Grand Theft Auto IV

[KurlonT]

PSM-Spain scans of GTA IV (http://www.gtaforums.com/index.php?showtopic=317327)

* There are 15 multiplayer game modes in GTA IV. PSM had an opportunity to play 7 of them. The rules of each game are determined by the host.
* Multiplayer supports upto 16 players.
* Your online character is fully customizable. You can alter his race, sex, hair, clothing etc.
* The game modes featured are as follows:
1. Hangman's NOOSE
2. Car Jack City
3. Bomb da Base
4. Bomb da Base II
5. Mafia Work
6. Team Mafia Work
7. Deathmatch
8. Team Deathmatch
9. Turf War
10. Cops N Crooks
11. Race
12. GTA Race
13. Deal Breaker
14. Free Mode
15. ????
* In Race and GTA Race, the host gets to decide which vehicles are involved, and the number of laps to be played. You can shoot and throw molotovs from the window, and even steal your rivals' car.
* In Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch, the host gets to decide the number of pedestrians, the amount of traffic, the intervention of police (or not), and the type of weapons.
* In Cops N Crooks, one team play as cops and the other play as criminals. The cops must stop the criminals from escaping. They can monitor the locations of the criminals on their GPS systems, while the criminals don't know where the cops are.
* In Mafia Work and Team Mafia Work, you play as one of Kenny Petrovic's mafia henchmen. You must complete hits ordered by the boss (via the cellphone) before your rivals are able to do so.
* The map used in multiplayer is the same map that is used for single player.
* A single-player mission called "Hangman's NOOSE" features co-op. You and your friends will be able to escort a mobster, while being pursused by a SWAT team.

Never got into the GTA series but all those multiplayer features sound pretty cool.

[GeneralSnake]

Why didnt you get into GTA games? They are great. I played 3 recently over again. I love getting 100% in that game.

[CarbonFire]

Ah yes, good old GTA. Hope this one lives up to the standard that the originals and GTA 3 set for quality and fun. With so many great MP options, I could be spending a LOT of time in this game :D

On the 360 of course ;), since I don't have a PS3 atm (that may change this Christmas though :2thumbs:)

[GeneralSnake]

Did you 100% any of them Carbon? Me and a buddy got 3 and Vice City, and I have done 3 by myself before, but San Andreas, I think 90% was the highest I got because of all the trinkets you need to find. Those horse shoes and oysters and craps like that. Then I lost my PS2.

[CarbonFire]

Did you 100% any of them Carbon? Me and a buddy got 3 and Vice City, and I have done 3 by myself before, but San Andreas, I think 90% was the highest I got because of all the trinkets you need to find. Those horse shoes and oysters and craps like that. Then I lost my PS2.

I've Never 100% any of the GTA3 games. Probably got closest with Vice City, somewhere around 90%. I just tend to get bored when a game forces you to find extraneous "stuff" just for the sake of it (I'm looking at YOU Assassin's Creed :p). I guess if gamer score or achievements or whatever meant anything to me, I'd probably care more about it. But I play games to have fun, and at some point scavenger hunts just for the sake of scavenger hunts just don't cut it.

All that said, I may very well 100% GTA 4....that world looks like SO much fun to just exist in :2thumbs:

[Sirex]

What miffs me is...

1 coop mission... just one!!!
Was hoping for a story line co-op.

[Rand{CLR}]

I got 100 percent on San Andreas. Maybe Vice City, but I can't remember for sure.

I'm definitely going to shoot for it in GTA4, at least assuming I get my refurb PS3 60GB next month as planned.

-Rand

P.S. Mario Kart and GTA4 in the same month? Wow...

[GeneralSnake]

I've Never 100% any of the GTA3 games. Probably got closest with Vice City, somewhere around 90%. I just tend to get bored when a game forces you to find extraneous "stuff" just for the sake of it (I'm looking at YOU Assassin's Creed :p). I guess if gamer score or achievements or whatever meant anything to me, I'd probably care more about it. But I play games to have fun, and at some point scavenger hunts just for the sake of scavenger hunts just don't cut it.

All that said, I may very well 100% GTA 4....that world looks like SO much fun to just exist in :2thumbs:
With the hidden packages, you got different weapons spawning at your hideout. If you did a certain number of vigilante missions, wanted stars appreared at your hideouts. They rewarded you good.

[CarbonFire]

http://www.gtaforums.com/index.php?showtopic=319080

Anticipation level +1000

They just keep piling it on :o

And they almost make it sound like Free Mode allows you to run the single-player missions with friends, though that remains to be seen. If so...:shock:

Call the Secret Service.....Rockstar Games is planning on printing it's own money! :twisted:

[GeneralSnake]

OH DAMN! That game looks so good. The wakes in the river when they are boating around. Holy hell!

