View Full Version : GTA IV - Details Unveiled


Slacker George
04-11-07, 08:51 AM
Here's a nice summary of what's known about the GI article so far. I don't think this is everything.

From PlanetGrandTheftAuto (http://planetgrandtheftauto.gamespy.com/fullstory.php?id=118912)
Niko Bellic is the main character.

Multi-player will be included, but no details yet. It will not be MMO.

The game has been in development since early 2004.

Variations in the terrain cause the walking animation to change. The physics have also improved and character movements are more realistic.

Liberty City is the only location in the game.

The Xbox 360 version was the version shown to the magazine editors.

There were no planes in the skies of the demo that the magazine editors saw, and it seems that there will not be airplanes in the game. Other forms of air travel should not be ruled out.

The MetLife building now bears the name Getalife, the Statue of Liberty is now the Statue of Happiness, and DUMBO (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass) is called BOABO (Beneath the Offramp of the Algonquin Bridge Overpass).

Dan Houser of Rockstar Games said that New York City "is an environment we felt had never been done to the level we were envisioning it in a video game. From looking at all of the locations, this was the one that really stood out to us, and really had that impact. It has all of these iconic things that you couldn't put into a game before."

Within Grand Theft Auto IV, Rockstar North has recreated four of the five boroughs that make up New York City, as well as a section of New Jersey. In the GTA universe, Brooklyn has been transformed to Broker, Manhattan has mutated into Algonquin, Queens is now Dukes, The Bronx is Bohan, and New Jersey has become Alderney.

It's a smaller geographical mass than San Andreas, but not an inch of this world is wasted or dedicated to vast stretches of country or desert. It's a tightly packed metropolis that captures the eye with its decades of world-class architecture, sun-blocking towers, and extraordinary walks of life.

The city is brought to life with an amazing level of realism. Sunlight glistens beautifully off of glasswork, illuminates the intricate detailing of century old brick, and even reveals just how realistic an ordinary bag of trash can look. As the sun begins to set, the city takes on a whole different appearance. Buildings that were once eye-popping attractions slowly become ominous obelisks. As any New Yorker will tell you, there's a big difference between New York during the day and New York at night. Liberty City will perfectly capture that quality.

Niko Bellic's home is in Eastern Europe, and he likely may never have traveled to Liberty City if it wasn't for his cousin Roman. With life not working out in the homeland, "Bellic turns up in Liberty City because he's been receiving e-mails from his cousin Roman, that read like: 'I live this amazing life, it's the American Dream come true. I have two women. I have four hot tubs. I have fifteen sports cars," Houser elaborates. "And [Bellic] believes it." His bid to flee his past for what he thought would be the greener pastures of America couldn't be any further from the truth. Roman has been lying to him. He isn't rich. He isn't popular. And he's actually in a load of trouble. He lied to his cousin to hide his own failures in life.

Roman, Niko's cousin, is the only person that he knows in America. He serves as one of his main friends, motivations, and connections at the start of the game. Unlike San Andreas, players won't get a chance to see Bellic in his homeland. You will see his life unfold from the moment he steps into Liberty City.

Niko is a "tough character" while Roman is a "friendly buffoon."

The story unfolds in a number of different ways. R* is giving people more freedom, more choice and more sense of control over their destiny - the structure of the storyline is quite different to previous games.

The targeting system details have not been released.

Slacker George
04-11-07, 09:03 AM
Some low quality scans here (http://www.gtaivnews.com/) and a link to download bigger versions.

Plus a few more details:

You will use your cell phone to call contacts.

The Pedestrians are a lot more realistic and can do things like sit down on chairs, smoke, read and more.

After the first loading screen, The game will not load again, Including when you enter/exit buildings etc.

JackBau3r
04-11-07, 09:05 AM
Eh. I already posted this, but since your thread has more info, go ahead and leave this open and lock mine.

EDIT-It's good they're improving the physics and animation, and the graphical details are amazing for a sandbox game. Almost as good as any other non sandbox game!

Slacker George
04-11-07, 09:22 AM
Eh. I already posted this, but since your thread has more info, go ahead and leave this open and lock mine.

EDIT-It's good they're improving the physics and animation, and the graphical details are amazing for a sandbox game. Almost as good as any other non sandbox game!Sorry, can't believe I missed that. I even double checked to make sure it wasn't posted yet. Yours has really nice pics in it! I love the way they kept the kind of stylized look to it. Amazing.

ChrisFB
04-11-07, 10:04 AM
but not an inch of this world is wasted or dedicated to vast stretches of country or desert. It's a tightly packed metropolis

I hope there's at least central park or something. I kind of like some of the open space areas. The beach and water was even cool in Vice City.

Still it sounds incredible. This will be a must have for me - it might even be my first console preorder ever (I've only ever pre-ordered Battlefield 2 because it came with the free headset).

_Avarice_
04-11-07, 10:06 AM
^^^ I'm sure there will be a sparkling, crystal-clear Hudson River at least!

