Grand Theft Auto IV - open thread

I wasn't planning on it... but when Cyneater pointed out to me that if I didn't get it, I would be LOTRing and COD4ing all by my lonesome, he made me think twice. He also explained some particulars about the game to me, which i did not know much about... so I may very well buy this game now. I'll have a couple of weeks to play my brains out before school starts back.
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"Don't blow this, Gene!"

I'll be buying on release day too. Then we can all go gangbangin!!!

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J$D

I shall pick up a copy as well. I played the crap out of GTA series on the PC, GTA3 on the ps2 was a cool movement in the series which I enjoyed, the following 2 games of the series I didn't really get into because it was basically the same game and they both got old fast. I'm hoping GT4 has a fresh appeal to me since I haven't played the series in a long time.

Same with me, Sky. I played GTA III but not Vice City or San Andreas.

I'm going to pick this game up in a month or two.

My last final is on the 29th so I'll hit ya'll up with multiplayer invites when i gets it ~.^

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J$D

Huh? What kind of multiplayer does GTA IV have?

I like to explore single player thoroughly before jumping into multiplayer hard core, but I'll give it a run with you guys.

Yeah I feel the same about single player first, but then again I couldn't get online anyways for at least a month.

@Mintz
As far as I recall, GTA4 will have a lot of multiplayer modes.
Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch (Basically a game type like cops and robbers), sandbox mode which is basically co-op single player, and a racing mode (not your normal racing mode, more gta style with guns and hijacking the other players ride)

I tend to play MP alot at first. Saving single player for when no one else is on.

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I've got it reserved at downstairs gamestop in the mall. So yes I will be picking it up sometime tuesday and play it late that night once I get done with my 3 exams that day...

can't wait to pick up some hookers.

Hookers? in GTA game?

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J$D

Of course there is. As far as I know there has always been hookers in GTA's

sarcasm...

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J$D

I'll always remember the first time in GTA III when I pulled into that alley and that little virtual car started rocking and my health started rising.

I won't be getting it on launch day but I can't wait to play it :-)

IGN has given GTA IV 10 out of 10! They say: "Without question, Grand Theft Auto IV is the best game since Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time." Yeah, I am definitely buying this now.

10 Presentation
The story is Oscar quality. The use of the phone as a gaming portal is genius. There's really nothing more that could be asked for from GTA IV.

10 Graphics
The level of detail is astounding. Liberty City feels alive and lived in. While there are some technical issues, the artistic merits push the score to the max. A true marvel.

10 Sound
The dialogue makes the story. Without the excellent writing and the stellar voice acting, the story would fail. And the soundtrack kills -- more than 200 songs and almost all are great choices.

10 Gameplay
The cover and targeting system work great. Blind firing with an RPG is a thing of beauty. Everything works in harmony and not a single one of the missions is bad. The most fun I've had in years.

10 Lasting Appeal
The story will take anywhere from 25-45 hours to complete, depending on your skill level and attention span. There's plenty more to do once you finish the story, such as excellent multiplayer.

OVERALL

10
Masterful
(out of 10 / not an average)

EDIT: BTW, you can read the entire review here.
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"Don't blow this, Gene!"

Wow, a 10 in every category. Seems to me like GTA IV will need to be the last game you need to buy for a while. Multiplayer sounds like a riot (no pun intended).

Very encouraging.

They said the last game they gave a perfect 10 was Soul Calibur on the Dreamcast.

I'm thinking GTA IV may live up to the hype. I've been reading reviews and this game has technology in it that is groundbreaking.

This is frickin ridiculous:

http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/xbox360/grandtheftauto4

Average review: 100. Out of how many reviews, you might ask? 13. Of 13 reviews 10 of them are a solid 100/100.

If I had something to play this on I would get it. Looks good.
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Currently playing:
Team Fortress 2 (PC)
Audiosurf(PC)

There is no doubt the game is going to be good, I just hope it's something different than just revamped graphics.

