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GTA 4 pre-discussion and trailer! (if you DON'T have the game yet)

I really hope the online multiplayer supports like 8+ players at a time.
 
Kul69 said:
I really hope the online multiplayer supports like 8+ players at a time.


They have said that it will support up to 32 players online at once I think. It may have been 16.

The trailer really impressed me, a lot more than the first two, the first one being a teaser more than anything.
 
the first teaser i <3 immensely. love the koyanisquaatsi homage. fits beautifully.

april 30 is so far away :( i hope they don't need to push it back even further.
 
preview version review from ign

Grand Theft Auto IV Update
Many men died to bring you this look at a nearly completed build of Rockstar's latest.
by Chris Roper

US, January 23, 2008 - It's been a while since our last look at Grand Theft Auto IV. The last time we had seen the game, it was "on track" for its October 2007 release, but still clearly in need of some polishing. This time out however, a good six months since our last viewing, things were different. Gone were any framerate inconsistencies, and Rockstar was no longer hiding elements of the game from us, like the use of Niko's cell phone or dialog bits that needed to be muted from our delicate ears. Indeed, the extra time taken for development was very well spent, and GTA IV looks to be just about done...

Our demo began with a mission entitled "Search and Delete", a job suitably chosen to show off some of the game's new interesting options and mechanics. Brucie tasks Niko with the job of taking out an informant named Lyle Rivas. It's an easy job on paper, except that Lyle is in hiding and no one knows of his whereabouts. That is, except for the police. The men in blue would probably be reluctant to give up his location to a man wielding a gun store under his jacket, so Niko finds himself an empty police car and gets behind the wheel.


Before he starts the engine though, Niko fires up the in-car computer and searches through the police department's criminal database for information on Lyle. This is one of the new, and possibly very powerful, features in GTA IV. If you know someone's name, you can run it through the database and see what pops up. It'll be interesting to see what happens when you search for Niko Bellic over the course of the game...

In the case of Lyle Rivas, the computer comes back with his last known hideout. Heading to the always useful map, you can then drop a marker at his supposed location, or anywhere else in the world, for the in-car GPS system to use. Every vehicle in the game will be able to give you street-by-street directions, with nicer cars featuring voice commands. Should you never want to read, you can turn voiceovers on for every car. One cool touch is that different cars will have voice directions given in an appropriate accent, so European automobiles might have a sooth female voice with a British accent while US vehicles might have a robotic male voice.

When you get to Lyle's pad, he flees and heads off in a car. Chasing him down, we then got a look at the new in-vehicle shooting mechanic. You're no longer only able to shoot directly out of either side window. Instead, you now have a movable reticule that will allow you to pinpoint anywhere around you, including straight in front of you.

The cops will spare no expense for your disposal.
During the chase, we also got a look at the new chase cam. Tapping a face button will leave the camera situated behind your car, but will focus the camera's direction on your target, allowing you to see where it turns much more easily. It looks to have been implemented rather nicely, acting more cinematic and natural than jerky and pinpointed.

When Lyle's car was finally spun and taken out of commission, Niko leapt from his ride and the game's use of NaturalMotion's AI-based physics took over. Instead of seeing Niko simply roll a couple times in a pre-canned animation and stand up like in past GTA games, he instead flips feet over shoulders and tumbles very realistically down the side of the road. It's a brutal exit, one that makes his place and actions in the world seem all that more realistic. A second implementation of NaturalMotion's tech was also seen here, as Niko raised his hands to cover his head as an oncoming car screeched to a halt just in front of him as he was climbing to his knees.

The next mission we saw, "Deconstruction for Beginners", was more in line with a classic GTA mission of old, though it served as a great example of how firefights now play out. For this job, Niko has been tasked by Playboy X to take out a group of union leaders who have halted work at a downtown construction site. Of course, no one in Liberty City does anything unarmed, so convincing them to allow the work to begin again means talking with bullets.

The site is watched over by a handful of men with sniper rifles situated on cranes, so Niko and Playboy X head to a nearby skyscraper and use a window cleaners' lift to get to the roof. We're told that the lift is not limited to this mission, and that you'll be able to make use of a number of them throughout the game to scale buildings without having to head inside. Once on the roof, picking these guys off is as easy as switching to a sniper rifle and steadily taking them out. One cool thing here is that after a missed shot, the enemies don't automatically realize where the shots are coming from and so begin firing off into the air at random spots. When you do take them out, you're treated to a nice camera view of them flailing to their deaths below, with one guy smashing onto an SUV in the parking lot below him. Like jumping out of a car, these falls aren't pre-canned, so you'll see something different every time.

