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IGN:

 

 

UK, January 23, 2008 - A lot can happen in six months. Just look back over the last half a year: England were knocked out of Euro 2008, the Spice Girls got back together and Dumbledore came out of the closet. So with that in mind we were anxious and excited in equal measure when we got the call from Rockstar to check out the latest version of Grand Theft Auto IV. After all, it's been six months since we last walked the streets of Liberty City, so could all of the little niggles we'd noticed in previous versions – the stuttering frame-rate, restricted freedom of the city and overall lack of GTA's signature humour – have all be ironed out in a few months?

 

Sometimes ordinary people explode. Natural causes.

 

Yes. There, we said it. Yes, the frame-rate has been smoothed out; yes, the city is now fully populated meaning you're able to explore however you see fit; and yes, the trademark satirical dialogue and larger-than-life characters are very much back. Grand Theft Auto IV looks and feels like a GTA game, but one that's been punted into the next generation. And while the build we saw wasn't final – the music was still placeholder and there are a couple of visual tweaks to be done over the next couple of months – everything else is in the game. Better still, any worry we had that Rockstar wouldn't deliver on a proper next-gen GTA experience was instantly dispelled within the first few moments of our latest 90-minute tour of Liberty City.

 

Starting off in Broker in the full light of day, the first of three missions we saw took place in a setting familiar to anyone who's salivated over every tidbit that has leaked from the Rockstar offices. Basking in the glorious midday sun, we join Niko who is on the phone to Brucie, a previously unseeen character in the GTA universe in charge of a nearby garage. A short-haired beefcake, he reminded us more than a little of the Biff character from the Back to the Future series, his mannerisms and flamboyant stupidity infused with characteristic Rockstar wit and pop-culture savvy. Indeed, not only is the humour of previous GTAs present and correct, it is also given an extra lease of life by the new game engine, with characters indulging in little Howard Hawks-esque bits of business during dialogue, be it Niko nonchalantly thumbing his nose as he listens or in some of the wilder gesticulations of the steroid-pumped Brucie as he tells us he wants Rivas, a police informant, silenced in time honoured GTA style – with the business end of a pistol.

 

Having received our task from Brucie it was out onto the road, where we got to witness the game's free-form driving for the first time. Any fears that may have been raised by previous builds of GTA IV that suffered from inconsistent frame-rates are largely assuaged – they've clearly been burning the midnight oil over at Rockstar these past six months, as the environments of Liberty City manage to zip along at an agreeable pace. There are the occasional lighting glitches and texture pop-ups, but there's still time for these minor problems to be ironed out. Plus, bearing in mind the sheer scale of the city – it's far greater in reality than we ever imagined – we didn't really notice after a short while, instead wallowing in the vastness of it all.

 

Back to cruising the streets, one interesting feature is every road in the game has been given a name. This adds an enhanced sense of location, plus Rockstar aren't one to miss an opportunity at a little pop-culture reference – Jim Jones and Hubbard Avenue were just two examples we noticed on our travels.

 

Things have certainly moved on from Chase HQ.

 

The mission at hand required the acquisition of a police car, and there were a number of ways to achieve this. Firstly, you can use the tried and tested method of stirring up a little mischief to attract attention from the law enforcement agencies, but the method we saw utilised one of the new features to GTA IV – the mobile phone. We'll go into more of the abilities of Niko's cell phone a little later, but for this mission it was simply a case of bringing it up via the D-pad and putting in a call to 911. After a little interaction with a hilariously adroit automated emergency service switchboard, and a few little white lies later, the police were on the scene, with Niko waiting with his gun by his side. Again, the open-ended world of GTA meant there were numerous ways to get access to the police car – the approach we saw involved enticing the police away from the car and then hot-footing it in.

 

 

 

Having got behind the wheel we were able to see the new wanted meter in full effect. A circle appears on the map around your car and if the cops are outside that circle the wanted status will decrease. However, stray into the path of another cop and the wanted meter will remain and the police will stay glued to your tail. Indeed, each time you're spotted the search area re-centres on your location and the wanted status will go up again. Switching cars will help lose any attention, as will disguising yourself among your surroundings, whether that's hiding behind a bin or escaping into a nearby building.

 

Once Niko has the car away from the attention of the cops he can access the police database, via the onboard police computer. By tapping in the name of the informant Niko is able to pinpoint his home address – Long Street in Broker, which would be our next stop. Interestingly, Rockstar mentioned it would also be possible to upload photos of people from your phone's camera into the database to attain details as well.

 

A little morning jog for our friend Niko.

 

After a short journey in the car we found Rivas relieving himself against a wall, although he quickly scarpered when Niko hammered on the front door – and so ensued the first car chase. This staple of the GTA universe appears to have been given a much welcome make-over, with improved in-car gunplay and increased interactivity with the surroundings. In an example of the increased physicality of the new GTA, Niko smashed out the driver's side window with his elbow before pulling out a pistol. Indeed, guns can now be controlled with the right analogue stick, making it easier to shoot out tires to end a chase quickly. The traffic could also be bought into play as well – Niko switched on the police car sirens to clear traffic, plus shot at a truck carrying logs, causing its load to spill out across the road and create an obstacle.

 

Some of the explosions and particle effects that ensued from the chase had a cartoon-like dynamism to them, and it seemed that when the car made contact with a wall a mark of the encounter appeared on the concrete. After a couple of minutes of white-knuckle driving the mission finally drew to a close when Niko smashed side-on into Rivas's car, shunting it off the road and sending the snitch to a fiery death. At this point we noted a much-welcomed feature - the inclusion of auto-saves. Unlike the oft-infuriating save system of previous GTA games, GTA IV will now auto-save progress after important mission way-points, which should go some way to relieving some of the frustration experienced in the past. Rockstar also mentioned that if you fail a mission you'll be given the option to jump straight back in and have another attempt, using text messages on Niko's mobile.

