Platform(s): Xbox 360, Playstation 3, PC (this fall)
Release Date: April 29
Developer: Rockstar North
Publisher: Rockstar Games and Take Two
Downloadable Content: Xbox 360 (2 add ons in the future), Playstation 3 (while there hasn't been a confirmation, we should still expect something)
Game modes: Single player and multiplayer (16 players maximum)
Physics Engine: Euphoria
Graphics Engine: RAGE
Summary
Niko Bellic - a veteran crook, sex slave trafficker, and murderer, comes to America with one belief: that he will be able to experience the American dream and start over. His cousin Roman tells him, through exchanged emails, that he has a mansion, tons of women, and more cars than he really needs. Niko naively believes him, hoping for some escape from the current life he leads, and leaves Russia for the capital of the world: Liberty City.
He finds that his cousin Roman was actually lying to him. Roman has no status or wealth, he only owns a poor Taxi business in the middle of Broker. He owes some people money, as he easily swindles his money gambling. It is apparent from the trailers and the outset of the game that Roman is in a fix. Obviously it's up to Niko to set things straight, but at the expense of disregarding his wish for a new life and have revert to his old ways right out the gate. R* says that the game, unlike past GTA's since Vice City, is not a rags to riches story; it is a rags to slightly better rags story akin to GTAIII. Rockstar says that today living the life of a criminal is hard ass work, and will attempt to reflect this in the story and gameplay - this means a more brutal GTA, a more realistic GTA. The final trailer emphasizes what it is like being a criminal in the modern age: the guys you are working with are on their last legs, and Niko is their last hope to success. Remember, everyone's a rat.
Brooklyn is called Broker
Manhattan is called Algonquin
Queens is called Dukes
The Bronx is called Bohan
New Jersey is called Alderney
Staten Island will NOT appear in the game.
Official Website
*Small spoilers*
Details
- The game will be much harder than past entries. The days where you walk up to any car and jack it are over, as are the days where you simply have to run to a pay and spray to get the heat off of you.
- While the game is not as big as San Andreas, it has more detail and R* is going for less wasted space.
- The police system has been entirely retooled. You will not instantly become wanted whenever you commit a crime now, even in public. If there are no cops around, and someone sees you, they will have to notify the police. It sounds extremely similar to The Warriors, it sounds like. When and if you commit a crime in public and the police are notified, a circular search area will appear on your radar. The fuzz will go on high alert. If you are outside of this area the cops will not be able to find you unless you commit another crime. If you are spotted in the circular area, the police will follow you to that location. Thus, if you are sneaky, they will not know where you are.
- You can trick police to get rid of wanted level. Since there's no Pay and Spray you must use other ways to get rid of wanted level: changing your clothes (especially if they are bloody); switching cars to confuse the police; running into someone's house, out the back, and on to their fire escape, among other things.
- Many interiors are fully decorated and have been given a much bigger emphasis and importance on gameplay.
- While the game does not have planes, it does have helicopters.
- Targeting system has been retooled. It has a Resident Evil 4 and Gears of War like targeting system.
- Some cars are locked, so you will need to strategize escape routes more thoroughly this time. In order to unlock locked vehicles, breaking the window is necessary, as is hot wiring the car. Obviously, under a chase this will make things more hectic.
- Missions are far more dynamic now and have a different structure. Many missions start at specific times now, similarly to Shenmue. If a train leaves at 10:00 am and you arrive at 10:01 am, you fail the mission. Missions also happen on specific days. If it's Monday, sometimes you will have a mission that starts on Wednesday. You can obviously do other missions in between or come up with a plan. Rockstar wants to blur the difference between story missions and non story based missions.
- Missions have been completely retooled. Now, you do not have a giant arrow over someone's head if they are your target. Let's say you have to kill a target, but he's surrounded by a group of people. You do not know who is who. You can handle this in multiple ways. You can find out his phone number, call him up, see if he responds, and kill him; or you can simply go up to the entire group and kill all of them. The choice is up to you. Of course, if you do the latter choice, your boss may be pissed off...
- Depending on how well and what you do during missions, you can form relationships with your bosses and clients. If you do good, kill your targets discreetly, you will have a good relationship. If you do things in plain sight, without using your brains, your boss will most likely hate you and break all contact. It sounds like a great evolution on GTA2's fun, but not exactly deep, respect system. Also, there are points in the game where you have the choice to kill characters. The OXM UK reviewer said he pined over one his decisions longer than he did any moment revolving a Little Sister in Bioshock.
- Maintaining character relationships can result in specific rewards. Little Jacob is the guy who sells you weapons. Your relationship is maintained through phone contact and loyalty. If you boost up his relationship he will give you more powerful weapons.
- As the third trailer hinted, before you gain any sort of weapon, you're going to be using your fists. More emphasis on hand to hand combat will be in GTAIV. It's going to be a while before you get your first gun, Rockstar says.
- There is now a GPS.
- You can push people off of buildings.
- People will react to your weapons. So if you have an rpg out, they will obviously go batshit, which will cause attention to you. Pulling out a pistol will cause pedestrians to call the police.
- People now have vision. The only way you can get caught committing a crime is if someone sees you. So if you kill someone in an empty alley, the police won't randomly be notified any longer. Either a police officer is going to have to be in the vicinity or a pedestrian will have to call the police on the phone.
- The days where you carry millions of cash on you are over. You can now use atms or go to the bank to deposit or withdraw funds.
- Every cop car has a working computer, which allows you to search for any criminal in the city, find his where abouts, and any thing remotely related to him or her. Should be handy if you need information on a target.
- You now have a cell phone, which allows Niko to call the police, 911, the fire department, or any number in the game. pedestrians will even call you on accident.
- Car damage is more realistic now. Various parts of the car can be damaged, making it hard to drive in certain situations. For instance, if your tires get bent from an accident, it is much harder to drive after the fact.
- The game's story is longer than San Andreas and should take around 100 hours if you take your time and do every thing.
Multiplayer
Modes
1. Hangmans NOOSE
2. Car Jack City
3. Bomb da Base
4. Bomb da Base II
5. Mafia Work
6. Team Mafia Work
7. Deathmatch
8. Team Deathmatch
9. Turf War
10. Cops N Crooks
11. Race
12. GTA Race
13. Deal Breaker
14. Free Mode
15. ???
- Multiplayer mode can support up to 16 players.
- The entire city will be opened during this mode.
- Player customization will be available in the multiplayer mode.
- The host makes the rules. You can turn toggle lock on/free aim, how many pedestrians are on the streets, weather, vehicle types, .
-Health, armour and cash pickups are available during multiplayer. The cash determines your online rank - from 0 to 10. Kill people and steal their money to boost your online credibility.
- The higher your online rank, the more you can customize your character.
- You have a choice between both male and female characters, and there is a variety of clothing for each which you can buy using money that is earned during multiplayer. You can't play as Niko in multi player, however.
-You can wander anywhere during multiplayer, but if you die you will respawn in the area that the host has set.
