The Ultimate GTA IV thread, everything you need and want to know!!!

[x240xdrifter]

As the release day closes in towards us, I am growing more and more anxious and excited for this game. In a hapchance of containing this excitement and a huge realization that I have no life, I have compiled a list of things you will see or do in GTA 4. As of right now, previewers are going off the handle with this game. Preview after preview, everyone is shocked at how revolutionary and awesome this game looks, feels, sounds, and acts. Rockstar decided to go back to square one and revamp the series, every, I mean everything has been reworked. So onto what you can expect.

INFO TO KNOW:

- Liberty City was chosen because Rockstar wanted to "reset the series"

- Work on GTA IV began November 2004, almost immediately after San Andreas was released

-Liberty City is "so much more dense and detailed (than San Andreas), not only horizontally but vertically"

- There is no replica of Staten Island because Rockstar felt it wouldn't be much fun to play

- No dead spots, irrelevant space or loading screens whatsoever

- The overall feeling in GTA IV is "of hi-def squalor"

-The game is set in 2008

-It seems that Niko always wears a helmet when riding a motorcycle

-When getting in a car, you now press two buttons to begin driving - one to get in, and one to start the engine

-In some cars you'll find useful items, such as money or a weapon.

-You can still get "wasted" and just like old time you'll respawn at the nearest hospital, minus your weapons and a little cash

-Bullet holes in vehicles and buildings won't disappear immediately

- The mafia will be featured, but not as lead characters

- Pedestrians "move with weight and subtlety" rather than appearing like "the stylised look of past GTAs"

- Vehicles have reflective bodywork and an improved suspension that responds to the road

- Rockstar has replicated at least nine landmarks of New York City, including Times Square, the Empire State, Chrysler, MetLife, and Flatiron buildings, the Statue of Liberty, and the Brooklyn Bridge

- According to Dan Houser, the precision and level of detail of GTA IV far surpasses the previous GTAs

- There will be helicopters, and as said before, no airplanes. Apparently there is only one airport, which is part of the reason for the lack of planes

- "Virtually no returning characters" from previous GTAs because they're either dead or they evolved out from the way the games felt and looked.

- Rockstar wanted to recreate the vibe of actually being in New York City, and they felt able to do that "as well as anyone is doing it in a movie currently"

- GTA4 will feature "No holds barred" satire of American movies, TV, and consumerism, as to be expected

- The soundtrack will be "spanning genres and decades"

- The name of each street is displayed in the bottom right as you enter it, as well as on physical street signs

- Weapons are a precious commodity in GTA IV, and aren't easy to acquire

- In-cab options include skip the trip, sit back and relax, or pay double and the driver will go twice as fast

- Traffic sounds are lifelike, with extremely varied horns and other noises, specific to each type of car

- There is a "seamless connection between interior and exterior environments all modeled in one consistent game world"

- The internet "acts as a discovery tool and an information aggregator" and Niko has his own account he can access anywhere

- There will be over a 100 fake websites you can visit in the in-game internet

- There will be no "fantastical character customization" like in San Andreas, meaning no Niko with a mohawk

- The experience when you play is all about choice and consequence, and the fact that everything you do has weight to it

- You can aim weapons out of your car window while driving using the right analog stick, rather than just straight out the side

- Autosaves execute after every mission, and plenty of safehouses are around the city as well

- You can use your phone to make plans with your friends to go bowling, play darts, billiards, get something to eat, or get drunk. Apparently these are all mini-games.

- Like girlfriends in San Andreas, if you neglect your friends, they get real angry

- Niko's mobile doubles as an MP3 player to listen to music while not in a car

- Multiplayer will be included, but the game will not be a MMORPG because it does not fit the style

-You can precision throw grenades.

-You can break dumpsters, fire hydrants, bushes and park -benches with your car.

-With the new wanted system, it's practically impossible to escape from two police cars and helicopters.

-No boats will stop to help you if you swim in the 50 degree water.

-While sailing with a sailing boat, Niko gets outrun by people jogging on the shore.

-Being chased by police cars and at the same time having a female voice giving directions is priceless.

-A lot of thing resembles to American gangster movies such as The Usual Suspects and Heat.

-When night, ten thousands of lit up windows can be seen in Liberty City.

