Grand Theft Auto IV

By Tom Bramwell Published 15 April, 2008

Freedom.

Grand Theft Auto IV's 29th April arrival on PS3 and 360 has been widely, not to mention voluminously heralded as the defining moment of this generation of consoles. Cruising around Liberty City in high definition on the biggest LCD television in the world, you can easily tell why: where Vice City and San Andreas were only able to extrapolate from the GTA III base - albeit to record-breaking effect - getting to know GTA IV is a steady sequence of pleasant surprises and sensible reconfigurations. Liberty City may be, to borrow from the game's amusing website, "where the American Dream comes to die", but it's also where the Grand Theft Auto series has come to be reborn.

Protagonist Niko Bellic arrives in Liberty City the victim of fittingly youthful naivety; tempted to Rockstar's recreation of the Big Apple by his cousin Roman's false claims of fast cars, fast women and a fast fortune. The domestic reality is more like the inside of a used baked-bean tin, complete with dodgy stains and mould, buried in the depths of a Broker tenement building.

The apartment is a save-point and rest location in the same way that homes were for previous GTA protagonists, but it's still here that GTA IV really asserts its superiority, as Niko sits down at Roman's kitchen table and leans on an elbow, coming to terms with his situation out loud. GTA's characters have always been expressive, despite technical limitations, but this is different: Niko and his fellow citizens have facial muscles that betray their reactions, can look each other in the eye, speak to one another with moving lips, take one another by the hand - and twist arms. Gone is that strange crease and bend in the chest that always betrayed the character model beneath the painted-on shirt buttons; Liberty is a city of believable individuals.

'Grand Theft Auto IV' Screenshot 1

When you begin playing, bridges and tunnels to the other islands are closed due to an undisclosed terrorist threat.

That sense of physicality and dynamism is reinforced as you step onto the streets of Broker, the first of the game's four major boroughs. A light fog blurs the night air as street lamps hang cotton buds of fading light up and down sidewalks dense with rubbish bins, fire hydrants, glass-sheltered bus-stops, sign posts and the occasional coned-off sand-pile of roadworks. Things you'll be breaking later. Pedestrians make their way around, oblivious to your arrival, bumping into the sides of slow-moving cars at cross-walks and muttering, making conversation or remonstrating.

It's cold; you can see the steam on Niko's breath. Later, as you're feeling your way through the streets and alleys surrounding Roman's home, rain starts to fall, covering the road and pavement in a thin film that splashes at Niko's ankles. The water glistens and reflects. Moreover, this is not just a single game environment, but a world of disparate locations; neighbouring streets accomplish the rare feat of distinguishing themselves from one another in name and content without feeling contrived or inconsistent.

'Grand Theft Auto IV' Screenshot 2

As well as the game's traditional brands, you'll encounter lots of new ones, like Fox News piss-take Weasel News - "Reporting the Right news"

More importantly, it's a world where you can do all the things that defined previous GTA games' success, and watch the game push each beyond the limits of past expectations. Car-jacking - eponymous, and simplest - makes the point well enough: parked cars are no longer either locked or not; with a quick glance this way and that, Niko smashes the driver-side window with his elbow and unlocks the door before sliding in and driving away. You can still open a driver's door and haul him or her to the ground, and in the case of resistance, you can send a kick to the neck to elaborate, but if you're pointing a gun at the driver's head, violence won't be necessary: they'll just get out and leg it.

Cars continue to handle somewhere between reality and Hollywood, with the handbrake as important as ever. SUVs with bouncy suspension are still playful, town cars still scream into fast turns and police cruisers are still punchy and quick to accelerate. Motorbikes are still nimble, and now they can do backflips.

But in tune with the extra visual depth to the world outside and the man in the driving seat, the vehicle models themselves range from gleaming, muscular examples of Detroit penis-envy to the shabby everyday of the inner cities. Bonnets still fly away over the roof when they're unhooked and flapping, but otherwise cars and trucks wear their dents in the right places, bullets perforate doors and boots and an accurate shot from behind, heading out through the windscreen, leaves a bloody hole in the glass. Car doors have a physical presence, too, so you can jump in a truck and reverse quickly to take out the cop chasing you through the streets to the door.

Your Rambo-like battles with the law are more elaborate, too. In-car, you can switch between pistol and Uzi, using the left bumper to elbow the driver-side glass outward and spray bullets by aiming with the right analogue stick, or you can switch to grenades, cook them with the left bumper and drop them through the shattered window, clicking the right analogue stick or using it to swivel the camera so that you can observe the impact they have on the underside of a NOOSE (SWAT) riot van. Caution is occasionally worthwhile, though, not least when you're passing giant articulated lorries, which swerve violently if you puncture their tyres with a stray round, spilling their cargo into your path before overturning and creating an immovable obstacle.

'Grand Theft Auto IV' Screenshot 3

You can climb over fences and other obstacles, rather than having to go round them.

On the street, fist-fighting benefits from the ability to block punches with timed button presses, but it's inevitably the gunfighting that gets most attention; a new cover system allows you to throw yourself against a wall, the backside of a car or anything else you might naturally use to protect yourself, moving between adjacent cover points with simple motions. Holding the left trigger locks onto a target and exposes you to make the shot; if you hold the trigger down halfway, you can aim manually, or while locked on you can flick the right stick up or down to adjust for headshots and bullets to the knees. You can blindfire - grenades as well - and a hot-swap system gives you easy access to key weapons: caught in a firefight, you can hold LB and press up on the d-pad to switch to an Uzi or AK, left to opt for a pistol, right for grenades and Molotov cocktails or down for the shotgun.

Rockstar has upgraded police intelligence levels, claiming that you won't be able to stand in a street, bring the law down on your head and survive their concerted attention, and we certainly couldn't. Even armed with assault and sniper rifles, rocket-propelled grenades and a full health and body-armour quota, the desaturated colours of a slow-motion stumble into death were never far away. Fortunately, going out in a blaze of glory sends you to hospital, where you emerge with your weapon arsenal intact.

'Grand Theft Auto IV' Screenshot 4

You replenish your health with food - not just from Burger Shot and its ilk, but from hot dog vendors too.