 

With the mission successfully completed, we were then shown some more of the attributes of the seemingly integral phone. Managing friendship levels will play a key part to the new GTA experience and to maximise the potential of your relationships within the game it's vital to keep people sweet. We were re-introduced to Roman, Niko's cousin, by simply calling him up, at which point we had the option to take him bowling, play pool, take him to a cabaret or just for a simple tipple. Given the time constraints of our demonstration we decided to meet Roman for a drink. What followed, however, was one of the most down-right funny scenes we've ever witnessed in gaming.

 

Having activated the friendship side mission, we had a few minutes to pick up Roman and drive him to the bar. It's worth noting that you don't actually have to complete these missions once they've been started, but if you decide you can't be bothered to socialise it's best to call and let them know, otherwise they'll be noticeably off towards you next time you hook up.

 

Dynamic weather in full effect. Better be packnig a spare pair of joggers.

 

Eventually we reached a nearby watering hole, Bar Perestroika, which was highlighted on the map by a cocktail glass icon. Choose to go bowling or play pool and you actually compete in a mini-game, but head to a bar and the scene cuts straight to the chase of the after-effects of a skinful, with Niko and Roman falling out of the bar, barely able to walk. Here the full implications of the new Euphoria physics engine and skeletal models could be witnessed in the most humourous way possible, as the pair stumbled over themselves, falling over each other and putting out a steadying hand on nearby objects. At one point Niko attempted to upright himself on a parked car, misjudged and fell flat on his back in the gutter, while muttering drunkenly to himself. The characters all react accordingly to each other, and this extends beyond the main cast. While driving about Liberty City we noticed non-playable characters had been blessed with astounding little flourishes – at one point a car collided with a pedestrian at low speed, and they extended an arm and steadied themselves before moving on.

 

 

 

But back to the gutter… Niko soon realised that Roman would be needing a ride home and had little time to sober up. It'll take a strong stomach to endure a drunken car-ride in GTA IV, with the screen swaying merrily and the control system itself inebriated. The effects are said to wear off after a couple of minutes, but after being subjected to 30 seconds of the drunken experience on Rockstar's 60-inch behemoth of a screen we were all feeling a little queasy and could have done with a couple of Alka Seltzers ourselves.

 

Maintaining good relationships, while not essential to the main narrative thrust of the game, will certainly make passage a lot easier, as well as providing an enjoyable peripheral activity. For example, keep Roman onside and he'll be able to provide you with free taxi rides around the city, while staying buddies with Brucie will give you access to helicopter rides. Stay in touch with weapons dealer Little Jacob he will garnish you with an arsenal of the finest firepower.

 

Oh - you don't wanna look in there.

 

After the drunken antics we observed some late night driving around Liberty City. The heavy mist that shrouded the city at night was at first a concern to us – could it have been disguising some build quality issues? However, our Rockstar rep turned to the debug controls and, in an example of the dynamic weather utilised in the game, the mist dissipated to reveal a breathtaking vista of Liberty City by night. It certainly was a bewitching sleight of hand; we went from doubters to believers in one deft switch of a debug control, the view from Broker Bridge setting our hearts aflutter and showing what the next generation of GTA can offer.

 

Driving around the city you soon get a feel for the distinct districts – the financial district is a jungle of concrete and steel devoid of any pedestrians, while at the opposite end of the scale Liberty City's thinly veiled take on Times Square is a cavalcade of neon signs and complex architecture. What's more, there were no noticeable dips in the frame-rate as we cruised through Liberty City's centerpiece, further serving to massage any fears about the robustness of the game's engine.

 

We weren't able to ascertain how much of the city would be open upon first play, though Rockstar were kind enough to further highlight the dynamic lighting system by speeding through a day via the debug controls. The effects of the sun's rise and fall were spectacular, enough for us to hope that a feature to speed up the time frame will be un-lockable in the full game. Currently two minutes equates to one hour of game-time, although that is subject to change.

 

Playboy X was the next character we were introduced to, a familiar figure from the Looking for That Special Someone trailer. The mission, Destruction for Beginners, takes you to his Penthouse apartment, where you'll also meet the just released convict Dwayne, a dour foil to some of Playboy X's more outlandish character traits. The task is to take out the Russian Mafia involved in union dealings on a nearby construction site. After a shirt drive you park up in a back street, grab a sniper rifle from the boot and, with Playboy X in tow, take a window-cleaner's lift that scales a nearby skyscraper which overlooks the building site.

 

Using the sniper rifle to take out some of the lookouts on the site, the enhanced physics engine again comes into play. The downed Mafia goons fall from their perches and make quite an impact when hit the ground – one victim fell onto the roof of a parked SUV, and it was hard not to wince at the ferocity of the collision.

 

You just can't say no to a bazooka.

 

Heading down from the rooftop, we were given a first glimpse of the overhauled combat system that looks to dramatically enhance the GTA experience. Taking its cues from games such as Gears of War, it focuses on the effective use of cover – though unlike examples such as Kane & Lynch, GTA IV looks to have hit a fine balance. With Playboy X communicating to Niko over the headset, our protagonist runs from cover to cover, whether it be a parked car or an overturned barrel, with the sort of grace seen in Hollywood blockbusters such as Heat. Indeed, Rockstar has gone out of its way to ensure that the cover system doesn't become a source of frustration during combat, and you can go into cover against any object in the game with a single button press. Cower behind a car, however, and you could soon find yourself exposed as the vehicle drives off. Niko is also a fairly acrobatic lead, sliding and diving into cover with ease, and in another nod to Gears of War he can also blind fire around corners.

 

 

 

Rockstar was unwilling to discuss how the health system works, though we can report that the enemies have easily-targeted hit points. There's the obligatory headshots, plus the ability to shoot enemies in the legs, merely disabling them – perhaps we'll be seeing some more humane approaches to some of GTA IV's missions? The weapons we saw were nothing new to the series, with an AK-47, M4 carbine and shotgun being put through their paces, although the implementation of grenades has been vastly improved, with the ability to lock-on-and-throw enabling increased accuracy. Another nice touch was that when a locked-on adversary was blown into the sky by an explosive, the camera followed their flailing corpse trial through the air. Maybe GTA isn't the place for humane approaches to missions after all.

