Grand Theft Auto IV

Grand Theft Auto IV
Grand Theft Auto IV box art
Developer(s)	Rockstar North
Publisher(s)	Rockstar Games
Distributor(s)	Take-Two Interactive
Series	Grand Theft Auto
Engine	RAGE
Platform(s)	PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Release date	29 April, 2008
Genre(s)	Action-adventure
Mode(s)	Single player, multiplayer
Rating(s)	OFLC: MA15+[1] USK: 18[2]
Media	Blu-ray Disc, DVD-DL
Input methods	Gamepad

Grand Theft Auto IV (also known as GTA IV and GTA 4) will be the ninth game, and the first in the fourth generation of the Grand Theft Auto video game franchise. It will be released worldwide on Tuesday, 29 April 2008 for both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.^[3] The game is set in a redesigned Liberty City, based heavily on New York City and New Jersey. The game runs on the RAGE game engine, which also powered Rockstar Games presents Table Tennis.^[4] The game is being written by Rockstar co-founder Dan Houser.

Development

According to Janco Partners analyst Mike Hickey, a financial consultant for Take-Two Interactive Software, around 150 game developers are working on Grand Theft Auto IV. He also remarked that Rockstar Games is "fully capable of ushering in an entertainment experience categorically superior to the prior cycle’s GTA product."^[5]

Rockstar Games initially appeared to be committed to the 16 October 2007 release date. However, Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter suggested that Take-Two may choose to delay the release of the game in order to boost its financial results for 2008 and to avoid competing with the release of other highly anticipated titles. ^[6] Rockstar responded by saying that Grand Theft Auto IV was still on track for release in "late October".^[7]

On 2 August 2007, Take-Two announced that Grand Theft Auto IV would miss its original release date of 16 October 2007 contrary to their previous statements, and would be delayed to their second fiscal quarter (February–April) of 2008. Their stated reason for the date change was "due to additional development time required to complete the title."^[8] In a later conference call with investors, Take-Two's Strauss Zelnick attributed the delay to "almost strictly technological problems... not problems, but challenges."^[9] It was revealed that technical difficulties with the PlayStation 3 version of the game was a contributing factor to the delay.^[10]

On 24 January 2008, Take-Two announced that Grand Theft Auto IV would be released on 29 April 2008.^[3]

Marketing

Main article: Marketing for Grand Theft Auto IV

As the release date approaches, Rockstar has been marketing the game heavily. Rockstar's marketing has come in many forms, including television ads, internet video, viral marketing and a redesigned web site.

Synopsis

Plot

Nikolai "Niko" Bellic is Eastern European, between 28 and 32 years of age and has come to Liberty City to pursue the "American Dream". Niko was persuaded to move to Liberty City by his cousin Roman, who claimed in multiple e-mails to Niko that he was living a fabulous life, with a mansion, women, hot tubs and sports cars. Roman's claims turn out to be lies to hide his own failures, however, and in reality he only owns a small taxi business, which he wants Niko to work for.

Roman is the only person Niko knows in Liberty City to begin with, and is one of his major connections in the first part of the game. Niko is a tough character, whereas Roman is friendly. Roman is heavily in debt and a lot of people are after him. He desperately needs Niko's support, hence the reason he deceived Niko into travelling to Liberty City. They are constantly bickering. It is later revealed that Niko has also been avoiding other, as yet undisclosed, problems at home.

According to Dan Houser, "virtually none of the characters from the previous games are returning, as a lot of them are dead anyway."^[11]

Gameplay

Titles in the GTA series have traditionally been heavily mission based (fixed missions must be completed to progress through each game), but the freedom to explore and play outside of the set missions in GTA IV will now be more relevant to progress through the game, according to comments by a Rockstar spokesperson: "We're really trying to blur the line between on-[mission] and off-mission. So storyline, and what you do outside [it], and how those two things influence each other."^[12]

An Xbox 360 preview of Grand Theft Auto IV published in the May 2007 issue of Game Informer reveals that the storyline begins with Bellic standing inside the taxi depot (which Roman operates in the borough of Broker in a converted industrial garage), working at a cluttered desk in a shabby environment. Bellic walks to a brownstone house in Broker, where he pushes open the door and pulls out his pistol—the living room, however, is not occupied.

He pushes his way through the back door and smashes the window of a red four-door car using his elbow. The broken glass falls onto the street and the seat of the car, as Bellic unlocks it from the inside. He hot-wires the car and sets off to his next destination. The camera angle behind the car is closer to the vehicle than in previous GTA titles, which enables more detail on the car to be seen. After selecting a radio station, Bellic navigates to a section of the BOABO arriving at a dockside. Pigeons and waves can be heard in the distance.

