GTA IV Team and Race MP modes detailed

By Tom Bramwell Published 14 April, 2008

Co-op and competitive stuff soon.

Rockstar has revealed details of the team-based and racing multiplayer modes in Grand Theft Auto IV, promising details of the co-operative and competitive modes soon.

In a Flashy splash on its official website, the publisher outlined various modes and also released a selection of multiplayer screenshots and two short trailers: Liberty City Gun Club and Playboy X.

Those team and racing multiplayer modes, some of which we had heard about already but it's always nice to put the info in one place stop complaining Jesus, are:

  • Team Deathmatch: A straight-up shootout (and presumably hitandrunout) where the team with the most cash at the end of the round wins. For between two and eight teams.
  • Team Mafiya Work: Each team is carrying out contract work for the mob - escorting wanted men, boosting cars, picking up MacGuffins, and the idea is to amass the most cash from completed contracts. Again for 2-8 teams.
  • Team Car Jack City: Cars spawn around the city and have to be picked up and taken to a drop-off. Again, the most money wins, but you can boost your total by finding cars with drugs stashed in them. 2-8 teams.
  • Cops n' Crooks: In this one, one team plays as Cops and the other team as Crooks. The Crooks are out to escape from the Cops - in the sub-mode All For One, their job is to escort their Boss to safety, while in One For All they need to gather themselves into a getaway vehicle. The Cops are out to kill the Crooks or disable their getaway vehicle. We also recall that the Cops spawn in cars while the Crooks don't. This is for two teams only, for obvious reasons.
  • Turf War: Capture-the-base, effectively, where you try and take over different areas of the map by standing on them and looking hard. The more team-mates you share a capture point with, the harder you look, the faster it becomes yours. If an enemy is nearby, capture is impossible. Like Cops n' Crooks, this is for two teams.
  • Race: As the name suggests, this is a race between checkpoints. You can either race point-to-point (Free Race) or complete checkpoints in any order (Cannonball Run).
  • GTA Race: Finally, this one is like Race, except you can use weapons to mess your fellow racers up.

But of course "finally" is the wrong word, as there will be co-op and competitive modes to talk about oh-so-soon. Look out for more on GTA IV, including hands-on impressions and of course a full review, in the run-up to the game's 29th April release date on PS3 and 360.

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. Follow him on Twitter.

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

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Comments (68) Latest comment 4 years ago

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  • Prodigy_BE #1 4 years ago

    If sever problems kill this, Its the mental institution for me.

  • Machetazo #2 4 years ago

    That sounds fantastic! Even better, as it's the first time I've even heard about any of it! :D

  • Steve007 #3 4 years ago

    *cums*

  • Darren #4 4 years ago

    I received this month's issue of OXM through the post this morning and although they admitted they were reviewing an incomplete version (it was still being tweaked by Rockstar apparently), they still gave it a 10 and there were no negatives listed in the Verdict box. Sounds too good to be true really but even though it's an official magazine I'm nevertheless even more excited about the game now than I was last week. :)

  • J.C #5 4 years ago

    Online co-op for the single player game would be awesome for GTA IV. its not going to happen though is it?

  • Anthony_UK #6 4 years ago

    Cops N Crooks sounds like GTA mixed with the awesome pursuit mode from Midtown Madness 3....... which for me could be the closest thing to gaming heaven!!!

    /goes for lie down
    Edited by Anthony_UK at 14/04/08 @ 10:49

  • eXeel #7 4 years ago

    Normally I wouldn't be all that hyped about a game and its multiplayer features, even though the game modes seems original, interesting and with depth. Because chances are the game itself is poor, so whichever good features and multiplayer modes exists, it still will be a bore to play.

    GTA has a great reputation and I know what I get. Just with better graphics and improvements all over, in the IV chapter. When THEY announce cool multiplayer modes, I KNOW the game itself is well made for it (car-aspect, shooting-aspect, mission-aspect, weapons, the engine, everything) and therefore I truly believe this will be unbelievable.

    I cannot wait for the PC version. I rarely feel this way. Only with Blizzard games and some VALVe ones.

