Grand Theft Auto IV

[SlaughterX]

http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb181/Genma_Gouki/gta4.jpg

http://www.rockstargames.com/IV/index.html

[Sayckeone]

Day one.

[Thunder-Slash]

That was a pretty epic unveiling of the boxart.

[SlaughterX]

Release date is 4/29...

http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3165587

[Sayckeone]

I'll be sure to have everything that I am and will be playing done by that date.

[Tenbatsu]

Here's hoping it doesn't get pushed back, again.

This is definitely a day one though.

[Dead to Rights]

^LOL

Official website now up:
http://www.rockstargames.com/IV/

[Himuro]

game of the decade

[Dead to Rights]

^Credit to Himuro, since I basically stole all this information from his thread (http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=229904). :mrgreen:

Gameplay and Features

Rockstar has been more tight lipped regarding this Grand Theft Auto more than any in the past. They were always quiet on this front, but we barely know a thing about the game so far aside from a few gameplay features and what we should expect. I hope they can deliver. They delivered in the past, so I trust they will again!

Anything bolded is regarded as new information.

- The location will be Liberty City, a completely retooled and more realistic version of Liberty than what we've seen in the past (GTA1, GTA3, LCS, GTA advance).

- There will be five buroughs: Dukes (Queens), Bohan (the Bronx), Algonquin (Manhattan), Broker (Brooklyn), and Alderney (New Jersey). It has been confirmed you start the game out in Broker. No, Staten Island will not be present because R* feels the area is boring.

- The game will be much harder than past entries. The days where you walk up to any car and jack it are over, as are the days where you simply have to run to a pay and spray to get the heat off of you.

- While the game is not as big as San Andreas, it has more detail and R* is going for less wasted space.

- The police system has been entirely retooled. You will not instantly become wanted whenever you commit a crime now, even in public. If there are no cops around, and someone sees you, they will have to notify the police. It sounds extremely similar to The Warriors, it sounds like. When and if you commit a crime in public and the police are notified, a circular search area will appear on your radar. The fuzz will go on high alert. If you are outside of this area the cops will not be able to find you unless you commit another crime. If you are spotted in the circular area, the police will follow you to that location. Thus, if you are sneaky, they will not know where you are.

- You can trick police to get rid of wanted level. Since there's no Pay and Spray you must use other ways to get rid of wanted level: changing your clothes (especially if they are bloody); switching cars to confuse the police; running into someone's house, out the back, and on to their fire escape, among other things.

- Many interiors are fully decorated and have been given a much bigger emphasis and importance.

- While the game does not have planes, it does have helicopters.

- Some cars are locked, so you will need to strategize escape routes more thoroughly this time. In order to unlock locked vehicles, breaking the window is necessary, as is hot wiring the car. Obviously, under a chase this will make things more hectic.

- Targeting system has been retooled. It has a Resident Evil 4 and Gears of War like targeting system, which is perfect for GTA, to be honest.

- Niko has a cell phone, which is essentially the start screen. With the cell phone, you can call any number that's in the game, including mission leads, and various characters so you can learn more about them.

- Car trunks are now usable. Supposedly you can put bodies and weapons into car trunks.

- Missions are far more dynamic now and have a different structure. Many missions start at specific times now, similarly to Shenmue. If a train leaves at 10:00 am and you arrive at 10:01 am, you fail the mission. Missions also happen on specific days. If it's Monday, sometimes you will have a mission that starts on Wednesday. You can obviously do other missions in between or come up with a plan. Rockstar wants to blur the difference between story missions and non story based missions. I do not know what this means.

- Missions have been completely retooled. Now, you do not have a giant arrow over someone's head if they are your target. Let's say you have to kill a target, but he's surrounded by a group of people. You do not know who is who. You can handle this in multiple ways. You can find out his phone number, call him up, see if he responds, and kill him; or you can simply go up to the entire group and kill all of them. The choice is up to you. Of course, if you do the latter choice, your boss may be pissed off...

- Depending on how well and what you do during missions, you can form relationships with your bosses and clients. If you do good, kill your targets discreetly, you will have a good relationship. If you do things in plain sight, without using your brains, your boss will most likely hate you and break all contact. It sounds like a great evolution on GTA2's fun, but not exactly deep, respect system.

- Maintaining character relationships can result in specific rewards. Little Jacob is the guy who sells you weapons. Your relationship is maintained through phone contact and loyalty. If you boost up his relationship, perhaps he gives you better weapons?

- Trip skip feature from Vice City and Vice City Stories is back, thankfully. Now you can even use cabs to drive you pretty much anywhere you want apparently.

- You do not get weapons Ammunation any more. Ammunation will most likely not be in the new game.

- As the third trailer hinted, before you gain any sort of weapon, you're going to be using your fists. More emphasis on hand to hand combat will be in GTAIV.