 

The end of the Destruction for Beginners mission saw Niko take down a helicopter with a bazooka, which left an arcing smoke trail as it streaked through the sky. The mafia boss scooted away from the chopper before we nuked it though, meaning we had to chase him on foot and fire the killer blow while he tried to escape up a ladder. It's pretty brutal stuff, and it all managed to display the new dynamic to the combat system that means GTA IV should be straying away from the anemic and oft-frustrating gunplay offered by its forebears, and may well hold its own against the current generation's batch of shooters.

 

New facial models really add to the atmosphere.

 

Truck Hustle was the last mission we saw and kicked off in GTA IV's equivalent of New Jersey. There's a distinct Sopranos lilt to the conversation of the two Italian gangsters you meet, who urge you on to keep an eye on a bunch of Triads looking to offload a 'cursed' batch of heroin. The drive to the mission start was in a more luxurious car than we had previously seen, replete with talking sat-nav that dished out audible directions as we drove. We also got a chance to hear some of GTA's acclaimed voiceovers on the radio channels, and rest assured it's as smirk-inducing as ever.

 

Getting out of the car and walking to the destination, we noticed another aspect of Niko's phone – its built-in radio. Sound quality is, as you'd expect from a mobile, realistically tinny and having the soundtrack accompanying you on foot is a welcome addition. Although all the tracks we heard in game were merely place-holders while the myriad licensing issues are being attended to, we're sure GTA IV will be no different to its predecessors with their supreme soundtracks. The radio also seemingly responded to Niko's previous antics – our destruction of the helicopter on the building site was being reported on the radio news bulletin.

 

We were then treated to another demonstration of the improved combat model of GTA IV, although this time somewhat more fiery as grenades were used with abandon, resulting in some quite spectacular explosions. It seemed that when targeting an enemy, their health would appear on the aiming reticule, and the Triads being taken out appeared to be a sturdy bunch – although a well-placed grenade soon took care of them.

 

Approaching the truck in which the 'cursed' batch of brown was stashed, a Triad climbed into the car and began to drive off. At this point Niko grabbed onto the rear bumper and clung on as the vehicle accelerated through the streets. Gradually he made his way to the roof, where progress was made on his belly, the player rolling him left and right to prevent him from being flung off as the truck swung around corners. Having finally made his way to the driver's cab, Niko swung down next to the driver and unleashed a round in his face. The death animation was extremely brutal, as the driver's head jolted back and a fair amount of brain-jam issued forth. It is of course not unexpected for a GTA game to be violent, but the visceral level attained with the enhanced engine can still be a little shocking. Commandeering the truck, the mission ended as Niko drove into the grounds of a disused factory building.

 

Bikes. Of course there's bikes.

 

Our tour of Liberty City Rockstar drew to a close with a scenic jaunt around the coast. Beginning with a ride through the dunes on off-road bike, we made our way to the shore-line before climbing into an inflatable speed boat. Taking in all the sights of Liberty City, we got an impression of the vast scale of the play-area. By holding down the B button, you'll be able to switch to a cinematic viewpoint of the proceedings – not a new feature to the series, but implemented with more flair than ever before. The water effects looked fantastic, reflecting the skyline of the city and even mirroring the planes and clouds in the sky. The camera was flecked with water being spat from the back of the boat, and again there were a few of the deft Rockstar touches – one boat we passed had more than a superficial resemblance to the Orca ship from Jaws, and a restaurant on the shore had the fantastic moniker 'Poop Deck'. Finally we took in the Statue of Happiness (nee Liberty), before ending back on the docks of Broker, right back to where our journey had began.

 

We were surprised by the amount we saw in the demo, and of course it's only a small percentage of the final game. Overall the experience was heartening, with the build at worst sturdy, and at times downright dazzling. There's still a whole world of questions about the game to be answered, and Rockstar were reticent about revealing anything about the online and multiplayer elements of GTA IV – that will come in the next month or so - other than the fact that they exist. We've been promised a hands-on within the next couple of weeks, as well as a look at the PS3 build, when more will no doubt become clear. But till then, rest assured the last six months have been well spent and that GTA IV is shaping up to be well worthy of the hype bestowed upon it.

 

 

Team Xbox:

 

 

Just think how different the last 99 days could have been.

 

Going by the originally planned release date of October 16, 2007, today would be the 99th day of ownership for any gamer who bought Grand Theft Auto IV on its first day of sales. Of course, that would make this preview article look pretty dumb, if it came more than three months after the long-awaited sequel in Rockstar Games’ incredibly popular series was due to ship to stores.

 

The fact is, however, delays and cancellations are common for one reason or another in the game industry. Most of us would prefer that these postponements not happen—the developers and publishers want to be done with the making, so they can get on with the earning; the gamers want to play the game; and the stores don’t want to have these disappointed fans coming to their counters on a regular basis asking when they can spend their $60 on the game they really want to play—but they’re simply a fact of life.

 

So, here we are 99 days after when we expected to play it and Rockstar still hasn’t given us a new date for when we can expect to camp in front of our nearby game seller for a copy of GTA IV. We, at TeamXbox, haven’t actually gotten our hands on the game to try for ourselves, so we can’t pass on how it compares to previous GTA releases. Still, we do have something you can consider progress, which is a preview based on actually seeing the game being played by Rockstar representatives who were in the same room in which we were sitting. We’re afraid that’ll have to do for now.

 

GTA IV offers new levels of realism.

 

 

What we saw was a game that contained many things that will be familiar to fans of the series. The pause screen looked to be much the same, sporting the same font that we’ve come to expect when we hit the Start button to refer to the map, save the game, etc. In the gameplay we were shown, we saw the playable character, Niko Bellic, able to jack cars away from their drivers in the streets of a gritty city that resembled the New York/New Jersey area. We got a demonstration of a few missions, which were received by visiting a key person in the story, which, in turn, brought up a cutscene with numerous lively personalities from the criminal side of the tracks…and lots of graphic dialogue. We noted that each car Niko entered had a radio playing in it, and the radio offered a variety of stations with different types of music or talk styles (and humorous commercials interspersed in between).