[ak416]

I cant wait for this. Got my preorder in a while ago and just bought a new hdtv to play this game :)

[KurlonT]

New previews of the multiplayer aspect up at GTA Gaming (http://www.gtagaming.com/)

Lots of good stuff to read in the GTA IV Multiplayer UK Roundtable (http://ps3.ign.com/articles/865/865127p2.html).
Man this game has just about everything you can imagine...really like the sound of the Mafia Missions.

I'm pretty much sold...:D

[GeneralSnake]

Damnit. I wish I could play videogames here. That pisses me off so much. I wont get to play MGS 4 or GTA IV for a long time.

[KurlonT]

Just a few GTA IV updates...:D

New layout for Official GTA IV Website (http://www.rockstargames.com/IV/#?page=updates)

Rockstar Social Club (http://www.rockstargames.com/socialclub/) registration opens on 4/15
(You will be able to register with your Xbox Live Gamertag and/or PlayStation Network ID)
The list of features for the Social Club is as follows:

LCPD Police Blotter - A virtual map and tracker of single-player criminal activity logged in Liberty City from the aggregated data of millions of connected players - showing the most dangerous areas of town, most commonly used weapons and more.

The Story Gang - This special single-player leaderboard recognizes players who complete Niko Bellic's main story arc of Grand Theft Auto IV - The leaderboard ranks players according to the total amount of playing time it's taken to complete the story, as well as a historical rank by who has completed it first. Members of this club will receive special online widgets and merit badges marking all of their in-game accomplishments.

The 100% Club - Watch to see who will be the first to complete 100% of the game. The first ten people to be identified on the Social Club as reaching 100% will be sent an ultra-rare commemorative 'key to the city' to mark their accomplishment. In the future, the 100% Club will then carry a historical leaderboard showing rankings of who has completed 100% of a game in the shortest span of playing hours.

The Hall of Fame - This area will dynamically recognize those singularly elite players who have reached the top of the hill on various statistical leaderboards, and will also contain a personal awards display of special in-game landmarks and successes in Social Club competitions.

The Liberty City Marathon - A ranking of special physical milestones achieved in the game - from the amount of miles walked, driven, or swam - to the number of bullets fired and stunt-jumps jumped. There will be additional special marathon-based competitions in the future from this area as well.
Rockstar say that additional features will be added to the website following the release of Grand Theft Auto IV, including competitions and challenges.


OXM (UK Official Xbox Magazine) review Grand Theft Auto IV: 10/10
(EDIT: Scans were removed at GTA Forums (http://www.gtaforums.com/))
*Amazingly realistic world.
*Stunning action set pieces.
*Genuinely engrossing storyline.
*Hugely entertaining multiplayer.
*Vast in every respect.

[Rand{CLR}]

The police blotter sounds very cool.

-Rand

[CarbonFire]

OXM (UK Official Xbox Magazine) review Grand Theft Auto IV: 10/10
(Scans of the magazine can be found here (http://www.gtaforums.com/index.php?showtopic=326307&st=0) around pages 3-5)

Link requires registration

Alternate link

http://forums.penny-arcade.com/showpost.php?p=5148095&postcount=887

This game will consume me :shock: *NOM NOM NOM*

Thanks for the heads up on the Social Club reg....Just another thing to do on Tax Day :roll:

[Thrashdragon]

I really can't wait for this one. Every little piece of info makes it look better and better, and a worthy sequel to one of the best games I've ever played. :2thumbs:

[KurlonT]

Link requires registration

Alternate link

http://forums.penny-arcade.com/showpost.php?p=5148095&postcount=887

This game will consume me :shock: *NOM NOM NOM*

Thanks for the heads up on the Social Club reg....Just another thing to do on Tax Day :roll:

Looks like they got a request to remove the scans at GTA Forums so thanks for the alt link Carbon. I don't think you have to register to view the threads there...at least I never had to enter anything.

BTW some of those mini-games on the official site are pretty funny like the Sprunk soda...:D

[KurlonT]

Yep...time for more GTA IV info...:twisted:

Official PlayStation Magazine (UK) review: 10/10.

(spoilers ahead):

One of the reasons Niko goes to Liberty City is to track down the man who betrayed his old army unit.
Cars no longer catch fire at the slightest provocation.
There are several points at which you make life or death decisions between key cast members.
Comedy clubs feature real comedians.
"Michelle" is the first girl that Niko hooks up with.
Dimitiri Rascalov is Mikhail Faustin's right hand man.
"Other uses of the phone on missions include calling a target to make him come to the window and into Niko's sniper sight."
There is a museum called the Libertonian museum, which features dinosaur fossils and exploding vases. Environments such as these have been created specifically for shootouts, so there's plenty of cover.
The name of every radio station is revealed:
WKTT - We Know The Truth (right wing talk radio)
San Juan Sounds (latin)
Integrity 2.0 (speech, hosted by Lazlow)
Liberty City Hardcore (punk/hardcore)
Liberty Rock Radio 97.8 (classic rock)
The Vibe 98.8 (soul/R'n'B)
PLR - Public Liberty Radio (call-in speech)
The Classics 104.1 (old-skool hip-hop)
Jazz Nation Radio 108.5 (jazz)
Vladivostok FM (eastern european)
Radio Broker (alt rock)
Tuff Gong Radio (reggae/dub)
Electro Choc (dance)
Massive B Soundsystem 96.9 (dance hall)
IF99 - International Funk (funk)
The Beat 102.7 (contemporary hip-hop)
K109 The Studio (disco)
Fusion FM
The Journey (ambient/chillout)