Couple of encouraging comments from reviews I've read:

"most polished game in the series"

"games of this caliber usually have a much smaller scope"

"Oscar-quality plot"

The inverse kinematics on the AI is amazing. Check YouTube for the videos. It'll make H3, CoD4, etc. seem retro.

I can't wait til GameSpot throws their review in there with an 8.9, just to #%$@ things up.

COd huh? What's your username/psn?

Will GTA IV outsell CoD4? What about Halo 3?

Is there going to be replay value to this game?

I think it will outsell COD4, but I highly doubt it would outsell nubalo3, I mean halo 3. BTW not sure if anyone knows this, but you can go into a comedy clubs and watch real skits from Kat Williams and Ricky Gervais. Slight additions like this is what I want from this game to make it above and beyond the previous titles. Also excited about the cover combat system, something I thought should have been in the game for a long time, but I hope its more polished than the Godfather's combat system(good but not great).

Are we talking 360 only or multi-platform? IIRC COD4 has sold more total copies than H3 because it's available on PS3 and PC. Grand Theft Auto 4 may indeed outsell Halo 3 in total copies because it's available on PS3 as well as 360. That certainly wouldn't surprise me. Outselling COD4 in total copies would surprise me, since I bet PC sales are significant for COD4.

I was on the lines of 360 only, but if you include ps3 then I believe it will outsell both seeing how the gta series has been the best selling PS title. I'm sure GTA 4 will be released on the PC at some point in the future as well, and all the Modders will buy it again for the PC.

GTA: Vice City is one of the best-selling games of all time, and that was PS2-only. While there are more PS2s than Xbox360s and PS3s combined, I think in time it will outsell Halo 3 for sure, and probably CoD4.

In some of the reveiws i read, they were saying how the multiplayer alone would make this game worth while. I think the replay value on this game will be extremely high. Besides the main story line, everything that can be done in single player can be done in multiplayer.

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J$D

The AP thinks 9,000,000 copies will be sold on launch.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — There's no Burger King tie-in or special flavor of Mountain Dew. No commercial directed by Peter Jackson, or even an action figure.

The run-up to "Grand Theft Auto IV" has been considerably less ballyhooed than last year's over-the-top "Halo 3" debut. Yet when "GTA IV" parks on store shelves on April 29, the latest entry in the controversial video game franchise could be the most lucrative launch in entertainment history — and one that many people may not even know about.

Analysts predict Take-Two Interactive Software and Rockstar Games' open-world, action-driving game will easily top last year's record-breaking $300 million first-week sales of Microsoft and Bungee Studios' first-person shooter "Halo 3" — and without a similar marketing bonanza.

With the launch of "GTA IV" on both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, Rockstar is seemingly steering in one direction: the downlow.

"Rockstar wants to control the message all the time," says Sam Kennedy, editorial director for the gaming site 1UP.com. "They want this to be seen and perceived exactly the way they want. That's why — outside of the official trailers they released — people haven't seen a lot of gameplay footage in advance of 'GTA IV' shipping. They want to build that hype."

Take-Two and Rockstar declined to comment for this story, but following a 90-minute demonstration of the game in January, "GTA IV" writer and Rockstar vice president Dan Houser told The Associated Press that the infamous game developer, who's also responsible for the "Manhunt" and "Bully" games, was being overly protective for one very important reason.

"We want people to be really excited and not know everything by the time they play the game," said Houser. "Of course, we want them to understand what they're buying, but we want there to be surprises along the way."

The desire for intel about "GTA IV" has been mounting since the game was announced at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in 2006 and again in August when Take-Two revealed "GTA IV" would be delayed until 2008. Other than four popular online trailers and some embargoed press previews, there hasn't been much information.

The silent treatment is a savvy business move, according to Steve Fowler, vice president of strategy for the Ayzenberg Group, a company that specializes in interactive entertainment advertising and marketing. Fowler worked as a product manager on the original "Halo."

