New GTA4 Screenshots, Gameplay Details Surface

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New details have surfaced regarding Rockstar North's Grand Theft Auto IV (PS3, X360), which is due in stores by April 30, 2008.

Highlights brought to us by MTV's Stephen Totilo include the ability to immediately warp back to a mission's start point in the event of failure and a revamped wanted meter. Criminal actions will only increase player's wanted meter if they are witnessed by police.

Totilo noted that combat has taken cues from more modern action gaming standards, including a trigger-enabled "free-aim" mode, similar to Capcom's Resident Evil 4 or Epic Games' Gears of War. A cover system and blind-fire option have also been implemented.

Crowds have been significantly improved as well and now feature less repeating models and clothing as well as more citizens committing crimes. Bums are strewn about the city a la Monolith's Condemned.

A slew of other minor improvements to the series were also disclosed, including the ability to forge relationships with contacts that must be maintained, updates to the radar and map system and the ability to get drunk.

Rockstar did not demonstrate any of the character customization features, but they did note that options are downplayed from previous titles in the series—you can't dress like a neon pirate, keeping in tune with the more serious tone of the game.

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From The Chatty
  • reply
    January 23, 2008 2:01 PM

    I did kinda like GTA 3 but wasn't a huge fan of it... didn't know if I'd be getting 4 or not.

    From the sounds of this, I will be.

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      January 23, 2008 2:08 PM

      #1 was my favorite. Moving up in the criminal world kept the game's plot moving along, repetition was pretty good, the city really gave you a sense of direction and space, and the music on the radio was great. Vice City was my least favorite -- in fact, I couldn't stand to finish it... I might try giving it a second go, though. San Andreas was fun, but I had no desire to achieve the 100% rating and the plot was pretty weak -- the ending left me with almost no sense of satisfaction whatsoever.

      So far, though, GTA IV is looking pretty sweet. I don't have a next-gen console yet, but if early reviews claim this game lives up to the hype, it may very well be the reason I pick up an X360.

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        January 23, 2008 2:09 PM

        1 is a blast for being such arcadey fun but going back to it now it's tough to deal with the straight top-down view for me.

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          January 23, 2008 2:23 PM

          I think he was referring to GTA3 (the first 1).

          Not the original 1 :)

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            January 24, 2008 8:14 AM

            Correct -- I was referring to GTA3, not GTA1.

            As far as the true original GTA goes, though, he's right -- it's fun, but the top-down view was enough to make me stop playing it after an hour or two.

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          January 23, 2008 2:25 PM

          Oldschool GTA was so fun when you could get multi working.

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            January 23, 2008 3:14 PM

            It was hilarious to get nailed by someone in a car at high speed. You had no chance to react.

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