 

Frankly, we’d be surprised if GTA IV didn’t have all the elements that we’ve come to know from the previous games, specifically the GTA III group of titles that really put the franchise on the map—well, and which drew antagonistic protests and calls for its banning by many naysayers around the world.

 

But this recent GTA IV demo also featured Rockstar showing off a number of the new features that the title will introduce. First and foremost is the fact that GTA IV will be on next-generation consoles, so it’ll have a much better look. The graphics seem crisp and clean, with characters that look more lifelike than ever before. The characters come to life with individual personalities, such as Brucie, a wacky guy with tattoos and his shirt off, and who seems a little too enthusiastic to be working crime life with Niko.

 

However, the game’s characters are also going to be more realistic in their actions and movements, with Rockstar laying much praise at the feet of the technologists at NaturalMotion. The company has created software products that take in-game action far beyond that of a physics engine. In fact, it’s a good bet that Rockstar and NaturalMotion would probably hope you wouldn’t notice the characters’ movements at all—that they’re so…well, natural that you won’t find yourself remembering that you’re playing a game. After all, there’s nothing that’ll snap you out of an artificial world you’re supposed to be immersed within than to spot a character who’s still trying to stroll along at a quick pace while pressed face first against a wall, or who continues running right at you while squarely in the path of the many bullets you’re firing.

 

 

 

 

No, from our one-hour demo of GTA IV, we saw many cases of characters under the influence of NaturalMotion. In fact, in one situation, Niko and his cousin were literally under the influence: They went to a bar and came away seriously inebriated, stumbling out of the establishment and often into each other as they tried to make their way back to Niko’s vehicle. The swaying walk and how the characters interact with each other and objects in the world around them aren’t pre-rendered animations, but are rather algorithms that govern their behavior based on their drunken conditions. The last generation of games wowed us with realistic physics on bodies and objects, and helped make “ragdoll” a commonly used term for describing video-game character animation. It seems that this generation will step the realism up by making characters “perform” more independently, so that replaying the same mission four times won’t likely have you seeing the same movements four times.

 

By the way, if you’re curious, driving while drunk in GTA IV has its risks. Your view of Niko’s surroundings blur and shimmy to the point of making you uncomfortable, and we were told (remember, this wasn’t a hands-on demo for us) that the car controls are harder to keep steady. Thankfully, the impairment is only temporary, as in real life.

 

We were told that drinking also serves to build relationships and enables you to make friends, which becomes a key part of GTA IV. This bonding can help in a number of ways, such as giving you different activities you can engage in with your pals or giving you access to hardware (such as guns) that you’ll need to complete missions. As noted previously, you’ll be able to get missions from people that you meet, but Rockstar also noted that you’ll be able to get missions in certain locations as well.

 

Now you can explore the city’s vertical vantage points.

 

 

Along those same lines, Rockstar also made a point of explaining that the “going to a mission” dialogue between characters has been scripted and recorded in multiple ways. As an example, in the mission called “Deconstruction for Beginners,” Niko and one of his new partners-in-crime, Playboy X, head to a construction site to eliminate some crooked union bosses. After failing the mission the first time, the variable dialogue structure was revealed to us, and indeed the two characters didn’t have the same conversation on the second playthrough.

 

To further describe this mission, we saw Niko and Playboy taking a scaffolding up the side of a building for the first objectives: taking out the sentries guarding the construction site from atop large cranes. While previous GTA games generally took place in a flat world where everything happened at street level, the GTA IV demonstrator parked Niko at the top of this building, then pulled out a sniper rifle to pick off a few guards, also quite a bit off the ground. One by one, they plummeted off their perches—though in one case, the shot character just fell over and stayed on top of the crane. Again showing that the gameplay has spontaneity, the second playthrough of the mission had one of the guards falling and landing on a truck below the crane, but not bouncing off the roof and onto the sidewalk as he did in the first playthrough. It’s a subtle variation, but something that should really liven up the gameplay experience a bit.

 

Of course, Rockstar also pointed out that this mission is a good demonstration of the scope of GTA IV’s city, which spread out away from the sniper perch in all directions. As with the recent GTA titles, there’ll be plenty to do in and around Liberty City, and we expect there’ll be a lot of distance to cover in order to hit every corner of the playable terrain.

 

This segment also showed us the improvements made to the gunplay. After picking off the guards, Niko goes back down to street level and enters the construction yard to pursue the union leaders. When the bullets start flying, some of the foes work their way toward Niko’s locations to try and flush him out, while others take cover around the construction yard—and it was cool to see that the NaturalMotion tech had everyone reacting differently. The wildest was seeing an exposed enemy make a baseball-like slide into some cover. The demonstrator also showed how you can put Niko into cover, as well as his ability to blind fire over the cover in an effort to stay safe…though cover isn’t permanent, with shots gradually chipping away at some of the environmental protection.

 

 

 

The ability to lock onto a target has also been enhanced, with an initial lock-on taking place when you pull in the trigger. From that locked position, you can then move the stick a bit to shift around to different body parts without losing the lock. Headshots are one-shot kills, and it’s much easier to dispatch an enemy like that with this system. The lock-on targeting also provides the character’s health meter, so you can see how much more you have to tag an opponent in order to drop him.

 

Another mission, Search and Destroy, unveiled other parts of the game that have been changed and improved. Brucie tells Niko that he needs to eliminate an informant, but that this target isn’t going to be easy to find without help from the police crime databases. Luckily, there are plenty of these terminals accessible throughout the city…provided Niko is willing to steal a cop car, which is equipped with the advanced computer system. Niko snags the cruiser after raising his wanted level (much as with previous games) to draw a patrol, then searches the database for the informant’s name (though you can also search by photo), which brings up an address for the bad guy’s suspected hideout. From there, it’s an easy jump to plugging the newfound address into the car’s GPS map, which brings up a path from Niko’s current location to the informant’s house. As with a real GPS, deviating from the displayed path will cause it to recalculate the most direct course to the destination. Some vehicles have more elaborate GPS units, which deliver spoken directions for you to follow.