There's no lack of explosions in GTA IV.
Once the snipers are clear, Playboy X says that following you into the construction yard would make things too confusing and that he'll stay put to keep a watch over things. Leaving the coward behind, we get a really good look at the improved combat mechanics down below.

The cover system that we had seen briefly before was now highlighted in full, with Niko deftly moving between hiding spots. Once under cover, you're able to move while crouched against an object to keep to safety, as well as blindly fire over or around objects. You'll be safe from fire, but you'll also have a hard time hitting your target until you lean out. However, grenades don't require dead-on accuracy and can be useful when tossed blindly. Some of the cover in the game is destructible, allowing you (or the enemy) to chip away or destroy your hiding spot to get a clear shot at you.

It's a bad idea to point a gun at Niko.
While the cover system is obviously new, so is the aiming mechanic. The targeting button is mapped to a trigger, allowing you two modes of aiming. Pressing the trigger half-way enacts a free-aim option, allowing you to point your gun wherever you so please. It's not the fastest way to aim from target to target, but will surely be useful in some situations, like when you want to target a vehicle's tires, for instance.

Pressing the trigger all the way toggles a full lock-on, but much has changed since the GTA games of old. You can now use the right analog stick to hone your shots and aim for specific body parts, allowing for targeted headshots or bullets to the legs, which will send a victim immediately to the ground. Headshots are now one-shot kills, making the use of the right analog stick all the more important. All of these changes may sound like they enhance the play mechanics, but they also look to change the feel of firefights. Instead of shootouts being somewhat chaotic exchanges of bullets to the closest targeted enemy, they now look to be much more methodic and, perhaps, even deadlier.

The last main mission that we got a glimpse at was "Truck Hustle". Here, Niko is tasked by a man named Bell to steal a truck from the Triads and deliver its contents to Bell's son-in-law. It sounds like an easy job, except that the truck is heavily guarded by a standing watch.

Creeping up to the scene, Niko can implement a bit of stealth and try to deftly steal the truck. But, given that our demo presenter cheated himself into a full suite of weapons, he decided to toss a few grenades and rockets into the crowd. Cover was again made use of here nicely, both by Niko and the enemy safeguarding the truck. It was especially evident in this scene, filled with thugs to the brim, that the AI has really been turned up a notch since the last-gen GTA titles. Instead of standing out in the open and popping off shots, they took cover behind whatever was near them, and whenever they'd change positions, they'd duck and run to the nearest safe area.

Yep, rocketlaunchers are back.
Once they were disposed of, the truck seemed an easy target, but one last Triad hopped in the cab and took off. Niko had little option except to grab onto the back and get dragged through the streets on his chest until he was able to lift himself to the back. Climbing to the roof, he inched forward, rolling from side to side as the truck took quick turns. Once at the cab, a cutscene took over where Niko slid in, capped the driver and kicked him out of the door. All that was left to do was ditch any nearby cops and carefully drive the truck to its target.

Though it wasn't a complete mission, we did get a glimpse at one of the game's friend activities where Niko and his cousin Roman go drinking for a bit. Well, a bit may be an understatement as they come falling out of the bar, drunk as skunks. The NaturalMotion tech takes over once again, with you having to carefully control Niko while his legs seem to have their own agendas. If you change direction too quickly and cross up your legs, you'll fall over. After one of these many spills, we saw Niko use the side of a parked car to help him get up, which was rather impressive. Once back in the car, the controls don't look to get any more lenient. The camera swings from side to side and we're told the controls work against you to an extent, making something as simple as staying on the road a bit of a challenge at this level of intoxication.

Helicopters will be one way to get around Liberty City.
To end the demo, Rockstar found a pontoon boat and cruised Niko around the waterways for a while. The water looks fantastic, as evidenced in the existing trailers, and the boat hopped and skipped over the waves as they beat down upon its sides. This mostly served as a quick tour of the seaside, but one last use of the rocket launcher sent another boater diving off his ride and into the water before his vessel exploded. Again, Rockstar's use of the NaturalMotion engine in the game has paid off extremely well from what we've seen.