To offset that, the new "wanted" system is less intensive; when the police are onto you, they establish a search radius around your last known location, indicated on your mini-map, and if you can escape that bubble without catching their attention, you're free, no matter their interest in you. As the swirling cross-shaped rotors of police choppers and the flashing cruiser and NOOSE icons crawl through the mini-map streets, your eyes flick between them and the street outside the car as you try to chart a path to presumed innocence. Switching cars also helps, but the pay-and-spray is no longer the panacea of past GTAs. And the more badly you behave, the larger the search area.

The police aren't so effective that you can't mess with them, then, and the best example of this is pulling up your mobile phone with the d-pad and dialing 911. In effect, you can use the emergency services number to request vehicular toys: a dispatcher sends a cruiser to your location, and once the cops are out of the car you can distract them and take control of it. The police computer within allows you to search for individuals whose names you've been given, whether it's mission-specific or not.

The phone's an interesting tool in general. As well as initiating multiplayer - about which we learned more this week - it can be used to snap pictures, send text messages (you can restart failed missions this way), and get in contact with your acquaintances. As you meet new people - remember, Niko is new to Liberty City - the phonebook gradually fills up. Select one and you can socialise with them, going out to strip clubs or a meal, or going on the lash.

These activities are entertaining in their own way: pissed up with Roman at your side, you move around the streets drunkenly - Euphoria's NaturalMotion catching you with convincing procedural animations as you stumble - and driving is almost impossible, as the screen blurs and tilts and the car slips left and right despite your best efforts. More than a novelty though, building social bonds with key characters is rewarded with extras: free cab rides from Roman, or guns delivered on demand by Little Jacob. When the phone beeps - as it often does to announce calls and text messages - it's worth paying attention.

Remember: everyone's a rat.

Inevitably, it also draws you into missions, which use the game's improved graphics, physics and controls to propose new scenarios: phoning a contact in a park and watching to see who answers, for instance. One that we and others have been shown involves chasing down a police informant, at the behest of a steroid-pumped loudmouth called Brucie. Chasing him down is a matter of following his car and smashing it up so he gets out, before gunning him down, but reducing it to a single sentence overlooks much of its charm: the neatly scripted and choreographed cut-scene that kicks it off, the near misses as you lean out of the window firing your pistol on the freeway, and - in our case at least - the mission-accomplished phone call to Brucie, interrupted rather comically by a pickup truck smashing into Niko and sending him tumbling down the embankment. It's a good thing the game auto-saves after missions.

Euphoria's role throughout - articulating those tumbles, inarticulating drunken behaviour - is influential, and enables a lot of incidental humour. Like PAIN on PS3, there's a guilty delight in throwing Niko's unbreakable - albeit killable - body around the pointed streets of Liberty City, and Rockstar knows this. Smash into a barrier fast enough and Niko will be hurled through the windscreen. Our favourite physics gag, though, is the simplest: walking up the steps outside a municipal building, and shoving a man backward so he tumbles down the stairs. Old-school GTA was crying out for new-school physics, of course, not least in the stunt jumps that are once again sprinkled subtly around the city.

'Grand Theft Auto IV' Screenshot 6

Niko's fairly thick Eastern European accent and plain looks give him an everyman quality that suits the role.

As you'll have read, there's even pleasure to be had just cruising across and around Liberty City. Taxi rides can be taken in rather than skipped over, allowing you to watch them from cinematic camera angles by holding a particular button or just sit inside peering out, asking the driver to flick to a radio station you like. Taking a speedboat from the first island's southernmost shores, you can glide through the water - the range of colours, and its behaviour, is remarkable - staring at the skyscrapers, bridges and ships in the distance. It does things, like the papered foliage, park fountains, glass fragments, GPS route-finding that obeys the law, an entire fictional working Internet - that would be back-of-the-box material in other games, but they're so incidental that the people walking us through the game didn't even mention them.

But then that's always been what GTA did that nobody else really managed: impressing and entertaining you, even when you're not looking for it. In this regard, GTA IV is no exception, but in every other regard, it looks exceptional.

Grand Theft Auto IV is due out on PS3 and Xbox 360 on 29th April.

Picture of Tom.

About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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Comments (151) Latest comment 4 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • christourlord #1 4 years ago

    Hmmm

  • monkie_king #2 4 years ago

    Wait, there's a new GTA coming out?

  • Dizzy #3 4 years ago

    Sounds like a winner.

  • Machiavel #4 4 years ago

    Only one negative: all the music's from Scritti Politti.

  • the_dudefather #5 4 years ago

    "When you begin playing, bridges and tunnels to the other islands are closed due to an undisclosed terrorist threat."

    thats the 'planes are not in the game because of 911' theory out the window

    really shouldn't read that preview,m now hype is coursing through my veins

  • DUFFMAN5 #6 4 years ago

    Hurry up and get released already.

  • thomasbeff #7 4 years ago

    What version did you test, Tom? Any slowdown?

  • Bertie Verified Senior Staff Writer, Eurogamer.net #8 4 years ago

    Inevitably pumped about this. Tried to ignore it, but it is too gosh darn charming.

  • abcd #9 4 years ago

    So it's rubbish then?

  • DUFFMAN5 #10 4 years ago

    sounds like 360, he said bumper button.

  • craigy Verified Senior Developer, Eurogamer Network #11 4 years ago

    The guy in the trailer with the Uzi looks just like Common.

  • Horse #12 4 years ago

    Probably the game I'll buy a new console for.

  • Darren #13 4 years ago

    Hey, what's wrong with Scritti Politti?!? I think they're great personally!!! :o

    Anyways, nice article... shame it didn't go into much detail about the graphics (framerate) and sound side of things though. Still, I'm even more excited about the game now and I'm hoping it captures the excitement I felt when I played GTAIII for the first time on the PS2 all those years ago. A new city might have been nice but hopefully this Liberty City will be totally different from the others I've played. :)

    I'm a little disappointed that the city isn't open from the off though, that means you have to complete missions in order to access everything which kind of goes against the whole sandbox thing in the first place. Sure the previous GTA games were like this but Crackdown and Saints Row showed that they can work fine without artificially locking out parts of the game. Seems like a backward step now... :(

  • Laika #14 4 years ago

    Ahh ahh! Too many games! Got to buy this, MGS4, Haze, R6V2, and the MGS4 heaset. And a bunch of Steam games. Ahh!

