Grand Theft Auto IV

Background

What does the American Dream mean today? For Niko Bellic fresh off the boat from Europe, it is the hope he can escape his past. For his cousin, Roman, it is the vision that together they can find fortune in Liberty City, gateway to the land of opportunity. As they slip into debt and get dragged into a criminal underworld by a series of shysters, thieves and sociopaths, they discover that the reality is very different from the dream in a city that worships money and status, and is heaven for those who have them and a living nightmare for those who don't.

Gameplay

By using Euphoria, Endorphin and RAGE together, Grand Theft Auto IV is set to put a whole new meaning on next-gen.

The game uses a ragdoll physics engine Endorphin to create dynamic new cutscenes and in game action by allowing characters and objects to move as they would in real life as opposed to the simple animations seen in previous GTA games.
We also see the use of an engine called Euphoria, which puts a life-like intelligence into characters, including normal pedestrians. This will allow people in the game to detect danger and to do what they can to get themselves out of it, for example if they were falling from a cliff they would try to grab onto an object to stop them from falling rather than simply letting themselves plunge.
RAGE is the Rockstar Advanced Game Engine which allows them to add skins to the world of GTA and this is what we see make the graphics what they are. RAGE is set to give GTA IV a similar quality graphics-wise as we saw in Rockstar's Table Tennis game. These three working together creates a combination which we can see in action on the two trailers and which we will see on the final game, putting a highly life-like edge on the game.

Features

The usual mission structure will return, expanded, allowing the player to start and take care of missions at any time within the allowed time, meaning the game's time system should be more structured than before. Grab a car and wreak havoc like all GTA fans love to. Take to the skies of Liberty in a chopper and utilise the new over-the-shoulder aiming feature to accurately take out your opponents.

Hardware

• 3340KB Minimum Installation
• SixAxis Motion Sensitive
• 720p, 1080i, 1080p HD