"'Halo 3' took the approach of going after a less core consumer, but they had an ulterior motive," says Fowler. "Microsoft was using 'Halo 3,' their biggest property, to try and sell more Xbox 360s. Take-Two and Rockstar are free of that constriction because 'GTA IV' is on both platforms, so they're only motivated to be true to what their game is and sell copies of their game."

Thus far, Rockstar's advertising campaign has consisted of several outdoor elements — billboards, bus wraps, building murals, phony wanted posters — spread across North America and Europe as well as a few viral videos featuring satirical commercials for fictitious "GTA" businesses posted online. GameStop and Microsoft have also aired their own TV commercials featuring the game.

The less-is-more approach might also have something to do with the controversial series' M-rated content. "GTA IV" anti-hero Niko Bellic, an imigrant-turned-gangster from Eastern Europe, isn't exactly one of the Mario Brothers. As Bellic, players can hijack cars, earn cash for criminal activities, flee from police, drive drunk, kill innocent bystanders and patronize strip clubs.

"If you look at their marketing, that's not a selling point at all," says Fowler. "They've gone with this comic book look and feel. It's not about graphic violence. It's not about profanity. It's more about the feeling, expression and the emotional attachment to the characters and the world."

The drama extends beyond Liberty City, the game's fictional locale, and into the real world. Video game publisher Take-Two, which owns Rockstar, has been subject to a hostile takeover bid from Electronic Arts since February. Take-Two has been holding out, refusing to enter formal talks with EA or any other suitor until April 30, the day after "GTA IV" goes on sale.

Huge first-day "GTA IV" sales could certainly boost the value of Take-Two's shares. The lack of a "Halo 3"-sized advertising campaign isn't expected to affect sales, according to video game analysts. Unlike the Xbox 360-exclusive "Halo 3," the ninth "GTA" game is being simultaneously released for Sony's and Microsoft's consoles, a first for the 10-year-old gaming franchise.

"The addressable market at launch is about 24 million consoles," says Michael Pachter, video game analyst at Wedbush Morgan. "So how many will sell in the first week or month or few months? Nine million. That's the number. That's about a 35 percent attach rate. By year's end, it'll be somewhere between 11 and 13 million because more consoles will be sold before the holidays."

By comparison, "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End," which had the highest grossing film debut in 2007, fleeced $404 million in its first six days around the world. However, a movie ticket is significantly less than the $59.99 price tag for "GTA IV." And software sales are usually less concerned with opening week figures, according to Pachter.

"Opening week doesn't have any bearing on lifetime sales," says Pachter. "With box office, three to five times opening weekend sales is what movies usually do. Games can slip under the radar and be slow and steady sellers like 'Wii Fit' will be or highly anticipated like 'GTA IV' and literally sell half of their lifetime units in the first week."

Such sales would beat the record held by "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas," the previous "GTA" console game that sold over 9 million copies when it was released for the PlayStation 2 in 2004, according to NPD Group, which tracks video game sales. To meet the demand, retailers such as GameStop and Best Buy are opening their doors at midnight for special "GTA IV" launch events.

"I would expect April to be a monster sales month for the video game industry, one that is likely to break all sorts of previous records," says Anita Frazier, video game analyst for NPD Group. "We release our April sales data on May 15, a

I'm teetering on the edge of buying this from Wal-Mart at midnight tonight. If someone wants to go with me I'll have to cave in.

I can wait...until all you guys start raving about it.

I can wait... til my next paycheck.

A few of us are going to the gamestop by target on university around 10 or so to wait til midnight to get this thing...even though I have 3 back to back to back exams tomorrow. Good grief.

Yeah, I have two essays and a research paper I have to work on... so I'm out.
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"Don't blow this, Gene!"

It's all about priorities, man.

Went to Wal-Mart at 11:45. There were 4 people waiting, including me. Was out by 12:05. Screw Gamestop. I hate dealing with them.

My first date with Michelle didn't go so well. First she got mad that I was destroying her car. Then I got lost and drove onto a miniature golf course. We both drowned when the car became stuck in a water hazard. Very sad.