-It seems that you can breathe in while sniping, for more accuracy.

-The game looks nothing like it did back in March 2007, after trailer 1, the game was looking far from finished, with very unstable FPS count. Now the FPS is amazing all the time, no matter how much going on on the streets.

-When inputting the info in the police databases in cop cars, Niko drives with one hand and operates the computer with the other one.

-Some spotted street names were: North Holland, Ruby street, and Silicon street.

-When driving by, you can occasionally spot peds having problem with their cars, standing and shouting and waving with their arms.At one moment Niko said: "What the hell is wrong with these people?" while driving by in the car.

-Characters' breath can, besides on the street, also be seen when traveling to higher altitudes, like skyscrapers.

-You can hang onto passing boats and climb on board (similar to VCS I guess)

-There is a helicopter-tour place where you can take a tour around LC with a guide, or hire your own helicopters. Or just shoot the guide and steal the heli.

-It took 5 years and 300 people to develop GTA IV.

-The smallest details have been taken into account, from non-working bulbs to newspapers flying in the wind.

-Peds live their lives like any other human. Law Enforcement Agencies will be checking papers, a businessman is walking faster than other peds, a woman is making a phone call in a phone booth, and so on.

-They talk about Liberty City being as big as San Andreas.

-If you commit a very serious crime, the army will be against you. You'll see heavily armed soldiers.

-By keeping good relationships, Niko may have some clues for future missions.

-According to the website, it'll take 100 hours to complete the missions.

-Italians, Puerto Ricans, Russians, Jamaicans, Chinese Triad and Mafia are some of GTAIV's gangs.

-It might take more than one try to start a car or a motorbike.

-While on a motorbike, if you are to crash your helmet may fly off depending on the size of the collision.

-The environment (buildings and such) may be damaged and destroyed depending on how much you fire at it (obviously a rocket launcher-type weapon would do more damage, etc.).

-It took 15 minutes to go through 2/3 of Manhattan with a boat. It took 10 minutes by car to go through Brooklyn and Central Park.

-The pedestrian population density changes between the place/borough you are in.

-If you walk around the street with a gun in your hand, pedestrians who have a phone can call the police.

- Xbox 360 and PS3 will both sport Downloadable Content, but Xbox 360 gets 2 exclusive episodes

-Niko Bellic was apparently inspired by a favourite driver from Rockstar Games' car service

-The total number of radio stations is 14

-Car engines may stall after taking a lot of damage, requiring you to escape on foot

-Lazlow is finally confirmed to be returning on the radio (something we long expected)

-Emergency units respond in real time, this is useful for procuring an emergency vehicle - call them to report something, then head over to the station while they're all attending the scene

There is Still tons of info out there, I seriously can fit it all in here! but this should be enough to hold thoses who are excited over. Heres a list of all my sources

http://www.gtawarehouse.com

http://www.gtagaming.com

http://www.thegtaplace.com

54 days and counting!

Modified by x240xdrifter at 5:10 PM 3/5/2008
Modified by x240xdrifter at 5:10 PM 3/5/2008

[MinisterofDOOM]

Good stuff.

One thing stands out as potentially wrong, though:

-They talk about Liberty City being as big as San Andreas.

This is exactly opposite of what I've read in GTA-dev-team interviews...including Houser himself. What's been said many times is that it is NOT as big as San Andreas, but is more dense and has more content in a smaller area.

[x240xdrifter]

good eye! That is incorrect

Some news that might make you giggle:

As you can see attention to detail has been a key factor in the game. New features are found out periodically that just blow you away, and when you think it cant get any more detailed then this, Rockstar has annoucned that they are only reveiling 30% of ingame features and content!

thats right!

Rockstar is only going to show the public before release 30% of new content/features!!! leaving you with a massive 70% of stuff to find on your own!

[x240xdrifter]

[Asmar]

Can't wait to get it.

[s13jus10]

soooo I wanna get this game, but I honestly know nothing about it nor have I ever even PLAYED any past GTA titles.

I know it's "online multiplayer", but what exactly does that mean? will it be a co-op campaign kinda thing? it says it won't be an MMO but if it's not co-op campaign, then that's all I can picture it to be..an MMO.

