The Gamer's Quarter

[Quick Shot II Turbo]

I like it. Nice-looking, quick cuts, a grimy soundtrack and strong voice-acting. The basics are down.

I bet this trailer feels reassuring to those who, going by the first trailer, thought that GTAIV was going too far off path from the previous games.

I really like how natural the faces that they showed look. GTA games have always managed to get that "natural, not real"-type of facial design and animation down, but in this one they look outstanding and very expressive. I hope this carries over to the pedestrians too, as those didn't looks as hot as the main characters in the previous iterations.
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I love how all of a sudden there are all these "newbies" starting threads about all the problems with the PS3 that they're having. Seems like a conspiracy to me.

[Swimmy]

[Harveyjames]

I dunno, some of the music was pretty good.

[Scratchmonkey]

Specifically KJAH in GTA3. And it only had tracks from one album. Just superb.

[Quick Shot II Turbo]

[dhex]

well, technically remixes belong to the original artist.

it's a great album though. very, very 80s sounding.
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[Scratchmonkey]

[Dracko]

Looking for that Special Someone trailer, in case you hadn't the right codecs or whatever.
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"This is the most fun I've ever had without being drenched in the blood of my enemies!"

[Mr. Mechanical]

From some online 360 zine thing:

* Time based missions are pretty much confirmed.
* Time limited actions in the game.
* The game is 86% complete.

So it would appear that time of day, or even just time in general, has a pretty big effect on mission parameters as well as other things you can do. I'm wondering what this all means. Do missions have time limits to them now, or something like that? Or are some characters just night owls and would repeatedly calling them up during the day while they're trying to sleep have some adverse affect on your relationship with them later on? Maybe this just means that everything in the game takes place on the same time scale, meaning no missions or activities that have their own "timer" ticking down on you each time you try. I don't know, the new E3 thing is next week, right? There'll probably be some juicy new info dropping there. The game is also 86% complete, whatever that means.
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Mr. Mechanical

[Tim]

From gta4.net (from GamesTM):

[Mr. Mechanical]

Oh man this is some pretty heavy sounding stuff for GTA, I love it. No more Pay 'N Spray or Ammunations? I can deal, especially when the alternatives sound so much more interesting. I guess that list of things TIm posted also answers my ponderings regarding how the affect time as a whole has on the game. I like the sounds of it so far. I really like the internet cafe ideas, I hope they can somehow manage to pump the real internet into the game. Probably won't though, so at least their faux internet sounds neat. I wonder if you can buy weapons and such from the internet? Who knows. Also like the way they're going with the wanted system and being able to run and hide from the police. This game is going to be awesome.

edit-gtagaming.com has a summary of the same preview that Tim posted, but I noticed a few more little bits of info that weren't mentioned.

[Mr. Mechanical]

Just found scans of the GamesTM mag. It's a good writeup with some great new screen captures.
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Mr. Mechanical

[Tim]

[kirkjerk]

[Mr. Mechanical]

New details from Play UK:

[dessgeega]

mister freeman, the way you're following this game is both baffling to me and kind of endearing.
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[Mr. Mechanical]

You must understand, Dess, I really like GTA. If Mr. Williamson would allow it then I would spend all my time with this magazine writing about nothing but GTA.

In all seriousness though, my behavior following this game is typical fan behavior for any game. Eat up every dribble of new information as quickly as possible, buy into the hype, etc. etc. all months before I can actually play the game. GTA is, after all, my one true guilty pleasure. It's the only game where I'm willing to let myself toss off any cynicism or skepticism and simply hope for the best in frothing anticipation. Logically it makes no sense whatsoever, but the depths of hardcore fandom are completely beyond logic. I bet there's an article that could be written about all this.
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Mr. Mechanical

[Scratchmonkey]

It sounds like a subset of the Fan Problem AKA Everybody Needs Somebody Who Hurts Them.

[Mr. Mechanical]

Except I've never been hurt by a GTA game before. I hope this isn't the one that does it.

No wait, the "stories" games are kind of painful in a few respects, but I still played them anyway.

