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Grand Theft Auto IV Preview for Xbox 360 (X360)

Grand Theft Auto IV Preview for Xbox 360 (X360)

GTA: The Next Generation

March 28, 2008 – The Grand Theft Auto (GTA) series has come a long way from its somewhat humble beginnings. The first three GTAs were largely overlooked by most because of their top-down approach to the visuals. While they may have had interesting mission structure and some brief glimpses of future greatness, they were not as successful as they could have been.

Grand Theft Auto IV screenshot

GTA III made the leap from the limited top-down world of the previous titles to the more varied and realized open-world 3D sandbox that has now almost become a standard in many video games. GTA III not only created a new genre of gaming, it also succeeded in being one of the most innovative, recognizable, and copied games of all time. While companies will always quickly scramble to copy amazing ideas, Rockstar continues to change the game to stay ahead of their competitors.

As much as Rockstar changed gaming when it took the GTA series from a top-down perspective to a 3D open world, GTA IV looks like it may have a similarly amazing impact. Unlike Vice City and San Andreas, GTA IV seems less like a sequel and more like a refined reimagining of the GTA series as a whole. Instead of giving players increasingly more land and cities to explore, GTA IV instead focuses on just one city, Liberty City (2.0). While Liberty City may have already made an appearance in GTA III, it has been completely redesigned and more realized. Instead of just a mass of buildings that you must steer around while traveling from destination to destination, most buildings will either allow entry or vertical scaling. Opening the GTA world to vertical exploration has the potential to change almost any mission that you are given. Descending on an unsuspecting pimp or sniping a guard from a nearby rooftop are now options that were not previously possible.

Aside from the verticality of the city adding a new dimension to GTA, relationships and character interaction also appear to be a large focus of GTA IV. Instead of the previous title’s ‘find the blip that gives me missions’ approach to characters, GTA IV’s characters seem almost human and will require more interaction then just picking up your next mission. One of the major changes that help to make this possible is your cell phone. Your cell phone will pretty much be the most important part of your inventory. You can use your cell to get missions, restart missions, take pictures, listen to music, and most importantly, remain in contact with the people you meet. Some contacts will be more high maintenance than others, but all will become angry with you if they don’t hear from you for long periods of time. This can be avoided by just checking in with them or even inviting them to a game of darts at the bar around the corner.

Grand Theft Auto IV screenshot

Along with its other applications, the cell phone can also be used to call the police, an ambulance, or a fire truck. Since you are a criminal in every GTA game, it may initially seem that calling the police may not be the best course of action. This remains true until you realize that you can use them as a distraction or as backup if numerous enemies are overwhelming you. You can even just call them up so that you can steal one of their cruisers once they arrive at the scene. Not only is stealing a police car still satisfying, but in GTA IV you will be able to access the vehicle’s onboard computer to research various characters and mission targets.

The police cars, in addition to the other vehicles present, will also have GPS systems that will help you to easily find your way around town. The GPS will set up markers on the map that you can follow to arrive at your destination. The system will also automatically readjust your route if you happen to miss a turn or two, so driving will be much simpler than in previous installments.

Grand Theft Auto IV screenshot

Another major change in GTA IV comes in its gunplay. After being heavily ridiculed in its last generation iterations, the targeting system has received an overhaul. Pulling a trigger fully will target your closest enemy, while pulling it halfway will enter you into an over-the-shoulder aiming view. This new method of aiming seems like it will be a vast improvement over the previously atrocious targeting system that was available, even if it may take a little time to get used to it. GTA IV will also be borrowing the new favorite feature found in most current shooting games: the ability to take cover. While it will most likely not be at the same level as Rainbow Six Vegas or Gears of War, the ability to use cover in GTA IV will most likely change the way gunfights have occurred in the series to date. No longer will you have to take a clip full of enemy fire while trying to acquire your target; just crouch down behind a barrel or wall, and think about your next move. Taking cover is nothing new at this point, perhaps even being overused slightly, but it will still be a very welcome addition to GTA IV to make the gunplay more realistic and engaging.

Grand Theft Auto IV screenshot

While Rockstar remains tightlipped about its online plans for GTA IV, we can definitely expect a very impressive online experience once the game is released at the end of April. Xbox 360 owners, sorry PS3 diehards, will also be able to get some exclusive and sizeable downloadable content down the line that should further cement GTA IV’s well-deserved must-buy status. With all of the major and minor changes being implemented, GTA will be quite different from this point forward. Although many things are changing; the witty humor, excellent characters, and amazing experience that one expects from a GTA will remain intact if not immensely improved upon. I know we’ve all had to wait longer than expected, (GTA IV was originally announced for October 2007), but it definitely looks like GTA IV will easily be worth the wait. Soon we will all get the chance to help Niko attain his version of the American Dream while spending numerous hours playing around in Rockstar’s amazing new sandbox.

Game Features:

  • The latest entry in the groundbreaking Grand Theft Auto series!
  • Revisit a newly revamped and redesigned Liberty City, where the old is made new again.
  • Future episodic content will keep the gameplay fresh.
  • No loading times. After the initial loading screen, you’ll never have to wait for the game to load again!


  • The Original Sandbox Game Returns

    April 19, 2007 – There is no doubt that Grand Theft Auto has had an incredible influence on gaming. Ever since the release and runaway success of GTA III, games have been attempting to recreate the magic sandbox formula that GTA introduced. Copycat game after game has made promises that you can “Go anywhere, do anything” to try and capitalize on the formula that GTA made famous. While we’ve tolerated (and even enjoyed) some of the copycat games, we’ve all been patiently waiting for that GTA magic to resurface and give us the innovation that we know can only come from Rockstar. And after a long wait, it seems that we will finally have it when the long awaited Grand Theft Auto IV releases later this year.

