone in as a special guest caller on Funkmaster Flex's in-game radio show, and hear Flex spin his new single "Respect My Conglomerate." Busta also appears on DJ Green Lantern's in-game radio show with his original song produced exclusively for Grand Theft Auto IV, "Where's My Money."
Busta appears in Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned on radio station The Beat 102.7; you can hear him phone in as a special guest caller on Funkmaster Flex's in-game radio show, and hear Flex spin his new single "Respect My Conglomerate." Busta also appears on DJ Green Lantern's in-game radio show with his original song produced exclusively for Grand Theft Auto IV, "Where's My Money."
Source: Official GTA IV website
The Lost And Damned Xbox Live Weekend
Rockstar have announced an upcoming weekend of festivities for The Lost and Damned. From the 5th to the 7th June anyone who downloads a TLAD gamer picture and then either plays a GTA IV multiplayer game or downloads TLAD itself will be entered to win some great prizes, as detailed below.
Source: Official GTA IV website
All weekend, from Friday June 5th through Sunday June 7th - anyone who downloads the free "Lost and Damned Registration Gamer Picture" and then either plays a Grand Theft Auto IV multiplayer session or downloads the Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned game add-on content on Xbox LIVE® will be automatically entered to win a Grand Prize entertainment system worth over $3,100 or a range of other prizes including Best Buy gift cards, Microsoft Points and free Xbox LIVE Subscriptions. See official rules here.
Full range of sweepstakes prizing as follows:
1 Grand Prize
A Samsung - 52" 1080p Flat-Panel LCD HDTV (Model: LN52A580 | SKU: 8794049)
B&W Panorama Sound Bar
Monster Cable - Ultra Series 1000 4' HDMI A/V Cable (Model: U3 V1000 HDMI-4 | SKU: 8473546)
3 First Runners-Up
$1000 Best Buy gift card
6 Second Runners-Up
$500 Best Buy gift card
4000 Microsoft Points
12 Third Runners-Up
12 Month Xbox LIVE Subscription
Full range of sweepstakes prizing as follows:
1 Grand Prize
A Samsung - 52" 1080p Flat-Panel LCD HDTV (Model: LN52A580 | SKU: 8794049)
B&W Panorama Sound Bar
Monster Cable - Ultra Series 1000 4' HDMI A/V Cable (Model: U3 V1000 HDMI-4 | SKU: 8473546)
3 First Runners-Up
$1000 Best Buy gift card
6 Second Runners-Up
$500 Best Buy gift card
4000 Microsoft Points
12 Third Runners-Up
12 Month Xbox LIVE Subscription
Source: Official GTA IV website
Tuesday, May 26th, 2009
Second DLC: The Ballad of Gay Tony announced
Rockstar have finally announced details of the second episode of downloadable content exclusive to the Xbox 360, The Ballad of Gay Tony, in which as many of us imagined, we will play as Luis Lopez.Additionally, a disc containing both episodes entitled Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City will be released and will retail for $39.99.
From the press release:
Rockstar Games is proud to announce the fall release of both the second episode of Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony - exclusively for download on Xbox LIVE® online entertainment network, and Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City, which will include both episode one The Lost and Damned, and episode two The Ballad of Gay Tony together on a single disc exclusively for Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft. "Liberty City is the most vibrant game world we've created yet. The episodic structure has allowed us to interweave stories, gameplay and atmosphere in a whole new way," said Sam Houser, Founder of Rockstar Games. "The team at Rockstar North have yet again surpassed themselves, and made something that is both epic and very innovative. This episode's focus on high-end night life contrasts with the biker gangs portrayed in The Lost and Damned, whilst giving us a lot of new gameplay possibilities." Grand Theft Auto IV's second downloadable episode, The Ballad of Gay Tony injects Liberty City with an overdose of guns, glitz, and grime. As Luis Lopez, part-time hoodlum and full-time assistant to legendary nightclub impresario Tony Prince (aka "Gay Tony"), players will struggle with the competing loyalties of family and friends, and with the uncertainty about who is real and who is fake in a world in which everyone has a price.
Like the first one, this episode will cost $19.99 (1600 MS points). If you're planning on buying the disc version with both episodes, you'll be pleased to know that it will not require a copy of the original Grand Theft Auto IV.
We've opened a new subforum for discussion of episode two, though you can use this news post to discuss the announcement.
Tuesday, May 19th, 2009
Mr Wong's Laundromat now open at R* Social Club
Rockstar have launched a new flash game that you may have heard about, Mr Wong's Laundromat is now available at the Rockstar Social Club.
Enjoy!
This exclusive webgame allows players of Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars to log onto Social Club and test out their money laundering skills in an effort to win cash and unlockable multiplayer costumes that can then be used in their copy of Chinatown Wars for the Nintendo DS™.