Also, people, keep your eyes on this site. It's under construction right now but I saw it on a billboard while reading the scans (second post from top) of the latest magazine preview. It read: "Looking for that special someone? Try out love-meet.net" or something to that effect. I typed it in and got the page you see now, but that "under construction, check back later" text in the top right corner has me kind of giddy as there have been several fake real world websites that have tied into each game released so far, starting with GTA III.
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Mr. Mechanical

[dessgeega]

the gba one is heartbreakingly linear!
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[Mr. Mechanical]

[Mr. Mechanical]

First teaser site found, it's for a talk radio station. WKTT: We Know The Truth Talk Radio. There's a number on the site that you can call and leave a message, and maybe it'll be used in the game. I think that's pretty cool! I'm going to leave a message but I need to stew on what I'll say first.

Also some minor dribbles of information peeped out from OPM Australia in their August issue:

[Cycle]

Speaking of GTA GBA, has anyone played Payback? It's a full 3D GTA clone for the GBA. Very impressive engine, but the game design needed work.


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[Mr. Mechanical]

Some minor new details from Official Xbox Magazine US, courtesy of gta4.net:

[Mr. Mechanical]

[Mr. Mechanical]

Triple post!

Games Aktuell magazine has some new details as well, courtesy gtagaming.com:

[Mr. Mechanical]

The last couple days have seen numerous internet previews pop up and with them a lot of new information. Be careful, it can be a bit much to take in all at once.

[Tim]

Cool! I've been checking this thread every once in a while. Thanks for finding the news!

[Mr. Mechanical]

GTA 4 DELAYED

From the press release:

[Mr. Mechanical]

Nice job dropping that new information so soon, Mr. Houser.

Official box art:


Might need to right click -> view image on this one.

There will also be a new trailer titled "Move up, Ladies" dropping December 6! Set your calenders kids.
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Mr. Mechanical

[Scratchmonkey]

Eh about the box art. I know it's not indicative of the game at all really; however, it would be nice to see them going in a new direction rather than sticking so close to the earlier formula.

[Mr. Mechanical]

I think the game itself will be going in a new enough direction that the formulaic box art is forgivable. Of course, since GTA 3 the box art has been kind of iconographic in terms of letting people know that they're about to play a GTA game. From this box art we can infer:

The game will have helicopters.

Motorcycles.

Cars.

Guns.

Cell phones.

Other characters.

Some type of gondola?

Yep. It is very reassuringly Grand Theft Auto, especially in the wake of all the previews mentioning just how much is changing with this latest iteration of the series. Familiar themes in a new direction, etc.

Plus I really dig the slick new more detailed and realistic art style.
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Mr. Mechanical

[Mr. Mechanical]

Eight new screenshots!

Well, they're not technically new, per se, since they've shown up in magazine scans before but this is the first time we've been able to see the digital versions in high res. Either way, new screenies to pore over, check 'em out. There sure are some purdy ones in there.
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Mr. Mechanical

[Mr. Mechanical]

Two new screenshots.

New trailer tomorrow!

edit-More new screenshots!

I guess we're seeing a slight deluge of some sort. Pretty nice either way, considering it's been months since we last heard or saw anything substantial on the game.
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Mr. Mechanical

[silentmatt]

I want.
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PSN: Twitch_City ||| Wii: 8083 5371 5767 6700
"Jadis, si je me souviens bien, ma vie était un festin où s'ouvraient tous les coeurs, où tous les vins coulaient."

[Mr. Mechanical]

New Trailer (2:03)

Too awesome. Lots of talking, punching, driving, exploding. Great song too. Also it looks like we get a peek at the intro movie as Roman is picking Niko up from the boat he came over on, and showing him the "mansion" which is just his shabby apartment. Great detail on the environments. Lots of intrigue with the story, as well.

The wait just got even longer.

edit-Man, this is a classy trailer. It feels like a movie preview you'd see in a movie theater.

Details I noticed:

The blood on Niko's shirt, seems that the more damage you take the bloodier you get.

Buildings can now catch fire and they burn realistically. Smoke and fire billowing out of the windows. (I hope this means we'll have firefighter missions with more than just burning vehicles now)

Visual effects OMG: The rain, the smoke in the bar, the lighting in the club, the water as the helicopter flies over it. It's all very wow.

First look at hand-to-hand combat. Just a few glimpses but it looks more involved than in previous games.

