04.10.2007 GTA IV GAME INFORMER PREVIEW PAGES
Many thanks to Demologik and his girlfriend for taking these pictures for everyone who's still awaiting their copy of the newest Game Informer magazine. Here's all ten pages of the in depth article cut into 26 different sections so that they're somewhat legible for us.
Rockstar North has confirmed that Grand Theft Auto IV is smaller than GTA San Andreas in size, but there's no huge empty areas like there's been before. They assure us that all four main areas of New York City that they've transformed, plus a fifth New Jersey area, are filled with detail and worth an adventure. Brooklyn has become Broker, Manhattan has become Algonquin, Queens is now Dukes, Bronx is Bohan, and New Jersey has become Alderney. "The world is not designed to be a video game. We are trying to make a video game that feels like the world, but still plays like a video game." The more you explore, the more missions will open up, and everything in the game was created for a reason. That includes special building design details and a variety of quirky pedestrian behaviors that are context sensitive and dependent on their surrounding environments.
The next thing Game Informer spent time discussing with Rockstar was the new physics system that the character animations use. It's not just a good looking character in third person view that looks stiff, your character's balance will sway as you take him over varying terrains, and he knows when and what he's bumping into along the way. The lighting is equally amazing in the game, portraying New York City completely differently in day and night, and Rockstar's tried to capture the freaky nightlife by offering entirely difference experiences in different areas depending on what time of day you visit them.
The story comes from Niko Bellic receiving emails from his cousin Roman who claims to live a great life filled with women and hot tubs in his home. Too bad he's lying about everything, and is actually about to involve you with everyone of his extensive list of problems. So your introduction to the city is filled with helping your cousin out of debt and keeping him, as well as yourself, alive. It's a pretty basic setup, but Rockstar also mentions that Niko has a few of his own problems he's run from in his homeland that might come back to haunt him later in the game.
Better graphics, better animations, better lighting, and a chance to live the American Dream in our living rooms. Add to that plenty of tempting violent diversions, and you've got the Grand Theft Auto we all know and love, but better than ever and on the Xbox 360 and PS3. The blurry images released so far are just gameplay pictures on a 360 debug unit, so it'll just continue to look better as the game's October 16th release comes closer. This will definitely be a must buy for both consoles.