It's got the old GTA III feel to it, but more polished. Radio stations are great, especially WKTT. Cell phone is a work of genius. It has revolutionized the way GTA is played. Game started out and I watched it like a movie. At some point I remember, "Oh, I've got to play this." Story is pretty good so far, although I'm only a few missions in. Niko is going to be an interesting guy. Time for bed.

EA asked how the cell phone works. Thought I would post the info here for all to see:

Numero uno: it allows you to quickly retry a mission that you fail. If you die in a fight you appear at the hospital with a text message coming through on your cell phone. The text message asks you if you would like to retry the mission you just failed. In two clicks you're back in the action.

Contacts are automatically added to your cell phone so you can call them anytime. In the early stages of the game (where I am) it's just useful for developing relationships (which apparently is going to matter later on) and getting new missions. The game promises that later on I'll be able to use it to call friends to help me with such tasks as selling me weapons, planting explosives, and helping with hits.

It also has an organizer that I'm guessing will help me keep track of appointments.

FYI, GTA IV Special edition 360 is $81.99 right now on Buy.com. If anyone has bought from that website before, and used google checkout, then you likely received a $25 off $75 coupon in your email, making it $56.99. Not bad for the special edition...

After dealing with Jewelry stores all afternoon during my long lunch break, I managed to swing by Bestbuy to pick this up with my gift card I've had since Xmas(score free gta4). Now it's time to go home and play! Woot. I will give my 2 cents on the game tomorrow.

I probably won't be able to play until Friday night.
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"Don't blow this, Gene!"

Andy, just promise me you'll turn the radio to WKTT and record your verbal responses. OK, I know that's a lot to ask, but please...?

WKTT caller: "Postage just went up again! So who gives a shit about a Christmas card?!? Nobody wants to see your fcking dog in a fcking santa hat!!!!"

I'll agree to what Jeff said, I was watching a movie at first and then was like WTF I need to play.

Well after 2 minutes into the game I knew it was awesome. My first experience in this game, I walked off the boat and got in my car. I decided to get out and walk around a little bit, I ran into this guy holding some coffee, He spills his coffee saying "What the hell dickhead" so I target him and he runs away not wanting to take part in the gun show! I then proceed to walk to the other side of the road, when a car slams on its break coming to a sudden stop just a few inches to crushing me. His comment was "What the F#$@ing F@#% are you doing asshole!" He then flicks me off and tells me if I don't move he is going to run my ass over.... therefore I pulled him out of his car (Thru the window I might add, no idea how I pulled that off) and commence with the smack down, which netted me my $20 that I took from his corpse.

What a way to start the first 2minutes into a game!

On to my issues/praises of the game:
The detail in this game is AMAZING, it is way over what I was expecting. Seriously just go to a busy section and watch the AI: people will drop there cig and swear as they bend over to pick it back up, get in fights while people stand around yelling, "Damn man did you just see that jab, he just got knocked the F out", to hearing cell phones go off which they will answer and have some crazy conversation like you hear all the time with idiots walking around screaming on the phone in public.

The radio stations are really good,
WKTT caller: "Postage just went up again! So who gives a shit about a Christmas card?!? Nobody wants to see your fcking dog in a fcking santa hat!!!!" I was actually going to post that. With that quote, the dialogue in the game is hilarious if you like that type of bad language humor. Favorite line so far from Niko was in the bar, “You’re a fckin dick because you’re a fcking dick!” I am about 20missions into the game and I have heard well over 200 cuss words, so if you have virgin ears this might not be the game for you! 

I will agree with the genius integration of the cell phone system. The only thing I hate is when you are driving in the car with the radio on and you receive a phone call. You can barely hear what the hell they are saying with the noise of the car, radio, and environment outside. Also when the Jamaican guy calls you should just hang up because unless you are superhero with a super sense of hearing you do not stand a chance to understanding anything that guy is saying, hell I can barely understand him during a cut scene….