The entire game looks more involved than previous games, actually. The camera angles in the vehicles are set much lower, it really feels like you're "right there" just from watching it.

There's a point where a cop car crashes into a semi, the hood crumples realistically and the damage models seems to have more detail to them.

Car explosions look awesome. Very full bodied and weighted, lots of fire and smoke.

Framerate looks improved, not as choppy as the last trailer.

The song is Russian and is apparently called 2Kaiser by Russian rapper Seryoga.
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Mr. Mechanical

[Dracko]

I don't know where you draw your conclusions from that trailer, especially for the hand-to-hand or the burning buildings.

It looks okay, but the jury is out until some actual gameplay footage appears.
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"This is the most fun I've ever had without being drenched in the blood of my enemies!"

[Mr. Mechanical]

[Quick Shot II Turbo]

The song from the trailer.
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I love how all of a sudden there are all these "newbies" starting threads about all the problems with the PS3 that they're having. Seems like a conspiracy to me.

[Mr. Mechanical]

Well, it's that time again guys. New previews for GTA IV are going to be popping up all over the internet today as several magazines and websites got to see a new demo of the game played last week. The first magazine to drop some new info is the German Games Auktell.

* You can now target different Bodyparts of your victim when you aim at him with a gun. He will now react realistically, depending where he has been hit. (for example, shoot him in the leg to show him you mean it)
* When you go to a bus stop, the time table will show up.
* Niko moves around Liberty City in 3 different speeds: Walking, Jogging or Running
* Rockstar will use the Euphoria Engine, known from "Star Wars: The Force unleashed". Result: Every Explosion looks different.
* Enemies that have been hit may still try to get up again and attack you (i imagine this like the last stand feature in CoD 4)
* Pedestrians have a memory. they remember your face when they saw you doing a criminal act and run away in terror whenever they see you again.
* Your wanted level does not depend on what you are doing (for example, killing someone in a back alley in san andreas with absolutely no witnesses would still earn you a wanted star), but on who is watching. so prepare for some sam-fisher-like actions for a minimal wanted star level smile.gif
* The multiplayer will be activated via the cell phone. they dont know anything about the multiplayer modes but there will be up to 16 players possible. yet you should not expect a gta iv world of warcraft.

I like the sound of this! Wanted level is based on line of sight so now it's possible to get away with bloody murder as long as there are no witnesses. You can target individual body parts for different results. Peds will remember your face if they see you committing a crime, and there'll be 16 player multiplayer! The bus schedule that pops up reminds me of the earlier previews that described something similar for ATM machines.
Three different speeds for basic movement makes me think of Assassin's Creed, in a good way. Here's hoping there's some kind of parkour element in the game. There should be a lot of new screenshots today as well so I'll keep my eye out for those.
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Mr. Mechanical

[Mr. Mechanical]

http://www.gta4.net/screenshots/

The first ten are the new ones. Pretty impressive. Now, for a quick summation:

