Chris

IGN's article today looks at two more single player missions. It goes without saying that this preview does include slight spoilers, so avoid this if you don't want to know about them. We can't really summarise the thing because it's basically all about the two missions and not much else, but does talk about how Rockstar are interweaving the story which comes together through the three main characters very differing viewpoints. If you're interested, head on over to IGN to check it out.

Rockstar have just launched a new GTAV teaser site related to the Epsilon Program, or rather, against it. Cultstoppers aims to stop the cult that is the Epsilon Program, and find some missing people it suspects were abducted. At least some of the "missing" characters pictured above appear to be Twitter users, as suggested in a tweet by Rockstar. They are presumably winners of the contest Rockstar held back in April.

Day 3 of IGN's week long preview, and an article on how Rockstar have built a next-gen world using current-gen technology. In today's article, IGN talks to Rockstar North's associate technical director and combat designer Phil Hooker for the finer details of how Rockstar have created something that feels as if it's a next-generation game, for the current generation of consoles. Producer and lead mission designer Imran Sarwar also provides input. The article discusses how Rockstar have often looked at features they developed for their other franchises, with Manhunt, Red Dead Redemption, Max Payne and Midnight Club specifically mentioned, put them into GTA, tweaked and reworked them into something that greatly improves the overall gameplay. IGN concludes by stating that the end result is something that "feels more 'next-generation' than most the titles coming out on PS4 and Xbox One later this year", and that they don't believe any of Xbox One or PS4 launch titles "match the gameplay scope displayed here in GTA V". Plenty more interesting quotes to be read in the full article over at IGN.

The second day of IGN's week-long coverage of GTAV brings us a great hands-on preview of what to expect in GTA Online. IGN's Ryan McCaffrey is the first person outside of Rockstar Games to play the "shockingly ambitious" standalone multiplayer mode, and he has described 10 "crazy, awesome" things he saw and did in it. Have a read of the hands-on preview yourself, Ryan says GTA Online "is everything you’ve always dreamed an online GTA should be. It even has elements of persistence, though it’s definitely not an MMO." The preview also included 11 screenshots.

The first hands-on previews of GTAV are coming out today, with various European gaming sites getting to play the game first. Below is a short summary of some interesting points that were mentioned in some of the reviews. Most other details concern some of the early missions, so with the interest of not wanting to spoil anything for anyone, we've left those out. If you don't mind reading about the early missions, then check out the links at the end of the post and read the whole articles. Summary Missions are extremely fun and varied Characters will sometimes engage with pedestrians in totally unique ways to immerse players deeper into the world, for example, IGN saw Lamar randomly accost a drunken pedestrian While on the ground, you feel like a tiny part of the game, while seeing Los Santos from the air you get to see just how vast and expansive the city is. No graphics stuttering, and the infamous popup scenery that has plagued the GTA series since GTA III was only seen a handful of times - it has drastically improved since GTA IV. The idea of character switching is a fantastic weapon, but if you use it right in-game you'll see how it can be extremely effective. The diversity of the city, its surroundings, the characters and the whole world is really amazing. There is a "colossal range of vehicles" Police are a lot more intelligent and can spot you from a distance The weapon selection wheel will store all your weapons, even when out of ammo, and you will never lose them. Quotes from IGN: Screenshots Hands-on Previews IGN UK JeuxActu (French) GamesAktuell (German)

Except it is in pretty much every other country in the world. I was shocked when I found out Americans have to pay taxes on winnings made in contests and such, not only that but even if you win a lottery you still have to pay HUGE taxes on it, huge like almost 50%. In the UK and I believe most other countries, the prize they state is the prize you win, it's not tax-deductible, you get 100% of it. Of course with a road going car there ARE some necessary taxes which will differ by country, but they are simply running costs and you'd be paying them regardless of how you obtained the car, unless you stole it. Yeah I'm worried about the fate of that car, I can just see the headlines now. Of course GTA will "ironically" get blamed for teaching people to steal cars (because it's as simple as pushing a button on your controller in real life???) and so it is fitting that a car from GTA would be stolen. That said, it is a fucking awesome prize and whoever wins it is damn lucky, just hope they live in a safe area otherwise they might be kinda fucked. I'd also be tempted to sell I think since like you said it could solve a lot of problems, especially if you or your family isn't so well off, plus the running costs of that thing will be sky high. Would be sad to do it though, it's such a unique car, I'd wanna keep it forever really, might even be scared to go out for drives in it, not wanting to damage or even scratch it.

