Rockstar Games News Wire

Fan Video, Prize Winners & Screens from the Feb 10th Red Dead Redemption Social Club Multiplayer Event on Xbox LIVE

Rockstar Games — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 14:18:00 -0500

Congrats to Social Club member RexQuantum, the lucky winner in our random drawing for two custom hand-painted Xbox 360 controllers - part of the Red Dead Redemption Social Club multiplayer event on Xbox LIVE on February 10th. Runners-up included redscorpion92, Wainstock, Reebokanonymous, Angry_Ajax, RaidenSoldier, DJW89., Rafioso, mrdapperdan, Munch200375, KingBeanie, JeremyJet, mystiqueshell, quahog_convo, Tree-stumpsz, Marney-1, UFG_KingRomulus, ILikeVideo-Games, NakkiNL, Robbie8618 and ChicagoEnigma, each winning a Rockstar t-shirt, deck of Red Dead playing cards and a whole bunch of stickers.

Thanks to everyone that was able to make it to the event, whether you were watching the live video stream, playing in-game, discussing everything Rockstar in the live chat or just stopping by to drop your name in the hat for the sweepstakes.

We'll soon be announcing the Spring calendar in the Social Club Multiplayer Events Series, including the first official Max Payne 3 sessions.

And join us for the upcoming PC multiplayer event this Friday February 24th when we'll be playing Grand Theft Auto IV & Episodes from Liberty City from 4-7PM Eastern. We'll have 20 more prize packs to give away, so even if you're unable to play, tune in to the stream and enter to win some gear all at http://socialclub.rockstargames.com/multiplayer.

Social Club multiplayer event veteran and fansite admin GermanScientist of RockstarBase.com went double duty during the Red Dead event, both playing and capturing video (and headset audio) at the same time. Strong work! Check out the clips he put up on YouTube including some Gang Shootout in Las Hermanas as well as the vicious round in Tumbleweed shown below:

And here's our slideshow of some other great multiplayer moments during the event with props given to everyone who made it into a session with us...

As we mentioned earlier, we've got the Grand Theft Auto IV PC event this Friday January 24th from 4-7PM Eastern, and watch for us to put up the new Spring calendar that will include the first multiplayer events for Max Payne 3.

Also a reminder that in addition to the 3-hour multiplayer events we schedule and pre-announce, we're also always looking to get in an hour or two of gaming with you all every few days. You can usually expect at least one extra playsession per week, and the only way you'll know we're getting online is by watching for our shout-out on Facebook and Twitter. We'll let you know our Gamertags or IDs, you send us a friend request and we'll invite you in. It's that easy. These surprise sessions have recently included 24 hour sessions of Triple XP for Red Dead for everyone worldwide, so keep those eyes open...

Here's a list of all those that attended the Feb 10th event according to our records. If you don't see your name or notice someone was accidentally left off, let us know.

1337Pilot
5xSTARxSTUNNA
AceSeven
ADX SCARLETT
agasa341
AgentX1616
ahetFIN
alex2071
AlexUFGspartan19
alfie141
alialt
Anabolic_Cowboy
andy_rofl
Armandio
Arseface25
asunderdesert99
ATFWolverine
AtlaS xLegenD
Aurilius
Azueira_Gamer
BadBrains420
BAD MAN MAYO
Ballisticmatter
BarbaEnzo
barfon
BeagleCrazyDiva
Bigbleeze
big_tobias
bikinisntchmnstr
BirdmanForever
BL4CKOUT 30
Blakester15
blazzon
BleedingShock
Blk_Widow9
bob1234map
BombDaBase
BossySteak
Bremmer72
Camo1696
campanilla28
carlos-alan
CARRNAGE ASADA
CarrnageAsada
Casteyn
Ca___Fe
Chainsaw_98
Chasexy
Cheatcodedude93
ChEEs3BuRg3R96
Chicago Enigma
CitySlickrMcdank
CJxGroveStx4Life
cKy4life
Co2-UK
Colt45911
convex airplane
Cookie4648
CoolLeon321
Corky 316 rulz
cornbread43
CruderSine
CtrlChris
D34DM4ND4N
DarkHorseLB
DarnedDegree869
Delavor
DepressedOptomis
Dice_them_up
digdude
dj1997s
dopeylori
Driver407
DrPebbles1616
Druggie Fresh
DurijAhmnear
Dylancoldkiller
ed0906
elidelta117
elitegabe
Elite xNitemare