* The game has now essentially been completed. Rockstar are just polishing the game and dealing with bugs, glitches and minor things.
* The release date has yet to be decided. "Before the end of April" is unfortunately all we know. The gaming press will receive a hands-on preview before then - in approximately one month from now.
* The Liberty City map was shown briefly during the demo. Kikizo describe it as containing a large island in the middle (Algonquin) with a similarly sized island to the left (Alderney) and two islands to the right - a small one (Bohan) up north with Broker and Dukes underneath. Rockstar also commented on the map found in Trailer 3 by our forum member Bluespot. "My God!" was their reaction. In other words, yes, it is indeed the map. Well done to Bluespot!
* Liberty City will contain a subway system, which Niko is able to use. The system covers - at the very least - Broker and Algonquin, but we aren't sure about the other areas yet.
* A speedboat journey around (approximately) half of Algonquin lasted 5 real-world minutes.
* In terms of camera views, all the traditional views are still there, and there will now also be a dashboard view.
* During the demo, they passed a restaurant called "Poop Deck," where they met with Francis McGreary. Other places mentioned are Oneida Avenue, 99 Long Road (Broker), a bar called Perestroika, South Parkway, Franklyn Street Westbank, and Albannay.
* Three missions were previewed during the demonstration. The first one was "Search and Delete," followed by "Deconstruction for Beginners" and then "Truck Hustle". A new character called Playboy X is introduced by Elizabeta (a mutual friend) during the second mission. Playboy X lives in a mansion, and eventually provides missions for Niko. A second character called Dwayne Ford is introduced, who just got out of prison. He taught Playboy X "everything he knows," apparently. In the third mission, two characters called Ray and Bell are introduced. They are from the mafia, and are trying to help Niko find someone, but want some favours done in return.
* The character Brucie is introduced to Niko by his cousin Roman. Brucie runs a garage just around the corner from Roman's taxi depot in Broker.
* Characters often look different each time you see them instead of perpetually wearing the same clothes like in previous GTAs.
* The red and blue search radius on the radar is centred around the point where the crime was committed, and your last known whereabouts.
* Every police car in Liberty City has an on-board computer, on which you can access the police database files for anybody who's got a criminal record, or any other details that the police are aware of.
* You can smash your own car window to enable you to shoot from it; you can free-aim outside of your window using the right analogue.
* Liberty City has one airport, based on JFK, called Francis International Airport (yes, it's the same name given to the airport in GTA3). It is located in on the East of the city.
* Progress is automatically saved after completing a mission. There are also safe houses dotted around the city, which you can save at any time.
* In this demo, the cell network is called Badger, whereas in the last demo it was called Whiz.
* Building and maintaining relationships with characters is important. During the preview, Jacob comes to meet you rather than vice versa. This is only possible once your friendship with Jacob has developed to a certain stage. Relationships can be damaged if you (for example) fail to turn up for meetings, or snub the character too many times. Maintaining good relationships with characters provides benefits.
* Pool, eating, darts, drinking and bowling are just some of the activities you can do with your friends to maintain relationships. The cellphone is used to access these activities via a menu. If you go for a drink and drink too much, Niko will get drunk. When this happens, the radar reads "You are drunk. Your vision is blurred." and the camera begins to shake, which makes driving difficult.
* There is a radio station called IF99.
* The game clock is no longer one minute = one hour. It is now two minutes = one hour. So days now last longer.
* Niko receives phone calls from people throughout the game. If someone really wants to get in touch with you about an important issue, they will keep on phoning.
* The new targetting system was described. There are eight purple segments in the target circle that make up someone's health, which you get when you're locked on - during free aiming you don't get the indicator.
* Expensive cars have better GPS systems than poorer ones. The one they enter during the preview session "talks us through the streets!"
* The cellphone can be used to listen to radio stations, so now you can listen to music at any time.
* The GTA 4 weather system does not feature seasons, and there is no snow.

Courtesy of GTA4.net as well as the following sites with previews:

http://uk.xbox360.ign.com/articles/847/847102p1.html
http://uk.xbox360.ign.com/articles/847/847035p1.html
http://uk.xbox360.ign.com/articles/847/847035p1.html
http://www.gamesradar.com/gb/xbox360/game/previews/article.jsp?releaseId=2006051014323586065&articleId=200801233710658040&sectionId=1001
http://www.gamesradar.com/gb/xbox360/game/previews/article.jsp?releaseId=2006051014323586065&articleId=200801233710658040&sectionId=1001
http://previews.teamxbox.com/xbox-360/1844/Grand-Theft-Auto-IV/p1/
http://www.gamepro.com/microsoft/xbox360/games/previews/158028.shtml
http://uk.gamespot.com/xbox360/action/grandtheftauto4/news.html?sid=6185020
http://www.videogamer.com/xbox360/grand_theft_auto_4/preview-734.html

So three missions were previewed wherein it was revealed that:

Police cars have computers in them that can be used to search the crime database. You can type in someone's name or upload a picture you've taken of them with your camera phone to see if they're in the computer system. In the mission previewed, once Niko found his target in the computer system the car's GPS plotted out a route straight to the guy's doorstep.

Some of the nicer cars will feature talking GPS systems.

You can now shoot from your car using the right stick to aim (like in Saint's Row, I imagine). In one mission Niko shot at the chains holding a bunch of logs on a truck until it broke, causing the logs to tumble off the back of the truck and create an obstacle for the guy he was chasing.