Slordak
04-11-07, 10:17 AM
These are the "details"? Not very detailed, I have to say. Anyone have any insight on what exactly makes this new title so much significantly better than say, Saints Row? It seems more like just an evolution, rather than the "amazingly different" game they've been promising.

bassmonkeee
04-11-07, 10:29 AM
These are the "details"? Not very detailed, I have to say. Anyone have any insight on what exactly makes this new title so much significantly better than say, Saints Row? It seems more like just an evolution, rather than the "amazingly different" game they've been promising.

Jeez--the game comes out in OCTOBER. This is the first glance in APRIL. Would you like the complete working script, and perhaps the entire Development Team flow chart?

michael000
04-11-07, 10:34 AM
Both versions of the game (Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3) will likely be identical, but the Xbox 360 version will have exclusive downloadable episodic [sizeable] content. Rockstar have now spent over 3 years developing the game, and Dan Houser compares the leap from GTA III to GTA IV, to the leap from GTA to GTA III.

Via Kotaku, apparently this also came from the GI feature.

Slordak
04-11-07, 11:03 AM
Jeez--the game comes out in OCTOBER. This is the first glance in APRIL. Would you like the complete working script, and perhaps the entire Development Team flow chart?
Considering how much time has been spent on development, the final 6 months is nothing more than polishing and bug fixing. Hence, real details are known, they just aren't being shared yet. I know that the Grand Theft Auto brand generates a lot of excitement, but I personally think this space is getting crowded with titles like Saints Row and Crackdown. Hence, I'm interested to see what Rockstar thinks the distinguishing features of their product are.

bassmonkeee
04-11-07, 11:32 AM
Considering how much time has been spent on development, the final 6 months is nothing more than polishing and bug fixing. Hence, real details are known, they just aren't being shared yet. I know that the Grand Theft Auto brand generates a lot of excitement, but I personally think this space is getting crowded with titles like Saints Row and Crackdown. Hence, I'm interested to see what Rockstar thinks the distinguishing features of their product are.

The "space getting crowded" is exactly why the detail will slowly trickle out over the next six months. If they blow their wad 6 months in advance, there's no reason to think that GTAIV will stay in the spotlight. But, every "more screenshots" and "more info" story they can generate is guaranteed front page news in every magazine and on every website.

JackBau3r
04-11-07, 11:45 AM
There's a lot more detail in GI. These are just summaries.

_Avarice_
04-11-07, 11:48 AM
Not to mention that the genre is only "getting crowded" because titles like Saint Row and Crackdown were derived from the success of the GTA series. While they are decent games in their own right, why settle for an imitation when you can have the original?

Slordak
04-11-07, 12:25 PM
That's like asking why purchase a Core Duo system when one can have an original IBM XT instead. Improvements are made over time, and others bring fresh ideas and fresh mechanics to the core concept. Just because a given company popularized something doesn't mean they are the exclusive owners of innovation in the area.

Slacker George
04-11-07, 12:28 PM
"Both versions of the game (Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3) will likely be identical, but the Xbox 360 version will have exclusive downloadable episodic [sizeable] content."

Via Kotaku, apparently this also came from the GI feature.The PS3 will have exclusive content also. At least that was the plan a few months ago. It was discussed when the "GTA4 on the 360" announcement was made.

briankmonkey
04-11-07, 01:25 PM
The PS3 will have exclusive content also. At least that was the plan a few months ago. It was discussed when the "GTA4 on the 360" announcement was made.

You can play as Mario in the Wii version ;)

jhaines
04-11-07, 02:05 PM
Any word on 1080i support...?

- Jer

Auditor_Kevin
04-11-07, 02:32 PM
You can play as Mario in the Wii version ;)

Can't you say that about every game Nintendo makes? :D

Funny stuff.

ChrisFB
04-11-07, 04:13 PM
Any word on 1080i support...?

- Jer

Begin praying now.

_Avarice_
04-11-07, 05:24 PM
That's like asking why purchase a Core Duo system when one can have an original IBM XT instead. Improvements are made over time, and others bring fresh ideas and fresh mechanics to the core concept. Just because a given company popularized something doesn't mean they are the exclusive owners of innovation in the area.

:rolleyes:

You know the point I'm getting at....or at least you should. Rockstar has the most experience with these games, so they're more apt to build a successful sandbox-style title. They've made drastic improvements in each subsequent release, and the fact that they're billing the jump from San Andreas to IV as being just as significant in magnitude as the jump from GTA 2 to GTA III, means that we're in for a treat.

The imitators can certainly carve a niche, but it's unlikely that they'll surpass GTA. This will be evident in sales numbers from October on :p

michael000
04-11-07, 06:10 PM
The PS3 will have exclusive content also. At least that was the plan a few months ago. It was discussed when the "GTA4 on the 360" announcement was made.

Yeah i read that announcement too, maybe it's still in the works maybe not. As far as this latest news though it would appear not. If it was they wouldn't have made such a specific statement. For all we know it could just be an info mix up, i'm somewhat inclined to believe it though given the circumstances.

like.no.other.
04-11-07, 07:03 PM
No other location.... just plain New York City. No airplanes because of that damn 9/11