El oNista 31
elvioladorpunk
emmi18176860
EpsilonProgram
EvilBABIEGIRL323
Exemplary
EZ-The-Rockstar
FeelThePayne
ferreti123
FireFlame14
FisFis
Flanagunn
FRA1Z3R
Fredrinco
FrozenFlamezG
FugetSudo_Jr
G3N3RALJAMES
GalaxyxD
GamingPrince
gecado
gennesr1234
Gennousake
GermanScientist
getthgunsout
Ghostassasin113
GLOVER75
GM-Shenmue
gtadalejr88
GTAIV_King
gtaman123rail
GtaManiac
GTAMASTER_08
GVRafioso1
haloodstreach
Hanya_Arashi
hdavid3
HelloNista
HerseyBoyRockz
Hindsight
HolandesPT
HYFR Sloan
i-jizzed-myself
I11egal_Ninja
IAmAlwaysTheBest
IAM ONE LEGEND
INGLEPARK
InsectOverlords
IR0N_WOLF
IWIHooligan
jack2144
Jack_MrManga
Jamespbyng
Jayfeather003
Jayshum
jbecker3437
Jeff_McRae
JihadJohnson
Johnnyfan
Joker-64
JoseIsac
juanpaulo90
julitrox44
Keeneath
killa_hue-e
KILL CORD8
kill me 221
Kingfish2009
LaGgXxShockkz
laZardo
LegenderyKing10
Liberty_King
LightingChaos
LIMP BIZKIT16
LivinDaLife145
louis1993
Lt FatCat
LuisEdy
m0baveli
M00sejumper
MafiaboyOrhan
mamon052

Mannylude
mapeoples
Marney-1
matskotn
max9999mr
maycol15
MCF-001
Megadeth1994
mejrum
melih354
MembreJekyll
MikeyC0324
mike_the_zombie
Misandope
MLDCAproductions
M Masterson
mr.ink
MR Fatman420
MrSnapp
MrThomax
N1KO__BELLIC
nasoukikos
nF FusioN
niallers
nicko30
nikobelic2500000
NinaFifi
NineInchAustins
nitroes11
Nocturnal_Fear
NonstickGem790
nosugreF97
NotedPenny79
Ooh Jesus Chris
Orphan_techie
OsterdamMlody
Ovronnaz
oy_fool
PainKillerMax
Patriark
pergamentkamama
PeterFilebushes
peterfoxx
PetrusDaMan
piggyz1
PikeBishop1959
playonaut2405
quahog_convo
R0ckstarNetwork
R3D x ToxicZz
Rafioso
RageWars
rdeydassasln573
recheneberg
redden1
redscorpion92
Redx165
refizlul
Regragui
respect8711
RJcrasher
rl66jim
Rockslar Games
rodneythesavior
RODRIPROKO
RomanIXLegion
RustyBucket7603
ryanchevy123
Ryder34564
SAANTII69
saitins
scareface1970
scarlettnscott
Schilling
Scoonie
sdfsdfsdfAgent
seiferstrike19
Serok18
SFC PapaBear
shaggy1082
SilentTooth5256

SilkTT
SkipFFamous
SLINGBLADE76
slingblasde76
Snowwy89
SocialGaming941
SonOfTheRipper
Spikehamer2
Sprunk95
StepyMandy
steven2597
Stremel
SUBLIMEtimothy
SuperSoviet
SuperSPARTAN336
sviperm23
syco-punk
talltan
TangenteTimo890
TastingBeatle7
TDI Killazz
Th3GodFazar
ThatBadAssMofo
the garbear 14
TheIvaneh
ThePokemaster2
TheRealGokWan
therealtreefitty
TheRohan31
TheViper11
The_Skull_Killaz
-TheTruth-
thierrytjuh
thirstybigsmokes
tmw214
tomfykat
TOONS PP LE PEW
torpedo36
Tree-stumpsz
TundraJonas
TWO Jimbo
TYGxFlame
UFG Achilles
UFG Armageddon
UFG Kilimanjaro
UFG KingFalcone
UFG King Osiris
UFG Legend
UFGRaider
UFG TexasRanger
UFG_Brutus
UFG_KingRomulus
UFG_King_Osiris
ultimakillz
ultimateBaz.net
VBProject
VERMIN XVII
VI MR SKuNk IV
vince_42069
ViperineNewt674
Voltraic
WatashX
WhiTeSn0WeR360
williamg209
WindyCityOutlaw
wingzeroboi
Wired86
WolfRogers
xAllBAllSx
XeOn_24
xlshot232
xRSLxMuSiCmAn
xX 1nsignia Xx
XxSpirit36xX
xxTRUExBANKSHOT
xxx616player
zellraiden
zzcool500