- Beware night time in certain Burroughs, as you may get jumped by random gangsters and the freaks of Liberty. You can get robbed.

- There is now a GPS. Saints Row ftw.

- People will react to your weapons. So if you have an rpg out, they will obviously go bat####, which will cause attention to you.

- You can push people off of buildings.

- As the third trailer showed, there is now an emphasis on cover. Kill.Switch and Gears influence obviously.

- Girlfriends are returning. No word on whether R* will make them funner than last time they appeared.

- The internet is a feature in the game. How this will affect gameplay is unknown but Rockstar promises it will be crucial to the gameplay.

- The game will NOT, THANK GOD, place emphasis on territory or gaining territory.

- The days where you carry millions of cash on you are over. You can now use atms or go to the bank to deposit or withdraw funds. Sounds pretty similar to Dragon Quest. Maybe when you die or get busted, you lose half of your funds or something. Can't imagine what will happen when you get robbed.

- It seems getting busted may have bigger consequences than simply losing your money and a lil cash this time. Many people think this means you may end up going to jail every time you get busted, but that's just mindless speculation at this point. Honestly, that wouldn't be very fun.

- You can now shoot different body parts and your victim will react realistically depending where he has been hit.

- Rockstar will use the Euphoria Engine, known from "Star Wars: The Force unleashed". Result: Every Explosion looks different.

- Enemies that have been hit may still try to get up again and attack you.

- Pedestrians have a memory. They remember your face when they saw you doing a criminal act and run away in terror whenever they see you again.

- The multiplayer will be activated via the cell phone. Nothing is known about the multiplayer modes except that there will be up to 16 players possible.

- Francis International Airport is back but resembles JFK Airport

-Niko's cell phone has a Built-In Radio

-2 Minutes real time is now equal to 1 Hour In-Game time. Thus, longer, more fleshed out days.

-Seasons are NOT in the game

-Every cop car has a working computer, which allows you to search for any criminal in the city, find his where abouts, and any thing remotely related to him or her. Should be handy if you need information on a target.

-You can call the police via 911 AT ANY TIME. Maybe you can use this feature to your advantage somehow...

- "When I first jumped into the game, I shot one of the cab drivers through the windshield and thought it was cool that he just slumped over in his car. But what I didn’t realize was that all of his dead weight would press down on the gas pedal, which caused the cab to barrel down on me and slam me into a wall."

-Dramatic vehicle jumps from previous games return.

-There are no returning characters from previous GTAs.

-A GPS system will tell you the optimal route for arriving at a mission checkpoint.
-You can plant waypoints anywhere in the city.

-The wanted rating can go up to six stars.

-Customization is restricted to clothing changes--no afros or anything like that.

-The fighting style Niko uses is krav maga.

-You can take a taxi or ride the subway to get to various points on the map. You can sit back and enjoy the ride or immediately jump from one point to the next.

- There is no car customization, nor can you store things in cars.

- The controls seem to work pretty well, and the driving controls have mostly been entirely retooled.

- Driving phsyics have been retooled. Now when turning around corners, you will have to use your regular break and then your hand break, other wise your car may turn over.

- Car damage is more realistic now. Various parts of the car can be damaged, making it hard to drive in certain situations. For instance, if your tires get bent from an accident, it is much harder to drive after the fact.

- The game's story is longer than San Andreas and should take around 100 hours if you take your time and do every thing.

Multiplayer

Modes

1. Hangmans 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 Roam
15. unknown

- There are total 15 multiplayer modes, the previewers were able to play 7 of them.
- All modes can be accessed through the cellphone.
- Multiplayer mode can support up to 16 players.
- The entire city will be opened during this mode.
- Confirmed 14 (out of 15) multiplayer mode names are: Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Mafia Work, Team Mafia Work, Race, GTA Race, Cops N'Crooks, Hangman's NOOSE, Deal Breaker, Turf War, Car Jack City, Bomb Da Base I, Bomb Da Base II, Free Mode.
- Player customization will be available in the multiplayer mode.
- The host makes the rules.
- Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch: In both modes, host can decide the number of peds, the flow of traffic, the intervention of police and the weapons. (The previewers tried playing a Team deathmatch, all of them equipped with rocket launchers. Almost half of the city lighten up shortly with series of explosion caused by them.)
- Race & GTA Race: The host can decide the choice on vehicles and number of laps.
- Mafia and Team Mafia: The player will assume him/herself as a henchman to Kenny Petrovic and will be competing with other players to complete hits (ordered by Kenny over the phone) before the rivals can.
- Cops N'Crooks: In this mode, a group of player will act as cops, the rest as criminals. The cops can see criminals' location on their GPS and will make sure the criminals don't escape alive. On the other hand, the criminals will have no clue where the cops are.
- Hangman's NOOSE: In the single player mission called 'Hangman's NOOSE', there will be co-op, where you and your friends will be escorting a mafia mobster, while ambushed by the NOOSE (GTA IV version of SWAT).