Players can earn up to $10,000 per day working for Mr. Wong, a local Chinatown 'businessman' who's helped more than his fair share of cash trickle seamlessly and undetected through the streets of Liberty City over the years. Launder as much cash as possible and avoid provoking Mr.Wong's short temper! Sign in to the Social Club and visit https://socialclub.rockstargames.com/games/cw/mrwong.html for full instructions and to play the game.
Additionally, the Chinatown Wars Downloads Section at the Social Club has been updated with Guardian Lions and Mr. Wong's ringtones (in both Mp3 and M4R format) as well as a Mr. Wong desktop wallpaper. Stay tuned for more updates to the Chinatown Wars Download Section in the near future.
Players can earn up to $10,000 per day working for Mr. Wong, a local Chinatown 'businessman' who's helped more than his fair share of cash trickle seamlessly and undetected through the streets of Liberty City over the years. Launder as much cash as possible and avoid provoking Mr.Wong's short temper! Sign in to the Social Club and visit https://socialclub.rockstargames.com/games/cw/mrwong.html for full instructions and to play the game.
Additionally, the Chinatown Wars Downloads Section at the Social Club has been updated with Guardian Lions and Mr. Wong's ringtones (in both Mp3 and M4R format) as well as a Mr. Wong desktop wallpaper. Stay tuned for more updates to the Chinatown Wars Download Section in the near future.
Enjoy!
Friday, May 15th, 2009
Details on 2nd episode of GTAIV DLC coming soon
This is the latest Twitter post by Rockstar. A lot of rumours have been flying around about the next GTAIV DLC lately, including this not-very-believable-story at GameSpot rumour control - according to that the title of episode two will be Blood And A Four Leaf Clover, though I wouldn't believe anything you read regarding the DLC unless it's coming directly from R* or Microsoft.
Keep an eye on the website as we'll have whatever details are released very soon.
Keep an eye on the website as we'll have whatever details are released very soon.
Friday, April 10th, 2009
Payne Killers Goes Live
Over the past couple of weeks, Chris and I have been working on a new addition to the TGTAP network, that website is now complete and tonight it has gone live. Payne Killers aims to be the most comprehensive Max Payne website to date. Using an improved version of TGTAP's powerful CMS, the site already has a screenshot database, trailers, on-the-fly content creation, and a rapidly growing downloads database.
Like the Max Payne series? Can't wait for Max Payne 3? Check us out at PayneKillers.com, and don't forget to stop by the forums!
Like the Max Payne series? Can't wait for Max Payne 3? Check us out at PayneKillers.com, and don't forget to stop by the forums!
Wednesday, April 1st, 2009
Design changes bring TGTAP to wider audience
UPDATE: April Fools is over now so we're back to normal. Hope you got a bit of a laugh from the temporary redesign! Didn't get a chance to see it? Look here.
After spending a while here at TGTAP, you'll realise what a masculine place it is. Guns, vehicles, crime, and a whole lot of adolescent males. Well, we've made a few changes to help counter this awfully skewed demographic we've gotten ourselves into.
Over the past few years, TGTAP staff members have spent months researching ways in which we can make the site appeal to the fairer sex. After much deliberation, the conclusion was made that we should have a very pink layout incorporating typical female likes, including flowers, rainbows and unicorns. Apparently women love that stuff, so with that knowledge firmly engrained in our skulls, we committed to improving our design!
We hope you enjoy the changes we made, and in addition to that, the influx of female members who should now be clamouring to join the forums!
And don't you worry, we'll still be doing our best to bring you excellent coverage of Grand Theft Auto for years to come. At the moment just the default theme has changed on the homepage, but we should soon have the forums reskinned to match. Comments, feedback and any constructive criticism would be much appreciated.
After spending a while here at TGTAP, you'll realise what a masculine place it is. Guns, vehicles, crime, and a whole lot of adolescent males. Well, we've made a few changes to help counter this awfully skewed demographic we've gotten ourselves into.
Over the past few years, TGTAP staff members have spent months researching ways in which we can make the site appeal to the fairer sex. After much deliberation, the conclusion was made that we should have a very pink layout incorporating typical female likes, including flowers, rainbows and unicorns. Apparently women love that stuff, so with that knowledge firmly engrained in our skulls, we committed to improving our design!
We hope you enjoy the changes we made, and in addition to that, the influx of female members who should now be clamouring to join the forums!
And don't you worry, we'll still be doing our best to bring you excellent coverage of Grand Theft Auto for years to come. At the moment just the default theme has changed on the homepage, but we should soon have the forums reskinned to match. Comments, feedback and any constructive criticism would be much appreciated.
Saturday, March 21st, 2009
GTA IV PC patch 1.0.3.0 available!
Rockstar Toronto have confirmed that patch 1.0.3.0 is now available for the PC version of Grand Theft Auto IV. To download, sign into Windows LIVE next time you play the game and you'll be prompted to download. Manual install links will be up shortly. Below is a summary of what the patch includes.
You may have spotted that R* has now added detection for modders in multiplayer, hopefully this should provide massive improvements for those of you affected by people cheating their way through multiplayer matches.