 

Oh, yeah…rocket launchers are back!

 

 

Later, after Niko finds the informant, and the informant starts to make a getaway in another vehicle, we see how drive-by shooting has been enhanced with better “free aim” targeting. It doesn’t seem like you’ll have to choose between accurate driving or accurate shooting, but in fact it looks like you’ll be able to do both pretty well using the two analog sticks. Also, we were told that the camera handling while you’re driving has been improved, with hitting the A Button during a chase zooming the perspective on your target vehicle. This is definitely one of the elements of the game we’ll be anxious to try out for ourselves, to better see how this has built on the previous GTA titles.

 

Finally, Rockstar closed out by jumping Niko into one of the boats at a dock—in this case, a Zephyr-like inflatable—then taking off across the water dramatically. Pushing the B Button randomly switches through the available cameras, with one three-quarters overhead shot reminding me of the intro to the old Miami Vice TV show. The important point that Rockstar made, though, is that any vehicle you see is one you can also get in and drive. Yeah, that should be pretty cool.

 

Had enough to whet your appetite? No, neither did we—one hour was a nice tease, but not anywhere near what we would like. To that end, the Rockstar reps promised that they’ll come out for another visit quite soon, this time letting us grab the controller to freely cruise around Liberty City ourselves. When we do, we’ll be sure to tell you how it goes in stunning detail. No need to thank us…it’s what we do for our faithful readers.

 

Oh, best of all, Rockstar said it should be announcing an updated release date for GTA IV soon. Given how the game looked during this demo, we can’t figure the ship date will be one the publisher will have to delay again nor will it be too far away from now on the calendar. If Take-Two Interactive, Rockstar’s parent company, plans to have the game ship before the end of the second quarter of its current fiscal year, as it stated this past summer, that means it’ll be out before the end of April.

 

Why, that’s less than 99 days you’ll have to spend reading previews like this before you can play it yourself.

 

 

1Up:

 

 

It's an unfortunate fact that not all games are created equal. It's unfortunate for the competition, primarily, because the upcoming successor to the long-running Grand Theft Auto series -- the late-blooming crime franchise that single-handedly spawned the 'sandbox' generation with its now-famous third installment -- will arrive as one of the most-anticipated games of all time. The 'fourth' official entry into the series (with Vice City Stories and San Andreas sandwiched between III and IV) has, based on an early multi-mission peek at the game, all the hallmarks of yet another time-destroying, life-absorbing sandbox experience -- this time with all the next-gen fixins that Xbox 360 and PS3 owners have come to expect.

 

After spending a couple of hours with the 360 version of the game, we came away with a good sense of how well the game gels, and saw a number of GTA IV's missions in action. The good news -- and it's basically all good news -- is that just about every far-fetched question we threw at Rockstar VP of development Jeronimo Barrera was answered in the affirmative. Simply put, if you want to do it in GTA IV, you can. The freedom you have in IV is greater than anything you've ever had in past iterations, and that's saying something.

 

Barerra predicts that Rockstar North's latest effort will provide near limitless play time, with hundreds of hours in the offline mode alone, and the rest spent taking it to the streets in the game's online play. The first mission we checked out is called 'Search and Delete,' an episode where Bruce, excitable local crime boss, hires Niko, the main character, to rub out some court witnesses before they testify. Niko, a man willing to take on nearly any job for the right price is warned that this is "Not exactly mom and pop shit," by Brucie. The first order of business here is to liberate a police car and then radio in to Bruce, who doles out the instructions as you progress through the mission. You're tasked with killing an informant named Rivas (who appears on your heads-up display radar). This introduces the new police chase mechanic.

 

 

SCREENS: Click the image above to check out all Grand Theft Auto IV screens.

 

Most cops aren't usually willing to relinquish their police cars without a struggle, and so it is with Niko when he hops into one parked on the street. When you hijack a cop car, a radius appears on the HUD map, and in order to continue your mission without being harassed by every on-alert member of the local law enforcement, you need to escape the radius without being seen by cops. In simple terms, it's basically a dash of Metal Gear Solid mixed in to great effect.

 

The benefits to swiping a police car is that you can use the in-car computer and database to search for information on the thugs you're trying to track down. During our mission, when Niko eventually caught up with the inevitably-doomed Rivas, it resulted in a highway car chase, with Niko leaning out the window to fill Rivas' car full of holes. Rivas then leapt out of his burning, shattered car and attempted to flee the scene on foot, which only made it easier for Niko to run him down with the stolen police car.

 

During this particular mission, we witnessed a few things of interest: eating food restores health, and health pick-ups restore even more health. You can buy a hot dog from a street vendor if you're bleeding out of every orifice and need a health-restoring snack, and the way you determine how well your health is doing is by the condition of your clothes. If you're looking particularly bloody, it means you better find shelter and some sustenance.

 

The game takes place in the Manhattan-like city of Algonquin, with many of New York City's most recognizable landmarks intact, albeit with slightly adjusted names replacing their real-life equivalents. The Statue of Liberty, for example, has been redubbed the Statue of Happiness (and resides on Happiness Island, not Ellis Island).

 

 

SCREENS: Click the image above to check out all Grand Theft Auto IV screens.

 

The principal players in the mission 'Deconstruction for Beginners' are Niko, Playboy X (another local crime boss), and Playboy's recently-released prison pal, Dwayne. Playboy X is having a bit of a turf war with the local union mob, and wants Niko to wax (see also: kill) three rival crime bosses. To achieve this gruesome task, Niko must first pick up some remotely-located weapons, which Playboy has stored in an alley some distance away.

 

The progression to complete this mission, at least in one way, is as follows: Niko first jumps into Playboy's taxi cab yellow-colored Humvee (not an official Humvee, for the record, just an approximation), complete with fancy flag paint job on the side, and drive it through the Times Square-styled area of Algonquin, to where the weapons are stored (again, the radar is an invaluable asset). Once Niko is loaded with artillery, he needs to take out three lookouts parked high atop some scaffolding, necessitating the use of a sniper rifle.