Previously:
Prize Winners, Fan Video & Screens from the GTAIV: Complete Edition Social Club Multiplayer Event on XBL (January 26)
Recap with Screens, Fan Video & Prize Winners from the Red Dead Redemption Official Social Club Multiplayer Event on PSN (January 13)
Recap with Screens and Fan Video from the Red Dead Redemption Official Social Club Multiplayer Event on Xbox LIVE (December 15)

Head Radio & Lips FM Station Albums from Liberty City Stories Now Available on iTunes

Rockstar Games — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 15:04:00 -0500

Recently, when we released the music from the Head Radio and Lips 106 stations in Grand Theft Auto III on iTunes, some fans asked when the Liberty City Stories incarnations of the original music from those stations might also become available.

Today we're happy to announce that those tracks have also been remastered and are up now on iTunes for download - with individual songs priced at only $0.69 each and each station's complete 7-track album at $2.99.

Lips 106: Complete Album

Rudy La Fontaine – “Funk in Time”
Sarwarr – “Love is the Feeling”
Sunshine Shine – “Mine Until Monday”
Credit Check – “Get Down”
Cool Timers – “Tonight”
Nina Barry – “Bassmatic”
The Jackstars – “Into Something (Come On, Get Down)"

Head Radio: Complete Album

Conor & Jay – “Train”
Cloud 19 – “The One For Me”
Purser – “Feel the Pain”
L-Marie (feat. Raff) – “Free Yourself”
15 Ways – “Drive”
Rosco Stow – “Welcome to the Real World”
Vanilla Smoothie – “Keep Dreaming”

Additionally, Official Playlists featuring all the other music stations found in both Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories are also now available - containing all of the individual tracks that are currently on iTunes. Stay tuned for more digital soundtrack releases in the future and grab songs by visiting the links below.

Vice City Stories Playlist | Liberty City Stories Playlist

Previously:
Grand Theft Auto III: Head Radio & Lips FM Station Albums Now Available on iTunes

Rockstar Research: The Rarefied High Life in Max Payne 3's São Paulo Metropolis

Rockstar Games — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 12:05:00 -0500

A life of despondency and hopelessness in New York City is left behind by Max for the promise of a fresh start, a new opportunity and a brighter future in one of the world’s most burgeoning foreign markets – São Paulo, Brazil. A chance encounter with an old colleague, Raul Passos, leads to a job offer working personal security for a wealthy South American family – The Brancos – and Max follows a lead traveled by many businessmen and investors over the past decade-plus to the South American powerhouse city that twenty or more billionaires call home.

Today’s installment in our continuing series looking at the research, information and production that went into the making of Max Payne 3 examines the posh life of São Paulo – a city with wealth and power rivaled only by global metropolises of the highest order.

In a series of trips to São Paulo throughout the making of the game, Rockstar developers and Research team members studied the highs and lows of city life to help inform the characters, storyline and situations that befall Max with utmost authenticity. As Max is recruited to work for the rich and powerful Brancos, we needed to make sure the touchstones of this elite and growing segment of Paulistano society was represented appropriately and vividly. São Paulo has directly benefited from some of Brazilian president Luiz Inacio “Lula” da Silva's progressive economic policies over the past decade, with so much money now floating around (São Paulo alone represents over 12% of the entire country’s GDP), the city’s name has become somewhat synonymous with prestige and power - Brazilian TV even capitalizing on a Real-Housewives-style reality show starring four women from São Paulo. And for 2012, Forbes named São Paulo the top global city for investors after New York, London and Washington DC, in that order.

