Grand Theft Auto IV - Available APRIL 29th

Writing by on Wednesday, 9 of April , 2008 at 2:43 pm

Grand Theft Auto IV (also known as GTA IV and GTA 4) is an upcoming sandbox-style action-adventure video game by Rockstar North. It will be the ninth title (and the first in the fourth generation) in the Grand Theft Auto video game franchise. It will be released worldwide on 29 April 2008 for both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.^[8] The game will be set in a redesigned Liberty City, based heavily on New York City and New Jersey.

Development

According to Janco Partners analyst Mike Hickey, a financial consultant for Take-Two Interactive Software, around 150 game developers are working on Grand Theft Auto IV. He also remarked that Rockstar Games is “fully capable of ushering in an entertainment experience categorically superior to the prior cycle’s GTA product.”

Rockstar Games initially appeared to be committed to the original 16 October 2007 release date. However, Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter suggested that Take-Two may choose to delay the release of the game in order to boost its financial results for 2008 and to avoid competing with the release of other highly anticipated titles. Rockstar responded by saying that Grand Theft Auto IV was still on track for release in “late October”.

On 2 August 2007, Take-Two announced that Grand Theft Auto IV would miss its original release date of 16 October 2007 contrary to their previous statements, and would be delayed to their second fiscal quarter (February–April) of 2008. Their stated reason for the date change was “due to additional development time required to complete the title.” In a later conference call with investors, Take-Two’s Strauss Zelnick attributed the delay to “almost strictly technological problems… not problems, but challenges.” It was revealed that technical difficulties with the PlayStation 3 version of the game contributed to the delay.

On 24 January 2008, Take-Two announced that Grand Theft Auto IV would be released on 29 April 2008.^[8]

The game uses Rockstar’s own RAGE game engine in combination with Euphoria, a game animation engine that will be responsible for character animation and the computation of a characters reaction to events in the game environment.

Synopsis

Plot

Niko Bellic is Eastern European, between 28 and 32 years of age and has come to Liberty City to pursue the “American Dream”. Niko was persuaded to move to Liberty City by his cousin Roman, who claimed in multiple e-mails to Niko that he was living a fabulous life, with a mansion, women, hot tubs and sports cars. Roman’s claims turn out to be lies to hide his own failures, however, and in reality he only owns a small taxi business, which he wants Niko to work for.

Roman is the only person Niko knows in Liberty City to begin with, and is one of his major connections in the first part of the game. Niko is a tough character, whereas Roman is friendly. Roman is heavily in debt and a lot of people are after him. He desperately needs Niko’s support, hence the reason he deceived Niko into travelling to Liberty City. They are constantly bickering. It is later revealed that Niko has also been avoiding other, as yet undisclosed, problems at home.

Setting

Grand Theft Auto IV takes place in a redesigned Liberty City consisting of five boroughs, based on four of the boroughs of New York City and New Jersey. Broker is the equivalent of Brooklyn, Queens is Dukes, the Bronx is Bohan, Manhattan is Algonquin, and New Jersey is Alderney (after the Channel Island of the same name). A Staten Island-esque area will not be featured in the game for the reason that Rockstar Games believes it would not be fun to play there. Dan Houser states that there would not be any “dead spots” or “irrelevant space” within Liberty City, such as the wide open deserts in San Andreas.

The total area of the map is smaller than San Andreas, but the new rendition of Liberty City will be far more detailed and is the largest individual city in the Grand Theft Auto series.^] According to the Official PlayStation 2 Magazine (UK edition), “to get from one side of the new and improved Liberty City to the other will take you at least an hour.” Rockstar Games has stated that it is the biggest single city in a Grand Theft Auto game yet, and although smaller than “San Andreas”, it is comparable to it in terms of scope when “the level of verticality of the city, the number of buildings you can go into, and the level of detail in those buildings” are taken into account. Eventually, the player will be able to lead Niko to cross the Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Williamsburg bridges and explore.