  • RandomTerrain #8 4 years ago

    Nice to see Rockstar setting a good standard for other games companies.

  • Steroyd #9 4 years ago

    Damn if I don't get humped by DLC this month I'll pre-order this.

  • MrXBob #10 4 years ago

    "Nice to see Rockstar setting a good standard for other games companies."

    ...By copying most of the online modes from Saints Row? I mean, GTA IV is going to be good, but it doesnt deserve half the credit it's getting for its features. A lot of them are straight from Saints Row (I guess they're getting Volition back)

    Mobile Phone usage (see things around the world, call the number yourself etc)
    Flying through the windscreen during crashes
    Online modes

    And funnily enough Saints Row 2 is the only one innovating again: Full online co-op throughout the entire campaign (GTA IV only has it for a few missions, like the 'multiplayer' in San Andreas), picking people up and throwing them, completely customisable characters, cars and cribs.

    GTA IV, as i said, is going to be good. But why are they sticking to what they know? All they've added is stuff that Saints Row came up with, and they've even removed planes. Why, exactly?

    It's sickening that one of the best GTA 'clones' - the only one that really made the genre its own by adding things GTA never even considered - is getting ignored.
    Edited by MrXBob at 14/04/08 @ 11:08

  • Skooch #11 4 years ago

    I worry about MP in GTA IV; I want it as much as anyone else but I've seen MP tagged onto so many games where the mode is just outright broken, either through networking issues or bad gameplay design, that I just doubt how good it will really be.

    /crosses fingers

  • Stu #12 4 years ago

    The preview in Edge this month says that Cops 'n' Crooks is the best thing ever (or words to that effect).

  • Altrezia #13 4 years ago

    15 days. I can't wait.

  • Widge #14 4 years ago

    Nice, Francois K is mixing the soundtrack for the house music station. Radio channel of choice for me then!

  • the_dudefather #15 4 years ago

    @MrXBob
    don't forget the amazing aiming/shooting, all the weapons felt suitably meaty to use (and you could pistol whip people to knock them down, then finish them off)

    and shooting someone driving a car in the head while driving yourself, while AHEAD of them, its all good

  • moggsy #16 4 years ago

    @MrXBob

    I suspect planes were removed because there's only one city this time - less room for planes to fly about in. The helicopters should be great though ;-)

  • MrXBob #17 4 years ago

    @the_dudefather - good point! I havent played it in a while so I dont remember all the little details, but there are a lot of things that Saints Row did better than GTA. Can't wait for both of them, but I'm personally looking forward to Saints Row 2 a lot more than GTA IV.

    @Moggsy - Makes no sense.. Saints Row has more variations of aircraft than San Andreas did, and it only has Stillwater (one city). There is an airport in Liberty City, and planes take off from it and disappear into the distance just like in most GTA games. So there is no reason to not let you fly them. Rockstar are taking steps back, and to be honest I think their stockholders are being paranoid about ratings ever since Manhunt 2. Oh noes, the city looks like New York. We dont want videos on Youtube of people flying into tall buildings.

    Saints Row 2 has building interiors without loads - not only does that mean walking inside them like in the original (another thing that GTA IV apparently 'revolutionised'...) but you can fly straight through the huge glass windows, through the building, and out the other side. In cars, helicopters, planes, whatever. I'm not saying this is something we should be encouraging people to do, but arent these games supposed to be free-roaming? They're about letting you do what you want. If Rockstar want to go stick where it is, or even worse go backwards with GTA, thats fine by me - I'll stick with the series that isnt afraid of going forward.
    Edited by MrXBob at 14/04/08 @ 11:27

  • paulf #18 4 years ago

    @mrXbob didnt saints row copy its entire game from GTA but lose the charm and the wit on the way? really if you think saints row is better than GTA you are seriously misguided

  • agparrot #19 4 years ago

    I'm hoping that the inevitable crash of Xbox LIVE doesn't last too long when this game is released, so that I can get on and play multiplayer modes tout suite.