There are interrelated problems that plague São Paulo however, forcing wealthy residents to live cautiously and adapt. One is a persistently high crime rate (despite encouraging recent gains) deterring many from feeling too free to stroll the streets in certain areas of the city. Reminders of this are a part of daily life in the city, as more than one cabbie informed us that the fear of carjacking leads many drivers to treat red lights more like stop signs after midnight – and the conspicuous presence of extra beefed-up security is a common sight at entry points to virtually all prestigious points-of-interest from hotels to nightclubs to high-end shops.

The other is the notorious traffic that chokes the city at street level – with traffic jams that can extend for well over 100 miles, and where a five-mile drive can take an hour or two. And sometimes the two problems combine with dangerous consequences – the threat of armed, motorbike-riding thieves and kidnappers weaving in and out of traffic (which has inspired not only a spike in bulletproof windows but a proposed law banning moto-passengers) helped fuel the need for an alternative fast and safe means of short-distance transportation for rich Paulistanos. As a result, the elite take to the skies with helicopters – a trend that’s given São Paulo the distinction of having more helicopters than any other city in the world, and has dotted the city’s skyscraper rooftops with helipads galore.

Snapped during an aerial tour of the city and surrounding areas taken by Max Payne 3 developers, helipads are a common sight dotting the tops of city skyscrapers.

Max and helicopter pilot Passos take to the São Paulo skies in Max Payne 3.

That's just part of a way of life for Paulistano elites that you’ll see come into play in the game as Max works armed private security for the Brancos alongside Passos, who also serves as their personal helicopter pilot. Whether helping family patriarch and industrialist Rodrigo Branco make it to his day-to-day appointments on time by eliminating the variable of street traffic – or for when socialite trophy wife, Fabiana Branco, feels the whim to spend the night drinking and dancing away at one of the city’s hottest nightspots and must arrive in style – Max and Passos are relied on to ensure safe transport by heli.

Fabiana Branco and her sister Giovanna skip the line and arrive in style via helicopter to the exclusive Club Moderno for a night of drinking and dancing, escorted by Max and Passos.

On the outskirts of town, the city’s millionaires and billionaires live in sprawling mansion estates.

Fancy VIP nightclubs like the fictionalized Club Moderno that Fabiana and her sister Giovanna attend in the game serve as nocturnal playgrounds for São Paulo’s rich – with bottle service, layout and décor inspired by continental and international nightclubs and ultra-lounges. While our firsthand research excursions to São Paulo were serious work (really!), developers did get a small taste of the city’s lavish nightlife – from finagling entry to private designer parties at Avenue Morumbi mansions to attending the exclusive rooftop lounge scene at the chic Hotel Unique – which all helped to inform the vibe of the Brancos' lifestyle. When not partying, or shopping down the upscale Avenida Paulista or Rua Oscar Freire (known as the ‘5th Avenue’ of São Paulo), the super-rich retire to swank multi-million dollar luxury condos in city areas like Jardins, Alto de Pinheiros and Cidade Jardim – or to sprawling mansions located in the suburban outskirts of São Paulo state as seen in some of the aerial photos above we snapped while surveying local views by helicopter.

Be sure to check out a related article from Joystiq that went up earlier today that contains additional images from our aerial tour and more:
http://www.joystiq.com/2012/02/21/rockstar-explains-the-research-behind-the-posh-clubs-and-helipad/

Stay tuned for our next edition in the Rockstar Research series that looks into the making of the game, where we’ll reveal some of the local casting done in São Paulo to create many of the friends and foes you’ll meet in Max Payne 3…

Previously: Rockstar Research: The Weapon-Wielding Gangsters and Special Police Commandos of Max Payne 3

Rockstar Recommends: A Chronology of Favorite Movie Shootouts and Standoffs

Rockstar Games — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 12:00:00 -0500

As we highlight the varied cinematic influences of Max Payne 3, from the franchise's nod to Hong Kong action cinema and film noir and neo-noir, to the specific reference points of Brazilian elite police forces and dangerous underworld criminals you'll encounter in the game - today, we highlight a history of some of our favorite sequences of rugged shootouts and intense standoffs as well as movies in general with scenes of exceptional gunplay.