 

The third-person shooting mechanics have undergone a major overhaul in GTA IV, which should address nearly every complaint about the combat leveled at previous entries into the series. A full press of the left trigger results in an auto-target of your nearest enemy, which is handy, but not as accurate as manually aiming, which can be done by using the analog sticks. Shoot someone in the head and they'll go down a lot faster than if you fill a chest with lead. While giving the right trigger a full press fires your weapon, a half-press lets you free aim on the move using the right stick, and pressing in the right stick zooms the gun sight in closer while aiming. Pressing R3 when you're not in shooting mode simply reverses the camera (so you can see what's behind you).

 

 

 

Sniping each lookout results in a brief cut-scene, as the now-dead mobsters plummet to the ground. The next order of business is to locate and eliminate the three union bosses, which appear on the heads-up display as red dots. How you handle this situation is up to you. The obvious ways are to either go in super stealthily, picking them off quietly, one by one, or to ride in, guns-a-blazin,' with dozens of henchmen pouring out of every conceivable crevice.

 

There's no particular benefit (beyond surviving the mission) to do it one way or the other. It's not as if killing dozens of mobsters in this instance will result in a greater reward. It's more to do with how you choose to play, and what entertains you. Barerra reckons that any mission in GTA IV has anywhere from nine to a dozen ways to complete, which should make the experience of playing through the game unique to every gamer.

 

What you do in GTA IV determines a myriad of factors that will ultimately influence your overall experience. The more friends you make in the game, the greater the number of, say, transportation options that becomes available to you. One friend -- Roman -- owns a car service, which can come in handy if you need a ride, but don't feel like driving yourself around. As you make friends with girls and guys, you collect their cell phone numbers, which adds extra activities and diversions. You can go play pool, go to a club, and more. When you add a friend to your cell phone, their location becomes a permanent spot on your GPS.

 

 

SCREENS: Click the image above to check out all Grand Theft Auto IV screens.

 

One 'minigame' we saw found Niko tasked with bringing his friend Roman home safely after a night of binge drinking. While the Mothers Against Drunk Driving will undoubtedly find this less than amusing, the results of this drinking contest between two friends is actually quite hilarious. The camera, as you might expect, is not only blurry, but wavers all over the place with dramatic effect. You really do have to see it to believe it. Part of the problem is actually getting Roman in the car, as he's placed comedically face-down on the pavement. Sure, you can drive off and leave him behind, but the game will remind you that you've abandoned your friend until you actually go pick him up. The camerawork from outside of the car you're trying to drive Roman home in is equally dizzy, and the controls are completely messed up, which can result in a lot of bent fenders.

 

When asked whether he expects some political opportunist to seize upon this 'feature' as a way to promote drunk driving as a 'fun' activity, Barerra assures us that Rockstar is "teaching people a lesson." If you're looking to avoid a DUI ticket in Algonquin City, you'll be glad to know that this bustling metropolis features a subway system. Yes, you can actually ride a subway train to get from one spot to another.

 

The final mission we checked out is called 'Truck Hustle,' which brings Niko into the neighboring state called Alderney (New Jersey). The client, Phil, wants you to take some 'brown' (presumably heroin) from the local Triad gangsters, who think the cargo is cursed. In something of a self-fulfilling prophecy, Niko sets off to show the Triad just how cursed the cargo is when he shows up with a backpack full of grenades and a full slate of guns. As dozens of gangsters pour out and empty their clips at Niko, with some taking cover and some rushing directly at Niko, a driver hops into the truck holding the cargo and attempts to drive off.

 

 

SCREENS: Click the image above to check out all Grand Theft Auto IV screens.

 

As the scenario unfolded before us, Niko ran up to the slow-moving truck and with a press of the A button (on the Xbox 360 version we were checking out), jumped on the back. Tapping A made Niko climb up onto the top of the truck. Once on top, it was necessary to move the analog stick in the opposite direction of the angle the truck was moving in order to keep from being flung from the vehicle. Making it to the front of the truck, we then needed to whack the driver, triggering additional instructions: take the truck to the 'old mansion.'

 

One last thing we were able to check out was just how massive and detailed the game truly is. Should you take a boat out to Happiness Island (the boats look far better than they did in the Vice City days, and so does the water), you'll find that you can actually walk up to and inside the Statue of Happiness. Things like the coin-operated sight-seeing binoculars that ring the island actually work, and hot dog stands provide excellent cover. In one brief display of gratuitous violence, we were shown just how proactive the local law enforcement is as Niko opened fire on the crowd, using the right bumper to take cover, Gears of War style, behind any source of cover -- in this instance the hot dog stand. The ring in the upper right-hand corner of the screen indicates your HP and your armor. If you don't like trying to figure out how close you are to a dirt nap by how bloody your clothes are, the green ring shows how much HP you have left. The blue half of the circle shows how much armor remains.

 

While a lot of what we saw seems like the usual, open-ended GTA experience, it's important to remember that the usual, open-ended GTA experience is awesome. What we saw of GTA IV is undoubtedly something like 0.02 percent of what the final product will offer, and considering all of the online multiplayer options we haven't even seen yet, it seems like the delay from 2007 to 2008 will have definitely been worth the wait. We'll have more on GTA IV as we get closer to the game's release date, so hang tight for even more details involving what might be Rockstar's defining moment.

 

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XDamage

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IGN har skrevet en artikkel om Naturalmotion Euphoria, spesifikt den som er i GTAIV.

 

http://uk.ps3.ign.com/articles/847/847536p1.html

 

Fra artikkelen:

During car chases, this also comes into play pretty spectacularly. Niko, as well as enemies in the game, are affected by inertia – to the point where rear-ending a car causes people in the front to fly through the windshield and into the air, arms in a controlled flail. The impact is sickening and realistic; bodies don't just ragdoll in GTA IV, they roll end over end or side-on, before coming to a natural pause. If you're still alive, Niko will gingerly pick himself up and you can be on your way.