Radio

The radio has been a big thing in the GTA games as far as GTA1. This is the first modern day GTA since GTAIII, however, and as we all know, modern mainstream music sucks balls. Thankfully, R* has taste and this is what we know so far.

- The music will be wide ranged in terms of genre. It will have international radio stations, even 1960's and 70's music.
- It seems that the music will be just as underground as GTAIII. Awesome stuff.
- GTA trailers have always had songs that are featured in the games. That confirms three songs already.

So far the songs we know, whether placeholders or official are:

1. Fela Kuti - Sorrow Tears and Blood
Genre: Afrobeat
Comments: Excellent choice for GTA. I grew up on this song, so I was shocked it was even in GTA.

2. Philip Glass - Pruitt-Igoe theme from "Koyaanisqatsi"
Genre: ?
Comments: It's a good song for a trailer, but I'm not sure if it's a good GTA song. We'll have to see. After all, GTAIII's classical station worked great.

3. The Boggs - Arm In Arm (Shy Child Mix)
Genre: Alternative rock
Comments: This group is from New York and it definitely has a NYC-ish sound and vibe. Perfect for GTAIV.

4. Serega - King Ring
Genre: Hip Hop
Comments: Underground hip hop ftw. This song is from a Russian based rapper and will most likely featured on the International radio station.

5. Run D.M.C. - Sucker MC's
Genre: Hip Hop
Comments: Oldschool hip hop ftw! Mainstream sucks. Get that #### out of my GTA.

6. Datarock - I Used to Dance With My Daddy
Genre: Alternative rock
Comments: Nice track for GTA!

7. Queen - One Vision
Genre: Rock
Comments: Not my taste, but I'm sure it's great for GTA.

8. Angel y Khris - Ven Bailalo (Reggaeton Version)
Genre: Reggaeton
Comments: I loved the Mexican jazz station on Vice City. Ellllllllll Espantosooooo! I think this is a great track for GTA.

9. R Kelly - Bump N' Grind
Genre: Rhythm and Blues
Comments: I'm surprised to see such a mainstream act like R Kelly in the game, but interesting none the less.

10. Ne-Yo - Because of You
Genre: Rhythm and Blues
Comments: It's a decent song. Should be fun to listen to on the road.

11. Marvin Gaye - Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)
Genre: Soul/R&B
Comments: Amazing song. I loved GTASA's soul/funk station, so I anticipate whatever station Marvin is on.

12. Leningrad - Nikogo Ne Zhalko
Genre: Russian pop
Comments: Another track for the international/Russian station!

13. UNKLE (feat. Josh Homme) - Restless
Genre: Alternative rock
Comments: Pretty good song. This sounds it's excellent for GTA.

14. Gwen Stefani - Hollaback Girl
Genre: Pop
Comments: This song sucks. :(

15. Res - They Say Vision
Genre: Alternative Rock
Comments: This song is really good and it's a BLACK BAND??! How come I didn't know about this earlier?

16. Raheem Devaughn - You
Genre: R&B
Comments: Pretty decent song. Another modern r&b track. I'm hoping they have 90's r&b!

17. The Go! Team - Junior Kickstart
Genre: Alternative Rock
Comments: LOL @ the music video. This song is awesome! Good pick, R*!

18. VHS or Beta - Burn It All Down
Genre: Rock
Comments: This song is extremely boring for GTA to me, but maybe it works better in the game!

19. Humble Pie - Cocaine
Genre: ? It's not on youtube so I don't know
Comments: ?

20. Fat Joe - #### is Real
Genre: Hip Hop
Comments: The beat in this is amazing. It gives me Pete Rock vibes. Did Pete do the beat? Sounds like something that'd be on Illmatic.

21. MOP - How About Some Hardcore
Genre: Hip Hop
Comments: More oldschool hip hop love!

22. MOP - Downtown Swinger
Genre: Hip Hop
Comment: HIP HOP CLASSIC

23. Ruslana - Wild Dances
Genre: Ukraine pop
Comment: This was the winner of the 2004 Eurovision. I'm liking IF99 and Vladivostok already.

[zippedpinhead]

All that information is good, but can I replace the crappy radio stations with my own music like in the PC/PSP/XBOX versions of the previous games?


I just really grew fond of using music that may actually get me pumped during missions... as opposed to some really bad R&B/Rap. Some Rap, Rock, Alternative, the opera station from III, hell even the crazy latino and new wave stations from Vice City were worth listening to occasionally. The massive amounts of Unlistenable music in San Andreas ruined the entire game for me until I got to put my own music on it.

[Shintai]

Am I the only person who doesnt really care? GTA games are good and all, but they never blew me away.

[Sayckeone]

Am I the only person who doesnt really care? GTA games are good and all, but they never blew me away.
GTFO and go play your ChanPGs!

