A slow trickle of information and media on upcoming Old West-em-up Red Dead Redemption has been coming from developer Rockstar Games for some time now. And if it weren’t for the game’s somewhat unique setting – as well as our (admittedly strained) faith in the game’s developer – we might not indulge the it with so much attention. Alas, these screens, much like the screens and video that came before them, keep impressing us. Call it a predilection for Western-themed entertainment … we’re not sure. Peep the screens below and decide for yourself if the game is worth your time during the busy second holiday release season.

New Red Dead Redemption screens showcase the finer things in (cowboy) life originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 13 Nov 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Composer Shawn Lee, who worked on The Getaway and the first Bully game let slip the news in an interview with The Gaming Liberty saying, “It looks like I will be doing the soundtrack for Bully 2 in the not so distant future.

Given the fearsome reputation of Rockstar’s PR engine, this was probably no accidental leak and may just prove to be the beginning of a drip feed of tantalising morsels building up to a proper announcement. Hopefully this means that Bully 2 could be hitting our shelves sometime next year.

If you thought Manhunt 2 had reached the pinnacle of mature content in video games, you better guess again. The controversy-garnering title will be re-released on Direct2Drive next week for $29.99 — only this time around, it’s packing an AO rating. As those who lived through Mahuntgate surely remember, that was planned to be the original rating for the game, before the ESRB rolled up, and was all like “what? You want to stick shards of glass into another man’s ear? No. No, sir.”

Rockstar has remained mum about what the new rating will entail, but our guess is that it will incorporate more graphic forms of violence, and perhaps a few extra dirty words. We’ve contacted Rockstar to get more specific details on the mature-r content, and to find out when we can expect the Early Childhood version of the game to hit store shelves.

[Via Big Download]

AO-rated PC version of Manhunt 2 releasing next week originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 31 Oct 2009 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A classy gentleman never needs a reason to grow some over-lip facial hair — however, Rockstar and the Movember Foundation are offering a pretty good incentive for you to grow a glorious moustache. While the latter is asking all applicable males to grow sweet handlebars to raise awareness and donations for men’s health issues (primarily prostate cancer), Rockstar is offering the charity’s mouthbrow-growing participants a rare prize: They can end as a character in Red Dead Redemption.

The charity event and contest kicks off tomorrow, so if you’re interested in helping out, sign up on the Movember Foundation page, and on Rockstar’s contest site. Oh, also, you’re going to need to shave that sweet Fu Manchu you’re already sporting, and start over from scratch. C’mon, you haven’t seen your philtrum in like, three years. It misses you.

Grow a moustache for charity, end up in Red Dead Redemption originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 31 Oct 2009 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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With the release of this week’s second Grand Theft Auto IV expansion The Ballad of Gay Tony, the game’s developer has decided to update the online multiplayer statistics tracking in order to reflect the new multiplayer game types. The addition of “BASE Jump” to the mulitplayer as well as “new, tighter Deathmatch arenas” helped spur the leaderboard overhaul, according to the developer blog. The various new additions being made due to the DLC will even get their own section on the Rockstar Social Club, presumably for the four of you tracking your new GTAIV DLC stats after Modern Warfare 2 releases in a couple weeks.

Rockstar revamps Social Club’s online leaderboards and stat tracking for Gay Tony originally appeared on Joystiq Xbox on Thu, 29 Oct 2009 15:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’d thought the Grand Theft Auto franchise had taken us to lovingly rendered simulacra of every metropolitan city-type known to man, but apparently, we thought wrong. In the back of the GTA IV: Episodes from Liberty City manual, a fake advertisement points to the series’ “Next Stop” (seen above). Of course, the destination being teased is quite obviously the lovely town of Clip Artington, Minnesota. Surely you’ve heard of Clip Artington! It’s renowned for its apple butter festivals.

On the off chance the teaser is pointing to a different city, we’ve … we’ve really got no idea. Looks like a desert, though, right? And a mountain? And some conical, obsidian monoliths? What? Trees? Oh, yeah, that makes a lot more sense. We’d love to hear your speculation in a well-written, thought-provoking comment! There’s a place for those right after the jump, you know.

[Image credit: VGChartz]

GTA’s ‘Next Stop’ teased in Liberty City Episodes manual originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 28 Oct 2009 17:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In case it weren’t already glaringly obvious to you, the second Grand Theft Auto IV expansion will be taking itself quite a bit less seriously than the first digital release. Thankfully, the wait is nearly over and we can find out for ourselves tomorrow just how much Rockstar Games has twisted its latest opus.

Latest Ballad of Gay Tony trailer showcases Luis Lopez’s many exploits originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In Rockstar’s own words, “Princess Robot Bubblegum” features the hallmarks of more than a few animes: “Incomprehensible narrative, wretched dialogue and creepy, misogynistic sexuality.” See it all in the trailer above.

New Gay Tony in-game anime is all too familiar originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 26 Oct 2009 18:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rockstar’s LA Noire has been shrouded in so much mystery that its very existence has been called into question. A recent casting call for actors not only confirms the game’s continued development, but also reveals the many (if not all) characters to be featured in the game. The call asks for “STRONG ACTORS, able to handle LOTS OF dialog” for a cast of supporting characters, comprised mostly of detectives, police officers and the occasional crook.

The casting call is looking for a face similar to actors Gary Cooper or Gregory Peck (pictured above) for the protagonist — Cole Phelps. Co-stars and supporting roles, such as jazz singer Elsa Lichtmann, will only be required to perform for 10 days or less. However, the actor chosen to play Cole Phelps will work for three months, from November to January, to record his performance for the game.

It’s evident from the large roster of characters and the use of Hollywood actors that LA Noire is intended to be quite the cinematic game. However, with only three months of mocap, it still pales in comparison to the upcoming Heavy Rain — which demanded nine months of motion capture work.

LA Noire characters revealed by mocap casting call originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 26 Oct 2009 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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