Just a heads up for any modders out there, OpenIV 0.9.4 has been released, making it even easier to modify your copy of Grand Theft Auto IV or Episodes from Liberty City and allow you to view and export/import various files from the game, the main changes in this version are as follows:
You can download the latest version from the OpenIV website or from our own GTA4-Mods.com.

Time for another Friday Flashback and this week we're taking it back to the 2D era, most people know this song as "That Main Menu Song from GTA2" but it does have a name, "Short Change" by E-Z Rollers, a UK based Drum and Bass act on the Moving Shadow label (yes, the same Moving Shadow as MSX FM in GTA3 and LCS), this track originally appeared on their 1998 album "Weekend World" before being picked by an early Rockstar Games to headline one of the first songs us players got to hear on the GTA2 soundtrack.

As if this really needs an introduction anymore, icelaglace has just released the long awaited and latest version of his very well known iCEnhancer modification for Grand Theft Auto IV, for any changes and instructions as well as a download, visit the GTA4-Mods page.

With the upcoming release of the PlayStation Vita in the US and EU, and with many people still playing games from the old UMD's, Sony have reduced the price of a range of PSP games on the EU PSN, including a load of Rockstar titles, so now is the time to grab Digital Copies of these games if you want to play them right away on your new handheld (if you're buying it), the new prices are listed below:

The Advertising Council of Liberty City, Vice City and San Andreas is back with a new update! Ten commercials from previous Grand Theft Auto games have been added including such classics as "PetsOvernight.com" and "The Epsilon Program", full list of added commercials is below:

Hey guys, did you know there's a Ghost Town in Grand Theft Auto III? They sure kept that hidden for all these years didn't they? Well, of course, any Grand Theft Auto fan who knows their stuff will already know about the famous Ghost Town of Grand Theft Auto III, from all those years back when it was first discovered, to mods being made making the area playable, right up to Rockstar talking about it on their own News Wire, it's not really that much of a secret anymore. Luckily though, for the extremely late comers, Pop-Fiction is here to ask that question and give the answer!

Get More: GameTrailers.com, Pop-Fiction - Episode 20 - Grand Theft Auto III HD, PC Games, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

This week's Friday Flashback is a song which can be heard on Wildstyle Pirate Radio in Vice City, it's Run-D.M.C.'s "Rock Box", originally released on their self titled album in 1984 (which also contained the more well known track "It's Like That", which later appeared on Fresh 105 FM in Vice City Stories), Rock Box was the third single from the album but had the first video to be produced the trio and was also the first rap video to air on MTV in 1984!

Hot on the heels of the latest viral ad running around the Internet (seriously, it was only released three days ago!), our own YeardleyDiamond has managed to spoof the viral ad Grand Theft Auto IV style with "Flying People in Liberty City":


You can watch the original video "Flying People in New York City" right Here.

The remix of "O Mio Babbino Caro" that was used in the 10th Anniversary Trailer for Grand Theft Auto III has now been made available to buy over iTunes. The song can be heard below in the video:


The 2 minute track (2:02 to be exact) can be purchased for $0.99/£0.79.

In the past, men have dominated the video-game industry. Not only are most game-designers and developers men, but most of the market has been male as well. Yet, times are changing. The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) has calculated that forty-two percent of gamers are in fact women, also stating that women over the age of 18 is the industry's fastest growing demographic.

This information comes with the inevitable questioning on my part; just how far away from seeing a female protagonist in a Grand Theft Auto game are we?

Rockstar have been experimenting with the idea of strong female characters for a few years now. GTA IV had Michelle, Mallory and Elizabeta, while Red Dead Redemption had Bonnie, Luisa and Abigail. Although these characters never sat in the driver's seat in any kind of way, they were all given major roles as vital cogs in the stories of our leading males, as opposed to acting as the traditional love interests which film and video-games have long-since exhausted.

Even with a long way to come, the role of women in Rockstar's more recent blockbusters is expanding and guessing that we'll (eventually) be playing as a woman is a pretty safe guess to make. How soon this will be is not clear right now as even I have major doubts it will happen in V. Even with the Ned Luke lookalike all but confirmed to be our playable character, a few fans and industry figures alike have warmed to the notion of playing as a female and have expressed a desire for it to finally happen.



The industry calling for female leads doesn't strike me as a particularly odd thing though. More and more females are being worked into games as the lead -- though more often than not only in games with some form of create-a-character type set-up. Mass Effect springs to mind, where I far preferred playing through with a female Sheppard, if only because of Jennifer Hale's outstanding voice-work, which was leaps and bounds better than her male counterparts.

Then there's the Saints Row series, the only franchise to break-away from the inevitable "GTA clone" label that the industry dumps on any games with guns, cars and freedom. Like many other modern games, players get the choice of which sex to play as, though either way, what you get is mostly an androgynous experience. The male and female characters are quite indistinguishable due to the same clothing/hair options, and the fact that the player, if they wish, can have their female character voiced by a male actor and vice versa.

The create-a-character model can give players aesthetically unique experiences, making the player feel like it is their character and their's alone. With that being said though, it generally destroys any notion of a character driven narrative, a notion which Rockstar have been expanding with every title for over a decade.

A true feminist would have you believe that playing as a female should have no affect on gameplay and I would tend to agree. In terms of story this is definitely true; nothing will change, in fact, a strong portrayal of a female lead could do leaps and bounds for some of the games more subtle themes. As long as the character is not just a female to be a female, other gameplay will also go unchanged. Gamers would probably have to give up on being serviced by prostitutes and going to "titty-bars" with Roman and Brucie though -- in other words, no big loss.

I was raised primarily by my mother and I've always been told that women can do exactly what men can, so why should this be different in video-games? It really is quite an amazing thought, if only for the step-forward it would bring for the series. Lara, Samus and Chell should look out, a strong-female GTA protagonist could be joining their ranks sooner rather than later.



As always, we at GTAGaming love to hear your thoughts and demand you share them with us. Whether you love or hate the idea of playing as a female, make sure you comment til your heart's content and your opinion is heard.