That sweet looking real-life Bravado Banshee Rockstar teased us about last week has now been revealed as the prize for a competition being run by GameStop in the U.S. (and Puerto Rico and Guam), which unfortunately excludes everyone residing outside those 3 countries. As you can probably tell, the Banshee is a modified Dodge Viper which is based on the GTA V Banshee which is based on the real-life Dodge Viper... life imitating art imitating life, or something like that. According to GameStop the car is worth $ 180,000, and the winner will also get a cheque (not a joke, Americans still use cheques) for $ 70,000. Due to ridiculous workings of American law, the "lucky" winner will have to pay a huge amount of taxes on the car, as well as insurance and such, the cheque will help cover these costs. But hey, you'll have a Banshee, so it's not like you'll be complaining much! If you do manage to win I sure hope you have somewhere safe to keep it. Curious what looks like on the streets? Some bloke called Jalen Cullen snapped these pics of the car: So that's probably the best competition prize Rockstar have ever offered up. Here's hoping to more of these competitions in the future, and not just in the U.S.!

They're all different. C was a programming language developed in the early 70s which became incredibly popular, you wouldn't code in C today. Instead you'd go with one of the languages it influenced that built upon and improved it. C++ This is one of the most popular languages in the world. Loads of videogames are programmed in this, as are Windows and Linux programs. C# (C Sharp) This is Microsoft's implementation of the C language. Only need to learn this if you'll be writing apps exclusively for Windows (more popular with newer systems I think, so Windows 8 and Windows Phone). Visual Basic .NET is probably more popular for developing Windows programs. Objective C Similar to C# but this is Apple's implementation of C. Learn this if you want to develop apps exclusively for Mac OS X and/or iOS. Note that you will need a Mac to code in this as it requires Xcode. I don't like Java, but it's actually a good language to learn I think, it's very popular and if you're looking to develop Android apps then you're going to need it. In any school/college/uni that teaches any kind of programming, chances are you'll start out with Java. It's good for teaching the principals of learning to program. For web related stuff, I started out with PHP, it was typically seen as an easy language to learn and you could be pretty lazy with it, due to this it got a bit of a bad reputation for being insecure. But in the last couple of years it's improved a lot and is more like a proper programming language now. If you're going to learn it, make sure any books or tutorials you're learning from are targeted to PHP 5 or 6. Preferably 5.3 or above as that's when it started improving substantially. I did learn from a book myself but it's irrelevant now as PHP 4 was the latest version at the time. I read through it and it did all the exercises. While doing this I would also read tutorials online that taught me how to write scripts to do various things, explaining what the code is doing etc. so I found it fairly easy to modify and make it do what I want. It's pretty easy to find whole scripts people have put online. Sometimes I would download ones that interested me, or that did something I wanted to know how to do, and I would just look through the code to see how they did it. I just kinda learned like that really. Never had any formal teaching. With Python I haven't actually done much yet, but if I actually put some time and effort in I could probably pick it up pretty quickly. I'd certainly recommend it. Again, plenty of tutorials online you could start with. I don't really know of any good websites with tutorials for beginners to be honest. I would just search for "PHP tutorials for beginners" for example and check out the first page of links.

A dedicated forum has been added for the discussion of GTA Online, since it is such a massive addition to GTA V. The forum can also be used for organising matches and inviting members to join your crews. Some of you will probably be looking for other members to add to your friends list on Xbox 360 and PS3, if someone wants to set up a topic for people to post their gamertags and such in then one of the mods can pin it so we don't get loads of similar threads. Discuss GTA Online

It's here, the official GTAV trailer! Americans will also be able to see the trailer on TV during Breaking Bad this Sunday, bitch!

With the launch of Grand Theft Auto V and GTA Online coming very soon, Rockstar are starting to roll out some improvements to Social Club and the crews system we first saw implemented for Max Payne 3. Today we have a brand new hierarchies system, which Rockstar have added due to feedback from the community. This feature allows crew leaders to assign special ranks to members, giving them responsibilities and assuring loyalty and performance are rewarded. Rockstar have provided many more details for this on the Newswire post. And remember, you can still join the official TGTAP crew, we'll be ready to see you in game on 1st October!

Rockstar have just announced that the official GTAV trailer, yes, the official one, will be coming this Thursday. We can safely assume this trailer will be the final one, the one which shows off the game in its completed form (as opposed to the previous ones being made during development). It's quite likely the one to be used on TV as well. Rockstar haven't set a release time yet. We're going to go ahead and guess 10AM-12PM EST (3PM - 5PM GMT) as it normally is, but do keep checking back, we'll hopefully get an exact time confirmed soon.

I honestly just ticked all 3. PS3 is my main gaming system now so that's what I'll be playing on, but I'll probably end up getting it on 360 as well because there's still quite a few people on there I'd like to play online with. And of course I'll get the PC version when it eventually comes out, just because it's awesome playing GTA on pc, with mods if I want.