  • MBar #15 4 years ago

    / waits for reviews before buying

    Of course, I'm expecting those reviews to be near awesome and hence will be buying, but I wasn't enamoured with San Andreas.

  • coastal #16 4 years ago

    hoochiemomma.

    Good article there Tom, u lucky bastard.

  • Max_Powers #17 4 years ago

    Can't wait!

  • FightingMongoose #18 4 years ago

    Sounds pretty good.

  • monkie_king #19 4 years ago

    The MGS4 headset is a game now?

  • Widge #20 4 years ago

    Sounds great! I may have to pick this up now.... do a Woolworths jobbie.

  • S.J.Rogers #21 4 years ago

    "When you begin playing, bridges and tunnels to the other islands are closed due to an undisclosed terrorist threat."

    Crap..!

    This idea stinks and kills the open world concept for me...

  • DanWhitehead #22 4 years ago

    "To offset that, the new "wanted" system is less intensive; when the police are onto you, they establish a search radius around your last known location, indicated on your mini-map, and if you can escape that bubble without catching their attention, you're free, no matter their interest in you."

    I like this idea. One of the things that's always annoyed me in sandbox games is when the cops (or whoever) apparently has psychic powers and just homes in on you, even if you're nowhere near the scene of a crime or have even switched cars. It makes it all too obvious that you're just "the player" in a fake environment that revolves around your actions.

  • mkreku #23 4 years ago

    No word on the suspect frame-rate? Which version of the game were you allowed to see? Xbox 360, I presume? Any news about the PC version at all?

  • Les #24 4 years ago

    I still feel rather "meh" about this game. The ridiculous review scores and piss poor gameplay of the previous installments did little to improve my confidence in big name hyped through the roof games.

  • Widge #25 4 years ago

    RE: locking parts of the game out...

    I like this, means its a bit special when you get released to a new part of Liberty City. Like levelling up all of a sudden! Also gives you a good chance to learn the roadways of each area well.

    I see the big bridge is still in Liberty City, I wonder if its the same Island layout as GTA3? I do hope we see an utterly massive sprawling GTA in the future like San Andreas.

  • DanC89 #26 4 years ago

    11/10.

  • anomagnus #27 4 years ago

    my ONLY concern about this game is that it might have lost some of the humour from GTA3

    Dear god, the fun i had!

  • Blackthorned #28 4 years ago

    Oh mercy! This game has got time stealer written all over it. Resistance is futile…

  • levis #29 4 years ago

    Anyone else think this was the review? For a second when the picture loaded up with GRAND THEFT AUTO I got very excited.

  • Les #30 4 years ago

    "One of the things that's always annoyed me in sandbox games is when the cops (or whoever) apparently has psychic powers and just homes in on you, even if you're nowhere near the scene of a crime or have even switched cars."

    I always assumed that was because they'd questioned some witnesses that pointed them in my direction...

  • J.C #31 4 years ago

    The frame rate is going to chug. we might as well accept it really. all the others did, so why should this one be any different?

  • KreyAtiv #32 4 years ago

    I'm sure the pushing some person backwards down steps will be fun. Not for the person falling backwards of course.
    Are you still able to tune the cars up like in San Andreas?
    Overall sounds like the step up to next gen has been a good one.
    Especially like how you can call a cop car out, distract them and use the onboard computer to track people down. :D
    However smashing the window in order to shoot out of it seems a bit over the top. Not just wind the window down?
    Like the sound of the targeting system, similar to that of Crackdown. Looking forward to the review for more information but nothing that spoils things of course.

  • krudster #33 4 years ago

    Guess who's taken a week off during release week?

  • Darren #34 4 years ago

    @Widge - Fair enough, locking out parts of the city can work well in giving you something new to see as you play it but for people who just want to mess around in a sandbox world, it's rather limiting and means they'll HAVE to do the missions if they want to see the whole game. I'm actually one of those people that gets bored of doing the missions (say if I get stuck on a particular one) and likes to explore so it's disappointing to go from the kind of environments that Saints Row and Crackdown had to a more restrictive one.

    I might end up buying the PS3 version as well then (Xbox 360 version is the one I have pre-ordered) if this is the case as I'm sure someone will upload a save file on GameFAQs that unlocks the whole city: that's one of the good things about the PS3 over the Xbox 360 IMO.

  • Dabs #35 4 years ago

    "Guess who's taken a week off during release week?"


    Half the country? ;)

  • gizmo #36 4 years ago

    I don't think we'll see any frame rate critisism on EG (no offence). So, unless Krudster posts that the frame rate is, surprisingly, silky smooth - then expect a bit of a chug.

  • BadBoyBonner #37 4 years ago

    Can't wait, but will obviously have to.

  • Eighthours #38 4 years ago

    Guess who's taken a week off during release week?

    Me. And, it would appear, you.

  • Beano #39 4 years ago

    "The frame rate is going to chug. we might as well accept it really."

    But how badly will it chug this time? :)

  • PlugMonkey #40 4 years ago

    shame it didn't go into much detail about the graphics (framerate)

    Is this really that much of an issue? The article says the models and animations are compelling and realistic. It says the environment is atmospheric and believable. That's what I look for in a game. If it chugs a bit when I make a dozen cars explode all at once, I don't generally give a shit.

  • mkreku #41 4 years ago

    Me neither. But if it chugs when I'm just driving down the street, with no explosions going off at all, then I'm concerned.

  • JonFE #42 4 years ago

    Ooh, come on, give us a break!!! It's hard enough waiting for its release without these so-called first impressions to wet our appetites even more, isn't it???

  • penhalion #43 4 years ago

    @Darren

    Couldn't agree wth you more about getting bored with the missions. All the reviewers seem to love this game to death but, after all the overhype of stuff like Halo 3, MGS4 etc. etc. I have to be honest and say I don't hold much stock in reviewers anymore. I have this pre-ordered so i'll buy it. I don't think it's a 10/10 game though as Official XBox magazine does or a lot of the reviewers do.