Bellic then pulls out his phone, which has options for phone book, messages, organiser and camera on its LCD screen. He selects phone book, and he is then presented with another set of options: City Contact, Docks Friend, and Cab Contact. After a brief conversation, he informs the receiver to meet him at the docks.

There is a mission previewed called "To Live and Die in Alderney", which is the second part of "Truck Hustle". The second mission is called "Jamaican Heat", and acts as a tutorial for the new cover/targeting system. The third mission is called "Jacob's Ladder", and the fourth mission is called "Harbouring a Grudge". This mission introduces an Irish character called Patrick McReary, who is related to Francis.

Driving View: Outside car (close to car), Outside car 2 (far from car), Road view, Cinematic View, Dashboard view.

Locations and setting

Main article: Liberty City (Grand Theft Auto)

Grand Theft Auto IV takes place in a redesigned Liberty City consisting of five boroughs; four of the boroughs of New York City and New Jersey. Broker is the equivalent of Brooklyn, Queens is Dukes, the Bronx is Bohan, Manhattan is Algonquin, and New Jersey is Alderney (after the Channel Island of the same name). A Staten Island-esque area will not be featured in the game for the reason that Rockstar Games believes it would not be fun to play there. Dan Houser states that there would not be any "dead spots" or "irrelevant space" within Liberty City such as the wide open deserts in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.

The total area of the map is smaller than Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, but the new rendition of Liberty City will be far more detailed and is the largest individual city in the Grand Theft Auto series.^[13] According to the Official PlayStation 2 Magazine (UK edition), "to get from one side of the new and improved Liberty City to the other will take you at least an hour." Rockstar Games has stated that it is the biggest single city in a Grand Theft Auto game yet, and although smaller than "San Andreas", it is comparable to it in terms of scope when "the level of verticality of the city, the number of buildings you can go into, and the level of detail in those buildings" are taken into account.^[12] Eventually, the player will be able to lead Niko to cross the Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Williamsburg bridges and explore.

Screenshots reveal that the Brighton Beach area is renamed as "Hove Beach" from Brighton and Hove, the English city from which the area gets its name; Coney Island is renamed as "Carney Island"; Central Park is renamed "Middle Park". The "Statue of Happiness" is the game's equivalent of the Statue of Liberty; "Star Junction" is Times Square; "BOABO" (Beneath the Offramp of the Algonquin Bridge Overpass) is DUMBO; the "Thornton Building" is the Flatiron Building; and "Twitchins" is Brooklyn's Domino Sugar Factory; the "GetaLife" building is the MetLife Building; the "Booth Tunnel" is the Lincoln Tunnel. Other structures include the Coney Island Cyclone, the Chrysler Building, and the Empire State Building.

Characters

Main article: List of characters in Grand Theft Auto IV

Differences from previous Grand Theft Auto games

Technical

• After the initial load sequence, there are no loading occurrences during gameplay. A Rockstar spokesperson claimed, "you can basically play the game from beginning to end without a single load screen."^[12]
  • Variations in the terrain cause the way the character walks to change. The way the player moves is controlled by Euphoria, instead of pre-written animations, therefore enabling character movements to be more realistic. Rockstar Games announced that Euphoria would be used in future Rockstar titles.^[14] The Euphoria engine enables NPCs to react in a realistic way to the player's actions. In one preview, a player knocked an NPC out a window and the character grabbed onto a ledge to stop himself from falling.^[15]
    • Thanks to the new Rockstar Advanced Game Engine, the graphics have been greatly improved in terms of the characters. There are fewer straight edges on characters and motions seem much more fluid. Rockstar aficionados noted that the game lacked the character's signature hand design, which many of them described as the "deformed lobster claw." This was welcomed by many game critics, who claimed that the Grand Theft Auto series did not graphically evolve as much as other titles had with each subsequent release.

