Bad news for PS2 owners in Europe as Rockstar have pushed back Liberty City Stories' PS2 release again. The release date for the game is now June 23rd.

Currently there doesn't seem to be a valid reason why it should be delayed. I can't imagine why, after all, it's virtually a straight port from the PSP version, just without the multiplayer features. The US release of the game seems unaffected as of yet, so we assume it's still a June 6th release for them.

We'll keep you updated on any reasoning behind this delay. Stay tuned.

Source: Eurogamer

Okay, we're a little bit behind on multiplayer news at the moment, so I'm bundling these two announcements into one post.

First and foremost the SA-MP team have released version 0.1b of their multiplayer client in the last week. It features many bug fixes from the previous version, and has a few advantages over MTA at the moment, with features such as deathmatch and custom game mode scripting already in place.

So why not Download SA-MP and try everything out for yourself?

In MTASA news, an admin system is currently in development for the deathmatch release of their client. Everything's looking rather nice over there, so head over to their blog and read all about it. I would imagine we will be able to get our hands on this in the next few weeks.

Stay tuned for more updates!

There's been very little in the way of any media to do with the Playstation 2 release of Liberty City Stories. One magazine here in England that I did notice that has a review of the game is issue number 82 of PSW, which contains a 4-page article.

As expected, nothing new has been added to the game, it is a straight-forward port of the PSP version, and in fact it will actually ship with less features, as the multiplayer modes have been taken out, although this was somewhat obvious as PS2's don't have an AdHoc mode, although some 2-player action San Andreas style would have been nice.

To be honest, the only pros over the PSP version have to be the slightly sharper graphics and faster loading times, thanks to the PS2's superior power. Not to mention you'll also get to play it on a much bigger screen. If you already have the PSP version there probably isn't much point in you buying the game unless you're a hardcore GTA fan.

Having said all that it is a cheap game whatever country you are in, only £14.99 here in the U.K, while in the U.S. the game apparently sells for .99, and in Europe, €19.99. I will try and get myself a copy of the magazine to get a few quotes directly from it.

If like me you're more eagerly awaiting Vice City Stories, or indeed GTA4, then check out our forums for all the latest discussions. Some popular topics include our legendary GTA4 Wishlist, which has so far amassed over 750 replies and has had over 28,000 views. I get many requests to add these to the GTA4 section of the website but this simply cannot happen due to it's popularity, however, I may get the forum staff to get together a choice few wishes that seem to be popular so we can post those up on the website.

Stay tuned for more updates! And don't forget to keep your eye on both Multi Theft Auto and SA-MP, as both multiplayer mods are being updated quite often now and are evolving well with new features coming along nicely!

Ghostchild has made a great new San Andreas air acrobatics stunt video. His latest video, entitled Pokker is definitely a must see for anyone who loves watching aero-stunts.

An air acrobatic stunt video made by Ghostchild in 2006. Featuring some of the best air acrobatic stunts seen till this moment. Great editing and an adrenaline pumping song. Make sure you catch this one!

So head over to our downloads database and watch Pokker, it's in WMV format and just over 44mb, so it won't take too long to download as long as you aren't still on dialup, and if you are in that 10% demographic then it's time to upgrade. I watched the video and I have to say there is a lot of skill involved in pulling some of the stunts off.

It's also worth mentioning that a small group of members on our own forums are hoping to create a collaborational video. Currently they are planning two stunt videos, one for Vice City, and a more popular one for San Andreas, there's also an audition topic for those who are interested.

If you are interested them make sure you let everyone know by posting in the SA Community Video topic or the VC Community Video topic, whichever you can contribute to, or both if you can!

Tell us what you think of Pokker in our forums.

Rockstar's Vienna studio has reportedly been closed by Take Two recently, according to the blog of Jurie Horneman, an employee.

Horneman says:

This morning, as I came into work, I was greeted by security guards. It turned out Take-Two has closed their Rockstar Vienna office, effective immediately, "due to the challenging environment facing the video game business and our Company during this platform transition".

After reading this I headed on over to the Rockstar Vienna website but it appears it is down at the moment, so I'm not sure what's going on there.

For those of you who don't know, Rockstar Vienna worked on the the Max Payne series, as well as the Xbox versions of GTA3 and Vice City.

Rockstar Vienna's closure leaves over 100 developers without a job.

Source: GameSpot, Intelligent Artifice

In yet another suprise announcement from Rockstar, Vice City Stories is after all a real game, it was confirmed by Take-Two in a press release earlier this afternoon.

New York, NY - May 10, 2006 - Rockstar Games, the universally-renowned publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO), is proud to announce Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories. Developed by Rockstar Leeds in conjunction with series creators Rockstar North, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories will be available exclusively on the PSP system in North America on October 17th, 2006 and Europe on October 20th, 2006.

I've uploaded the GTAVCS logo for your viewing pleasure, click the thumbnail for the full image.

So later this year we will have a new (sort of) GTA game to play. I've made "VCS" section for The GTA Place, it will be themed as soon as we have some artwork and images. The pages we have already are the general information, artwork, and fan created art, so please send us your work if you've already made something, the best will appear on the page. It will be interesting to see what they change in Vice City this time, possibly a new time era too?

Shocked or suprised by this announcement? Discuss it in the forums.

Visit the official site at http://www.rockstargames.com/vicecitystories/

Breaking news! Rockstar have just officially announced by way of press release the next Grand Theft Auto for Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.

Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc., is proud to announce Grand Theft Auto IV, the next-generation console debut of the genre-defining Grand Theft Auto franchise. Developed by world-class designers Rockstar North, Grand Theft Auto IV will be simultaneously available for the PlayStation®3 and Xbox 360™ and is currently planned to be in stores in North America on October 16, 2007 and in Europe on October 19, 2007.

I've uploaded the GTAIV logo for your viewing pleasure, click the thumbnail for the full image.

So there we have it, Grand Theft Auto IV, that's 4, hopefully this will silence all the GTA5, 6 and 7 fools.

The official GTA IV website can be found at http://www.rockstargames.com/grandtheftauto4/

Also if you have noticed that little Xbox Live logo on the GTA4 website, it seems like it might not be for multiplayer (and probably won't be) but in another press release by Take Two it states: "Microsoft and Rockstar Games also forge strategic alliance to provide exclusive episodic content downloads on Xbox Live."

Discuss.

Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. have said in their latest press release that they will be webcasting its E3 Investor Meeting.

The investor meeting is where the financial part of the business is discussed, but other things such as announcements regarding games are also known to feature in them. So this could mean that announcements regarding Rockstar Games, and in particular, GTA4, may well be made. We'll just have to keep our fingers crossed and wait and see.

The webcast will take place in Los Angeles, on Wednesday, May 10, 2006 from approximately 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. Pacific Time, and will be available at the corporate section of Take-Two's website- http://ir.take2games.com.