    Realistically I'm expecting it to be what I would class an 8/10 game. Lots to see but, ultimately I'll probably have actually done every ambient thing by day two. Then it's simply rinse and repeat or do the missions.

  • SomaticSense #44 4 years ago

    "I'm sure someone will upload a save file on GameFAQs that unlocks the whole city: that's one of the good things about the PS3 over the Xbox 360 IMO. "

    What, that you can play games without actually playing them?

    Wow!

    /goes and buys PS3

  • Eighthours #45 4 years ago

    Yeah Tom, how's the framerate in general compared to the earlier games?

  • Les #46 4 years ago

    "I might end up buying the PS3 version as well then (Xbox 360 version is the one I have pre-ordered)"

    Even if you have plenty, there must be better ways to spend it... ;)

  • groovychainsaw #47 4 years ago

    Personally, i thought that whilst crackdown was great fun, the city itself felt a bit soulless, the one thing locking areas off can do is give you more time to get a feel for an area before heading somewhere else, letting you soak up some detail. There is also the story argument, GTA4 needs to set the scene in a way that crackdown didn't want to. Although Crackdown always missed the little things, sounds like GTA4 is going to be a detailed as ever.

  • bloke #48 4 years ago

    Nice Preview.

    Had a moment of indecision the other day: do I pre-order it for the PS3 or the X360?

    Location and size of the telly attached to the PS3 sealed the deal. And the fact that the noise of my X360 is starting to annoy me.

    /will miss the Acheivement Points 'though :-(
    /accepts instant saddo status having said that

  • penhalion #49 4 years ago

    @Bloke

    As an owner of a PS3 and 360 I can say that the one thing microsoft got absolutely right was achievements. You're not a gamer unless you have an ego that requires you to do better at a game than your friends. Achievements are the perfect way of doing this. No dispute, no calls of foul, simply a list of set in stone achievements on a remote server.

    I have the 360 version on pre-order but, may give that to my nephew (he's over 18) and get the PS3 version. Only thing I'm waiting on is a verdict on the framerates on both machines.

  • Buztafen #50 4 years ago

    Took me a while to get excited about this, but my interest has definetly peaked now!

    /waits patiently for pre-ordered special edition...
    /lists possible sickday excuses...
    /lists possible excuses for ignoring the missus for a week or so...
    /plots suitable punishment for Tesco.com if release day delivery doesnt happen...
    /giggles like school kid...

  • bloke #51 4 years ago

    @penhalion

    TFR re Acheivements mate - Sony will have to come up with something similar at some point.

  • Godlikegenius #52 4 years ago

    Seriously, does any body have an inkling which version is better?

    I've been stung by the PS3 a few times now, but it's it that I'm leaning towards

  • actionfitz #53 4 years ago

    im moving house next week. screwed for cash...
    ... no GTA for me for at least a month past release.

    /wrists.
    /geek tears.

    hehe.
    (havent even been able to buy the new COD4 maps O.o )

  • Buztafen #54 4 years ago

    @ actionfitz

    Use fake money mate....its the future ;-)

  • paulf #55 4 years ago

    @penhalion just out of curiosity - how would you rate the other games in the series? and whats a 10/10 for you? good not to have too high expectations of anything cause you are right there is so much hype around, but really for me everything i hear about gta4 makes it sound exceptional
    Edited by 1 at 15/04/08 @ 15:28

  • orakio #56 4 years ago

    and now, the PC version announcement please!

  • Xerx3s #57 4 years ago

    "I still feel rather "meh" about this game. The ridiculous review scores and piss poor gameplay of the previous installments did little to improve my confidence in big name hyped through the roof games."

    Again with the negativity and presenting opinion as fact. I think that GTA has been shit ever since it went 3d but if the gameplay was so bad, it seriously wouldn't have such a fanbase.
    As for review credibility, that's another discussion...

  • NynjaSquirrel #58 4 years ago

    I'd go for the 360 version just for the DLC alone. But on top of that Live for the multiplayer - it just works better.

  • HyperShadow #59 4 years ago

    Why don't you just put the review out now? Just put the words Grand Theft Auto 4 at the top and 10/10 at the bottom. Ever since the game was announced there was always an air of inevitability about the score regardless of quality, and in the end, thats what annoys me about this series of games.

  • moggsy #60 4 years ago

    You keep all of your weapons after being killed?

    Yay! :-)

  • Lexx87 #61 4 years ago

    HyperShadow

    Shut up

  • captainrentboy #62 4 years ago

    ''What will Microsoft do to let customers know that their version has exclusive content?''
    One of the answers, it seems, is right in my fooking face when I load up Eurogamer.
    I'm sure there will be an ad on TV soon with an equivilant in your face message.
    Ohh, and I tried not to get suckered into the hype, I mean why should I? I hated every other GTA title, bored the crap out of me, but God damn I failed, I want this bloody one too.
    Guess who wont be getting a week off for its release whilst they are still working in Game?
    Edited by 1 at 15/04/08 @ 15:38

  • viper_h #63 4 years ago

    I got a woody from reading this article.

  • JohnnyWashnGo #64 4 years ago

    Can someone help illuminate my world somewhat with regard to the GTA series. I have absolutely no interest in the games whatsoever, am I missing out?

  • alimokrane #65 4 years ago

    So we should expect a 10 then ?

  • JayeM #66 4 years ago

    It sounds amazing, such attention to detail and every complaint about the (great) previous games has been seemingly addressed.

    A good story and atmosphere is all I need, bundle in a lot of fun and I'm good. 10/10. ;)
    Edited by 1 at 15/04/08 @ 15:43

  • Widge #67 4 years ago

    All this talk of getting thrown from your car, I hope you can still get in a massive truck and effectively plough through cars though!

    I forgot how chuggy the old GTAs were, and all that pop up! Still, the quality of the game shone through it all really.

  • penhalion #68 4 years ago

    @paulf

    In seriousness I don't think there is a 10/10 game out there. All games end up with flaws, whether that's because of technology limits or design decisions.