  • mikew1985 #20 4 years ago

    Yes but Saints row had an incredibly generic and boring central character/story, sparse worlds and not a great city. Despite it's nice innovations in certain areas (aiming for one) There is nothing to suggest this will change for SR 2.

    GTA IV has Niko who, to me, seems the most deep, interesting and appealing central character in any game not to mention the hugely important new physics and animation system. I'm not saying that SR2 will be crap and GTA IV will be all conquering because i simply don't know but by the looks of things it seems very likely.

  • KreyAtiv #21 4 years ago

    Nice array of online modes, just hope I'm able to connect to them. Cops 'n' Crooks should be good fun.

  • the_dudefather #22 4 years ago

    I feel that GTA is better, but saints row does SOME things better

    oh yeah the wit of GTA: Mayor R. C. Hole in GTA:LCS lolololololololol

  • Fab4 #23 4 years ago

    If it lags in MP, then I'm afraid I'll be sharing Prodigy_BE's little padded cell.

  • MrXBob #24 4 years ago

    I completely agree with the story argument, and that GTA has more 'character'. But thats double standards (as with the 'graphics dont matter in GTA, just the gameplay' stuff the fans always spout). You can't say 'oh we dont mind if our features arent as good as the next game, this character seems deep'. Its not exactly a convincing argument.

    Personally, sandbox games are sandbox games. If I can have fun and do what I want for 40+ hours, then I dont care who the people are or how the story unfolds. Just Cause is a heck of a lot of fun but the story is about as deep as an ant's footprint.

    @paulf "really if you think saints row is better than GTA you are seriously misguided"

    ...? Sorry I didnt realise you were with the anti-opinion police. I'll be more careful next time.
    Edited by MrXBob at 14/04/08 @ 11:41

  • paulf #25 4 years ago

    @mrxbob - I'm all for you having an opinion, I just don't agree with it thats all :)

  • DrDamn #26 4 years ago

    @paulf
    "didnt saints row copy its entire game from GTA but lose the charm and the wit on the way?"

    My feelings exactly - though to a certain extent Rockstar did this with San Andreas too. GTA IV looks to be rectifying that though.

  • mikew1985 #27 4 years ago

    @MrXBob

    Sure the story only enhances the gamepley if the gameplay is good but i really do feel that although SR introduced some unique features, enough to make me buy the game. It just didn't have the fun factor of GTA's sandbox worlds. I beleive that GTA IV will win out over SR 2 in both of these aspects.

    Plus if you've seen the screens and video of GTA IV the "graphics don't matter aspect" isn't a point that needs to be made anymore as it isn't relevant. It looks stunning!

  • paulf #28 4 years ago

    @drdamn - I didnt really like San Andreas first time I played it (I much prefered the miami vice styings of vice city), however I'm replaying it at the moment and all the gta'ness is intact you just have to get out of the 'hood to experience it.

    What I am wondering about gta IV though is will it have a halo3 style recording/replay feature?

  • sir_tripod #29 4 years ago

    JEOMK

    I need to be alone now...

  • mikew1985 #30 4 years ago

    @paulf

    No, unfortunately for those interested in such a feature it's not in there.
    Confirmed by one of the Housers I think, sorry to not have a link, i'm uselessly lazy at backtracking and looking for such things but it's not in.

    Edit: Might have been in that lenghty IGN interview but don't quote me on it!
    Edited by mikew1985 at 14/04/08 @ 12:23

  • MrXBob #31 4 years ago

    @mikew1985 - To be honest I believe Rockstar could have done a lot better with the visuals. They're certainly a step-up from San Andreas, but the game still looks muddy and rough around the edges. Sure this could be said to be the style, but I don't believe it is. The engine already seems below-average compared to something like Just Cause or Saints Row 2 (I'm trying to just compare to games of similar size/scope - no point saying it doesnt look as good as Gears of War!)

    Look at a game like Mafia (even the original, not the sequel) - that game has much better textures and style than GTA IV. The faces are all clear, yet they still look old and hagged, like they've had a rough life. I'm sure thats what Rockstar were aiming for, but really they took the easy way out. It's hard to explain exactly what I mean, but I personally don't think GTA IV's graphics are as great as people make out.