Screenshots reveal that the Brighton Beach area is renamed as “Hove Beach” from Brighton and Hove, the English city from which the area gets its name; Coney Island is renamed as “Firefly Island”; Central Park is renamed “Middle Park”. The “Statue of Happiness” is the game’s equivalent of the Statue of Liberty; “Star Junction” is Times Square; “BOABO” (Beneath the Offramp of the Algonquin Bridge Overpass) is DUMBO; the “Thornton Building” is the Flatiron Building; and “Twitchins” is Brooklyn’s Domino Sugar Factory; the “GetaLife” building is the MetLife Building; the “Booth Tunnel” is the Lincoln Tunnel (named after Abraham Lincoln’s assassin, John Wilkes Booth). Other structures include the Coney Island Cyclone, the Chrysler Building, and the Empire State Building.

Characters

Niko Bellic

Nikolai “Niko” Bellic is a fictional character in the Grand Theft Auto video game series. He is the main protagonist and playable character of Grand Theft Auto IV. Niko is revealed to be guilty of previous criminal acts in his life, such as killing, selling and smuggling people. He wishes to begin a new life in Liberty City after being persuaded by his cousin Roman, who claims in his e-mails to Niko to be living the “American Dream.” It is later revealed that these are lies to hide Roman’s own failures. During the course of the story, Niko is looking for someone and will stop at nothing to find him, enlisting help from wherever he can. Niko is said to be between 5’11” and 6’2”, is between 28 and 32 years of age, 190lbs-200lbs and is Eastern European. He has served in the Balkan Peace Keeping Force, and has been imprisoned in a third-world prison, for reasons unknown, at this time.

Roman Bellic

Roman Bellic is Niko’s cousin who has lived in Liberty City for 15 years. Roman claims to be living the “American Dream” and that he has two women, four hot tubs and fifteen sports cars but in reality owns a gritty taxi firm in the heart of the city. He successfully manages to persuade his cousin Niko to move to the city using this deception. Roman is also heavily in debt with various figures around the city, like the Russian mafia in Liberty City. In one of the trailers he seems to be hiding in a garbage can, where Niko comes to meet him.

Elizabeta

Elizabeta is a successful Dominican small-time drug dealer in Bohan. However, she knows an upcoming drug crackdown is going to make her life very difficult and with her own narcotic use spiraling out of control she’s becoming increasingly paranoid and delusional. She appears in the third trailer and in the promotional artwork for the game. Although earlier renditions of the artwork depict her as much thinner than her final appearance it is shown on advertisment posters made by rockstargames that she is between 5′11-6′2″ tall and may weigh between 200-225 pounds. The posters also tells that her age is between 28-32. ^[5][6]

Little Jacob

“Little” Jacob is a Caribbean arms dealer who lives in Dukes and sells Niko weapons out of the trunk of his car. He and Roman are good friends and he appears on cover-art for the game. It is said that he is Jamaican, may be 5′8″-5′10″ of height, and also may weigh between 175 to 185 pounds. It is also said that he may be between age 28 to 32.^[7]

Vladimir Glebov

“Vlad” Glebov is a Russian loan-shark of the Hove Beach area in Broker. He owns a Bar, called “Comrade’s” in his neighbourhood. Vlad tries also to gain respect from more influential gangsters and is sometimes hypocritical about the citizens of Liberty. Vlad also seems to be modeled after Vladimir Lenin. ^[6]

Manny Escuela

Manny Escuela is a Puerto Rican former hoodlum who has apparently changed his ways, and now wants to clean up the streets.In a game trailer it has also hinted that he may be operating from a recreational center in Bohan.^[6] He is currently recording a documentary explaining his struggles and problems.

Brucie

Brucie is a fitness enthusiast and a loud mouth, who enjoys fine women and cars. He enjoys the attention he gets from being rich. He sports a tattoo of a Chinese character meaning “Me” or “I”.^[6] Brucie also owns a garage by Roman’s Taxi Depot,^[8] and once Niko’s relationship with him is high enough, he will provide free helicopter rides for you. In one of the missions he instructs Niko to steal a police car and type an informants name into the car’s computer so you can find him and assassinate him.^[9]

Phil Bell

Phil Bell is a character that was shown on third GTA IV preview by Rockstar, he is introduced to Niko through another character called Ray, and has a strong Italian-American accent. He is believed to be a member of the Liberty City Mafia.