    I rate San Andreas as a 7/10 simply because a lot of it felt like pointless trudging and some missions were ludicrously fiddly (toy helicopter bombing runs anyone!). Upon completing it I also couldn't figure out why the hero didn't simply shoot the bad cop two minutes into the game and get on with his life.

    Vice city 6/10 for me as it was simply scarface without the set pieces. It also had a lot of bugs that reviewers simply forgot?!?!? to mention.

    My idea of an 8/10 game is one that I will enjoy playing but, once the intial euphoria wears off I'll probably be struggling to find stuff to do in the game. You can only marvel at a taxi ride once or twice before you skip it out of sheer boredom. I've also never felt the need to play a GTA game after finishing the story missions. Somehow wondering around the city with no goal never appealed to me.

  • captainrentboy #69 4 years ago

    Johnny if you don't like it, you don't like it, simple as. You shouldn't need the game to be 'sold' to you.
    Surely you're not like one of those guys that appeared on the Halo 3 comments sections a while back...
    ''Is it just me or is this series really overrated?''
    ''Is it just me or does Halo suck?''
    ''Is it just me, am I alone here, in this wildly original but negative opinion I have of this stupidly successful series of games?''

  • Prodigy_BE #70 4 years ago

    Hm... so more people think that this could just be a great game, instead of it being the holy grail of gaming.

    Lets be honest, we all finished GTA3, and eventually finished Vice City, but never saw the end of San Andreas.
    And we got really bored of the PSP outings.

    I really hope the Houser boys can surprise me, but as some other people point out, most reviews are not to be trusted. Assassin's Creed got 9's and 10's all over the place. EG has got a good rep when it comes to reviews. I hope they strengthen their position with an honest GTA4 review.

    And also: Too bad the Niko plot twist after 25% of the game has already leaked:

    I can not believe you fell for that one, HA!

  • mkreku #71 4 years ago

    No word on the collectibles..? Vice City had the best with its hidden packages.. that you got rewarded for every tenth you found. In San Andreas you only got a reward if you found all 100 (!) of anything.. Which meant you could find 99 items and STILL not get shit for it. Needless to say, I never managed to get any rewards at all in that game..

    Oh, and if you blow up a car, turn your back to it for two seconds and then look back at it again.. will the burning wreck still be there? That's annoyed me to no end in EVERY GTA so far; the inability of the game world to keep track of my mayhem for more than two seconds.

  • Rirekon #72 4 years ago

    "you can use the emergency services number to request vehicular toys: a dispatcher sends a cruiser to your location [...] The police computer within allows you to search for individuals whose names you've been given, whether it's mission-specific or not."

    Now that is a neat idea, consider my interest in the franchise rekindled.

  • Mr_Dodger #73 4 years ago

    For everyone feeling aggrieved about parts of the city being unlockable, I believe that multi has a 'free roam' mode where you can explore to your heart's content, without those pesky missions getting in the way.

  • Widge #74 4 years ago

    oh yeah, I loved package hunting in Vice City... but never felt compelled to do it in San Andreas. Spent ages pootling about on a bike doing that. Plus marks for swimming being introduced to Vice City Stories, because nothing irritated me more than death after trying to do a stunt! Think I may have to polish off Crisis Core and bung GTA on the old PSP to make my little universe a Rockstar one.

  • Buztafen #75 4 years ago

    I really cant see there being much if any difference between the 2 versions, do you think either company (sony or microsft) would allow their version to be inferior considering the amount of cash they both spent on this over the past few years.....

  • dsmx #76 4 years ago

    The best police chase I've ever had belongs and it pains me to say this need for speed hot pursuit 2. Regardless of what GTA does it will never beat driving a Mclaren F1 at 200+ mph while swerving to avoid a police helicopter droping spike strips then jumping over a police road block with 4 police Lamborghini murcielago cruisers in pursuit. Words don't even express how intense some of those police chases were.

  • space_ace #77 4 years ago

    about the frame rate: the clue is in the title of the game..? :-o

  • Buztafen #78 4 years ago

    what....IV frames per second?.....

  • Slim #79 4 years ago

  • McLovin85 #80 4 years ago

    scan of first GTA review is here:

    [link url=http://cid-3085454822782b0d.skydrive.live.com/br owse.aspx/Public
    ]http://cid-3085454822782b0d.skydrive.liv...[/link]

    sorry, not sure how to make hyperlink. not to spoil it or anything but it received a very very good score.

    Some of the things you can do in the game sound awesome!! Like driving a car with 2 dead bodies in the back and if you hit something then the boot pops open. You then have to get out and close the boot before people notice. Classic!!

  • HyperShadow #81 4 years ago

    @lexx87

    My apologies, I forgot the GTA series is above any criticism.

  • PlugMonkey #82 4 years ago

    do I pre-order it for the PS3 or the X360?

    That's the dilemma I'm in at the moment. X360 extra DLC. The PS3 doesn't sound like there's a Chinook taking off outside my living room window.

    As I don't really give a crap about achievements, it'll most likely come down to comparitive performance, which historically has meant the 360 version.

    In seriousness I don't think there is a 10/10 game out there. All games end up with flaws, whether that's because of technology limits or design decisions.

    Penhalion: Nothing personal, but I think that's a remarkably pretentious and ultimately self-defeating standpoint. If nothing is a 10, why have a scale that goes up that far? Games should be measured against other games, with a 10 meaning a game is the pinnacle of its field, not measured against some unattainable 'perfection'. In my opinion, the fundamental flaw with the vast majority of games criticism is the overwhelming focus on what a game doesn't do rather than reviewing what it does do. Your 'there are no 10/10 games' stance seems to typify that.

  • Benno #83 4 years ago

    I can see myself playing the PS3 and 360 version just to see which is better.

    I do have the feeling, for obvious reasons, that the 360 version will run marginally better in some situations, like all multi platform games have.

    For a game like this, its important you get the best out of the experience.

  • fightman3b #84 4 years ago

    looking forward to this motherfucker; expect the release to be on usenet by next weekend at the latest. i will enjoy playing gratis while the paying cunts still have to wait. such is life.