    Grand Theft Auto IV screenshot

    Grand Theft Auto IV, according to Rockstar, will be the leap that GTA III was. Before GTA III 3-D sandbox world, all GTA games were top-down driving games. Although they had a cult following and were undeniably fun, they lacked the openness that GTA III is famous for. Rockstar is promising that GTA IV will wow us just as GTA III did, and for many of us that had a jaw-dropping epiphany playing as Claude and realizing the options and freedom available to us, that is a tall claim. But if anyone can deliver, the controversial developers at Rockstar can.

    GTA IV takes us back to Liberty City, the setting for GTA III. This is fitting, since Rockstar is starting over in a sense, remaking the game and the series from the ground up. There is a palpable sense of disappointment from some fans, however, since Liberty City is the only location in the game. After San Andreas, which comprised an entire state with diverse scenery and different towns and cities, most people were expecting a much larger scale. Some are disappointed that there isn’t a new city to explore and that we’re being forced back into the same location we’ve seen a few times already. Rockstar, however, is confident in their choice and promises that we’ve never seen Liberty City like this before. The pseudo New York has been remade, recreating four out of the five boroughs of New York and also including New Jersey to boot. The game area will be just slightly short of the size of San Andreas, but Rockstar promises that every area will be crammed with detail, unlike the open spaces from the rural areas of San Andreas.

    Grand Theft Auto IV screenshot

    The story this time follows Niko Bellic, a man of Eastern European descent. Niko has come to Liberty City because of the request of his cousin, Roman, who has painted a picture of wealth and luxury to Niko. However, when Niko arrives in the faux New York, he sees that his cousin isn’t living as lavishly as he claims, and is actually in trouble with various criminal elements. Since Roman isn’t nearly as tough as him, it falls to Niko to protect and aid his lying cousin and sets the stage for what will doubtless be another Rockstar story filled with twists, double crosses, and humor.

    One of the primary complaints about the GTA series has always been the graphics. Even though Vice City and San Andreas improved the visuals slightly, most gamers felt as if the GTA series was a set of fun but ugly sandbox games. The characters all had block hands with no distinction for fingers and most of the visuals were sub-par, which was probably due to the enormous content crammed into each game. With Grand Theft Auto IV, however, any complaints about the visuals will be laid to rest. GTA IV has come into the next gen in a large way, with stunning graphics that leave its vilified visual legacy in the past. Rockstar is using the RAGE engine, which stands for Rockstar’s Advanced Game Engine. RAGE powered the critically acclaimed and visually stunning Rockstar Presents Table Tennis, and the advancement is obvious in GTA IV as well. There is so much detail in everything, with awesome lighting effects, varied pedestrians that seem much more alive than in previous GTAs, detailed buildings and vehicles, and an eerily accurate facsimile of New York (with Rockstar’s satirical changes, of course).

    Grand Theft Auto IV screenshot

    In addition to making the game look better, Rockstar is also doing their best to make the game feel better with a new physics engine and animation. Characters all move as if they have true weight and dimensions. This extends to altering the character’s gait over areas that aren’t level, to climbing over obstacles, and to simply walking. Niko and pedestrians seem to have presence, to be more than just animated characters on a game screen.

    Rockstar also promises a new level of freedom in the gameplay. While exact details of how this works hasn’t been revealed, Rockstar claims that there is a new level of interactivity with clients and NPCs. There are different ways to talk to people, including in person, over the phone, and some yet unrevealed ways. Rockstar is promising that GTA IV will give the player a greater sense of freedom than previous iterations.

    Grand Theft Auto IV screenshot

    One area where a lot of fans are disappointed is in the confirmation that there are no planes. Learning to fly a plane was an enjoyable experience for a lot of gamers in San Andreas, so they’re understandably upset to learn that planes won’t be returning in GTA IV. The decision to leave planes out was made because it didn’t make sense since the game takes place in only one city. Rockstar also wants Niko to stay in character, so he won’t have access to any ridiculous means of transportation that the average tough criminal wouldn’t use, which means we probably won’t see him on a skateboard or a moped.

    One of the more exciting and shocking elements of the game isn’t even a part of the gameplay. After the initial loading screen, Rockstar promises we won’t have to pause for the game to load again. This includes the shift between interior and exterior locations. This is an amazing claim and should help make the gameplay experience much more seamless than the average game.

    Grand Theft Auto IV screenshot

    Multiplayer has been confirmed, although details haven’t been released yet. The multiplayer will be complementary to the full game, though, although we don’t know if it will be a co-op or versus experience yet. Exclusive downloadable episodic content has also been confirmed for the Xbox 360 to keep the gameplay fresh long after the game has been finished.

    Even before any information was released, GTA IV was a frontrunner for game of the year. Now, as we get more and more information about the game, October doesn’t seem as if it can get here fast enough. With its newly revamped graphics, new level of freedom, and multiplayer, GTA IV is ready to retake the sandbox game crown. If it’s as great a leap as GTA III was, we may even see a new approach to gaming birthed.

    Game Features:

  • The latest entry in the groundbreaking Grand Theft Auto series!
  • Revisit a newly revamped and redesigned Liberty City, where the old is made new again.
  • Future episodic content will keep the gameplay fresh.
  • No loading times. After the initial loading screen, you’ll never have to wait for the game to load again!

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