    Gameplay

    • Niko will be able to perform a variety of new actions such as climbing telephone poles and fire escapes, pushing people who bump into him, calling women for dates,^[16] playing pool, darts, bowling, eating, and drinking. Niko may become intoxicated by which the character stumbles and the blurry camera bounces about.
      • The player will not be able to fly any fixed-wing aircraft.^[17] However, helicopters will be flyable. Francis International Airport (from Grand Theft Auto III) is confirmed to be in the game.
        • It is possible to have multiple active missions, due to the fact that some missions will run over the course of several days and will require the player to wait for further instructions, etc. ^[18]
          • The use of mobile phone has been expanded to perform multiple actions. When selecting the mobile phone, a zoomed-in version of the phone pops up in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen and a list of several commands are made available to the player, such as "meet me here," etc. Retrying a failed mission can be performed by accessing the menu. The phone can be used outside of vehicles to listen to one of the 18 radio stations. The player can take photos with the mobile phone and upload them to the police computer. Niko can dial 911 and trick the police to send a dispatch, or he can call them to arrest an enemy/pedestrian that is fighting/shooting at him. He can also contact the paramedics and the fire station.^{[citation needed]}
          • Stealing a parked car can no longer be done simply by opening the door and driving off. Now, it involves Niko approaching the car, breaking the glass, and hotwiring it; only then can he use it. The way Niko enters the car would look different each time depending on where and how he is in relation to the car. There will be several animation variations to sneaking up to a car and breaking its window. Because of the Euphoria engine, the way the character will approach the car will be completely random. Players will be able to choose from four different camera views while in a car, including a dashboard view. All cars feature a standard GPS device while more expensive vehicles have voice-navigation GPS. Car damage physics have been greatly improved.^{[citation needed]} When major collisions on motorbikes occur, the player's helmet is likely to fall off. Niko can lose health if he crashes. Vehicles will not explode if they are flipped over.
          • When driving in a car the player will be able to smash the window with his elbow, free-aim, and fire out of the broken window with any weapon in Niko's arsenal.^[19]
            • The gunfight system has been reworked to feel natural by using a cover system similar to that of Gears of War and Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, the reason being that the combat system in previous games were awkward and cumbersome.^[20] The player can slide to cover, blind fire, and free aim. When locked on, the target's health is indicated by eight purple segments on the target circle. Players can now target individual body parts using a revamped targeting system.^[21] Niko's health is represented by a green semi-circle on the left side of the radar, and a right semi-circle represents armour. If Niko gets injured, he can recover health by eating, sleeping or using medical kits. Body armour and actual health will play different roles. Health is more likely to be reduced by falls and going through the windscreen of a car when crashing, Body armour will be damaged more by gunshots and stab wounds.^[22]

              NPC behaviour

              • Police and wanted levels now operate differently. When the police are in search of Niko, the player will now have to avoid a certain radius marked on the map in which the police will be looking for him. The size of this radius will increase with the player's wanted level (the more stars, the bigger the radius) and re-centres itself on Niko's location if he is spotted by the police. Instead of utilizing the "Pay 'N' Spray" as in previous games, Niko has to realistically disguise himself by clandestinely changing vehicles in empty areas such as parking garages, a feature seen in the video game Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven. When on foot, police will not shoot at Niko unless he has committed a serious offence. If they catch up to Niko, he will put his hands up and the player has a chance to run away. Additionally, pedestrians with cellphones can now report crimes.^[23][24] The player also now has the option when arrested to attempt to escape before the handcuffs are slapped on.^[21]
                • Interpersonal relationships are now dynamic; ignoring cell phone calls or refusing help will change the attitude by specific characters towards Niko.^[21]
                  • Pedestrians are much more intelligent, realistic, and diverse, using mobile phones, cash machines, eating snacks, drinking soda, reading newspapers, scratching their noses, coughing, smoking, and interacting with each other through laughter and remarks. Homeless people will be seen in alleys rubbing their hands over a flaming barrel, sitting against walls, asking for spare change, and other expected actions.^{[citation needed]} The flow of pedestrians and traffic will be different depending on the time of day. Pedestrians and motorists will often act as good Samaritans and aid characters that Niko is attacking or carjacking.^[21]

                    Environment

                    • Niko's outfit can be changed throughout the game. However, it will not be possible to customise his physique or hairstyle as in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, as Dan Houser explained: "We want this installment to focus more on interacting with other in-game people other than yourself."
                    • Heavy fire will scar – and permanently destroy – parts of the environment. It is possible to shoot through walls with powerful weapons.^{[citation needed]}
                    • When Niko goes to the hospital, he has to pay $100 and he will keep his weapons. When Niko gets arrested, he has to pay more than $100 and he will lose his weapons.
                    • In a police vehicle, Niko can use an in-car computer to access the criminal database and discover information about various criminals in Liberty City, possibly including himself. ^[25]
                      • The player can hail a cab in order to travel to any address in the city. When riding, the player has the option of viewing the journey from the inside, or skipping it to arrive at the destination immediately.^{[citation needed]} The player will be able to ask the driver to change the radio station by pressing D-pad left or right.
                      • Niko will make use of the Internet as a means of communication. Although the exact details of the role of the Internet in the game are being kept secret, it has been revealed that Niko can access the internet from various cyber cafés, one of which is called "TW@" (twat) in order to upload a resume for prospective employers.^[23] There are over 100 accessible, fictitious websites within the game. Although TW@ was seen early in Grand Theft Auto III, it did not give the player the option to "surf the internet".^[26]
                        • Every street in the game will have a name for the reason that some missions will require the player to go to a specific address.^[27]
                          • There is now an autosave that activates after completing a mission.^[28]
                            • A day in Liberty City is forty-eight minutes long, instead of twenty-four as in previous Grand Theft Auto titles (one game hour lasts two minutes in real time).
                            • Some meetings in the game will take place high in the buildings of skyscrapers, which will subsequently allow Niko to throw people off the buildings. However, Niko will not be able to access all the buildings in the game.