[RayFoxSith]

I want that special edition of the game. The one with the gym bag and all.

[Gillian Seed]

Am I the only person who doesnt really care? GTA games are good and all, but they never blew me away.

They blow me away. They are designed so well. I remember playing GTA III for the first time, it was intense. You could do anything, missions, taxi ####, joy ride, find the hidden packages, "5 Star Challenge". There is just so much to do and to enjoy. Huge games.

Ive loved all the major ones ever since the original I had on PS1. Then GTA 2 on the Dreamcast, III... IV will be awesome in every way. Day one.

[Himuro]

goty

[Yazarc]

I didn't really enjoy any of the games to come out since GTA3. I think I'll probably give it another go when this game comes out.

[SlaughterX]

The only GTA games I've really cared for were 3 and VC. San Andreas was jsut more of the same thing for me, and also way too big, driving around was just annoying. The PSP GTAs were a waste of time. If this game wasn't on "next-gen" hardware I truely wouldn't even care, but hopefully they will bring a lot of new things to the table with the new hardware.

[RayFoxSith]

I've never really played all the GTAs through and through, but from what I saw in SA, it had a lot of depth and side quests. It was a very huge game, IMO.

[DarkShear]

Only thing I loved about San Andreas was the first part with the gang territories. After that, as noted many times, the game was just way to damn big. Driving through the mountains was hella annoying.

[SlaughterX]

New trailer...

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/32308.html

[SlaughterX]

LE Elite 360....

http://www.complex.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/limited_gtaiv_xbox3603.jpg

http://www.complex.com/blogs/2008/03/20/xbox-drops-500-limited-edition-gta-iv-360s/

[Sayckeone]

Now THAT is the 360 version that I'm going to not buy.

[Futomimi]

Why does that article use the word "drop" 500 times?

[Sanctine]

All they did is paint the boxart on the side of the console? How lazy.

[Dead to Rights]

^Word. That's probably why it isn't for sale.

[Sayckeone]

Why does that article use the word "drop" 500 times?
It's Complex, a street wear/hip hop oriented mag.

[Futomimi]

Oh. That's still not an excuse for an annoyingly-written article, though..

[Sayckeone]

I agree, was just telling you why they used drop 500 times, rather than the myriad of other words they could have used. The other words aren't hip hop enough. :P

That, and their better writers work on the magazine itself.

[SlaughterX]

Website was updated, lots of nice wallpapers (yay for 1680x1050 walls!) and myspace themes... Also there are probably some videos and junk...

[SlaughterX]

https://socialclub.rockstargames.com/

Also I guess this is what the GC LE face plate will look like, I wish it was black...

http://kotaku.com/assets/resources/2008/04/gtagamecrazyface-thumb.jpg

http://kotaku.com/380850/game-crazy-launching-gta-iv-at-midnight

[Sayckeone]

^Racist.

[SlaughterX]

Pics of the SE...

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee148/doublebagger/agta01.jpg

The Xbox box with have the main character on it...

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=283624

[CSXLoser]

Heard that HK is getting it on the 27th. And my dad just happens to be there for business reasons hehe :D

[Kid Marin]

I may pick this... still not sure with FES on its way. I never really cared for GTA, but IV looks different.

[Dead to Rights]

Worth a read, imo.
A rare sit-down with Rockstar Games founder Sam Houser (http://www.1up.com/do/feature?cId=3167500)

[Arjuna]

I wasn't really big on GTA games but damn I can't wait for this.

[Dead to Rights]

First seven minutes of GTA IV (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=piCbOD_kEMs)

Boot up, intro, cut scenes etc (heavy spoilers). You know you want to watch! :wink:

[Sayckeone]

First seven minutes? After the initial load times of 3D GTA titles 10 minutes have already gone by.

[DivineTrinity]

First seven minutes of GTA IV (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=piCbOD_kEMs)

Boot up, intro, cut scenes etc (heavy spoilers). You know you want to watch! :wink:

I haven't seen that one yet, and now I'm debating if I want to watch it. They also have some more gameplay of Niko shooting around and riding a car and motorcycle.

Gameplay part 2 (http://www.gametrailers.com/player/usermovies/206844.html)

[Sei]

I'm debating what to get this for, on one hand, I have a 360, but I dont buy downloadable content, nor pay for live, so if I get it for that, no multiplayer.

On the other hand, I am getting a Gun Metal Guns of the Patriots PS3 when It comes out, I would have multiplayer on that, but its a while to come and people may not ever be playing it by then. :(

Also, the limited edition looks nice.

[SlaughterX]

I don't plan on buying any of the DLC either, but I suspect it will eventually be free (some of it at least), much like the map packs for Halo and most other DLC that has been out for a while...

[Gillian Seed]

we should be getting the SE soon at my work, I cant wait for the game.