  • McFly55 #85 4 years ago

    reckon youre gonna have to bring out 2 reviews for this one EG-one glowing 10/10 for the fanboys and a scathing 8/10 for the haters.

    That way nobody can complain:)

  • Les #86 4 years ago

    "TFR re Acheivements mate - Sony will have to come up with something similar at some point."

    As long as there's the option to not take part in the dick swinging I don't have problems with it.

  • Widge #87 4 years ago

    I'm sure GTAIV will be home trophy compliant, if thats your bag

  • Lionheart #88 4 years ago

    Fantastic read

    Thanks

  • Altrezia #89 4 years ago

    I have pre-ordered both versions. :-) It's only a tenner more than buying the 'special' version.

  • Hog-lumps #90 4 years ago

    why would anybody need both versions?

    \confused
    Edited by 1 at 15/04/08 @ 16:30

  • paulf #91 4 years ago

    @penhalion - you are obviously a very hard man to please, you didn't write the edge review of mario kart wii by any chance did you? ;)

    on a different note it does surprise me the amount of people who seem to want this game (and others) to not be as good as it sounds - what does anyone gain from that, we are lucky enough to be in one of the best times for games in years - lets enjoy it while its here :)

  • JediMasterMalik #92 4 years ago

    Sounds great indeed!

  • Darren #93 4 years ago

    @Benno - I think I will end up buying the game for the PS3 and Xbox 360 too although I pre-ordered it for the latter from GAME last July because I believed it would be the best version. However, as a multiformat gamer I'm curious about how it plays on other systems too and I've ended up buying all the previous 3D GTA games at least twice, first on the PS2 and then later on the Xbox or PC so I'm sure it'll be the same for GTA IV as well.

    I thought San Andreas was the worst game in the series though: bigger isn't necessarily better if the dated engine running the game can't handle it and the environments just felt emptier and thus more lifeless. The story wasn't as involving or interesting, many of the missions were tedious and the music was mostly terrible except for one radio station. The only thing I really liked about it was the RPG like character building stuff, it was the only thing that felt new. Vice City remains by favourite game in the series though. I'm hoping that GTA IV is a return to form, at least it's running on an engine designed for the next-gen system not an eight year console!

  • Altrezia #94 4 years ago

    Re: why would anybody need both versions?

    Incase one really is better than the other. I'm a true PS3 fanboy, but also a GTA fanboy, and want the best possible experience!

  • Luvbeers #95 4 years ago

    "TFR re Acheivements mate - Sony will have to come up with something similar at some point."

    Can't you unlock wallpaper or table lamps for your HOME apartment?

  • Les #96 4 years ago

    "Again with the negativity and presenting opinion as fact."

    It's a fact that my opinion of the previous games is very poor. I liked the story and setting of Vice City but as a game it was crap. I didn't like anything about San Andreas. Initially I went along in the group think but at some point I noticed that I wasn't really having fun and that the interactive bits were all poorly executed.

  • dryden555 #97 4 years ago

    The minigames were VERY undercooked in San Andreas. It seemed like Rockstar was getting in over their heads and they thought "more" of everything was better than quality. I'll be waiting for the full reviews myself.

  • Greebo #98 4 years ago

    I hope EG are able to give us some format comparison comments in their review, rather than waiting for another Face-Off.

    I guess I'll get the 360 version on the assumption that the versions with either be technically equal, or the 360 will be slightly better.

    Edit: there/their
    Edited by 1 at 15/04/08 @ 16:49

  • TagemandBagem #99 4 years ago

    "A light fog blurs the night air as street lamps hang cotton buds of fading light up and down sidewalks dense with rubbish bins, fire hydrants, glass-sheltered bus-stops, sign posts and the occasional coned-off sand-pile of roadworks."

    Nice writing my good man.

  • Vin #100 4 years ago

    Roll on the release so everyone can stop acting as effing shrill martyrs for the game.
    Edited by 1 at 23/04/08 @ 14:22

  • mkreku #101 4 years ago

    I think people need to replay Vice City if they think the RPG aspects of it all was the only thing new in San Andreas. Just one tip to refresh your collective memories: swimming. Don't you remember how utterly frustrating it was to fall off a pier in Vice City and insta-die?! Or climbing?? You meet a fence that's 1 mm too high for you to jump and you'd have to go all the way around it!

    Rose-coloured glasses and all that. Yeah, I loved Vice City too, but San Andreas really was better in almost all aspects.

  • Lonestar #102 4 years ago

    I fear for humanity when eurogamer does it's inevitable 360 vs PS3 face off...
    Edited by 1 at 15/04/08 @ 17:09

  • IronGiant #103 4 years ago

    There's nothing worse than a chugging framerate to destroy the feeling of immersion and 'being there' .. the fact that it hasn't been mentioned and that reviews are only surfacing very close to release make me believe this will chug along at times. I really hope it doesn't, i'd happily sacrifice detail for a perfectly smooth experience. Infinity Ward have managed a fantastically detailed and smooth game with COD4, i hope Rockstar have too.

  • MrGilder #104 4 years ago

    7/10

  • WinterSnowblind #105 4 years ago

    @Rirekon

    Yes you can call emergency services as well as other random phone numbers you may happen to see on various ads around the game. However, you are aware that they took this feature straight from Saints Row, right? :) Considering Saints Row was often critisised for being nothing more than a clone, I find it ironic how many features from GTA IV were clearly "inspired" by what SR did.

    Not that I have a problem with that, if both games can benefit from what each of them does well, then all the better for us.

  • professor_mamet #106 4 years ago

    Just 14 more days to go!

    ... and I'm off all that week! :)

  • mkreku #107 4 years ago

    IronGiant: I'm sure CoD4 is very smooth and nice, but you're comparing an open-world game to an on-rails shooter. Kind of pointless, don't you think? Not exactly on the same level of technical complexity.

  • penhalion #108 4 years ago

    @Wintersnowblind

    Considering Saints Row was often critisised for being nothing more than a clone, I find it ironic how many features from GTA IV were clearly "inspired" by what SR did.

    And I would almost bet money that not one reviewer mentions this fact.