Link: Patch 1.0.3.0, Download mirror
GRAPHICS:
Interior Lights for ATI 1900 series cards
- All light sources appear for users with 1900 series ATI cards. (ie. Pool Mini Game)
- ALT-TAB fixed
Graphics Settings
- Added menu option "OFF" for Reflection quality
- Added menu option "OFF" for Shadow quality
PERFORMANCE:
- Physics optimizations to improve situations with heavy physics calculations (ie. 32 player races)
- Graphical Performance Optimizations
MULTIPLAYER:
NAT Type detection
- Detect if user has a "strict" NAT and displays message for user
Voice chat is received even if your microphone is turned off
CONTROLS:
Keyboard/Mouse
- Remapping restrictions removed
- Allow Enter, Backspace, and Arrow keys to be remapped by user
- Allow multiple mouse buttons to be mapped
Enable/Disable DirectInput in Menu
- Users can now activate/deactivate Direct Input devices from "Controls" menu.
- If commandline "-usedirectinput" is active, it will override pause menu setting
Use 2 direct input devices simultaneously (ie. Wheel and Gamepad)
- Users can now use 2 different controllers at once, including 1 XInput and 1 Direct Input device
Added more Direct Input / XInput device support
- Saitek P380/P480/P580/P990
- Saitek PS1000/PS2700/P3200/P3600
- Gravis Eliminator Shock gamepad
SECURITY:
Detect modified files and prevent users from entering multiplayer if found
- Game will prompt with a message after blocking user with modified data files from entering multiplayer
- Should prevent multiplayer access from cell phone and GFWL join in progress
VIDEO EDITOR:
Scroll Bar improved response
- Tweaked to respond better to keyboard inputs
Sped up load times for users with many clips
TITLE UPDATE 2 FIXES:
Return of Hot Dog Stands and other props
- Missing hot dog vendors, fences, gates, pylons should be present throughout the world
Scrolling signboards
- Activate missing scrolling signboard text (ie. highway signs, Star Junction, Clock Tower Sign)
ALT-TAB pauses game during cutscenes
- Cutscenes should now pause and resume correctly after an ALT-TAB task switch. Audio remains in sync
GENERAL ADDITIONS/FIXES:
Mismatched MODO/Perseus Clothing
- Fixed a bug when Niko mixes clothing from Perseus and Modo
360 Controller Texture
- Controller image should be visible in Controller Configuration screen
Interior Lights for ATI 1900 series cards
- All light sources appear for users with 1900 series ATI cards. (ie. Pool Mini Game)
- ALT-TAB fixed
Graphics Settings
- Added menu option "OFF" for Reflection quality
- Added menu option "OFF" for Shadow quality
PERFORMANCE:
- Physics optimizations to improve situations with heavy physics calculations (ie. 32 player races)
- Graphical Performance Optimizations
MULTIPLAYER:
NAT Type detection
- Detect if user has a "strict" NAT and displays message for user
Voice chat is received even if your microphone is turned off
CONTROLS:
Keyboard/Mouse
- Remapping restrictions removed
- Allow Enter, Backspace, and Arrow keys to be remapped by user
- Allow multiple mouse buttons to be mapped
Enable/Disable DirectInput in Menu
- Users can now activate/deactivate Direct Input devices from "Controls" menu.
- If commandline "-usedirectinput" is active, it will override pause menu setting
Use 2 direct input devices simultaneously (ie. Wheel and Gamepad)
- Users can now use 2 different controllers at once, including 1 XInput and 1 Direct Input device
Added more Direct Input / XInput device support
- Saitek P380/P480/P580/P990
- Saitek PS1000/PS2700/P3200/P3600
- Gravis Eliminator Shock gamepad
SECURITY:
Detect modified files and prevent users from entering multiplayer if found
- Game will prompt with a message after blocking user with modified data files from entering multiplayer
- Should prevent multiplayer access from cell phone and GFWL join in progress
VIDEO EDITOR:
Scroll Bar improved response
- Tweaked to respond better to keyboard inputs
Sped up load times for users with many clips
TITLE UPDATE 2 FIXES:
Return of Hot Dog Stands and other props
- Missing hot dog vendors, fences, gates, pylons should be present throughout the world
Scrolling signboards
- Activate missing scrolling signboard text (ie. highway signs, Star Junction, Clock Tower Sign)
ALT-TAB pauses game during cutscenes
- Cutscenes should now pause and resume correctly after an ALT-TAB task switch. Audio remains in sync
GENERAL ADDITIONS/FIXES:
Mismatched MODO/Perseus Clothing
- Fixed a bug when Niko mixes clothing from Perseus and Modo
360 Controller Texture
- Controller image should be visible in Controller Configuration screen
You may have spotted that R* has now added detection for modders in multiplayer, hopefully this should provide massive improvements for those of you affected by people cheating their way through multiplayer matches.
Link: Patch 1.0.3.0, Download mirror