[MinisterofDOOM]

Well...there are far more choices than just coop campaign and MMO. MMO indicates nothing as far as gameplay. MMO just means "lots of people" and usually implies some sort of persistent world. I doubt GTA would have either, since the setting isn't conducive and it just wouldn't be fun.

I can picture a lot of multiplayer options. Previous GTA games have already done a few (San Andreas had the tag-along girlfriend stuff, LCS and VCS had various competitive modes).

The ideal mode as far as I'm concerned would be no mode at all.That is to say, allow multiple players to have the full run of the city just as they would in the singleplayer game. Even if missions were locked out for it I'd be okay with that, since I'd be more inclined to do multiplayer with the intent of "just screwing around" anyway. My guess, though, is that it'll be pretty seamless free coop with missions included. I believe that's what Volition has planned for Saints Row 2.

Imagine the fun that could be had with a couple friends and everyone in a different car. Demo derby, pedestrian corral, group high speed chase (picking on the cop cars for once!)...

Large numbers of players just wouldn't contribute well to fun in a GTA multiplayer setting if you ask me (unless it's some sort of set team-based competitive mode like DM, CTF, etc.). A handful of players would provide for a much more entertaining environment, especially if it's "free" (do what you want, not necessarily competitive or cooperative).

[x240xdrifter]

Heres some more info regarding Multiplayer:

Total of 15 game modes to be in the Game-Deathmatch + Team Deathmatch: 16 players-GTA Race: 16 players-Mafiya Work: 8 players-Team Mafiya Work: 16 players (in up to 8 separate teams of 2 players)-Cops n' Crooks: 16 players (in two teams of up to 8 players each)-Hangman's Noose: 4 players-Free roam: 16 playersFor more info on what these game modes are go here: http://www.gta4.net/multiplayer/The game appears to use the Eastern European/Russian spelling of Mafia - "Mafiya"The magazine maintains like many others that the differences between the PS3 and XB360 versions of the game are undetectable "with the naked eye"Multiplayer games are accessed from the in-game cell phone in a similar manner to that of Burnout Paradise's quick launch menuThe host can control the time of day that the match takes placeThe host also controls the location of the match by choosing from a predefined set of levels in Liberty CityLevels sampled by editors included Colony Island, Francis International Airport and BrokerPolice intervention can be turned on or off by the host prior to starting a gameMultiplayer character customization is very detailed - you can change what the character is wearing right down to their choice of eyewear and accessoriesThe more you play the game the more flexibility you have in customizing your character, meaning that it's easy to tell how experienced a player is just by looking at how zany their character isThe magazine claims that the character and the game camera are "quite clumsy to control sometimes"The magazine's editors claim that the attention to detail stretches all the way to the pedestrians, who now have a "sense of purpose" in the game worldWeapons are said to be much more difficult to acquire than in previous gamesSimple shopping at Ammunation won't fulfill all of your needs. You must make friends with dodgy dealers who can get their hands on some shady weaponry in order to succeed in single playerCops now have a line of sight, meaning that if you're doing something nasty a little way behind their back, they won't react like they would in previous titles. This is offset by a greater number of cops patrolling the city, thanks in part to the power of the new generation consolesPay n' Spray is said to no longer wipe out your wanted level. Whether there are any respray garages in the game remains to be seen

More info to be had too, just search http://gtagaming.com as well other fansites.

The official site has been updated on the 20th. Go there to check out some new screens and radio station samples. Also the 4th and Final trailer is Due out Thrus. the 27th. Be sure to catch it, it will be longer then the other trailers and should give you a good sense of what to expect in the game, as well more clues into the storyline

basically I am head over heels for this game, I have been tediously keeping eye and counting down to the launch, and I am so excited!

[s13jus10]

Okay cool... you guys filled it out for me perfectly.

based on the link that x240xdrifter gave above, this game will basically have everything haha. co-op campaign, team deathmatch, cops and robbers, race mode, not to mention character customization.... I mean WOW

gives yourselves a pat on the back.. you've turned me into a believer. I'm picking up this game for SURE.

man, I'm seriously excited for this game now haha

[x240xdrifter]

hahaha congrats, you've been biten by the GTA bug

I seriously cant wait, this is the game of the year no doubt. Alone the attention to detail amazes me, and LC will just be a huge playground for me. I am going to clock alot of hours on the game. I mean if you take the time and read everything you can about this game ( which is what I have done since I have no life) then your jaw will just be on the floor. Its just the waiting is killing me right now. However, GT5 Prolouge is out Apr. 15th, and I am debating on wether or not to pick this up, to kill some time.