Certainly, Max as a character owes a debt to the great tradition of moviedom's brooding action-heroes who walk softly and wield a big stick with uncanny precision. At its best, the experience of playing any Max Payne game, but especially this new and evolved entry in the franchise, is meant to take that passively vicarious thrill of seeing a cool and unflappable hero dispense justice and revenge – and turn it into an adrenaline-pumping first-hand sensation of action. Imagine the ante being upped with the prospective of going online to face off against a lopsided army of assailants in a multiplayer mode like Payne Killer, and you'll have a pretty good sense of how we're aiming to take inspiration from these sorts of classic shootouts and faceoffs into an epic videogame experience.

Without further ado, enjoy this chronology of some of our favorite scenes and trailers from classics and guilty pleasures alike...

Paul Muni in “Scarface” (1932)

Over 50 years before De Palma’s landmark remake, Howard Hawks pushed the envelope in this original Pre-Code era crime classic of the early 1930s. If you've only ever seen the remake, we highly recommend you look up the original which tracks very closely story-wise - including the finale where immigrant gangster Tony Camonte and his beloved sister are sieged upon in a bloody and bullet-laden life-or-death standoff.

James Cagney in “White Heat” (1949)

"Top of the world, ma!" One-man-army standoffs in the movies don't get much more iconic than Jimmy Cagney's Cody Jarrett defiantly shooting it out til the bitter, raging, and literally explosive end against an entire police force.

Victor Mature & Lee Marvin in "Violent Saturday" (1955)

A great, tense technicolor Noir starring Victor Mature and Richard Egan as small-town folks that get caught in the middle of a vicious bank robbery perpetrated by a scheming crew of hoods. It all leads to a climactic showdown at a local farm just outside of town, with Mature holed up in a barn fending off the crooks with help from Amish farmer Ernest Borgnine.

Franco Nero in "Django" (1966)

Long before it became fashionable in the 1980s for lone movie heroes to indiscriminately rain down a bulletstorm on legions of baddies, and several years before Sam Peckinpah would disturb the traditional order of the Western genre with his ultraviolent "The Wild Bunch", this spaghetti Western starring Franco Nero as an Eastwood-esque gunslinger set the stage. Not to be confused with the recent Japanese rendition or the upcoming Tarantino homage.

Clint Eastwood's Dirty Harry in "The Enforcer" (1976)

The morally complicated, snarling archetype of no-nonsense trigger-happy detective as iconically portrayed by Clint Eastwood (a role originally offered to both Frank Sinatra and John Wayne). Hardly a practioner of prudence and mercy, Dirty Harry employs a machiavellian approach to policework and the satisfaction he seems to get out of blasting a crook with Mr. Smith and Mr. Wesson is palpable.

Sam Peckinpah's "Cross of Iron" (1977)

The legendary Sam Peckinpah takes on the art of the war film with the same brutally visceral approach he pioneered with "The Wild Bunch". While stark depictions of the violent savagery of war have been an appropriate tradition of war films from "All Quiet on the Western Front" through "Saving Private Ryan" and beyond - this one was surely a turning point for the genre.

Charles Bronson in “Death Wish I, II & III” (1974; 1982; 1985)

Originating as a slightly more subdued thriller and bit of social commentary adapted from Brian Garfield’s 1972 novel about a liberal NYC accountant who turns into a merciless vigilante after a violent attack on his family – the series went full-on Rambo by the mid-80s with Bronson taking on an entire neighborhood of caricaturish thugs straight out of a Police Academy movie. Check out the multiplayer videogame-esque scene from Part III above.

Bruce Willis in “Die Hard” (1988) and “Die Hard 2” (1990)

The 1980s brought us a barrage of brawny, heavily-armed action heroes gunning down foreign villains with steel-jawed seriousness - from Stallone's Rambo, to Schwarzenegger's "Commando", to Chuck Norris' busy 80s filmography (special acknowledgment as well of course to Jack Howitzer). And while Arnold had been known to crack wise on occassion, it was Bruce Willis' John McClaine that turned the action hero from a humorless self-righteous killing machine into a much more relatable, and likeable witty character - leading to a new trend and trope of jokesters in the throes of gun battle. The sequel featured the franchise's most epic gun battle seen above.