  • bad09 #109 4 years ago

    @ Wintersnowblind

    I don't think the criticism of SR was for being nothing more than a clone, it was being a clone with no humour or character and a "ghetto" theme that took itself too seriously and was cringe worthy far, far more so than the satire of San Andreas.

    I think it's fair that GTA can use the best ideas from SR, payback is a b***h!! :)
    Edited by 1 at 15/04/08 @ 17:52

  • ronuds #110 4 years ago

    I like when people's first question is: "How's the framerate?!?!?" Who gives a crap! You know the game is going to be perfectly playable.

    I want to know about the different things I can do in the game to keep me occupied for months.

  • peterfll #111 4 years ago

    To joint PS3 and 360 owners its not unreasonable to point out the merits and deficiencies of each version to help those of use who have a choice. Such discussions only seem to worry the narrow minded or biased.

  • Skooch #112 4 years ago

    I had only booked Tuesday off but this morning I booked Wednesday off as well - I am glad I did!

    Sounds awesome. :-D

  • Nillsens #113 4 years ago

    If I knew where Tom lived I'd be trying to squeeze through the letterbox by now.

  • ronuds #114 4 years ago

    @ peter

    I agree, but in a simple preview like this? I've never seen a preview whose intended purpose was to detract you from buying a game before it's even hit the streets. That would be bad business all around.

    Wait for the review for talk of framerate issues, not a preview of Liberty City and what it has to offer.

  • Drakron #115 4 years ago

    I only interested in the gimmick gameplay mechanics of San Andreas is gone, Simon-Says button pressing means I am not even going to bother.

  • ChaK #116 4 years ago

    won"t read *evil laugh*

    14 days, oh my

  • dryden555 #117 4 years ago

    I thought GTA 3 was the best of the bunch in terms of mission design, story, humor, and the overall world design. The gigantic world of San Andreas was often devoid of anything so what was the point? Worse, the story and missions stop having a relationship to each other about half way through. The motivations of the main character make no sense at the same point. I like how everyone in the gangs are at least 22 years old when most should be teenagers. A good-ish game but it felt rushed and haphazard.

  • Transcendent #118 4 years ago

    The framerate is far more important than fancy graphical bling, since it is not only seen, it is felt.
    Maybe I should wait for the PC version like I did with the previous games. Poor framerate in console games is unforgivable, since you can't upgrade.

  • DjFlex52 #119 4 years ago

    I like how everyone in the gangs are at least 22 years old when most should be teenagers.

    @dryden555

    Not true...I can tell you don't know much about the Crips and Bloods. They go to jail as a teenager and come out around age 22 :)

  • VMerken #120 4 years ago

    I'm buying to complete the collection. Can't stop now...

  • bad09 #121 4 years ago

    @ bigo

    Worryingly, I read that kind of fun has been restricted due to the cops not giving you the chance to let loose :(

  • captain-future #122 4 years ago

    I want to know which version has the smoother framerate... X360 or PS3?

    /own all the consoles, just want to make sure to get the "smoothest" experience.

  • captainrentboy #123 4 years ago

    [link url=http://www.ainti tcool.com/node/36401
    ]http://www.ainti tcool.com/node/36401
    [/link]
    Not a bad lil write up there, suuure they aren't games jounalists, but it goes into a bit more detail on the MP aspects of the game.

  • White_Westie #124 4 years ago

    from what I've read it only "chugged" in 8 player multiplayer when everyone fired rocket launchers at the same time... So I wouldn't worry too much.. its pretty obvious its not 50fps, probably benchmarked at 25-30fps.. Which is perfectly acceptable - look at rsv2....
    as for which is better console wise, didnt rockstsr say that the colours are slightly better on ps3 (if i remember correctly) but not very noticable at all...however the dlc is another 10 hours of gameplay so ive gone with 360 on this one...

  • Guv #125 4 years ago

    Hadn't planned on getting it... or atleast not now, but after reading about multiplyer modes like the "save the VIP" I just can't help it, will be ordering tomorrow. go read the multiplayer part of http://www.ainti tcool.com/node/36401 bloody genious!

  • foamy #126 4 years ago

    who cares bout the fucking MP? -.-

    Maybe to take a break from SP.

  • FooAtari #127 4 years ago

    /doesn't get GTA :)

  • YourMessageHere #128 4 years ago

    "and now, the PC version announcement please!"

    +1. GTA on a pad is unpleasant.

  • Miths #129 4 years ago

    "To joint PS3 and 360 owners its not unreasonable to point out the merits and deficiencies of each version to help those of use who have a choice. Such discussions only seem to worry the narrow minded or biased."

    It's really an easy choice for me. My 360 sounds like a mix of a blowdryer and a jet turbine (I'm always playing with headphones on, and it still gets on my nerves in quiet parts of games) - my PS3 is close to inaudible even when the fan is running at max speed, and the disc drive is obviously always quiet.

    Even if the 360 version of GTA4 proves to have a more stable framerate, better antialiasing etc. - in addition to the promised DLCs, plus its, in my opinion, superior controller - I'm still buying the PS3 version :p.

    I bought Frontlines: Fuel of War the other day, but aside from that I haven't had my 360 turned on for over three weeks now. I really, really hate unwanted and excessive noise :p.
    But hopefully future revisions of the 360 down the line - in a year or two or so - will be built with more consideration towards placement in a regular living room, and the sensitive ears and sanity of its owners :).

  • LHH #130 4 years ago

    First impressions!? That whole article was nothing more than a nice wet arse lick.

  • Greebo #131 4 years ago


    Miths: what PS3 type? mine makes a bloody racket when it gets hot.

    +1

    99% of the time it's a LOT quieter than a 360 I agree (although my one is a lot quieter than my friend's older ones), but on full blast the PS3 can get pretty noisey!

    I learned this when I explained to the GF how to control the central heating :$

  • gizmo #132 4 years ago

    Okay, 150 comments and Krudster didn't come in to defend the framerate. It now officially chugs.

  • Madder-Max #133 4 years ago

    "To offset that, the new "wanted" system is less intensive; when the police are onto you, they establish a search radius around your last known location, indicated on your mini-map, and if you can escape that bubble without catching their attention, you're free, no matter their interest in you."