New Pic of the chopper vs. boat (http://media.gtanet.com/images/4352-gta-iv-gtanet-exclusive-screenshot.jpg)...brings back memories of how I felt in those things at Wake for BF2...LOL

BTW pre-reg for the Social Club is 4/17...unless they change it again.

[Rand{CLR}]

First stop after getting my PS3 yesterday, I placed a preorder for this (and Kart) at Best Buy. :2thumbs:

-Rand

[KurlonT]

First stop after getting my PS3 yesterday, I placed a preorder for this (and Kart) at Best Buy. :2thumbs:

-Rand

Nice to have you in the PS3 club Rand...:D
I have to update to FW 2.30 then I can add your ID.
BTW if your looking for a nice Bluetooth Headset check out the Plantronics Voyager 510 (http://www.buy.com/prod/plantronics-voyager-510-bluetooth-headset-with-windsmart/q/loc/111/202695216.html). I really like it and never gets too uncomfortable even after 6hrs on the ear. Plus having noise cancellation is a nice feature especially for $44 ($34 w/ google checkout).

Oh...time for another round of GTA IV goodies:
From GTA4.net (http://www.gta4.net/news/index.php)

There are over 100 radio commercials in the game.
Announcements on the subway system will randomly alert you of spontaneous police harassment, security checks and searches.
The faux-beer brand "Piswasser" takes a jab at Budweiser, including a radio commercial sung by Anthony himself.
GTA IV's in-game internet is ridiculously extensive, featuring spoofs of liberal and conservative news sources with coverage of your in-game antics, as well as spoofs popular blogs and websites (craigslist, for example). Irritating pop-up banner ads also make an appearance.
Niko can hook up with a wide range of girls via dating websites.
Injuries mean much more in GTA IV. When Niko gets shot in the leg, for example, he'll begin to bleed and limp.

From Q&A with Rockstar North audio team:

"Stand in the street and you?ll hear three different radio stations at any one time coming from passing vehicles, all sounding appropriately tinny or boomy, depending on the type of vehicle and whether its doors are open, its windows broken, etc."
"It was our aim that you could place the player in a random position on the map, shut your eyes and listen, and be able to tell where you are, and what time of day it is, and I think we?ve achieved that pretty well."
"For multiplayer, we balance [the sound of gunfire] so that guns only really sound dangerously beefy when they?re at a distance you can be hit from, so it?s intuitive what?s threatening and what?s someone else?s private war."
"It?s difficult to quantify how many speaking parts there are, but at our last count there were over 740 unique voices in the game. There are over 80,000 individual lines of dialogue, more than 7000 of which are Niko?s lines. If you were to listen to each line back to back, it would take over 29 hours. Also, these figures don?t take the radio, TV, and mo-capped cut-scene dialogue into consideration."
"We also decided to make the pedestrian dialogue more realistic in GTA4. As an example, peds in previous games would walk around and randomly chat to themselves if they weren?t doing much else. In real life, people (generally!) don?t go around talking to themselves, so we dropped this behavior from GTA4. However, we realized that the random chat of old GTA games was a good way for the player to pick-up on what sort of personality a ped has, so we created the cell-phone conversations in GTA4 as one realistic way of portraying personality."

[*THOR*]

Been waiting a really long time for this. Can't wait! Not long now :D

[KurlonT]

Now this is some serious advertising...:twisted:

GTA IV Billboard Takes Over NYC
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a118/bm2163/GTABillboard5.jpg

GTA IV Bus
http://www.kotaku.com.au/2008/04/03/gta4_bus.jpg

[Rand{CLR}]

I guess they decided the fall out of Hot Coffee increased their sales enough to have them decide to get the parent groups and politicians out in force early.

-Rand

[ak416]

Just bought me a new tv to play this game on.. cant wait :) only a week left.

[KurlonT]

12 new screenshots (http://www.gta4.net/news/4080/12-new-screenshots/) up at IGN.