Well you know I am PHP, and a little bit of Python (Django) for web stuff. Objective C for iOS apps. Also know some basic Java for Android apps, enough to make my cheats apps at least. Dom also does web stuff, just PHP I think.

Rockstar have released some more details and a couple of low-res screenshots from the Grand Theft Auto V Special and Collector editions. The high-end Khamelion electric car. Available in Grand Theft Auto Online as part of the Collector's Edition. Additional Weapons Regardless of which version you've chosen, your local Ammu-Nation will always be stocked with a pair of special firearms at no additional cost that also have their own unique customization options, skins and attachments - the .50 Caliber Pistol and the Bullpup Shotgun. You'll also have access to the Hammer, which acts as a brutal melee weapon. Bonus Outfits, Tattoos and More When visiting any shops around Los Santos and Blaine County, Michael, Franklin and Trevor will receive a special 20% discount along with access to special items either in their personal wardrobes or from stores. Each character will receive 1 outfit each, one additional article of clothing (shirt, hoodie and jacket) each and a tattoo. Michael, Franklin and Trevor each sporting some of the unique additions to their personal wardrobes. Custom Characters for Grand Theft Auto Online (Collector's Edition only) GTA Online introduces a new spin on traditional character creation with the hereditary-based creation system. Select your character’s appearance by choosing your parent’s heritage, then use the gene dominance meter to dial-in which parent your appearance favors more. Additionally, you'll customize your character's daily activities - everything from family time to illegal work and sports to couch potato hours all have an impact on your character’s appearance and skill set (and you can always rank up your skill stats more via gameplay). As part of the Collector’s Edition package, you'll get Niko Bellic, along with both Claude and Misty from Grand Theft Auto III to use as parent options within the character creation system. Special Ability Boost Michael, Franklin and Trevor each have a their own unique Special Ability, which can be activated once each of them fills up the Special Ability bar based on various actions. Michael is an expert marksman - his Special Ability slows down time in a gunfight allowing him to pick off his targets with greater ease. Franklin is a skilled driver with sharp reflexes - his Special Ability lets him slow down time while driving any road-based vehicle, allowing him to quickly navigate through traffic with ease and take corners at high speeds. Trevor is a drug-addled sociopath with a short fuse - his Special Ability sends him into a rage, causing double damage to enemies while only taking half as much damage himself when hit. With the boost that's included in both the Special and Collector's Editions, the Special Ability bar will generate 25% faster. Stunt Plane Trials Take in Los Santos and Blaine County at breakneck speeds in the Grand Theft Auto V Stunt Plane Trials. In five thrilling and unique challenges, you’ll zip through mountains, deserts, oceans, and cities as you navigate through a maze of checkpoints, each placed to push your Stunt Plane to the limit. Completing each Trial will improve the piloting skill of your character. Compare your times with friends and vie for the top spot on the leaderboard. Hit the streets of Los Santos with the CarbonRS sports bike. Unique Vehicles and Garage Property (Collector's Edition only) The Collector's Edition also features an exclusive garage to store custom vehicles, that comes stocked with the CarbonRS sports bike and the Hotknife - an open frame 1930’s style hotrod. In Grand Theft Auto Online your garage and the high-end Khamelion electric car, which is specific to GTA Online, are both purchased through in-game websites accessed through your Online character’s cell phone.

Commenting on yesterday's Newswire post, Rockstar have confirmed that Grand Theft Auto V has now gone gold! This means the game is now officially final, and on track for its September 17th release in just over 3 weeks time. In an earlier statement that Rockstar also linked to, Sony took the blame and apologised to the fans and to Rockstar for the leak of certain pre-load assets yesterday, which led to some unlucky gamers getting spoiled. Thankfully the leaks were mainly limited to audio snippets rather than the entire game, although a full radio station song listing was also made available. Sony also confirmed that they have since removed the pre-load from the EU PlayStation Store, but did not give a date for when it would be made available again to buyers legitimately wanting to get the game downloaded in time for release.

Rockstar have updated the official GTAV website today with more parts to the travelogue. In addition, a couple of new artworks were added, one feature the 'Cut Here' pose of Trevor, the other being the official GTA Online art. And finally, there are 8 new screenshots. Check them out below. See all of these and more on our screenshots and artwork pages.

Rockstar are teaming up with West Coast Customs (they do MTV's Pimp My Ride) to create a "one-of-a-kind production" of a Banshee Twin Turbo GT. Rockstar say to stay tuned for your chance to nick it - presumably this will be some kind of competition, and Rockstar aren't actually advocating we all head off to the West Coast and attempt to steal it. That would be silly and slightly illegal, so don't do that. That's pretty much all that has been said for now, but it's worth noting that the Banshee (at least since GTA IV) has been based off the Dodge Viper, so we can assume it will be modified from that (screenshot and some renders).