Now to the driving part of the game…. The camera angle/function while in a car is a little off to me. Plus is it just me or is driving 100x’s harder. I could fly around with ease in the other GTA games but I can’t make a turn for my life at high speeds in this one, maybe I just need to get practicing and find the sweet spots of breaking at certain speeds. I can’t count the number of times I am zipping along and then proceed to make a power slide turn like I would in Vice City, and the car slides for another 2 Fin blocks before slamming into a fire hydrant or lamp post or any other random object. On that subject, crashes are awesome. The slow motion camera you can turn on is sweet, I watched this old lady fly out of her front windshield in slow motion smacking into the side of a brick building during one crash. Ouch! Bad things happen when Niko jumps on a crouch rocket, I have yet to live a crash while riding one! Slight detail on navigation I have to say, OMG there is GPS! I was driving around with the radio turned off and I hear this voice like Tom Tom say, Turn left in 20meters.... are you kidding me!!

The combat system is just what I wanted. It is indeed a more polished version of the system in Godfather. I have yet to test out the cover system, haven't had a moment of combat when I was useful to take cover. It has the same auto aim feature from other installments of the game but after you lock on you can move the crosshair around to target any body part. Priceless moments will result from this; say a guy is running away from you. Lock on, aim for one of the legs, pull trigger. He will fall down and struggle to get up, but what is this! He can barely walk/run! I can toy with him shooting him again, running and pushing him down, blast him in the face, or do whatever wets your wildest dreams at this point. I personally went over to the trashcan to pick up a loose brick while my victim was screaming in pain and slammed it in his face a few times.

I can't wait to check out multiplayer whenever that time comes, guess I will have to bum my bro's internet to play until I move out which should be pretty soon anyways.

Missing some things I wanted to rant about but I should do some work now. In conclusion I have an acronym and 2 words, GTA4 is epic!

Subtitles FTW!

Here is a few things of detail I have come across:

My first date I got complimented by Michelle for my glasses that I was wearing.
On the second date I lost them, I believe they got broken in a fight, and she asked "What happened to your glasses? I really liked them, they suited you."

**My third date I'm going to get some glasses and she if she notices, but that is just crazy detail!**

Garbagemen on back of garbage truck and they actually pick up the trash.

A car wash...which means your car gets dirty, I think you will impress your girlfriends with a clean car according to what the game said when this event first happened during a mission.

Cars not starting properly when they get really banged up, I stole a old beat down rusted pick of junk and it was always backfiring out the exhaust! Awesome visuals here with the fire and black exhaust fumes. Cars actually use turn signals, driving education 101 baby.

When it rains the floor looks wet (puddles, reflection, etc) and really has an impact on diving ability. One bug with rain, if you go under a tunnel underground it still rains, concrete penetrating water FTW

As far as activities I have done, I have bowled, played pool, watched tv which is funny(strange watching tv in a game). During my 5 or so minutes of channel surfing, I saw a ad to come visit this club and see Kat Williams perform.. I can't find this club so it might be in the other parts of NY that are blocked off right now.

The ability to make decisions if someone will live or die. Not sure if this will impact the game down the road but that would be amazing if it did.

The sound effects are on the money! Rain, thunder, trains, wind are just some of the sounds that are perfect I have heard.

Customize your cellphone ring tones, vibration mode which you guess it, makes the controller vibrate when you get a call.

People littering from cars or walking on the sidewalk. People will throw stuff at you/car when they are mad.

I witnessed a police officer yell at a biker to stop, pulled gun, biker raised hands, police officer walked him to the cruiser - searched him - cuffed him - placed into the car and drove off. I didn't get the chance to follow because after I got a ride to tail the cop I lost them but I am assuming they went to the police station. :(

This is some of the details I have seen personally, I have heard these two also but they sounds to good to be true.

*I was car jacking someone, I pointed the gun at them, but they wouldn't get out. So naturally i shot them in the head... anyways, his head slumped onto the wheel giving a continuous horn sound, and to make matters worse his foot obviously got jammed on the gas. The car hurtled forward killing me and driving straight into a wall. All with the horn going off.

