The lastest issue of GamePro to hit the shelves has given an incite into Grand Theft Auto IV's untold changes from past GTA's. Although they have seen the same missions as past reviewers and previewers have seen and played, only they have released some important snippets of information not before mentioned:
- Billboards can be seen advertsing "Shark Credit Cards," "Pirate Music" and "The Whiz" (The Whiz being the type of phone Niko uses.)
- The HUD is described as "minimalist to its core." There is a mini-map, a "low-key" cash counter, and they say that the HUD in general looks more clean than in previous GTA games.
- Ammu-Nation no longer exists. We've heard about the new ways of acquiring weapons, namely from Little Jacob. GamePro is the first magazine to confirm that Ammu-Nation has been dropped.
- The rocket launcher will return (obviously, this has also been mentioned in other magazines but not explicitly confirmed)
- One of the female pedestrians screams "this sh*t is bananas!" from her vehicle. (Another quote we heard a while back)
- A fare meter appears on-screen as soon as Niko enters a cab, and the camera pans around it as it drives.
- The little green guy on crosswalks is crisp and clear.
- Clothing in GTA IV is described as "customizable, and also realistic."
- On shooting, the magazine states that: "the cover system borrows elements of Gears of War, and Rainbow Six: Las Vegas." It also says that "the aiming is a Resident Evil 4, over the shoulder style."
Thanks to Tommy Monana from RockstarBoard for the information.
GamesIndustry.biz has stated that an Australian band, "Airbourne" will have music of theirs on the IV soundtrack and in-game.
...Schnur went on to discuss EA's joint venture music company Artwerk, which has now signed a total of four artists in the past nine months since launch. These include Junkie XL, whose work will feature heavily on the new Need for Speed title, and Jupiter One, based in New York.
Not only will those artists find telling exposure to key target audiences within EA's own titles, but some will also find themselves as part of other games as well – Melbourne band Airbourne will also be featured in the new Tony Hawk game, as well as Grand Theft Auto IV...
Nothing official as of yet, so take it as it is, a rumor. For the time being at least.
UPDATE: The band seems to be a rock band, very similar music to AC/DC and Metallica. I discovered their MySpace while doing some research on the band, definitely worth a look: http://www.myspace.com/airbourne.
It's been a while since a GTA IV preview has been published, but today another one has surfaced. UK games magazine, Xbox 360 World has managed to sneak a little bit of new info in their preview and here it is:
- Niko can have several missions active at one time, cycling through them via your phone's 'To Do' list.
- And in the middle of a mission, Niko can take on entirely different jobs.
- Niko can pay double the amount to make the taxi drivers drive twice as fast.
- The Xbox 360 Version of the game is 80% complete
- The game itself is set in October 2007.
- Pedestrians also Cough, Sneeze, Smoke and Mutter in their breath
- Hardly any duplicate pedestrian models and car models in the same area.
- Throughout the game, bigger weapons will have to be stashed out of sight or Niko will attract attention.
- The offices are large with multiple rooms and the jumpy glitchiness of the PS2 titles is largely absent.
Games anaylis has said that the delay of GTA IV is a big cause for the shift GameStop’s expected $50-$80 profit from Q3 of 2007 into next year [When GTA IV will be released] Now that’s no pocket change…
“We believe the delay will shift $50–80 million in revenue (game and related sales) out of the quarterand into next year,”, “but believe that continued strong game and hardware sales will partially offset the shift.”
said Pachter
“We believe that GTA IV would have sold over 2 million copies in North America in its first two weeks,” he continued, “and think that GameStop would have captured 35% of these sales (around $40 million). We believe that the game would have driven hardware sales of at least $100 million, and think that GameStop would have captured a similar market share."
Recently, Grand Theft Auto IV has been previewed by 5 major gaming sites, Kikizo, IGN, Gamespot, CVG, and Games Radar. The previews are pretty long so I have compiled a list of the important details. If I have missed anything you think should be in this list, please don't hesitate to leave a comment to the story.
* The demo start off in Star Junction (GTAIV's version of Times Square) with $7500.
Niko:
* Niko is sometimes referred to as 'Nikolai'
* Wardrobe customization is more "grounded" than in San Andreas
* Niko can climb
* When on foot, the camera is closer to you
Weapons:
* Little Jacob had a 9mm, an SMG, and a Micro SMG for sale in his car for $100 each
* Weapons in GTAIV are not easy to acquire
* Niko can take cover behind almost anything, auto-target, manually aim, or blind-fire
* The interiors/exteriors are completely seamless.
* No more lock on
* No more "guns skill" like in San Andreas
Technology:
* The Tw@ internet cafe offers internet access for $1 and they accept credit cards.
* Niko has his own computer account and he is able to access his own information from any computer.
* The mouse cursor for computers is controlled with the analog stick.
* Internet is limited to the games own internet (You can't surf the real internet from GTAIV)
* There is a dating service. It might be called "Love-Meet"
* Niko's phone has his contacts, an organizer, camera, text messaging, and a calender
* Niko's phone appears in bottom right corner
* Rockstar stated Phone calls extend the concept of non-linear game play
* The cell phone network Niko's cell phone uses is called "Whiz."
Vehicles:
* The camera has been adjusted and is now slightly over to the driver's side to give you a better line of sight, However, there is still many different angles such as helicopter's-eye perspective, close-up of Niko's face, and a first-person view from the car's hood
* Cars have a GPS system in place.
* The GPS system shows your destination and the quickest route to get there
* Niko whistles to get a cab's attention and "Y" to get inside. You have the options to pay for the driver to go fast, do a trip skip, or relax and watch the ride.
* In the cab, you view world from Niko's perspective. You can interact with the driver while he is driving you.
* Street names show up in the bottom right corner
* Niko can hot wire vehicles in several seconds
Wanted System:
* When wanted, You must escape the search radius but if an officer spots you, the search radius will be reset to your position
* There are different ways of loosing the cops. One way to loose them is to pull into an alleyway where the they can't see you. Another way is to hop into a different car and drive away peacefully so the cops won't recognize your new ride.
Other:
* Little Jacob is an Rastafarian
* There is a new high-end mens clothing store called "Perseus"
* Getting wasted or busted will be the same as in past 3D GTA's
All information is thanks to the great previews from:
According to leading industry analyst Michael Pachter, Sony will hold back from cutting the PlayStation 3’s price this year and instead wait for GTA IV to be released before doing so, then maybe it will help you make up you mind about which console to buy.
We do expect Sony to be in a position to cut the price of the PS3 in early 2008, when blockbuster games Grand Theft Auto IV and PS3 exclusive Metal Gear Solid 4 will launch,” he offered."
Interested in buying shares in Take-Two? This week may be a good opportunity to do just that. Seems the Grand Theft Auto IV delay has hit the parent company of Rockstar Games rather hard with their stock dropping 3.32 (or 16%) in just a few days. No doubt it will be high in the radar once an [official] date has been announced for it's release next year, and when it is fully released, just as GTA San Andreas did when it was released back in '04.