John Woo's “Hard Boiled” (1992)

We previously had featured "The Killer", as an exemplary reference point of the Hong Kong action film vibe that's inspired the Max Payne franchise since the beginning. We'd be remiss not to include this one as well in our lineup - neck-and-neck with "The Killer" as the best of the John Woo / Chow Yun Fat collaborations. Tense and very stylized - the scene above is a standout as a long take of Yun Fat and Tony Leung Chiu-Wai shooting their way through a hospital.

Tom Berenger in "Sniper" (1993)

Taking cues from the lone warrior soldier craze of the 1980s and a tagline lifted from Christopher Walken's "one shot" motto in "The Deer Hunter", this one refines the Rambo mold to be a sniper expert - dispatched on a mission duelling against enemy forces and rival sharpshooters in the jungles of South America. Some classic Don LaFontaine voiceover work in this 1990s trailer.

Pacino, DeNiro, Kilmer etc in “Heat” (1995)

Perennially atop many lists of all-time great shootout scenes, this 10-minute, unrelenting sequence of Kilmer, DeNiro and their gang facing off against Pacino and his police force at the scene of a bank heist is indisputably one of the best. Above is a pretty neat behind-the-scenes feature looking into how the scene was made - watch the original sequence here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZL9fnVtz_lc].

Steven Spielberg’s “Saving Private Ryan” (1998)

The last great American war film. A standard-bearer in the footsteps of "Platoon" and "Full Metal Jacket" a decade earlier - this one shocked audiences' and critics' sensibilities with its unrelenting, and honest, depictions of the horrors of war. With scenes like the jarring sniper sequence above, it featured a level of violence very against type for Best-Director-winning Spielberg, and helped to spark a resurgent trend of war epics through the early 2000s ("Black Hawk Down", "Pearl Harbor", etc).

The Wachowski Brothers’ “The Matrix” (1999)

Finally, at the dawn of the millennium came this blockbuster action shooter with a surreal, sci-fi slant. The stylized shootout in the lobby with its balletic slow-motion, impossible physicality, and innovative technical camerawork took the cues of Hong Kong action cinema to a entirely new level.

Fred Armisen's Thoughts on GTA & Red Dead (via Adult Swim)

Rockstar Games — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 10:05:00 -0500

Saturday Night Live veteran, Portlandia co-creator/star, and longtime Rockstar friend, Fred Armisen, recently sat down with Adult Swim to confess his obsession with Grand Theft Auto as well as Red Dead Redemption...

"[Grand Theft Auto] means more to me than just me saying I really like it. First of all, when I play it, it takes me a year. I get so into it that I get very emotionally attached to being in the game. There are times I'll be away from Grand Theft and I'll be thinking of new strategies to try to finish the mission. I used to play it on PlayStation, and then I started playing it on Xbox. The first one I ever got was Vice City, which is the Miami-looking version. Then I got into San Andreas, and I even bought the guidebooks and everything. I never did any of the cheating codes, but I really tried to utilize the symbols and buttons.

Then I went onto the Niko Bellic version [in Grand Theft Auto IV], which is like New York. Each of these took me a year. When I finish all the missions, I don't go back and replay them—it just makes me too sad...

The most logical continuation of all is the one in Red Dead Redemption, which I consider the next step. That's a truly emotional game."

Thank you for the awesomely kind words, Fred - we are honored.

You can all read the entire interview here which also includes backstory on how he wound up doing a cameo appearance as a voice in Grand Theft Auto IV (you can hear Fred calling up radio shows as various characters while you cruise around Liberty City in the game).

Max Payne 3 Preview Booklet Giveaway at Social Club

Rockstar Games — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 13:30:00 -0500

By popular fan demand, we have set aside fifty Max Payne 3 Preview Booklets exclusively for members of the Rockstar Games Social Club to win. Recently this printed booklet has shown up on Ebay as a hard-to-find collector’s item sought after by Max Payne fans and collectors. With Social Club members from the US to the UK and beyond (special acknowledgements to Fjordson, NYPDMAXPAYNE, and ILikeVideo-Games) trying to hustle one up, we've found 50 of them that we've set aside for a special giveaway for fans.

The Max Payne 3 preview booklet was created to inform fans and retailers about the highly-anticipated return of Max Payne and features fourteen cover stock quality pages that are loaded with original full color artwork and in-game screens, along with technical highlights, story notes, and more.