  • DrDamn #32 4 years ago

    Graphics in GTA games have never been the strong point, but they do have style and cohesion which can be missing from the other comparable games you mention.

  • MrXBob #33 4 years ago

    @DrDamn - Again with that double standard.. I know GTA plays like a great game, but I dont understand how the fanboys can disregard the graphics like that when they even had the cheek to slag off the visuals of such games as Bioshock.

  • DrDamn #34 4 years ago

    Sorry but why is that a double standard?

  • MrXBob #35 4 years ago

    I didn't mean to imply that you had it, but what you said : "Graphics in GTA games have never been the strong point" reminds me of what every GTA fan said. As though it doesnt really matter that GTA always looks below average, yet every other game (specifically this generation) gets completely shrugged off if theres even a slight jaggy edge in one screenshot.

  • T4RG4 #36 4 years ago

    I hope you can always play via LAN, because LIVE will probably bomb out :D

  • MrXBob #37 4 years ago

    @T4RG4 - What makes you say that? CoD4 and Halo 3 have more players on per day than GTA 4 will have, and those games hardly crash Live..

    (FPS online simply have more of a following - I'm sure that more than half of people who pick up GTA4 wont even know it has multiplayer until weeks later)

  • mikew1985 #38 4 years ago

    Of course coparing to Gears would be daft I can't comment on SR 2 or Just Cause 2 because i haven't seen very much of either. A few screens of SR 2 whihc weren't hugely impressive but still as I said i haven't seen much.

    I really think everyone is going to be really taken a back by how good the game looks when it is released.
    For one the lighting engine is supposed to be out of this world. I really think it's going to be a very solid and lovely looking game.

    Just wait...

  • DrDamn #39 4 years ago

    Ah ok. For the previous generation the graphics were acceptable given the world created. As you say the bar is raised by some other titles with similar scope this generation. I will reserve some judgement on this until I see the game being properly played though - rather than stills and cut scenes which can be deceptive (both is a positive and negative way).

    I'll agree certain titles will get considered more favourably, however most have "earned" that bias in previous incaarnations. When people see a screen shot they are not simply looking at the graphics but thinking of the gameplay possibilities and fond links to previous titles associated with what they see.

  • MrXBob #40 4 years ago

    I totally agree, I felt the same when I saw the Halo 3 shots - rather than people comparing it to Halo 2. But then theres no excuse for a developer getting complacent.

  • paulf #41 4 years ago

    you have to put graphics in the wider context of the game, they don't need to be cutting edge to be effective. Also we havent seen any ingame videos of GTA IV yet so we cant judge the visuals, as its more than just amount of polys and textures its also the way they move and feel when you are controlling the character

    However what we can talk about is art direction and visual style, the graphics of vice city for example may be blocky and dated but still convey the feeling of 'miami vice' .

  • slave23d #42 4 years ago

    @Mrxbob

    'why are they sticking to what they know' .. could it be because they are the best at it? Do what you do best and improve on it 100%?

  • MrXBob #43 4 years ago

    @slave23d - thats my point though. They're not improving on it. They added some things that Saints Row came up with, and they took some things out. That's not an improvement in my book - not enough to garner the reputation they have.

  • paulf #44 4 years ago

    lets reserve judgement till we actually play them game maybe,

    Features don't make a game, so you might be able to fly through a building in saints row, so what?

    Context is the key here and Rockstar have created the most immersive enviroments in this type of game up to now and hopefully will continue to in GTA IV

  • bad09 #45 4 years ago

    "@ mrXbob didnt saints row copy its entire game from GTA but lose the charm and the wit on the way? really if you think saints row is better than GTA you are seriously misguided"

    100% agreed (and I owned the 1st SR).

  • MrXBob #46 4 years ago

    @paulf ...Of course features make a game. If they didnt, we'd all be getting excited about Pong 834 with it's amazing specular highlights and incredibly realistic bump-mapping.
    Edited by MrXBob at 14/04/08 @ 13:25

  • DrDamn #47 4 years ago

    To be fair Saint Row had plenty of time to come up with new stuff as the vast majority of the gameplay was copied from GTA ;).