*I was walking along the beach and saw some dude jogging in a track suit. I decided to follow and after while he pulled out a water bottle and chugged it, then bent over, resting with his hands on his knees. He then continued to jog, and a minute later broke into a sprint, I followed him and he took me away from the beach, over behind some building. He zipped down his track suit and looked as if he was about to piss, but then he looked at me awkwardly and said "could you stop following me man, I'm kinda busy here". This made my jaw literally drop, I was like holy crap, that's crazy. The fact that he recognized that I was following him was insane, and the whole peeing thing a few minutes (equivalent to about an hour in the game world) after chugging a water bottle was just wow.

I'm going to see if this one is true later today hopefully.

I've had multiple people at gun point while they're at a light,or just stopped in the road. So far the person has got out of the car after a few second stare down, with one exception. I happend to have a bullet with his name on it.
I guess that story could still be probable. Can't say for sure...

I'm definitely going to try that jogger thing out.

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Random thoughts:

As Hubcap pointed out, turn on the subtitles...especially after you meet Little Jacob the Rastafarian. I like having subtitles on all the time anyway so I make sure I don't miss any plot dialog.

Michelle noticed the new pants I bought. After Sky's experience I'm gonna get some glasses and see if she notices. Of course, I've already unlocked warm coffee, so I don't know what else the glasses can get me.

One night I took Michelle to the bar and when we left I had to drive drunk. Blurring and control degradation was very interesting. Speed blurring during non-drunk driving is very is pretty cool.

WKTT host Richard ______: "What you're observing there is a Hispanic terrorist. They're the worst kind. They've already infiltrated all our shitty jobs and now they're just waiting, planning their next strike."

I crashed my Coquette (Corvette) and flew out of the windshield. Was very surprising. Cars that are locked get a quick look around from Niko and then an elbow through the window. Then you hotwire them, and can press the triggers to make it go faster. Cool.

As soon as I'm done working for him, I'm gonna put a bullet in Vlad's skull. I'll show that dude who's a yokel.

Just got introduced to the cover system. Feels pretty good, similar to R6V series. It doesn't feel quite that refined, which is to be expected, but I'm holding out judgment until I use it a few more times (only used twice so far).

The pistol you're given is a Glock, most likely a Glock 17. Just in case you were wondering.

WKTT- "I'm married to two people. My lovely wife, and America. I don't go down south on either. Ya know why!? Because it doesn't help in the reprodution of REAL Americans!" lmao! I may have left out a little but that is the gist of it.

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BTW, subtitles also translate the scattered Serbian and Russian sentences in the game.

Yeah I turned on the subtitles last night, waaaaay better now.

WKTT is awesome!!!

"Science is good when it teaches us how to turn 1 million ungrateful foreigners into glass"

"Who invented the plague...men! We done it all Bitch!!"

I never really sat down and played through the missions in gta 3 and vice city, but now that I'm going through as Nico I am really liking what is going on. The main storyline is starting to get VERY interesting...so to all you who have yet to purchase this game:

Do it now! It's well worth $64.

I am embarrassed to say last night I was watching TV in GTA4. The show called Republican Space Rangers cartoon which was pretty damn good to watch. Anyways I was channel surfing watching small bits to see what else they had. Next thing you know I'm waking up from my cellphone ringing an hour later with the tv screen stating "Please reconnect your xbox controller". I freakin fell asleep watching television on my television set inside a television in a game!!

Also "American's Next Top Hooker" looks to be a good show! :)

I love the indian cab driver that Roman sends to pick you up. the conversations Niko has with him are great.

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J$D

well, to be quite honest this game is FREAKING AWESOME sorry about the capitals but there is no other way of putting it, absolutley fantastic and i will be geting my copy as soon as they have it in stock where i live (everywhere has sold out) so, enjoy the game people, well im looking forward to it.

Edit: oh and the indian cab driver idea/character was stolen from true crime new york city, but who can blame them? that guy rocks.

This game is like crack. Pure addiction. Anyone who lives a strait laced life can enjoy wreaking simulated havoc through a large major city. A++