Their Verdict:
- + Wonderful environment with gajillions of great things to do.
- + Multiplayer is a deep, terrific addition to the series.
- - Would be even better with a little editing: it starts slowly, has a few too many "filler" missions.
This magazine article is full of details for missions (you have to finish over 90 of them.), storylines and you have choices that will change the ending of the game, it also revealed some achievements i.e. 'Warm Coffee' (does that sound familiar) you get this when you finish a date successfully. It has revealed some easter eggs like YouTube parody "Elictrictit".
Well, sadly it was to be expected. The biggest game of the year, you can't really trust game retailers anymore (well their staff anyway). According to many online forums, news websites and the like, a pirated or "leaked" copy of Grand Theft Auto IV surfaced online at around 11:50am Greenwich Mean Time. 6.4 GB's in size, it is only available on a private tracker, meaning it is hidden rather well from the public. It is the PAL version of the game and for the Xbox 360. It was leaked by an underground group called "iCON" to various torrent websites.
It's disappointing really, I mean we have waited for 4 years and been through 1 large delay, can waiting a measly 5-6 days really hurt you that much that you have to download 6.4 GB's? It really is disappointing that not only was it leaked, but that people are downloading it.
The game industry lost billions of dollars last year due to events just like this, people downloading rather then buying the game. We hope you won't be one of them, with only 5 days to go, can't you just wait? Hell, for most people 6.4 GB's would take nearly that long anyway. Show your support, Rockstar put in 4 years into this masterpiece, downloading it illegally is like kicking them where it hurts. Shame on those who choose to be a pirate, your time will come.
Note also, the file is exactly 6.32 GB's in size. Files have been mirrored onto popular file-hosting websites such as RapidShare, however we have gone through and reported all we have found so far. Rockstar have been contacted for comment however New York is only just starting their day and we don't expect any comment until this-afternoon. San Andreas was leaked before it's release also, a whole week before in fact.
Houser stated in an interview with 1UP that the space on the Xbox 360 discs and the non-mandatory hard drive of the 360 were a problem when it came to Grand Theft Auto IV's development, and may be a problem for Xbox 360 purchasers of the game.
“One of the problems with the 360, and it affects games like Grand Theft Auto if you think about how much content we put in the actual machine, is the fact that they don't have a significantly larger storage medium than the previous systems. It's a slightly bigger DVD disc,” he said.
Houser would like to see an Xbox 360 with some type of solution to this/these problems.
“I think that the 360 is going to have to get 'round this issue we're talking about. I can think of various ways they can do it. Hopefully, they're going to adopt one of those in the next year or so, because it's going to become more of an issue. If we're filling up the disc right now, where are we going? It's not like our games are going to get any smaller. I think that issue's on the table with a bunch of games right now. I'm sure they'll come through with an intelligent solution.”
If Microsoft had made a hard drive mandatory like Sony did with the PS3, things could have been a lot easier:
"In retrospect I wish Microsoft had made the choice to have [mandatory] hard drives like Sony did with the PS3," he said. “Developers certainly benefit [from a hard drive]. If you have a hard drive, the whole game loads faster. Obviously you'll be facing a short install time, but the developer benefits from it and you definitely benefit from it as a player. So I think that was one of the mistakes that Microsoft made with the 360."
If you wish to read more about this, check it out at Next-GenBIZ. I would suggest it for Xbox 360 owners.
GameStop has stated today that the orders for Grand Theft Auto IV in-which it has purchased for retailing is that of the largest they have ever delt with before. Bob McKenzie, GameStop's senior vice president of merchandising, said:
"On pre-orders, it's really tracking where we anticipated it to be,"
"It probably will land within the top three. There were a couple titles we shipped last year that had larger reservations."
"We're not to the finish line with it yet but definitely it's very strong and we're happy with where the reservation activity is coming in,"
GS also expects that the sales of the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 will rise as of it's release on the 29th. This is terrific news after some retailers in Australia said they were seeing the opposite effect.
Source: Reuters
We already alerted you about the UK and Germany receiving this package, well now we have just been given the official word from Sony Australia that the PlayStation 3 'mega package' containing Grand Theft Auto IV, a PlayStation 3 and other extras is also coming to Australia. Included was this:
Available from May 1st for a strictly limited time is the PLAYSTATION®3 GTAIV Pack containing the 40GB PLAYSTATION®3, a SIXAXIS controller and a copy of the legendary game for $749.95 RRP - that's a saving of $70 RRP!
The price is a little higher than other packages have been, most have been about $AU694 to $AU710 for the package with a game, however the GTA IV package appears to be more expensive. Not sure as to why that is, perhaps the GTA IV version coming with the package is the Special Edition. It doesn't specifiy this, however the price and saving (of $AU70) would work out correctly then. Don't take our word on that though, it's likely not to be true.