Its the year of the PS3 - GTA IV, GT5 Prolouge, MGS4, and Final Fantasy then eventually GT5.

[xekushnr]

Just something else I read today...usually the GTA games have a great soundtrack, and R* is making it easier for us to get those songs this time around:

Hot on the heels of the Rockstar Games Social Club announcement comes further news of its functionality. Rockstar Games has joined forced with Amazon to provide a music download service for the Grand Theft Auto IV soundtrack.

Any currently playing track in the game can be 'marked' for future reference, by means of the personal assistant / mobile phone gadget in Niko's possession. As we have highlighted previously, the mobile phone will be one of the main ways of keeping contacts and receiving missions in the game. A dial at any time to the number 'ZIT-555-0100' will return the title of the track that is currently playing. Users registered in the Social Club network will also receive a link to download the track, free of DRM protection, from Amazon.com.

Never failing to secure smashing soundtracks for their games, Rockstar has clearly been able to pitch an online music store concept to its recording label partners. Generating cash flow after the initial purchase of the game in this manner definitely constitutes "an innovative new revenue stream for artists." (Ronn Werre from EMI Music) We expect there will also be a soundtrack CD sold separately, as has been the case with previous Grand Theft Auto titles.

On another note, the fourth and final trailer (titled Good Lord What Are You Doing?) is out now on the official website. You can watch it here.

[x240xdrifter]

On another note, the fourth and final trailer (titled Good Lord What Are You Doing?) is out now on the official website. You can watch it here.

what did you think of that trailer? badass man, badass! I am going nuts, I need this games ASAP!

[x240xdrifter]

.......wow....just wow , un-****ing-belivable


Modified by x240xdrifter at 11:19 PM 3/27/2008

[Loki]

33 flippin days.

[S3t0_S13]

ZOMFGkant wait!!!1!

[xekushnr]

Here's an 11 page article on the making of GTA IV and how they are basically building the game from scratch.

http://uk.xbox360.ign.com/arti....html

[xekushnr]

Another article along the same line as the one in my last post titled "Pushing the Limits".

http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/863/863435p1.html

[x240xdrifter]

read both, very very cool, 28 days left!

[HashiriyaS14]

Am I the only one who can't really get excited about this game?

I mean, GTAIII was groundbreaking and I loved it, but since then I haven't really been able to get into them anymore. The whole "do anything, go anywhere" was neat at first but after that it seems to just be more minutae, more missions, more of the same.

I'm wetting my pants waiting for Killzone 2 though.

[Red coupe]

read both, very very cool, 28 days left!

Only 3 days....

I just saw a video review from IGN that rated it 10/10 something he said he hadn't done in a decade. The reviewer said a couple times it was one of the best games he had ever played.

Almost time...

[S3t0_S13]

HOW BOMB IS THIS GAME!?!?!?!

it took a while to get used toits differentits more realistici love it !!!

[Nali]

HOW BOMB IS THIS GAME!?!?!?!

it took a while to get used toits differentits more realistici love it !!!

Yeah when they said they were reseting the series they werent lying. Its become way more realistic, and my first loading i played for 5 hours straight.The whole city is so detailed and vibrant i can believe they managed to fit all that on a DVD9 im so impressed by the level of polish the game has.

Im sure everyone has had some crazy drift sessions with friends after some burnouts the tires get nice and slippery. But dont over do it, cuz they pop eventually. Found out the hard way, actually flipped the car fly out the window and had it land on my head. DEAD

I do have some complaints though and i dont know if its just me1.the driving physics just feel wrong, the cars have zero grip, when im just messing around its fun but when im on 4 stars i want that grip back.

2. Euphoria doesnt always work, i have Niko fall down for ten minutes straight before finally dieing from and unknown impact.

3. Glitches due to graphical excellence, the game looks amazing, but because of this driving fast can lead to problems.....POP IN

Please note the 10 minutes was just a hyperbole

[Hijacker]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/m...11230/

here's a neat little site that has some comparison photos of NYC and Liberty City.