Patrick “Packie” McReary

Patrick McReary is an Irish thug who is related to corrupt police detective Francis McReary. He lives with his mother and sister, although he doesn’t seem to like them much. Kate McReary, his sister, shows an ‘interest’ in Niko, but he warns him away from her. Those who know him refer to him as “Packie.” He is also a close friend of Elizabeta

Francis McReary

Francis McReary is a corrupt police detective who has “dirt on Niko’s past.” He threatens to reveal this information unless Niko helps him by obtaining various memory sticks with information about his own corruptions from lawyers and blackmailers alike. In one mission, he meets up with Niko in an area called Castle Gardens which is a coast-side hangout analogous to Battery Park overlooking the Statue of Happiness.^[10] He wears a black suit and tie, has a short moustache, and has slicked blonde hair with a strong side parting.

Tom Goldberg

Tom Goldberg is a lawyer working for Goldberg, Ligner & Shyster, a law firm based in Liberty City. There are several rumors circulating that the character ‘Tom Goldberg’ was inspired by the Florida lawyer Jack Thompson, a man who has opposed Rockstar many times. In a demo presented to journalists by Rockstar, Niko receives a phone call from police officer Francis McReary asking him to kill Tom Goldberg. Niko then acquires a cab and heads to an internet café named TW@ café and submits a fake résumé to Goldberg, Ligner & Shyster using the game’s internet browser. Niko schedules an interview with Goldberg, before picking up some business clothes. When Niko arrives for his interview, he lets Goldberg ramble on a bit about video game violence before using a 9mm handgun to assassinate Goldberg in his office, and then soon after ends up in a fire fight with law enforcement.^[11]

Bledar Morina

Bledar Morina is an Albanian thug and a fitness enthusiast located in Broker. He can be seen attacking Roman numerous times in the third trailer as well as having a fist-fight with Niko.

Lola

Lola is a prostitute who appears on promotional artwork for the game.^[11] In October 2007, her character art was painted on the side of a building in SoHo, New York, advertising the game.^[12]

Karl Lagerfeld

Karl Lagerfeld is the head of the Liberty City based Radio K109, better known under the name of “DJ Karl”.

Karen

Karen is the receptionist at Goldberg, Ligner and Shyster. She directs Niko towards Tom Goldberg’s office.

Playboy X

Playboy X was introduced to Niko by Elizabeta. He is an African-American gangster, and owns a mansion in the North Alderney area. He used to do business with a pal called Dwayne Moore, who was recently released from prison, but Playboy has since moved on without him.

Kenny Petrovic

Kenny Petrovic is a South Broker based mob boss, who appears in the multiplayer missions Mafia Work and Team Mafia Work. In these missions the player must obey Petrovic’s orders, protect him from rival mobsters and take care of Kenny’s “black list”.

Mallorie

Mallorie is currently dating Roman Bellic.^[13]

Mikhail Faustin

Nothing much is known about this character, except that he was featured in the official game artwork, as well as on the boxart,^[14] depicting him holding a pistol in one hand and a cellphone in another. ^[15]

Raymond

Raymond is a character that appears in the Truck Hustle mission in GTA IV. His accent is heavily Italian-American and he is believed to be a major figure in the Liberty City Cosa Nostra.

Bryce Dawkins

Bryce Dawkins is the Deputy Mayor of Liberty City. He is said to be ultra conservative, and “enjoys ramming family values down your throat.”

Thomas Stubs III

Thomas Stubs III is the corrupt congressman of Liberty City State. He is currently facing allegations surrounding pork barrel spending.

Differences from previous Grand Theft Auto games

Technical

• After the initial load sequence, there are no loading sequences during gameplay. A Rockstar spokesperson claimed, “you can basically play the game from beginning to end without a single load screen.”^[18]
• Variations in the terrain affect the way that characters walk. The way the player moves is controlled by Euphoria, instead of pre-written animations, enabling character movements to be more realistic. Rockstar Games announced that Euphoria would be used in future Rockstar titles.^[19] The Euphoria engine enables NPCs to react in a realistic way to the player’s actions. In one preview, a player knocked an NPC out a window and the character grabbed onto a ledge to stop himself from falling.^[20]