    Do you really know the full details of GTAIV to be making judgements about what is new? To a certain extent I think they realised San Andreas had lost its way a little and have pinned things back in some areas. For example I don't think losing planes really was much of a big deal to be honest. From what I have read they have made some key changes to things which needed addressing - combat, adding a cover mechanic etc. So there is new stuff in here.

    The real joy of these sort of games for me is not a bullet point list of features but how it actually plays. That is possibly why Saints Row didn't grab me as I expected it to. Yes it had an impressive list of check box features, but it wasn't as fun as playing the GTA games for me.

  • DrDamn #48 4 years ago

    @MrXBob
    "Of course features make a game."

    Oh no, no on so many levels. Features are what a game does not how it does it. What marks a great game from a good one, or even mediocre one is *how* it does it.

  • MrXBob #49 4 years ago

    You just contradicted yourself in one post :p

    Anyway, you mention the combat - but from what I've read its identical to Saints Row. What I'm getting at is that GTA IV is getting a lot of hype now for these things, yet nobody mentions they were originally done that way in Saints Row. I'm just supporting the underdog.

  • MrXBob #50 4 years ago

    @DrDamn - How can it 'do' them if it doesnt have them? Seriously, think about it! A game is not a game without features. Features ARE the game. If they didnt have all these extra features, we'd just be watching a movie.

  • paulf #51 4 years ago

    the point is you can have new features - but if they arent implemented well then the new features are worthless

    what rockstar do is add new features, new gameplay mechanics and consistantly implement them well

    saints row isn't an underdog, its just an inferior copy of a far superior series

  • mikew1985 #52 4 years ago

    In Fairness Saints Row definitely did not have a cover system and by all accounts the weapons, while aiming was good, felt ill weighted and loose(which is also true of previous GTA's). So i think we'll have to wait and see this game in action before it is said that it just copies what Saints Row did.
    Edited by mikew1985 at 14/04/08 @ 13:42

  • DrDamn #53 4 years ago

    Where is the contradiction?

    There is probably a misunderstanding between us on what a "feature" entails. For me consider the following example :-

    Game A features 22 weapons and 100 cars.
    Game B feature 5 weapons and 10 cars.

    Which is the better game? You can't say - because features don't include how a game plays. It could be Game A has 22 weapons which are all minor variations on 2 base weapons and has terrible aiming controls. The same sort of thing could apply to the vehicles.

    Another example you could come up with a great feature list for Turning Point - but it wouldn't describe the dire mess which is the finished game would it?

  • MrXBob #54 4 years ago

    I know what you're getting at DrDamn, and I agree. But when we're talking sequels, it's much easier to figure out. Saints Row, to me, plays great. I loved every minute of it (apart from the stupidly buggy mission on the freeway with the grenades...), so I know from that, and seeing these new videos of features (such as throwing people around), that SR2 will be great.

    And it's the same with GTA IV. So basically the features DO make the game.

    @paulf - All of the 3D GTA games have had the same awkward animations and cutscenes. They've all had the same terrible aiming, aside from the auto-lock-on stuff they tried (and failed) with. They've all got the same physics system. If you think about it, there havent been that many improvements over the series up until now, so I dont think its fair to say its 'consistantly' improved upon..

  • DrDamn #55 4 years ago

    Ok - given you are happy with the core gameplay mechanics then you could say features become more prominent.

    I think aiming got better through GTA's but it still wasn't a strong point by the end. Though impressions and the first review have given this one credit for improvements here. Animation and physics wise there is a major change here with Euphoria.

    Presumably most have seen the scans for the OXM review ... linky

  • MrXBob #56 4 years ago

    Already from that review there are multiple points taken straight from Saints Row (the mobile phone usage, plus assassination side-missions with photos are identical) but no credit given to the game that pioneered it.

    The original SR reviews all mentioned how it borrowed things from GTA - I think it's only fair that it goes both ways.