Grand Theft Auto IV is looking fantastic at this point. The framerate has been solidified (on the 360 at least - PS3 demos are coming soon) and the gameplay looks to be wholly intact. There's no official release date yet, though we should be hearing about that sooner than later, and we fully expect Rockstar to keep with its previous fiscal Q2 timeframe (which means by the end of April). We, for one, can't wait for its release.

i'm salivating
 
^follow up also from ign

GTA IV Worldwide on April 29
Rockstar confirms new street date.
by Jeremy Dunham

US, January 24, 2008 - In a mailer sent out in the wee hours of the morning, New York-based publisher Rockstar Games confirmed that its once-delayed, but heavily-anticipated sandbox opus, Grand Theft Auto IV would be headed to store shelves in just a few months. The official GTA IV website was updated with the same information not too long afterwards.

Officially scheduled for April 29, Grand Theft Auto IV will ship for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 simultaneously, with planned Xbox 360-exclusive downloadable episodes somewhere down the line. A release date for those episodes, however, has yet to be revealed.

Visit the official Grand Theft Auto website, and this is what you'll see.
Update! Shortly after adding the info to its website and sending out fan mailers, Rockstar also discharged an official press statement confirming that the April 29 date is a worldwide release.

For more on Grand Theft Auto IV, check out our recent preview, just published yesterday. New gameplay tidbits such as the inclusion of the "chase cam," how the cover system works, and plenty of new images are among the article's several updated elements.
 
well done warren! what's your gamerfag... i mean gamer tag? hit me up for some halo 3 or call of duty 4 (as soon as my copy arrives). i'm L2fknR
 
I haven't connected it to the Intarwebs yet. I have three options: one, move the router into the other room and buy a wireless receiver for my computer. Two, leave the router where it is and buy a network adapter for the 360. Or three, buy a huge ethernet cable that will stretch around the entire flat.

I'm thinking about the network adaptor.

I've got Halo 3 tho.
 
Will do. Might nip to Comet tonight after work. Pretty much blown this month's disposable income. :D

Anyway... on topic:
Before he starts the engine though, Niko fires up the in-car computer and searches through the police department's criminal database for information on Lyle. This is one of the new, and possibly very powerful, features in GTA IV. If you know someone's name, you can run it through the database and see what pops up. It'll be interesting to see what happens when you search for Niko Bellic over the course of the game...
Cool.
...you can then drop a marker at his supposed location, or anywhere else in the world, for the in-car GPS system to use. Every vehicle in the game will be able to give you street-by-street directions, with nicer cars featuring voice commands.
Cooler still.
Chasing him down, we then got a look at the new in-vehicle shooting mechanic. You're no longer only able to shoot directly out of either side window. Instead, you now have a movable reticule that will allow you to pinpoint anywhere around you, including straight in front of you.
Hmmmm. One of the beauties of GTA was that it didn't get too complicated on the whole drive'n'shoot thing. I really hope they don't overcomplicate things with this addition - remember how awful True Crime: Streets of LA was? Admittedly, it was awful for other reasons, but the reticule malarky didn't help.
The cops will spare no expense for your disposal.
During the chase, we also got a look at the new chase cam. Tapping a face button will leave the camera situated behind your car, but will focus the camera's direction on your target, allowing you to see where it turns much more easily. It looks to have been implemented rather nicely, acting more cinematic and natural than jerky and pinpointed.
More "hmmmmm". I don't want cinematography in a game. I want the best camera angles that will allow me to see where I'm going. I never saw the point of the cinema camera in earlier versions of the game. Here's to hoping they don't screw it up.
One cool thing here is that after a missed shot, the enemies don't automatically realize where the shots are coming from and so begin firing off into the air at random spots. When you do take them out, you're treated to a nice camera view of them flailing to their deaths below, with one guy smashing onto an SUV in the parking lot below him.
Awesome. It'd be awesomer if you could push a body out of a plane with a message carved into it...

/jayandsilentbob
The cover system that we had seen briefly before was now highlighted in full, with Niko deftly moving between hiding spots. Once under cover, you're able to move while crouched against an object to keep to safety, as well as blindly fire over or around objects. You'll be safe from fire, but you'll also have a hard time hitting your target until you lean out. However, grenades don't require dead-on accuracy and can be useful when tossed blindly. Some of the cover in the game is destructible, allowing you (or the enemy) to chip away or destroy your hiding spot to get a clear shot at you.
Good on both counts. Combat was always a bit of a button-bashing affair, so anything added to make it more challenging should be a welcome addition. They need to make more of the world destructible IMO.
While the cover system is obviously new, so is the aiming mechanic. The targeting button is mapped to a trigger, allowing you two modes of aiming. Pressing the trigger half-way enacts a free-aim option, allowing you to point your gun wherever you so please. It's not the fastest way to aim from target to target, but will surely be useful in some situations, like when you want to target a vehicle's tires, for instance.