Gameplay

• Titles in the GTA series have traditionally been heavily mission based (fixed missions must be completed to progress through each game), but the freedom to explore and play outside of the set missions in GTA IV will now be more relevant to progress through the game, according to comments by a Rockstar spokesperson: “We’re really trying to blur the line between on-[mission] and off-mission. So storyline, and what you do outside [it], and how those two things influence each other.”^[18]
• Niko will be able to perform a variety of new actions such as climbing telephone poles and fire escapes, pushing people who bump into him, calling women for dates,^[21] playing darts and bowling. Niko may become intoxicated by which the character stumbles and the blurry camera bounces about.
• The player will not be able to fly any fixed-wing aircraft.^[22] However, helicopters will be flyable. Francis International Airport (from Grand Theft Auto III) is confirmed to be in the game.
• It is possible to have multiple active missions, due to the fact that some missions will run over the course of several days and will require the player to wait for further instructions, etc.^[23]
• The use of the mobile phone has been expanded to perform multiple actions. When selecting the mobile phone, a zoomed-in version of the phone pops up in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen and a list of several commands are made available to the player, such as “meet me here,” etc. Retrying a failed mission can be performed by accessing the menu. The phone can be used outside of vehicles to listen to one of the 18 radio stations. The player can take photos with the mobile phone and upload them to the police computer. Niko can dial 911 to call the police for them to arrest an enemy/pedestrian that is fighting/shooting at him, or just to trick them into wasting resources on a false alarm. He can also contact the paramedics and the fire station.^[24]
• Stealing a parked car can no longer be done simply by opening the door and driving off. Now, it involves Niko approaching the car, breaking the glass, and hotwiring it; only then can he use it. The way Niko enters the car would look different each time depending on where and how he is in relation to the car. There will be several animation variations to sneaking up to a car and breaking its window. Because of the Euphoria engine, the way the character will approach the car will be completely random.
• Players will be able to choose from five different camera views while in a car, including a dashboard view, two outside views near and far from the car, a road view, and a cinematic view.^{[citation needed]} The new chase cam will follow the player but focus the camera direction on a target vehicle.^[25]
• All cars feature a standard GPS device while more expensive vehicles have voice-navigation GPS. Car damage physics have been greatly improved.^{[citation needed]} When major collisions on motorbikes occur, the player’s helmet is likely to fall off. Niko can lose health if he crashes. Vehicles will not explode if they are flipped over.
• When driving in a car the player will be able to smash the window with his elbow, free-aim, and fire out of the broken window with any weapon in Niko’s arsenal.^[26]
• The gunfight system has been reworked to feel natural by using a cover system similar to that of Gears of War and Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, as the combat system in previous games was awkward and cumbersome.^[27] The player can slide to cover, blind fire, and free aim. When locked on, the target’s health is indicated by eight purple segments on the target circle. Players can now target individual body parts using a revamped targeting system.^[28] Niko’s health is represented by a green semi-circle on the left side of the radar, and a right semi-circle represents armour. If Niko gets injured, he can recover health by eating, sleeping or using medical kits. Body armour and actual health will play different roles. Health is more likely to be reduced by falls and going through the windscreen of a car when crashing, Body armour will be damaged more by gunshots and stab wounds.^[29]
• Notable weapons in this game other than melee fighting with fists and knives include pistols, Uzis, assault rifles, sniper rifle, rocket launchers, and molotov cocktails.^[30]
• The in-game prostitutes now offer three “levels of service”: masturbation, fellatio or intercourse^[4]
• Niko will be able to visit comedy clubs and cabarets in the game.^[31]
• There will be no “fantasy vehicles”, such as Jet-packs, invincible cars or tanks.
• According to Dan Houser, “virtually none of the characters from the previous games are returning, as a lot of them are dead anyway.”^[32]