R* seems to have every detail covered like the magazines in this pic (http://media.gtanet.com/images/4381gtaiv-screenshot.jpg)...that second one is classic...:o

Going to be rough trying not to get shot or run over with this eye candy all over the city...:D

[KurlonT]

***Vids have spoilers and may offend due to content***

Looks like a few people got it early and posted vids showing off the gameplay and other features (http://boardsus.playstation.com/playstation/board/message?board.id=gta&thread.id=346525&view=by_date_ascending&page=1).
(BTW not sure if the links will stay up or not)

Can't tell too much on the actual graphics but the city looks huge!

IGN has a bit more info on the multiplayer as well: GTA IV: Live Free or Die Online (http://ps3.ign.com/articles/868/868629p1.html)

[KurlonT]

***Vids have spoilers and may offend due to content***

X360 version of GTA IV Live feed: http://www.justin.tv/pressstart

Again not sure if the link will stay up but very cool so far...:2thumbs:
(gameplay does cut out from time to time due to bandwidth)

[Rand{CLR}]

IGN's review is up:

Perfect 10. It's a frigging 7 page review. http://ps3.ign.com/articles/869/869541p1.html

"Without question, Grand Theft Auto IV is the best game since The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time."

-Rand

[KurlonT]

Impressive review from IGN.

BTW here's a pic of the special edition of GTA IV from amazon...it's only $90...:D

http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/videogames/promos/gta4_ps3_pre_700.jpg

[{CLR} Major.Massacre]

Impressive review from IGN.

BTW here's a pic of the special edition of GTA IV from amazon...it's only $90...:D

http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/videogames/promos/gta4_ps3_pre_700.jpg I get this on tuesday.:D Best 101 dollars I ever spent!:2thumbs:

[ak416]

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/33327.html

Plenty of great gameplay footage, good review

[KurlonT]

More reviews:
Gamespy (http://ps3.gamespy.com/playstation-3/grand-theft-auto-iv/869750p1.html): 5/5
1up (http://www.1up.com/do/reviewPage?cId=3167589&p=37): A+
EGM (http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=286037): A+
Eurogamer (http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=134493&page=1): 10/10

Actually have a gamestop by me that's doing the midnight release but have to work...sure was tempting to use a vacation day though...:D

Wonder if we should start a PSN ID list for those getting the game so we can eventually meet up for some multiplayer?

[Rand{CLR}]

You've got to do yourself a favor, sit in front of the tv, and check out A History of Liberty City. Brilliant and hilarious. I've watched about 10-15 minutes of it so far, and it's just so cool to see that sort of thing in a video game.

Everything about this game rocks so far, and the graphics are about the best I've ever seen.

-Rand

[{CLR} Major.Massacre]

You've got to do yourself a favor, sit in front of the tv, and check out A History of Liberty City. Brilliant and hilarious. I've watched about 10-15 minutes of it so far, and it's just so cool to see that sort of thing in a video game.

Everything about this game rocks so far, and the graphics are about the best I've ever seen.

-RandSaw you on last night. Shame the servers were down. All of my buddies were on, would have been a blast. Ahh well I started a fight with a hotdog vendor for refusing me service after I bumped his stand! Big mistake for him. hehe:D

[KurlonT]

Made a web friendly version of the Street Map from scans of the fold out:

http://img229.imageshack.us/img229/2703/gta4streetmapkr4.gif

[KurlonT]

Nice Multiplayer FAQ (http://www.gtaforums.com/index.php?showtopic=341441) up at GTAForums.com to explain the basics of each mode plus the online achievements.

BTW didn't know about the Zombie unlock for the PS3...not sure about using that model...LOL

http://i32.tinypic.com/nmjfrs.jpg

[KurlonT]

Multiplayer patch released by R*

Patch vr. 1.02
Fixed an issue where players were unable to enter or exit vehicles in GTA Race.
Fixed an issue where scripted vehicles were causing games to unexpectedly crash.
Improved reliability and frequency of PS3? online leaderboard updates.
Fixed a rare hang some players encountered when moving from a Race or GTA Race lobby into gameplay.
Fixed a hang that would occur when players were switching teams during the countdown in the lobby.
Fixed an issue where players were able to get ridiculously high scores from Cops 'n Crooks matches.
Changed GTA Race and Race so that the last player remaining always receives a reward of $250.
Fixed an issue where spectating players would prevent the game from finishing.
Fixed an issue where players were unable to spectate in Round 2 of Cops 'n Crooks games.
Changed countdown timer in lobby so that it no longer resets when new players join a game.
Changed the kick option so that kicked players are no longer brought back to single player.

[Hammy]

Saw you on last night. Shame the servers were down. All of my buddies were on, would have been a blast. Ahh well I started a fight with a hotdog vendor for refusing me service after I bumped his stand! Big mistake for him. hehe:D


Sadly, I cannot play this game until Midnight EST. MA rating and the kids just doesnt mix.

Please send me a note or an invite if you are online and you see me. I love the multi-player element of this game.