If you fail a mission you can try again immediately (as in, right then) though the dialogue will change in the opening cutscene.. The game autosaves upon completing a mission though safe houses are still scattered about.

There are interactive mini-cutscenes like those made famous in God of War, the one example here being Niko climbing aboard a moving truck, making his way to the cab, then dramatically bursting in through the window, shooting the driver, and making off with the vehicle.

You can listen to the radio through your cell phone and it sounds appropriately tinny.

Building relationships with other characters was fleshed out some. Basically you call someone up, see if they want to do something, be it bowling, pool, a strip club, or a date. Then you go pick that person up and do the activity with them. This has side benefits in that building good relationships with certain characters will net you access to better vehicles and weapons. One character, for instance, will provide you with helicopters the better on you get with them, while another will provide more firepower. Roman will provide free taxi services eventually. The previews speak of Niko and Roman going to a bar, getting piss drunk, and then describe what it's like to drive drunk in-game. The vehicle's control is more difficult, the screen blurs and the camera bobs and sways. However, it should also be noted that if you set up something to do with someone and then decide to blow it off without calling them up to cancel they'll be quite annoyed and this will affect how they do business with you in the future.

The city is just massive and the framerate has been greatly improved since last year. The game is mostly finished and all that's left now is bug testing and other polish.

You can ride up the sides of buildings in the scaffolding used by window washers. The view is impressive.

Line of sight plays a huge role in combat. In one mission Niko fired upon some bad guys from a rooftop using a sniper rifle. Even though they were being fired upon the bad guys couldn't see Niko and therefore didn't know where to shoot. There's a cover system like the one used in Gears of War, or perhaps Uncharted: Drakes Fortune, and the game features a Crackdown style lock-on. You can pull the left trigger slightly to enter a free aim mode, and pull it in all the way to get a lock on somebody. You can also target individual body parts like in Crackdown.

There's a button you can press and hold to automatically center the camera on the car you're chasing, so that if you get smacked off course or spun around you can tap this button to get your bearings back more quickly and not lose the person you're after.

There's probably more stuff that I'm forgetting or just haven't gotten around to finding out yet since I haven't finished reading through all the previews but I think all this will suffice for now. I'm pretty excited about this game again and I hope it comes out soon.
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Mr. Mechanical

[Mr. Mechanical]

The official website is up and it's pretty neat. And interactive map of the city with links to other mini-websites from the gameworld. I'm taking an online personality quiz from the love-meet site and the results are hilarious. First I was a Boring Loser and then a Douchebag. The descriptions are accompanied by in-game pics of random pedestrians, so when you see those types of people on the street in the game you'll know what kind of person they are. Just neat!


Anyway there's a lot of neat little stuff here to explore. Character pages that have video clips. This game is coming soon, you can feel it.

There's also a lot of new info from hands on previews at gta4.net.
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Mr. Mechanical

[helicopterp]

wait, harveyjames is in this game?
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Like you thought you'd seen copter perverts before. They were nothing compared to this one.

[Mr. Mechanical]

Hey, the game map got leaked early.

Froth levels reaching critical mass here.

Also there is apparently a new trailer dropping in a few hours. It'll be the final trailer released before the game comes out.

Multiplayer details have finally been revealed as well and it sounds sweet. 16 different game modes and up to 16 players at a time! There's even a free roam mode where you can invite friends to your game just to hang out and dink around Liberty City!
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Mr. Mechanical

[dhex]

be careful not to froth too much in the abyss, lest the abyss froth over you or something like that.

i wonder what the eventual pc port will be like. i never played any of the pc ports of the other gta games, so...quality? worthless?
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[Mr. Mechanical]

The Vice City PC port I played was pretty good. Basically higher res textures and less pop-in/slow down. Farther draw distances, not as much aliasing, that sort of thing.

That was Vice City though, I never played GTA 3 or San Andreas on PC so I have no idea how well those did.
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Mr. Mechanical

[dessgeega]

did i point out already that GTAIV is a dumb acronym, because the roman numerals read as letters?
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[Mr. Mechanical]

Yeah I think you did back on page one.
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Mr. Mechanical

[Harveyjames]

[Mr. Mechanical]

Rockstar Games Social Club

Multiplayer leaderboards and stat tracking!