[SlaughterX]

Here's the list of all the radio stations and tracks...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Theft_Auto_IV_soundtrack#Beat_102.7

Live @ the BBQ FTW! But seriously though, custom soundtracks FTW.... ;)

[Sayckeone]

Those hip hop stations are terrible. The Classic is straight, but could be much better. And why does the dancehall station get 50 tracks, but the reggae/dub one gets only a handful. Rockstar usually does a great job with the soundtrack too. WTF happened?

Slaughter, are custom soundtracks confirmed?

[SlaughterX]

They are for the 360... :)

There's no reasont he PS3 version shouldn't be able to, it does have an HDD capable of storing music like the original Xbox, and Rockstar even had custom soundtrack support on the PSP GTAs (even though I never could get it to work), so it's possible, it all depends on if Rockstar felt like doing it, but no, nothing has been confirmed.

[Sayckeone]

####. Well, hopefully it does.

[Sei]

Running out of time!, still haven't made up my mind on which system to get it for but I should prolly get around to preordering a LE for something.

Then again I hear the LE of this will be like the Halo helmets and be everywhere forever and ever so who knows.

[SlaughterX]

Here's the IGN review!

http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/869/869381p1.html

[massaker]

Holy F**** it got a 10.

I think I better buy this... I think I'm going to be at the 12:01am release.

*edit. I just realized that its the cut version, so I'm now considering yelling at someone instead.

[SlaughterX]

1up review: http://www.1up.com/do/reviewPage?cId=3167589&p=4&sec=REVIEWS

GameSpy review: http://xbox360.gamespy.com/xbox-360/grand-theft-auto-4/869689p1.html

Should be playing it in another 24 hours, anyone else going to a midnight launch? GameCrazy better have my mutha####in face plate.

[Gillian Seed]

im surprised by the high reviews.

[Sayckeone]

^Why? It's GTA; it always gets great reviews.

[Gillian Seed]

true.

[SlaughterX]

Just got back from 2 different Game Crazies, neither of which had the freakin' face plate. I am extremely pissed off because I drove an hour out of the way to buy it there for the face plate when I could have just went to the GameStop down the street. Last time I do business there, even though I like the place, I might even file a compliant with the BBB for false advertisement.

[Kid Marin]

I ordered GTAIV at Play-Asia. The NA version is region locked, but the asian one is PAL region free. 8)

[SlaughterX]

GameSpot review: http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/action/grandtheftauto4/review.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=gssummary&tag=summary;review

Also I've heard rumors of original (20 and 60GB) PS3s having problems with this game, though I can't confirm anything...

[Arjuna]

No problems here whatsoever. Man more games need to implement this sort of multiplayer. I mean you can access it from the cellphone, it's ####ing badass.

[SlaughterX]

You do not have a 20 or 60GB system...

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=288359

[Dead to Rights]

Seems the Xbox 360 is suffering the same freezing problem as the PS3.

Rockstar Support: No GTA Freeze Fix in Sight (http://kotaku.com/385183/rockstar-support-no-gta-freeze-fix-in-sight)

You can read more on the 360 issue in the link Slaughter posted.

[Arjuna]

No ####, was just saying. Also Slaughter someone made a thread on /v/ that their 360 RRoD on them. Someone told him to post a picture, he did and a lot of the fanboys raged. It was pretty hilarious.

http://i29.tinypic.com/2l5grb.jpg

Maybe you just forgot to mention it?

[SlaughterX]

I didn't read the thread until now, I had only heard of problems on older PS3 systems. I've played it for quite a few hours already on my 360 and haven't had a freeze yet...

[Raithgar]

So far I havn't encountered any freezing (60gig).. The only problem I encountered is with linking my Rockstar Social account with my PS3 account (the 360 link had no problems).

EDIT: Started getting the freezing, but "in game" and not durring the opening vid. Thankfully it clears up @ 1/2 a minute and gameplay resumes. Have yet to need to restart the system.

[Raithgar]

LOL, I'm not sure how I pulled this off.. But I seemed to have corupted my profile on GTA4. Originaly I thought it was the game saves (symptom: The loading screen was taking 5 minutes and still didn't load the file).

So like an idiot.. I deleated them, only to find out that it was the profile and not the saves that had an error. What really sucks is I was @ the 25% mark, and killed all the "flying rats" on the first island.

Now I have to start from the begining again.

[DarkShear]

Now I have to start from the begining again.

Ouch.

[SlaughterX]

That sucks, why did you get the PS3 version, don't care about the DLC?

Anyway I am 40% done (takes around 60 to beat the game I hear), unlocked the last part of the island last night. Loving the game, the attention to detail is amazing. The aiming system sucks, but that's one of the few compliants I have about the game.

[Raithgar]

LOL, I originaly went for the PS3 version to destroy by brother in law in DM (he only has a PS3), But intended to pick up a 360 copy as well (wich I picked up today).