Either way, if your wanting Grand Theft Auto IV, but do not yet have a console to play it on, this is a deal not to be missed.
The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) is not overall impressed with the advertising of Grand Theft Auto IV on city buses. Despite the adverts not containing any violence, political jokes, satire or sexual imagery or wording of any kind, the CTA removed the ads earlier today. CTA president Rob Huberman said he took action and removed the ads after receiving criticism from the local Fox News affiliate.
According to Fox News, the placement of the ads was questionable after 9 people have been murdered in shooting in the past weekend. Mr. Huberman gave a very, well inaccurate reason for the removal of the ads:
“… that M-Rated ‘violent video games’ ought to be banned from its premises as they compare similarly to X-rated movie”
So, M-Rated mature games for young adults (from 16-25) are equal to that of a pornographic movie? Well, that is news in itself, I can't believe that I have been taking notice of those rating labels on games, they are obviously completely wrong about the age group the rating covers.
This isn't the first time Chicago has removed advertisements of Grand Theft Auto games, which both San Andreas and Vice City Stories both having their ads removed at one time or another.
Source: iTWire
IGN, Eurogamer, and 1UP today have recieved some new screenshots and two new pieces of artwork of Grand Theft Auto IV. It's interesting to note that the more screens I see of Grand Theft Auto IV, the more I see stuff from Vice City Stories. MeTV, Release Gum, and eCola are some examples of things in Vice City Stories that we see in Grand Theft Auto IV. Anyway, here are the screens we have gathered.
Screenshots
Artwork
With GTAIV coming out in less then 10 days, everyone is in hype of the game, no one doesn't know about it, unless your like 100 years old and can't remember anything or living on the Space Station. People are scared of the game, according to EA CEO, John Riccitello and variety.com. Both article talk about how GTAIV will affect DVD sales and movie premires.
"The buzz in Hollywood, which I heard from some Hollywood folks . . . is people are worried whether Iron Man the movie is going to get killed by Grand Theft Auto the game," says, John Riccitello, chief executive of Electronic Arts, the world's biggest video game publisher(?).
Someone tell me this, why does he care so much? He thinks that he's still getting Take-Two, but still he is right.
Last summer, "Pirates of the Caribbean 3" broke all box office records, with a $404 million worldwide haul in its first six days, roughly the same amount expected for "GTA IV." But while "Pirates" was only three hours out of someone's life at an average price of about $7, "GTA IV" is a $60 investment that provides dozens, if not hundreds of hours of content. That's money and time that has to come from somewhere else.
And this statement is also correct, while big blockbuster movies are taking a year to be made, come out in big massive launch parties on the banks of Sydney Harbour, and last for 3 hours, if that. Video games are taking three years to make, have people waiting on lines overnight (all over the world), and last for weeks on end (good games at least).
The main demographic for GTAIV is going to be the 18-25 range, just Halo 3 was last year. When Halo came out on the XBox 360, television ratings dropped 3% in that age range, making shows like Family Guy lose most of it's ratings. The week that GTAIV comes out, Iron Man comes out as well, both being in the 18-25 demographic, Marvel Studios (who brought Iron Man to the screen) is worried that it's movie will get overshadowed by a game, and with Iron Man being the first of the Summer Blockbusters, GTAIV could possibly make Hollywood lose money.
Now, movie executives are placing major DVD's that are coming out in different weeks then major video games, of that age range. GTAIV is no worries (27 Dresses,The Golden Compass and The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, are coming out the week of GTAIV), but in the future they'll have to look at Video Games that are coming out and make sure that they don't hurt the sale of Movie Tickets and DVD's (or Blu-Ray, as the future progresses).
Source A: Riccitiello's Statement on GTAIV
Source B: GTAIV's impact on Movies and other media
Games Aktuell is a german games magazine, and the third review for Grand Theft Auto IV, this is how they have rated it.
- Graphics: 9/10
The gigantic size of the city makes you forget the few graphical imperfections of the game.- Sound: 10/10
Best GTA soundtrack ever, and probably the most compelling feature in the game.- Controls: 8/10
Far from perfect but a big step from the previous GTA games.- Multiplayer: 9/10
Great concept and innovative integration with the single-player mode.- Gameplay: 10/10
We can’t score it 11/10…- Conclusion:
GTA4 is by far the best action game ever created.
Overall it's a rather good score.
Note: This is based on the earlier version of the game released to the press, this will not relflect the finished version of the game.
Source: GTApla.net
While I was watching some recorded stuff on my Tivo, I came across this new 30 second version of the Jeremy St. Ives ad. It features a slightly different intro and as well as speaking lines with some footage cut from the longer one minute ad. The ad also features somewhat new footage where he walks past the bus.
YouTube: GTAIV » Jeremy St. Ives 30 Seconds