Pressing the trigger all the way toggles a full lock-on, but much has changed since the GTA games of old. You can now use the right analog stick to hone your shots and aim for specific body parts
Is that going to be irritating?
It was especially evident in this scene, filled with thugs to the brim, that the AI has really been turned up a notch since the last-gen GTA titles. Instead of standing out in the open and popping off shots, they took cover behind whatever was near them, and whenever they'd change positions, they'd duck and run to the nearest safe area.
Definitely welcome. I wonder if the cops will finally start shooting at the people who opened fire on you?
Though it wasn't a complete mission, we did get a glimpse at one of the game's friend activities where Niko and his cousin Roman go drinking for a bit. Well, a bit may be an understatement as they come falling out of the bar, drunk as skunks. The NaturalMotion tech takes over once again, with you having to carefully control Niko while his legs seem to have their own agendas. If you change direction too quickly and cross up your legs...
Yawn. More kill-kill, less stupid "lifestyle" missions.
Grand Theft Auto IV is looking fantastic at this point. The framerate has been solidified (on the 360 at least - PS3 demos are coming soon)...
Glad to hear that. Man, I'm SOOOO looking forward to this now. The downloadable packs that are intended for Live will hopefully extend the lifespan of the game and the online network play is making me wet my pants.
 
If it wasn't for the PS3, this game would be out, but now we have to wait 3 more months because they wanted a simultaneous release. ghey.
 
all this ducking behind cover and blindly shooting sounds a lot like gears of war, which is a game with one of the best shoot em up engines i've ever played. :D

the success of the free shooting whilst driving is entirely dependent on the controls. you only have so many fingers, and the standard xbox360 and ps3 controllers aren't adequate to do it properly imo. the wii on the other hand.... also, i remember playing "Mafia" on the pc, i loved every second of the left hand drive using keyboard/right hand mouse shooting.

we'll have to see on that one. the guy who wrote the above review wasn't playing, just watching, so even he doesn't know.
 
The Xbox 360 game Saints Row had free shooting while driving and just used the right stick to aim and right trigger to shoot, I found it pretty effective.

Really can't wait to play this game, I get more and more excited with each preview/still pic that gets released!

www.gta4.net has pretty regular news/updates/screenshots from various publications etc
 
can't wait to get my hands on my pre-ordered special edition
new_special_edition_xbox.jpg
 
this games gonna be badass.. nothing like coming home from a hard days work to sell drugs, bang hookers, and run over random pedestrians. these games have always kept me from being bored =D
 
i saw a chick in a tee with a small rockstar logo on the back.

FMD that was hot! conceptually extremely hot. i didn't even see her face or notice her body.
 
thanks for the bump. so many permutations, so many limitations of search engine... and now i'm subscribed so WGAF??? :D

anyway, no i didn't preorder the special pack thing, just the game. i'll be too busy killing hookers and running people over to care about a rucksack or a metal box.

it does look cool though. good resale value on ebay i bet. ;)

gta4specpa1.gif


Launching simultaneously with the regular edition, the Grand Theft Auto IV Special Edition is the ultimate collector's item for the Grand Theft Auto aficionado.

Available for both the Xbox 360® video game system and the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, the Grand Theft Auto Special Edition includes:

* A customized Grand Theft Auto IV metal safety deposit box with keys.
* The Art of Grand Theft Auto IV. This 68 page book contains never-before-seen production artwork from Grand Theft Auto IV.
* The Music of Grand Theft Auto IV. This CD features select new material from top artists that can only be found on this release.
* An exclusive Rockstar keychain for the safety deposit box keys.
* A limited edition Rockstar duffel bag with vibrant orange lining.

The Grand Theft Auto Special Edition will be available on April 29th for $89.99. To reserve your copy, visit the Pre-Order section.
 
Last edited:
felix said:
anyway, no i didn't preorder the special pack thing, just the game. i'll be too busy killing hookers and running people over to care about a rucksack or a metal box.
Hahah! True.
it does look cool though. good resale value on ebay i bet. ;)
Yeah, becuase there's only going to be a couple of million of the damn things. :D
 
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