Visit the contest page at the Social Club to enter for the chance to score one and for Official Rules and details – you’ve only got until Friday, February 24th, 2012 to enter. The prize winners will be chosen at random and announced sometime in early March.

Don’t have a Social Club account? Signing up is easy and free, and you’ll get access to exclusive unlockable game content, multiplayer events, stat tracking, progress checklists and much, much more.

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Void in certain countries and where prohibited. Must be 17 year or older in the US and Canada, and 18 years or older elsewhere. Ends Friday, February 24th, 2012. See Official Rules and Privacy Policy for eligibility details.

Watch MAX PAYNE 3: Official Trailer #2

Rockstar Games — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 12:00:00 -0500

The explosive, brand new official trailer for Max Payne 3 is here - revealing more of the game's story, beginning with the kidnapping of Rodrigo Branco's beautiful young wife, Fabiana, while under Max's protection. Max fights to uncover the truth and return her to safety amidst a treacherous web of lawless street gangs, ruthless paramilitary units - and his own personal demons. Watch the new trailer now in high-definition here at the Rockstar site Videos section and at the Max Payne 3 official website.

Max Payne 3 arrives for Xbox 360 and PlayStation3 on May 15, 2012 in North America and May 18, 2012 in Europe, with the PC version launching on May 29th, 2012 in North America and June 1st, 2012 in Europe.

For lots more including videos, screenshots, features on weaponry, gangs, and much more - check out http://www.rockstargames.com/maxpayne3.

Max Payne 3 Official Trailer #2 Coming Tomorrow, February 16th

Rockstar Games — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 20:51:00 -0500

Max Payne 3 Official Trailer #2 is coming. Tomorrow February 16th at noon Eastern.

Look for it to debut at the Rockstar site Videos section and the Max Payne 3 official site.

More Max Payne 3 Videos:
First Trailer
Design and Technology Series #2: Targeting and Weapons
Design and Technology Series #1: Creating a Cutting Edge Action-Shooter

DirectX 11 Support Added in PC Title Update for L.A. Noire: The Complete Edition

Rockstar Games — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 17:16:00 -0500

A new title update is available for the PC version of L.A. Noire: The Complete Edition, including the addition of support for DirectX 11. See below for a list of changes:

DirectX 11 support added for improved performance on many Windows Vista and Windows 7 setups using DX11 graphics cards
Option added to game launcher allowing switching between DirectX 9 and 11 renderers
Additional checks added that make sure a selected video resolution is fully compatible with L.A. Noire

If you have any technical issues with the game, head right over to the L.A. Noire PC Technical Support page. If you don’t see your problem listed, submit a request to our Support team via http://support.rockstargames.com, and they'll gladly help out.

Part 2 of this Week's Asked & Answered: Max Payne 3 Details and More

Rockstar Games — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 07:52:00 -0500

As promised, today we present part 2 of this week's Asked & Answered session, with even more of your questions taken from the Newswire comments, Twitter replies, Facebook messages and emails to our Mouthoff inquiry inbox... If you missed it earlier, you can find a link to our previous official responses to questions about Max Payne 3, Grand Theft Auto V and more right here.

“I've waited nearly 10 years for this. Will Max Payne 3 feature any driving this time around? I know you guys avoided it so it doesn't seem like a version of a Grand Theft Auto game but since Max is 10 years in and established as its own, will you add that in?” - Dymez510
“Max is there more in-depth hand-to-hand combat with interaction of environment?” - zell92i75

As we’ve stated in the past, we’re working very hard to ensure that we’re being faithful and true to the heritage of Max Payne – and the heart and soul of Max Payne gameplay has always been as a pure shooter. Apart from some pretty cool melee kills that can be triggered when in close quarters with an enemy (check out the very end of the latest Design and Technology video for an exemplary pistol-whipping), we have no intention of betraying that to introduce driving/racing or brawling elements. Just get ready for some of the most cutting-edge, advanced and insane shooting gameplay you’ve ever experienced. If you want driving, we do make some other games. This game is all about story driven gun play.