  • DrDamn #57 4 years ago

    True. Part of the issue with SR was that it was so blatant in some stuff, even down to look and feel. I'm sure it will get some credit in some reviews though.

  • paulf #58 4 years ago

    put it like this - would saints row exist if there wasn't gta? would gta 4 exist if there wasn't saints row?

    also is it more important that you can throw someone around? or that there's a reason for you throwing them around,

    I take your point that gta iv has borrowed some aspects of saints row, but I bet the way that these fit into the game and the way they play out is implemented better than sr.

    sure gta has flaws that you have pointed out, SR may have better graphics, aiming etc etc but its still not as good a game

  • MrXBob #59 4 years ago

    @paulf - All opinion. All noted.

    Personally though I think its more important that you CAN do something in a game, not that theres a reason for it.

    In Crackdown I can climb to the top of the Agency tower and jump into the sea.

    In Saints Row I can drive at 200mph head-on into another car just to see both me and the driver of the other vehicle fly through the windscreens and ragdoll to the floor.

    In Halo I can put 15 grenades under a Warthog and launch it miles into the sky.

    In Just Cause I can jump from a moving helicopter, land on a speed boat, drive around for a bit, pull my parachute out and be flung into the air, only to free fall into the ocean and swim around.

    What are the reasons for these? There are none. They're just there, they're just fun.

  • ronuds #60 4 years ago

    So Saint's Row copies 99% from GTA and implements a few of those features better and we're complaining that GTA has now copied a couple of the features SR did better? SR was a good game, sure, but let's not forget that it was also the only GTA-esque game so far this generation, so to compare GTA's of the past with it isn't exactly fair.

    SR was very shallow in comparison to GTA: SA, in my opinion. Seemed to me like there was a lot more to do in SA and I think the same will apply to GTAIV. I'm also interested to see how intelligent the AI's are in comparison to one another.

  • paulf #61 4 years ago

    What are the reasons for these? There are none. They're just there, they're just fun

    'just fun' is as good a reason as any :)

    gta is just more fun than anything else in its genre thats all (crackdown does come close though)

  • MrXBob #62 4 years ago

    GTA is a fun game, but honestly, Saints Row has a much more fun randomness to it. Getting chased by the cops in GTA may be exciting, but do the same thing in Saints Row and its very unpredictable. People you hit fling across your bumper realistically, explosions have more impact, pushing you out of the way and lobbing car doors at people. It's got a more... live feeling to it, rather than GTA's stiff-as-a-board animations for people falling over.

    Of course now with Euphoria, GTA IV has gotten past that.

  • paulf #63 4 years ago

    remember by comparing saints row with gta (excluding gta4) you are comparing a ps2 game to a xbox 360 game, (youd hope the 360 game had more immersive/realistic animations - not always the case though), as you infer comparing saints row 2 to gta4 will be a better comparison - so time will tell

  • mooseman721 #64 4 years ago

    @mrxbob

    It's not as good. It won't magically be better just because you wish it to be ;) It got 81% on Metacritic, not bad by any stretch of the imagination. San Andreas got a 95% average on the same site. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion though, even if it is wrong!

    CAN'T IT JUST BE THE 29TH FOR FUCKS SAKE!!!!!
    Edited by mooseman721 at 14/04/08 @ 18:19

  • Ryze #65 4 years ago

    If it's not been said already... 9/11 is likely why there are no planes.

    If 9/11 took place in 'Africa', and this was Capcom JPN's game, however...

    /backs slowly away from thread after lighting blue touchpaper...

  • DjFlex52 #66 4 years ago

    + Ryze

    /waits for the "backlash against Ryze" thread takeover
    Edited by DjFlex52 at 14/04/08 @ 21:45

  • smelly #67 4 years ago

    This will be the game that may convince me to buy a ps3...

  • MrCrun #68 4 years ago

    Pre ordered the ps3 one too. Any probs with this will have to be very bad to off set the horrible hurricane hanging machine that is the 360. I can cope with occasional tearing so long as I don't have to drown out the roar with headphones.