[zippedpinhead]

I got the PS3 version because DLC sucks when you have the chance of getting an RRoD.

RRoD chance does not outweigh DLC

(I play my 360 only when necessary and even then only for short periods of time...I've had one RRoD to many and the current system has a fan that is screaming like a banshee)

[Sei]

I ended up getting PS3 because I am opossed to paying for peer to peer online play, and I don't get downloadable content anyway.

So one version has online, and one doesn't. Simple enough.

[Raithgar]

The RRoD can be a downer in reguards to which version to buy. Thankfully MS's latest policy changes mandate that you get back the same console you sent in for any repairs (one of the earlier curses of RRoD was you tend to receive a referb back, which knocked out your DRM protected DLC unless you played online).

I dont recall if there was any exceptions to this in the event the original console was "beyond repair".. But I do agree that the RRoD itself can lead people to second guess making a hefty investment on a 360. But on the bright side.. It took over a year for mine to RRoD.. with 12+hr game time per day.

LOL I still remember when DTR was yelling at me to turn the 360 off to show some love to the PS3.

[EvilHero]

I decided to pick this up since its been getting such incredible praise. This is my first GTA game and I have to say that I was completely wrong about this series and take back everything i've ever said about it. This is probably one of the best games i've played in a long, long time.

I find it fun in a different way from RPGs. More of a leisurley play where I can do pretty much whatever I want.

I picked up the 360 version btw.

[massaker]

Yeah it deserves the tens. Bully was also masterful.

[DarkShear]

First GTA game? Wow.

The series is a lot of fun and for the reasons you mentioned. Some have their flaws but they are all fun.

[Raithgar]

I decided to pick this up since its been getting such incredible praise. This is my first GTA game and I have to say that I was completely wrong about this series and take back everything i've ever said about it. This is probably one of the best games i've played in a long, long time.

I find it fun in a different way from RPGs. More of a leisurley play where I can do pretty much whatever I want.

I picked up the 360 version btw.

If your up for similar sandbox love for your 360, Then I would recomend Saints Row.. It was one of the few "GTA" clones that almost lives up to the source (in some parts, even better).

or if you want a more comic book feel.. Crackdown (formaly known as the Halo 3 Beta/Game bundle).. Although this one has a leveling feature (driving, weapons, and so on).

[Xeo]

I can't deal with the "Ganstalicious" aspect of Saints Row. I just get into that sort of ####. It took me a lot of patience to fully enjoy San Andreas because of this, but San Andreas steps away from this angle a bit later into the game, so it was more doable. This is also why I can't get into the Def Jam fighting game series...can't do it.

But then again, I suppose the majority of gamers couldn't get into a fighting game based on my musical preference either. I can imagine it now...

"Rob Halford VS. Jesper Stromblad!"

Yeah...

[Yazarc]

I decided to pick this up since its been getting such incredible praise. This is my first GTA game and I have to say that I was completely wrong about this series and take back everything i've ever said about it. This is probably one of the best games i've played in a long, long time.

I find it fun in a different way from RPGs. More of a leisurley play where I can do pretty much whatever I want.

I picked up the 360 version btw.

I've played previous games in the series, but this is really the first that I just can't put down. I also picked up the 360 version.....This game truly does deserve all the praise it's getting.

[Dead to Rights]

My ballin' copy came today courtesy of UPS. I will probably start it later on tonight or tomorrow.

[SlaughterX]

Well I just beat the game, went the revenge route, of course. Here are my stats...

http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb181/Genma_Gouki/stats.jpg

Got an achievement for beating it under 30 hours... now I need to beat the rest of the co-op missions and I can shelf or trade this game until the DLC comes out, then becomes free. Great game though, worth the wait. The end credits take forever, but I guess that makes sense considering the amount of work that had to be put in to such a huge game with so much detail...

[Raithgar]

The patch was just released for the PS3 version (hopefully will fix the loading error).

And the Rockstar Social just extended there 100% contest till May 19th (if you get the 100% by that time, to my understanding.. Rockstar sends you the "Key to Liberty City")

[Sayckeone]

Played a little of this yesterday and I have two complaints; the camera is annoying as ####(jerks around too much, and constantly auto-pans behind you, I want full 100% control), and the radio stations are horrendous. 3D GTA's old camera was perfectly fine, and their soundtracks where always great. What happened?

[DivineTrinity]

The patch was just released for the PS3 version (hopefully will fix the loading error).

And the Rockstar Social just extended there 100% contest till May 19th (if you get the 100% by that time, to my understanding.. Rockstar sends you the "Key to Liberty City")

I heard about the contest being extended, but the site for some reason won't let me access the special section for 100% percent players, even though I already achieved it.

Ah, well might as well waste my time with multiplayer now, since I'm bored with single player now.

[Raithgar]

Have you tried to re-link your account to the Rockstar Social.. I havn't been able to test it myself yet, but it was one of the recomended work arounds they posted.