                            Multiplayer

                            Multiplayer will be a feature of GTA IV but will not be an MMO, as noted by Dan Houser.^[29] It will be accessible from Niko's mobile phone^[30] and is aiming for up to 16 players, with a possibility of open-ended gameplay and exploring the whole city. ^[31]

                            Episodic content

                            During Microsoft's 2006 E3 press conference on 9 May, it was announced that Rockstar Games will offer exclusive episodic content via Xbox Live for the Xbox 360 version of the game. This had been confirmed by Rockstar, announcing two extra episodes.^[32] On 20 February 2008, it was announced that the extra content will be introduced starting August 2008.^[33]

                            Peter Moore, the then head of Microsoft's Interactive Entertainment Business division announced that Rockstar Games is working on two GTA IV downloadable packs exclusively for the Xbox 360, which will be released after the full game. Moore described downloadable content as "epic episode packs", and not just extra cars or characters. A press release during the conference said that the packs would add "hours of entirely new gameplay" to the game.^[34] The official Xbox website states that these episodes will last a minimum of 10 hours.^[35] Details on the pricing of these downloads have not yet been revealed, though it would almost certainly not be released for free, as Take-Two Interactive's former CEO, Paul Eibeler, have said numerous times that these downloads would provide "additional revenue streams" to the company.

                            As part of a conference call following the release of Take-Two Interactive's Second Quarter Fiscal 2007 financial results, the company's Chief Financial Officer, Lainie Goldstein revealed that Microsoft was paying a total of US $50 million for exclusivity of this content split equally between the two packs.^[36] The payments can be found referenced in the company's Second Quarter Fiscal 2007 financial results as "Deferred revenue".^[37]

                            Jeronimo Barrera, Vice President of Product Development for Rockstar Games, has said that they "are calling the downloadable content episodes" and added that they are experimental because they are not sure that there are enough users with access to online content on the Xbox 360.^[38]

                            Even though there is no formal word on downloadable content for the PlayStation 3 version, there has been increased speculation that some form of downloadable content equal to the episodic content would appear for the console. Barrera had recently been quoted in The Official US PlayStation Magazine as stating that Rockstar wants the game to "last for years", ^[39] indicating that they do plan on making more episodes beyond the two announced 360 episodes. There has also been no formal announcement from Rockstar that any other episodic content for GTA4 would be platform exclusive.

                            Soundtrack

                            Main article: Grand Theft Auto IV soundtrack

                            Philip Glass, the composer of the music used in the original trailer, is rumoured to be involved in the production of GTA IV's soundtrack.^{[citation needed]} The soundtrack was described as "modern and suits the mood perfectly."^{[citation needed]} Glass's "Pruit-Igoe" theme from Koyaanisqatsi was used for the teaser trailer.

                            Dan Houser has said that Rockstar is "certainly evolving the way the radio works". According to Official Xbox Magazine, one of the radio stations includes an "Eastern European-sounding" dancing theme. Other music announced as a placeholder for the press includes Russian and East Coast hip hop.^[40] The range of music in GTA IV will span different decades and genres, the first track shown to the media was "Sorrow Tears and Blood" by Fela Kuti, and while there is no official word on whether it will be in the final release of the game^[12]

                            Various media outlets have reported on the quality of GTA IV's advanced sound engine. One describes the realism of the traffic noise on the streets, noting the "varying volume and intensity of car horns and the constant hum of traffic", as well as "the frequent deafening rattle of trains hurtling through the subway."^[12] As part of GTA IV's new physics, the player will be able to hear and feel the bass of vehicles passing by with their radio turned on.