“With the trend of video games becoming 'easier' to complete to cater to the casual market in the hope of everybody completing the game, can we expect a challenging hardcore Max Payne game? I remember from previous Max Payne games, there being tough levels with intense shoot-outs. Can we expect the same with MP3?” - ILikeVideo-Games

Yes – while we’re not going to go into too much detail about the specifics of it just yet, we can answer that there will indeed be varying optional difficulty levels for players to play through the single-player story with - so that the game can be a challenging, satisfying and fun experience for players of all skill levels, and special rewards for completing on harder difficulty levels – we will have more details soon.

“Thanks for answering my Max Payne 3 question! Ok... I know I'm making a stupid request but... somehow, in Max Payne 3, could you please put some producers and writers commentaries? I wanna know everything you got inspired with, how you did it and why you did it. Some fans would appreciate this idea too!” - received via Mouthoff

Not a stupid request at all! Although we most likely won’t be including development chronicles or commentaries within the game itself, if for no other reason than we rarely have much spare room on our game discs, we’d definitely recommend you pay close attention to some of the content online that will continue to hit in the lead-up to game release – including our behind-the-scenes Research posts and Rockstar Recommends series here at the Rockstar Newswire, the continuing Design and Technology Series of videos, and exclusive interviews we’re giving with gaming sites discussing the development of Max Payne 3.

“@rockstargames Wow, I have a lot of questions. Are you going to be divulging the full list of classic characters for Max Payne 3's Special Edition?” - DrDeanDarko (via Twitter)

Yes, we will be confirming the full list of characters in Max Payne 3 Special Edition’s Classic Character Multiplayer Pack soon.

“R* are you planning to make DLCs for mp3 in the future ?
I’m looking forward to this game, because Max Payne 1 and 2 are one of the greatest games and game experiences for me :D this game will be awesome !!!!! :D” - Maxx-Paiin

Thank you. It’s great to see hardcore Max Payne fans such as yourself getting excited for the game’s release – as we’ve said before, we’re working very hard to ensure a faithful but still fresh and new Max Payne title for you all. As for future looking downloadable content, it’s a bit early yet for us to confirm exactly what shape Max Payne 3 DLC might take as we’re still in the planning stages for that, but yes we do plan to support Max Payne 3 with content post-release to properly extend the game experience for fans.

“Okay, question time!
Will we see the nifty TV shows from the previous two in Max Payne 3?” - ABoyandHisX

Very possibly...

“In footage of the game, we see Max in both São Paulo and back in New York City. Are the New York city parts solely at the beginning of the game, or are they perhaps a part of flashback missions throughout the story?” - received via Mouthoff

We don’t want to give too much away about the game’s narrative structure, but the game is about Max coming to terms with his experience in São Paulo and the events that took him there, so they are spread throughout the game, like memories triggered by events in São Paulo.

“Any news about Max Payne on iOS?” - avbros

Yes – following the release of Grand Theft Auto III for iOS (and Android devices) late last year, the original Max Payne will be our next release for mobile devices. We will have an official announcement soon confirming the release date, but you can expect it to finally be released sometime in the next couple months.

“Rockstar, if I may ask, what is the relationship like between you and Remedy?” – received via Mouthoff

Remedy are great long-time friends of ours - they may be an external development studio not part of the internal Rockstar system, but we’ve always loved what they create, and their passion for games, and feel a certain kinship in that they are a studio not afraid of creating original and unique story-driven game experiences very different from the norm. We admire and respect all game makers who stick to their guns and make interesting and original games, and in particular ones like Remedy that we’ve had the pleasure to work with ourselves and know to be good guys as well. As creators of the Max Payne series, we’ve been honored to have them directly involved with us in the making of Max Payne 3 and at the same time, it’s been a thrill to be in the loop along the way seeing what they’re up to with Alan Wake and the new American Nightmare release coming out. If you’ve never checked that game out, we definitely recommend having a look.

“Are there any hopes of us getting a Bully 2? I loved the original and it’s been, what, 5 years? Please make another one.” - siim2200
“Hey, and Bully 2? It’s Real? Please make Bully 2! The world needs a Bully 2” - Julio Cësar (via Facebook)

We absolutely love that over 5 years later, we’re still seeing so much enthusiasm for Bully - all we can say is to see the answer from Monday's Asked & Answered about L.A. Noire! We really love Bully ourselves and may also make a sequel at some point.