[DivineTrinity]

I tried re-linking my account, but we shall see if it works. They also claim they are suffering from heavy loads, so statistics may not appear quickly at the site.

[Dead to Rights]

So have any of you guys tried the multiplayer yet? How does it hold up? I'm nearing the end in single player by the way (at least I think so).

[jasquare]

So have any of you guys tried the multiplayer yet? How does it hold up? I'm nearing the end in single player by the way (at least I think so).
I tried the multiplayer on the 360 version, it was alright. I mean it worked, unlike the PS3 version half the time (at least that's what I see people complaining about over on some other boards I visit), but I just wasn't really into it. I don't know, the single player is where it's at :lol:

Either way, I kinda gave up on it for awhile, as soon as I started The Answer in FES, I was hooked and that consumed my gaming time until I finished 8)

[Raithgar]

I've only tried a Deathmatch on the PS3.. was disconnected shortly after my first kill. Have yet to do any multiplayer on the 360*

*Would really like to finish the game (100%) before getting into any MP.. or at least until after the 19th

[DarkShear]

Video review of GTA4 from zero punctuation.

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/editorials/zeropunctuation/4902-Zero-Punctuation-Grand-Theft-Auto-IV

[Dead to Rights]

I played about 45 minutes or so of GTA IV online, and boy was I disappointed.

Cops N' Crooks - I played several matches with four people, yes, four ####ing people!
Team Deathmatch - Four people again.
Free Mode - Six people.

I didn't try any other modes, but #### I wasn't expecting the online community to be a ghost town.

[EvilHero]

I didn't try any other modes, but #### I wasn't expecting the online community to be a ghost town.

Thats pretty suprising, on the 360 this is the top played game on XBL.

[Raithgar]

Video review of GTA4 from zero punctuation.

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/editorials/zeropunctuation/4902-Zero-Punctuation-Grand-Theft-Auto-IV

I try to catch this guys show weekly.. But for some odd reason, whenever I watch it, I think Sayck could do a better job dissecting a game.

But on a side note.. I failed at finishing the 100% for the Rockstar Contest. So I'm now available for MP on both the 360/PS3 (warning: I have no mic for the 360)

[Sayckeone]

^I'm not sure how to take that...

[Futomimi]

^ He's complimenting how critical you are of games, saying that it makes a better review, I think.

[Sayckeone]

Oh. Um, thanks.

[Raithgar]

LOL, Futomimi hit the nail on the head.. Didn't think there was any negitive way to take it.. My bad

[Sayckeone]

There probably isn't. :P

I'm no good at reviewing. I suck at gathering all my thoughts together. Plus, I would probably end up just babbling on and on.

[Dead to Rights]

I didn't try any other modes, but #### I wasn't expecting the online community to be a ghost town.

Thats pretty suprising, on the 360 this is the top played game on XBL.

That does not surprise me. I played some more multiplayer today with the same results, and I'm still really surprised and disappointed, it's not like the PS3 version sold poorly, so what gives? I decided to look around on a few message boards and found quotes like these "3 weeks in and it seems like nobody plays on line anymore. So much for that revolution..." everywhere. I guess I'm not the only one.

[Sayckeone]

DTR, if you see me on, hit me up.

[Raithgar]

Odd DTR, if your going with the PS3 verwsion.. my bro in law keeps getting into full rooms. Even the one game I was in had @ 10.

I should be onilne (PS3) tonight.. If you see me.. tag me (But if you see me playing Pixeljunk Monsters.. that means I'm still babysitting the nephew= no MP)

[Dead to Rights]

DTR, if you see me on, hit me up.

No doubt. I think I sent you and Al an invite the other night, at least I think I did? I really have no idea how the friend invite thing works. I did it from the in game cell phone?

Odd DTR, if your going with the PS3 verwsion.. my bro in law keeps getting into full rooms. Even the one game I was in had @ 10.

Which mode was it though? I've noticed more players seem to hang around in the free mode matches. I think that is probably the worst mode to play, unless you're playing with buddies since there is no real goal other than just kicking back and ####ing around.

[Sayckeone]

DTR, if you see me on, hit me up.

No doubt. I think I sent you and Al an invite the other night, at least I think I did? I really have no idea how the friend invite thing works. I did it from the in game cell phone?
Hmm... I don't remember getting anything. I may have been away from my Triple.

[Starky27]

DTR, if you see me on, hit me up.

No doubt. I think I sent you and Al an invite the other night, at least I think I did? I really have no idea how the friend invite thing works. I did it from the in game cell phone?
When you invite someone they get a little text that pops up above the map that just says 'Invite Received'. Though in my experience I don't know if there's a specific amount of time you need to respond, since most of the times I get around to saving so I can go into multiplayer, the invite has expired by then. AFAIK there's no other way to join games that your friends are already in, but I haven't really bothered playing the online modes too much.