 

.... SIIIIIICK!! Nå skjønner jeg hvorfor Rockstar har ventet så lenge med å offentliggjøre

mange av detaljene om GTA IV, rett og slett for at fansen ikke skal dehydreres gjennom konstant sikling fram mot release! :dribble:

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Eremal

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MTV har hatt et intervju hvor de har stillt en del spm rundt utsettelsen av GTAIV

 

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1580161/2...123/index.jhtml

 

"We wanted the time, and I think we made the right choice. It was very difficult to make the choice because everybody wanted it. But we thought, you know, what with that extra bit of time, it's just going to be that much better and there will be more systems out."
"It's really no surprise to anybody that the PS3 was definitely a contributing factor to that [utsettelsen]. Now, we're neck and neck. That's not an issue anymore. But back then that was something we were taking into account. That's not to say there's anything wrong with the PS3 version. It's awesome. They're both identical."
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Armageddon

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Fra artikkelen:
During car chases, this also comes into play pretty spectacularly. Niko, as well as enemies in the game, are affected by inertia – to the point where rear-ending a car causes people in the front to fly through the windshield and into the air, arms in a controlled flail. The impact is sickening and realistic; bodies don't just ragdoll in GTA IV, they roll end over end or side-on, before coming to a natural pause. If you're still alive, Niko will gingerly pick himself up and you can be on your way.

 

Akkurat som jeg håpet. Har spilt litt Saints Row i det siste, og et av de beste aspektene med spillet er at folk flyr gjennom luften når de blir påkjørt. Dette var mer komisk enn tragisk da. Regner med det blir en del komiske øyeblikk i GTA4 og, men de vil fortsatt være "levende" helt til de treffer bakken. I Saints Row er de ragdolls med stor R.

 

# 2000.. Boyakacha..

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Eremal

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Jeg tror ikke helt på den artikkelen som n4g linker til, ser ut som noe som er henta fra MTV sitt intervju, men der sto det ingenting om at dlc skulle komme til begge konsollene.

 

Det eneste rockstar har sagt ang dlc til ps3 er at sony har de samme mulighetene som microsoft eller noe i den duren. Microsoft har som kjent kjøpt distribusjonsrettighetene til dlc pakkene, og jeg ser ikke helt at de dukker opp på konkurrenten sin maskin.

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XDamage

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Er vel ikke utenkelig at det vil dukke opp DLC til begge konsollversjonene av spillet, mye har tross alt endret seg siden dette ble annonsert (på et tidspunkt da 360 hadde en mye mer overlegen posisjon i markedet enn vi ser i dag).

Det eneste vi vet er at "episodic content" fremkommer på Take Two's finansielle rapport for "skatteåret '08", kun merket med XBOX 360. Et skatteår er som kjent ikke et vanlig år som vi som oftest tenker på det.

På Wikipedia kan vi lese følgende om såkalte "fiscal year": :hmm:

 

Such fiscal years are typically numbered using a calendar year and quarter thereof. A fiscal quarter is 3 months (1/4 of a year). For example, the United States government fiscal year for 2008 ("FY08", sometimes written "FY07–08") is as follows:

 

* 1st Quarter: October 1, 2007 – December 31, 2007

* 2nd Quarter: January 1, 2008 – March 31, 2008 * 3rd Quarter: April 1, 2008 – June 30, 2008

* 4th Quarter: July 1, 2008 – September 30, 2008

 

Dette er stort sett samme skatteårplan som Take Two følger (de avslutter sitt skatteår 31. oktober), og dvs. at på et eller annet tidspunkt mellom 29. April og 31. Oktober 2008 vil disse "episodic content" pakkene bli sluppet, tydeligvis kun til Xbox 360. :shrug:

Men, med forutsetning i at denne avtalen fortsatt eksisterer i den samme formen som den ble avtalt fra starten av (før E3 i Mai 2007, under formodningen av at GTA IV skulle slippes i Oktober 2007, så gjelder denne avtalen kun for skatteåret '08.

 

Det jeg vil fram til her er at DLC kan være alt mulig rart, ikke nødvendigvis bare "episodic content". Og viktigst av alt, etter 31. Oktober 2008 er det fritt fram igjen, og det er temmelig døvt å tro at Microsoft har kjøpt seg uendelige rettigheter til all Dowloadable Content til GTA IV for skarve 50 millioner dollar... det kanskje mest etterlengtede spillet i historien, fra en serie som har solgt over 65 millioner spill, og er verd mange hundretalls millioner dollar.

Også har vi jo det faktum at samtlige PS3'er er utstyrt med HDD, mens dette ikke alltid er tilfellet på 360. Take Two er jo ute etter å tjene mest mulig $$$. :!:

 

Så jeg tror vi trygt kan regne med at begge versjonene vil motta om ikke det samme, så i alle fall sine egne ekslusive "episodic content" og DLC generellt, etterhvert. :thumbup:

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Eremal

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på et eller annet tidspunkt mellom 29. April og 31. Oktober 2008 vil disse "episodic content" pakkene bli sluppet, tydeligvis kun til Xbox 360. :shrug:
Ikke begge, kun den ene, den neste kommer i fiscal '09 (les spoiler) og ikke noe "tydeligvis", de to som er annonserte er ekslusive til Xbox 360, ferdig sak, kommer ikke fler med det første.

 

Det jeg vil fram til her er at DLC kan være alt mulig rart, ikke nødvendigvis bare "episodic content".
Det kan det, og Rockstar kan gi ut så mye stæsj de bare vil uten at det har noe å si, men nå er det i hovedsak episodic content vi snakker om. Og jeg, som de fleste andre ville anta at DLC i den formen det er nevnt i artikkelen som ble linket over referer til episodic content. Det JEG ville fram til, var at det bare er 2 DLCer annonsert, og det er de to episodic content pakkene som er ekslusiv til Xbox 360, og den artikkelen der påstår at det vil komme annet.

 

Også har vi jo det faktum at samtlige PS3'er er utstyrt med HDD, mens dette ikke alltid er tilfellet på 360. Take Two er jo ute etter å tjene mest mulig $$$. :!:
Take Two får ikke mer penger for de to episodic content pakkene, de fikk 50 millioner dollar for å utvikle dem, salget av dem går til Microsoft. Microsoft eier dem, Take Two lager dem.