NPC behaviour

• Police and wanted levels will now operate differently. When the police are in search of Niko, the player will now have to avoid a certain radius marked on the map in which the police will be looking for him. The size of this radius will increase with the player’s wanted level (the more stars, the bigger the radius) and re-centres itself on Niko’s location if he is spotted by the police. Instead of utilizing the “Pay ‘N’ Spray” as in previous games, Niko has to realistically disguise himself by clandestinely changing vehicles in empty areas such as parking garages, a feature seen in the video game Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven. When on foot, police will not shoot at Niko unless he has committed a serious offence. If they catch up to Niko, he will put his hands up and the player has a chance to run away. Additionally, pedestrians with cellphones can now report crimes.^[33][34] The player also now has the option when arrested to attempt to escape before the handcuffs are slapped on.^[28]
• Interpersonal relationships are now dynamic; ignoring cell phone calls or refusing help will change the attitude of specific characters towards Niko.^[28]
• Pedestrians are much more intelligent, realistic, and diverse, using mobile phones, cash machines, eating snacks, drinking soda, reading newspapers, scratching their noses, coughing, smoking, and interacting with each other through laughter and remarks. Homeless people will be seen in alleys rubbing their hands over a flaming barrel, sitting against walls, asking for spare change, and other expected actions.^{[citation needed]} The flow of pedestrians and traffic will be different depending on the time of day. Pedestrians and motorists will often act as good Samaritans and aid characters that Niko is attacking or carjacking.^[28]

Environment

• Niko’s outfit can be changed throughout the game. However, it will not be possible to customise his physique or hairstyle as in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, as Dan Houser explained: “We want this installment to focus more on interacting with other in-game people other than yourself.”
• Heavy fire will scar – and permanently destroy – parts of the environment. It is possible to shoot through walls with powerful weapons.^{[citation needed]}
• When Niko goes to the hospital, he has to pay $100 and he will keep his weapons. When Niko gets arrested, he has to pay more than $100 and he will lose his weapons.
• In a police vehicle, Niko can use an in-car computer to access the criminal database and discover information about various criminals in Liberty City, possibly including himself.^[35]
• The player can hail a cab in order to travel to any address in the city. When riding, the player has the option of viewing the journey from the inside, or skipping it to arrive at the destination immediately.^{[citation needed]} The player will be able to ask the driver to change the radio station by pressing D-pad left or right.
• Niko will make use of the Internet as a means of communication. Although the exact details of the role of the Internet in the game are being kept secret, it has been revealed that Niko can access the internet from various cyber cafés, one of which is called “TW@” (twat) in order to upload a resume for prospective employers.^[33] There are over 100 accessible, fictitious websites within the game. Although TW@ was seen early in Grand Theft Auto III, it did not give the player the option to “surf the internet”.^[36]
• Every street in the game will have a name; some missions will require the player to go to a specific address.^[37]
• There is now an autosave that activates after completing a mission.^[38]
• A day in Liberty City is forty-eight minutes long (one game hour lasts two minutes in real time), instead of twenty-four as in previous Grand Theft Auto titles.^[39]
• Some meetings in the game will take place high in the buildings of skyscrapers, which will subsequently allow Niko to throw people off the buildings. However, Niko will not be able to access all the buildings in the game.^{[citation needed]}

Multiplayer

GTA IV will be the first game game in the GTA series to include online multiplayer^[40] with goals of supporting up to 16 players and a possibility of open-ended gameplay and exploring the whole city.^[41].Later revealed in an issue of PSM, GTA IV will have 15 modes of play and support up to 16 players,^[42] with the player using a customizable character to play as, with a choice of gender, race and clothing.The modes of play include several varieties of deathmatch and racing, with a cooperative single player mission and free mode. Other new multiplayer modes include Mafia, in which players try to complete an objective before their opponents, and Cops ‘N’ Crooks, in which one team of police officers must stop the other team of criminals from escaping. The map used in multiplayer will be the same as the single player map and the host of the games can control many variables like traffic, police reaction and laps in races. Rockstar has left one game type unknown and not explained some.

During a hands on preview with major review sites several new details were revealed. Gameplay in multiplayer is identical to the single player, players will be free to roam the map during multiplayer games. Although weapons and spawn points will only appear within a pre defined area. The host of the game has a great degree of control over the game and can specify where, when, what weapons may be used, police presence and more. Voice chat is supported and the player may chat with individual players by calling them on the mobile phone.^[43][44]