    Nicked from Scarface. A very safe review. Well played. Not over gushing. Are EG and Rockstar fwends again now?

  • bdc #134 4 years ago

    Sounds like a really bad game
    Bad graphics
    Bad gameplay mechanics
    Poor choice of consoles
    Strange control schemes
    So on



    If you have managed to come this far without exploding in a fit of rage, congratulations you have passed my troll attempt!

  • asphaltcowboy #135 4 years ago

    Despite not being a massive fan, it certainly sounds good! Although, why-oh-why have Rockstar persisted in keeping just one save location that you have to trek to every time you want to save?! And people complained about there only being 5 junkyards in Burnout!

  • defdaz #136 4 years ago

    Meh. So bored of GTA.

  • dsmx #137 4 years ago

    If your bored of GTA why are you posting in a comments section for GTA?

  • PlugMonkey #138 4 years ago

    To comment that he's bored of it. Seems as valid a comment as people saying they think it's great.

    I've never understood why people think a comments thread is the same thing as a fan site.

  • Miths #139 4 years ago

    @trebell: "Miths: what PS3 type? mine makes a bloody racket when it gets hot."

    The 40 GB model. Though I have seen reports of some people apparantly having 40 GB PS3's that are just as or almost as noisy as many of the 60 GB models supposedly were.
    Looks like MS isn't quite the only company that can be blamed for hardware issues - or in this case what appears to be a different fan types even in similar models.

    Still, while the fan in my 360 is certainly noisy as hell, the DVD drive is the worst offender - and I think I've yet to see anyone complain about noise from the PS3 Blu-ray drives (unless they were actually faulty).
    I'm not sure about read speeds and stuff like that from Blu-ray discs, but considering regular PC DVD drives also tend to make a terrible noise when they are spinning around at those 40-52x - just like the 360 drive during gaming - I have a feeling we can actually thank Blu-ray for not having to suffer the same drive noise on the PS3.
    And did I mention I hate noise? :p

  • dsmx #140 4 years ago

    PS3 blu-ray drive is only a 2x or something close, not going to get much noise with it spinning at such a slow rate. It can be slow beacuse the data transfer rate per second is so much higher than you get on a dvd drive.
    Edited by 1 at 16/04/08 @ 17:37

  • White_Westie #141 4 years ago

    @zerolight

    Yes you are quite right about the colour palette

  • captainrentboy #142 4 years ago

    [link url=http://youtube .com/watch?v=AF95c1QPIT8
    ]http://youtube .com/watch?v=AF95c1QPIT8
    [/link]
    Fake? Real?
    If it's real I guess the question ''Which version will be advertised more prominantly? has just been answered.
    It looks strangely fake to me though, I'd imagine it's fanmade.

  • White_Westie #143 4 years ago

    Those worried about FRAME RATE.....
    Read this preview as well .... [link url=ht tp://www.1up.com/do/previewPage?cId=3167410&p=37
    ]http://ww w.1up.com/do/previewPage?cId=31...[/link]
    To Quote.... ..

    You'll likely notice the same graphical "quirks" that the series has dealt with since the jump to 3D. The same filmlike, grainy framerate exists and usually holds steady, but it can momentarily dip when things get frantic. There's some long-distance graphical fade-in as well as some street-level hazards that appear only after you hit them. Traffic will be nonexistent one second, then three cars deep when you rotate the camera back around, and then completely disappear when your wanted level gets to two or three stars (which is oh-so-fun when you desperately need a getaway vehicle). But even these problems have been "upgraded" in a sense for GTA4: An artistic application of filters hides some of the uglier character models, there's more types of cars to choose from, and overall, the feel of the city trumps any of the shortcomings we're familiar with by now. But you'll be able to see that in the screenshots and eventual videos.




  • Davemanz #144 4 years ago

    @asphaltcowboy:

    The game has a quicksave feature this time around, actually, so you're not limited to your hideout for that. In previous games they had you save in your hideout to provide some kind of believability to the story (you can't just have a character without a home), but now I think they've retooled the purpose of the home so that there are other things besides saving that you can do there.

  • SeesThroughAll #145 4 years ago

    I've never understood why people think a comments thread is the same thing as a fan site.

    Oh but it is. Read carefully.

  • asphaltcowboy #146 4 years ago

    Cheers for clarification Davemanz

  • Slipstream #147 4 years ago

    Pedestrians make their way around, oblivious to your arrival, bumping into the sides of slow-moving cars

    What? They still do that? lol
    Well anyhow, nice =) This game is sounding better and better with each Preview/Review. GTA is always a winner in these departments because the journalist are always willing to explain their unique experiences, a forum fad with GTA.

    @ Darren
    'm a little disappointed that the city isn't open from the off though, that means you have to complete missions in order to access everything which kind of goes against the whole sandbox thing in the first place.

    Ahh, but think about the excitement of having somewhere new to explore when the first set of missions have taken you around the first island, even then I doubt you would've explored it all.
    I guess I prefer this usual GTA treatment, the anticipation is always nice, wouldn't want to feel like I've seen most of the game in the first few hours.

  • Davemanz #148 4 years ago

    I actually agree with that, Slipstream. I like having new areas revealed after a while. I think the third area was opened up a little late in GTAIII and I think Las Venturas was opened up a little late in San Andreas. Vice City was small enough to justify opening it all at once after the first few missions.

  • Zappa #149 4 years ago

    RRoD

    $50 for online

  • superdelphinus #150 4 years ago

    when's it out for the Wii

  • sirtacos #151 4 years ago

    Here I was, snickering at all the hype, not really giving a damn...
    then I read this.
    Now I want to pre-order it.

    A (presumably) honest Eurogamer article did what no amount of advertising could.

    @Garrulon: lol. I have a PS3, though I view it more as a home media center than anything. To be honest I only bought the PS3 because it's the cheapest Blu Ray player available.
    Edited by 1 at 22/04/08 @ 15:41

  • Garulon #152 4 years ago

    "To joint PS3 and 360 owners its not unreasonable to point out the merits and deficiencies of each version to help those of use who have a choice. Such discussions only seem to worry the narrow minded or biased. "

    Or PS3 fans.