 

Så jeg tror vi trygt kan regne med at begge versjonene vil motta om ikke det samme, så i alle fall sine egne ekslusive "episodic content" og DLC generellt, etterhvert.
Langt ifra, Take 2 sier at Sony har de samme mulighetene som Microsoft, Sony sier fint lite, men ting tyder på at de har lite planer om å investere 25 millioner dollar per ekslusive episodic content slik som Microsoft har gjort.

 

Det eneste vi vet er at "episodic content" fremkommer på Take Two's finansielle rapport for "skatteåret '08", kun merket med XBOX 360.

Vi vet MYE mer enn det. Sitater i spoileren.

 

Microsoft har kjøpt 2 DLCer med Episodic Content, disse er eksklusive for Xbox 360, microsoft betalte 25 millioner dollar for hver, for at de skulle bli laget av Take 2 (uten at jeg har kilder på det atm, så mener jeg å ha lest at det var en investering, som de regner med å få tilbake når dlc blir lagt ut, ergo de vil koste noe på Xbox Live). Opprinnelig skulle begge komme i fiscal 2008, hhv mars og "senere i fiscal '08" Men er nå utsatt på lik linje som spillet. Nå vet vi bare at den ene kommer i fiscal '08 (i høst en gang) og sannsynligvis kommer den neste i første halvdel av fiscal '09 (før mai). Om det kommer noe mer DLC vet vi ikke, og ang PS3 så holder både rockstar og sony dørene åpne, men hvis det kommer noe episodic content til ps3, så vil det IKKE bli den samme som til x360, med mindre Microsoft bestemmer seg for å legge ut pakkene på PSN. I den sammenheng presiserer jeg gjerne at ingenting utviklet av Microsoft Game Studios enda har havnet på PS3.

 

Men selvfølgelig, episodic content og dlc er ikke samme tingen. Kan være Rockstar bestemmer seg for å utgi allt mulig jibberish (klær, smykker, biler, våpen etc) i form av dlc til begge konsoller. Men de to episodic content dlcene som er annonsert er ekslusive til Xbox 360, det kan komme andre til ps3, men ikke de samme (seff med mindre Microsoft bestemmer seg for å gi dem ut til PS3).

 

 

 

Nye datoer for episodic content ble tatt opp 18. desemeber:

Take-Two Interactive Software today reported their fourth quarter and fiscal 2007 financial results. As of writing, they are holding a conference call and CEO Ben Feder reported a few minutes ago that in addition to downloadable episodic content releasing for GTA IV in fiscal 2008, more will be releasing in fiscal 2009 - stretching from November 2008 to October 2009. The release date still remains as Q2 2008 (Feb. - April '08).

Take2 sin uttalelse ang dlc/episodic content med sony er fra "35th UBS Annual Global Media & Communications Conference" hvor CEO Ben Feder ble stilt dette spørsmålet:

Q: With GTA you have exclusive online content for Microsoft. How did that come about, where was Sony when those negotiations were going on? And is there anything Sony can do now to get anything with GTA exclusive to PS3?

 

"A: A lot of those discussions are confidential. Unfortunately, I can't really go into it. Obviously Microsoft stepped up to the plate and supported us in a way that nobody else was supporting us. With respect to what Sony can do now, nobody wants Sony to succeed as much as we do, and I think every third-party wants Sony to succeed. We have ongoing discussions with them and we give them suggestions. They respond to them or don't respond to them - depending on their strategy. But the truth is, Sony is a terrific partner and I think you'd probably be best of asking the question to Sony."

Sony har også selv uttalt seg om samarbeidet med rockstar (dog ikke spesifikt om dlc/ec):

"As the head of the [internal Sony] studios, it's hard for me to comment on the third-party relations, so I don't know the details of that -- we deliberately keep those separate -- but we have a great relationship with Rockstar and we're actually working closely with them on a number of initiatives, so I do know some things that are going on, but I'm not able to share those with you now."

Du spør kanskje hva som menes med at Microsoft "stepped up to plate and supported us", vel det handler selvfølgelig om episodic content, og en representant fra Take2 sa dette i juni:

"The first 25 is for the first episodic content package that’s supposed to go out and that is in March of ’08. That’s why it moved into current because it’s in the next 12 months. The second 25 will be for the second episodic, the episode, and that will be later in fiscal ’08."
Hva disse "25" er, er millionene med dollar Microsoft har betalt til Take2 for episodic content.

 

Så har vi seff hva som sto i microsoft sinn press release ang utgivelsen av GTAIV under E3 2006:

Microsoft and Rockstar Games have entered into a strategic partnership to provide exclusive episodic content via Xbox Live. Two full downloadable episodes will be available a few months after the release of the game for the Xbox 360 version only, each with hours of new gameplay content. It will not be "just a car or player skin" and Microsoft claims it will be the "best downloadable content experience ever. We're talking about hours of entirely new gameplay."

 

 

I frykt for å gjenta meg selv:

 

1. Det er 2 DLCer annonsert. De to er 2 Episodic Content pakker.

2. Microsoft har betalt Take 2 50 millioner dollar for å få dem utviklet, og vil distributeres av Microsoft [ingen direkte kilde].

3. Ifølge Microsoft er de to Episodic Content pakkene eksklusive til Xbox 360 [hence, de kommer ikke til PS3].

4. Ifølge Rockstar, så har Sony samme deal som Microsoft åpen, men Sony har enda ikke valgt å gjøre noe med det.

5. DLCene kommer i slutten av Fiscal '08 (før 31. oktober), og en gang i Fiscal '09 (mellom 1. november 2008 og 31. oktober 2009) [sannsynligvis kommer nr. 2 før sommeren '09]

6. Ifølge Sony, så jobber de sammen med Rockstar på en rekke prosjekter [ikke nødvendigvis relatert til GTAIV].

 

Huff. Kan vi legge den ballen død? Intill videre hvertfall?

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