Episodic content

During Microsoft’s 2006 E3 press conference on 9 May, it was announced that Rockstar Games will offer exclusive episodic content via Xbox Live for the Xbox 360 version of the game.^[45] Peter Moore, the then head of Microsoft’s Interactive Entertainment Business division announced that Rockstar Games is working on two GTA IV downloadable packs exclusively for the Xbox 360, which will be released after the full game. Moore described downloadable content as “epic episode packs”, and not just extra cars or characters. A press release during the conference said that the packs would add “hours of entirely new gameplay” to the game.^[46] The official Xbox website states that these episodes will last a minimum of 10 hours.^[47] Jeronimo Barrera, Vice President of Product Development for Rockstar Games, has said that the episodes are an experiment because they are not sure that there are enough users with access to online content on the Xbox 360.^[48] Details on the pricing of these downloads have not yet been revealed, though it would almost certainly not be released for free, as Take-Two Interactive’s former CEO, Paul Eibeler, have said numerous times that these downloads would provide “additional revenue streams” to the company. Take-Two Interactive’s Chief Financial Officer, Lainie Goldstein revealed that Microsoft was paying a total of US $50 million for the two episodes.^[49] On 20 February 2008, it was announced that the extra content will be introduced starting August 2008.^[50]

Downloadable content for the PlayStation 3 was confirmed by Jeronimo Barrera, in the May edition of PlayStation World Magazine.^[51] The form that the content will take was not stated.

Social Club

On 27 March 2008 Rockstar games announced that they would be launching the Rockstar Social Club. The Social Club is a website that will display the gameplay statistics of registered users, and it will also feature competitions and awards based on player activity within the game.^[52]

The Social club will initially consist of five parts: ^[53]

• LCPD Police Blotter - The Police Blotter will collect data from all online users of GTA IV, and show how much crime is committed in each area of the city. It will also show the most dangerous areas of Liberty City, what the most popular weapons are and much more^[53].

• The Story Gang - The Story Gang will be a leader board showing who has completed the story mode of the game. There will be 2 parts to this: The first part will show the first 10 players to complete the story mode of the game; and the other part will show the quickest times that the story mode has been completed in. Members of the gang will receive special online bonuses marking their achievements in the game^[53].

• The 100% Club - The 100% club is very similar to the story gang, but this time marking the achievements of gamers that have completed the game 100%. There will be 2 leaderboards, one showing the first 10 people to complete the game, and the other showing who has completed the game quickest. The first 10 people to complete the game will be sent a ‘key to the city’ to mark their achievement^[53].

• The Hall Of Fame - The Hall of Fame will mark many records and statistical achievements completed by users within the game. It will also contain a personal awards display of a gamers personal in-game achievements^[53].

• The Liberty City Marathon - The Liberty City Marathon will be a ranking of special physical milestones within the game. There will also be many competitions based on marathons for this area of the Social Club^[53].

Soundtrack

Main article: Grand Theft Auto IV soundtrack

Philip Glass, the composer of the music used in the original trailer, is rumoured to be involved in the production of GTA IV’s soundtrack.^{[citation needed]} The soundtrack was described as “modern and suits the mood perfectly.”^{[citation needed]} Glass’s “Pruit-Igoe” theme from Koyaanisqatsi was used for the teaser trailer.

Dan Houser has said that Rockstar is “certainly evolving the way the radio works”. According to Official Xbox Magazine, one of the radio stations includes an “Eastern European-sounding” dancing theme. Other music announced as a placeholder for the press includes Russian and East Coast hip hop.^[54] The range of music in GTA IV will span different decades and genres, the first track shown to the media was “Sorrow Tears and Blood” by Fela Kuti, and while there is no official word on whether it will be in the final release of the game^[18]

Various media outlets have reported on the quality of GTA IV’s advanced sound engine. One describes the realism of the traffic noise on the streets, noting the “varying volume and intensity of car horns and the constant hum of traffic”, as well as “the frequent deafening rattle of trains hurtling through the subway.”^[18] As part of GTA IV’s new physics, the player will be able to hear and feel the bass of vehicles passing by with their radio turned on.

There will be eighteen radio stations in the game. As of 24 March, four of these have been revealed, including IF99, a funk music station, Vladivostok FM, a “Post-communist community radio” station featuring eastern European pop music, WKTT (We Know The Truth) Talk Radio, a right-wing talk radio, and disco station K109 - The Studio.^[55]

The final trailer features artist Mavado singing a custom version of his song “Real McKoy” over the Anger Management Riddim.

Category: Video Games

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