                            There will be eighteen radio stations in the game.^[41] The first two stations revealed were IF99 and Vladivostok FM, which are funk music stations and 'Post-communist community radio' stations respectively. ^[42]

                            Grand Theft Auto IV: Special Edition

                            Image:GTAIVSEPS3.jpg

                            GTA IV: Special Edition contents.

                            Grand Theft Auto IV: Special Edition was announced^[43] on 21 May 2007 for both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions. It will contain the following:

                            • A customised metal safe deposit box.
                            • A Rockstar keychain for the safe deposit box keys.
                            • A limited edition Rockstar duffel bag.
                            • Production artwork in the Grand Theft Auto IV Art Book.
                            • Selected soundtrack CD from Grand Theft Auto IV.
                            • A specially packaged version of the game.

                            Controversy

                            Jack Thompson

                            Florida lawyer Jack Thompson stated he would take various measures to prevent the sale of the game by Rockstar to minors.^[44] On 14 March 2007, Rockstar's parent company, Take-Two Interactive, filed a lawsuit^[45] against Thompson in Florida in an attempt to pre-emptively block him from trying to declare its games a public nuisance. It would be a crime to sell games declared to be a public nuisance, effectively banning such games, which they believe would be a violation of First Amendment rights.^[46] Thompson responded by filing a countersuit,^[47] accusing Take-Two of violating federal RICO statutes (the charge was later dropped), committing perjury, obstruction of justice, and conspiring against him with third parties to deprive him of his civil rights.^[48][49]

                            On 20 April 2007, both parties reached a settlement^[50] and agreed to drop their respective lawsuits. Under the terms of the settlement Thompson is barred from suing to block the sale or distribution of any future games published by Take-Two or any of its subsidiaries. He will be restricted to communicating through Take-Two's attorneys on any future matters. Thompson will still be able to maintain his outspoken stance against the publisher's titles, as well as still being allowed to act as counsel in lawsuits brought against Take-Two by other parties.

                            For their part, Take-Two agreed to drop its contempt of court lawsuit against Thompson regarding alleged improper conduct during the Bully court hearings in Florida,^[51][52] which, if found to be in contempt, would have resulted in Thompson seeing jail time.^[53][54][55]

                            On 18 September 2007, Jack Thompson filed a document^[56] with a federal court in Florida that claims that the assassination target of a mission in GTA IV is a lawyer character based upon himself. When the main protagonist enters his office and pulls a gun on him, the lawyer yells "Guns don't kill people! Video games do!" Thompson has threatened that unless the similarities to himself are removed from the game he will "take necessary and proper means to stop release of the game".^[57]

                            Image:Mural ad GTA IV NYC.jpg

                            Mural ad for the game on a wall in New York City, July 2007.

                            New York City officials

                            After the release of the first trailer, New York City officials were appalled with the choice of their city as the inspiration for the setting of Grand Theft Auto IV, and said that a game like GTA does not represent the city's crime levels accurately.^[58] A spokesperson for Mayor Michael Bloomberg said, "The mayor does not support any video game where you earn points for injuring or killing police officers".^[59] However, Jason Della Rocca, executive director of the International Game Developers Association, accused New York City officials of double standards, for criticising video games but not other forms of entertainment, such as books, films and television shows, which use New York City as the setting.^[60]

                            See also

                            • Grand Theft Auto (series)
                            • Rockstar Games
                            • Rockstar North
                            • Liberty City

                            References

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                            External links

                            • Official Grand Theft Auto IV website
                            • Grand Theft Auto IV on WikiGTA

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                            Characters	GTA III · Vice City · San Andreas · GTA Advance · Liberty City Stories · Vice City Stories · GTA IV · Gangs
                            Locations	Liberty City · Vice City · San Andreas
                            Soundtracks	GTA2 · GTA III · Vice City · San Andreas · Liberty City Stories · Vice City Stories · GTA IV
                            Other	Voice actors · Marketing for Grand Theft Auto IV
                            Category

                            ca:Grand Theft Auto IV

                            cs:Grand Theft Auto IV da:Grand Theft Auto IV es:Grand Theft Auto IV et:Grand Theft Auto IV fi:Grand Theft Auto IV fr:Grand Theft Auto IV he:Grand Theft Auto IV hu:Grand Theft Auto IV id:Grand Theft Auto IV it:Grand Theft Auto IV ja:グランド・セフト・オートIV lt:Grand Theft Auto IV lv:Grand Theft Auto IV nl:Grand Theft Auto IV no:Grand Theft Auto IV pl:Grand Theft Auto IV pt:Grand Theft Auto IV ru:Grand Theft Auto IV sv:Grand Theft Auto IV tr:Grand Theft Auto IV