[Raithgar]

Odd DTR, if your going with the PS3 verwsion.. my bro in law keeps getting into full rooms. Even the one game I was in had @ 10.

Which mode was it though? I've noticed more players seem to hang around in the free mode matches. I think that is probably the worst mode to play, unless you're playing with buddies since there is no real goal other than just kicking back and ####ing around.

He tends to bounce accross the board, but to my knowlage he dosn't bother with the free mode. Laely he's been aiming at more of the traditional deathmatches. something about a prision, rocket launchers, 1 sec respawn, and "near" if that makes any sence.

As for myself.. it was a basic death match. nothing fancy.. but also before any patches where released

[SlaughterX]

http://image-002.yo2cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/94/9457/2008/07/dsc00560.jpg

[Sanctine]

I'm actually thinking of picking up the PC version, as well. GTA4 is one of the best games I've ever played.

[SlaughterX]

So the PC version has been pushed back to 12/02. It will also be a Games For Windows Live title, so we should expect the same exclusive download content (that also has been pushed back) as the 360.

http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3171210

http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/bigboxshots/0/952150_110166_front.jpg

Here are some impressions from the PC version...

http://www.1up.com/do/previewPage?cId=3171056&p=1

Suddenly I'm interested in replacing my 360 copy.

[Sei]

Have there been details on what exactly the DLC is going to be? I haven't really heard a lot about it in a while.

[massaker]

Wern't they teasing about zombies lately. Some outbreak maybe. Also rumored a new city.

http://www.joystiq.com/2008/04/19/rumor-gta-iv-dlc-may-include-entirely-new-cities/

http://www.joystiq.com/2008/10/23/rumor-gta-iv-dlc-brings-quarantine-zombies/

Favourite game ever.

[SlaughterX]

Finally some details of the DLC coming next year...

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/gaming/2008-11-19-gta-damned_N.htm

[SlaughterX]

$20 price for the DLC confirmed...

http://www.gamestop.com/Catalog/ProductDetails.aspx?product_id=73068

[Yazarc]

$20? No thanks.......

[Sei]

I'll wait for a review on this, but 20? Probably pass.

[SlaughterX]

First trailer!

http://gamevideos.1up.com/video/id/22995

[SlaughterX]

Lost & the Damned preview @ 1up!

http://www.1up.com/do/previewPage?cId=3172419

[Constraint]

I don't like the multiplayer at all.

[Saburo Hikari]

I hated the GTA series for obvious reasons. But after reading up on the story and how realistic the world was, I decided to give GTAIV a shot.

I made a good choice. It's now on my top ten games of 2008 list, although Persona 4 and Valkyria Chronicles still takes the cake. :P

[SlaughterX]

Free 3 month Xbox Live Gold card with Lost & Damned purchase!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fgp%2Ffeatur e.html%3Fie%3DUTF8%26ref%255F%3Damb%255Flink%255F8 3604291%255F1%26docId%3D1000337341&tag=1upcom0f-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=390957

Also new screens!

http://xboxlive.ign.com/articles/950/950181p1.html

[Constraint]

Thanks for the heads up, Slaughter.
But damn, the DLC is out already?!

[SlaughterX]

It comes out this Tuesday... here's a preview (http://www.1up.com/do/previewPage?cId=3172770) of the new MP modes @ 1up, and another at GameSpot (http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/action/grandtheftautoivthelostanddamned/news.html?sid=6204576&tag=topslot;thumb;1).

[SlaughterX]

1up (http://www.1up.com/do/reviewPage?cId=3172809) review, IGN single playerreview (http://xboxlive.ign.com/articles/954/954427p1.html), and GameSpot (http://www.gamespot.com/news/blogs/review-blog/909185210/26782744/gta-iv-the-lost-and-damned.html?tag=topslot;thumb;1) under review...

[SlaughterX]

GameTrailers (http://www.gametrailers.com/player/45645.html) review.

[SlaughterX]

and the next DLC episode is...

http://gamesblog.ugo.com/cm/ugo/images/gtaiv-ballad-of-gay-tony.JPG (http://ca.sys-con.com/node/977122)

[SickleCellAnemia]

^That's gonna be FAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABULOUS!

[Fatney]

I'm really looking forward to the disc with both DLCs, as I've heard L&D was better than the original game. Ballad of Gay Tony will probably be too (probably the best), so I CAN'T WAITTTTTTT

[SlaughterX]

Ballad of Gay Tony trailer (http://www.gametrailers.com/video/debut-trailer-gta-iv/55294).

[SlaughterX]

And the reviews (http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/xbox360/grandtheftauto4theballadofgaytony?q=gay tony) thus far... it's live (http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/games/media/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d802545407f2/?p=1&of=6&bt=0&sb=1&did=0ccf0004-0000-4000-8000-0000545407f2) now! Downloading...