The Official GTA 4 Thread - RemixBoard.com - Remix, Acapella, Blend, Instrumentals, Tupac Shakur, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony

El Original · 08:32 PM

April 29, 2008
Xbox 360 & PS3
Rockstar North using the RAGE engine (Table Tennis)
Action-Adventure
Singleplayer & Multiplayer (Online)

The following gives you an indepth explanation on what to expect in the finished product of this game.
** Major Spoiler Alert **

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The Plot

You play as Nikolai "Niko" Bellic who happens to be Eastern European. You have come to Liberty City to pursue "The American Dream". Actually his cousin Roman convinces Niko to come to 'NY' by telling him that he is living a rich and fantastic life. In reality these are lies as Roman really works in the Taxi Cab industry and plans to put you to work.

Roman will be the only person Niko knows in all of Liberty City when he first arrives and is one of his major connections for the first part of the game. To contrast the two; Niko is tough while Roman is friendly.

Roman is heavily in debt and alot of people are after him, thus the reason why he decieves his cousin into coming to support him. It is later revealed that Niko had some problems of his own back home that he's avoiding. Throughout the beginning of the game these two characters will have a bickering attitude towards eachother.

The Gameplay

Other GTA's in the past were heavily mission based, where you have to complete certain missions to progress and the whole freeroaming / exploring is up to you. Well in GTA: IV the freedom to explore and play outside of set missions will now be much more relevant to progress through the game.

"We're really trying to blur the line between on-[mission] and off-mission. So storyline, and what you do outside [it], and how those two things influence each other" - Rockstar Spokesperson

Bellics cellphone will be a major play in this game. It's functions include; Phone Book, Messages, Organizer and Camera. When looking through the Phone Book in the beginning of the game you will see more folders; City Contact, Docks Friend & Cab Contact. This gives you the impression that the phone will link you to pretty much anything you need in Liberty City.

The phone will be your music player outside of cars, aswell as a 'Retry' mission sorta thing or a 'meet me here' action. Niko can call 911 and trick the police to send a dispatch. He can also call paramedics or the fire station.

Also a major update to this game, you now have a duck & cover system much like Gears of War. The player can slide to cover, blind fire, and free aim. When locked on, the target's health is indicated by eight purple segments on the target circle. Players can now target individual body parts using a revamped targeting system.

Niko will beable to preform many new actions such as; climbing telephone polls and fire escapes, pushing people who bump into him, calling women for dates, playing pool, darts, bowling, eating and drinking. Niko can become intoxicated.

Niko will beable to drive boats, and fly helicopters. However there will be no fixed-wing planes to fly. He will also beable to drive motorbikes, with a helmet ofcourse.

It is now possible to have multiple missions going on at once. This won't be an option at some points as some missions take days to complete or await characters instructions.

Stealing a car is now much more than simply opening the car door. Now Niko will approach the door, smash it, and attempt to hot-wire the vehicle. The animations for this will be much different each time depending on where the character is standing, and where the car is positioned.

Cars will have 4 different camera views including a dashboard view.

All cars have a standard GPS system and more expensive cars will have voice-navigation.

Crash physics have greatly improved. Vehicles will NOT explode if turned upside down.

For drive-by's the character will actually smash the glass with his elbow or hand with free-aim for your machine gun or pistol.

Locations & Settings

There will be 5 boroughs throughout New York and New Jersey.

Broker = Brooklyn
Dukes = Queens
Bohan = Bronx
Algonquin = Manhattan
Alderney = New Jersey

There will be no Staten Island included in the game because Rockstar believes it wouldn't 'be fun' to play there.

Rockstar has also mentioned that there will be absolutely No irrelevent space. That means no wide open deserts or mountaints like in San Andreas.

The total area of the map will be smaller than San Andreas unfortunately.

But the new Liberty City will be far more detailed and is the largest individual city in all the GTA series.

"To get from one side of the new and improved Liberty City to the other will take you at least an hour." - Official PS2 Magazine

Developers are still deciding whether to block off certain areas on the Brooklyn, Manhattan and Williamsburg bridges until you have advanced enough (like the other GTA's).

Other areas include;

Hove Beach = Brighton Beach

Carney Island = Coney Island
Middle Park = Central Park (lol)
Statue of Happiness = Statue of Liberty
Star Junction = Times Square
Thorton Building = Flatiron Building
Twitchins = Brooklyns Domino Sugar Factory
GetaLife building = MetLife Building
Booth Tunnel = Lincoln Tunnel

More places include; Coney Island Cyclone, Chrysler Building and the Empire State Building.

Environmental

You can buy clothes and change with Niko, however hair cuts and physical change to your character will not be included.

Heavy fire can scar, or permantly damage the environment; shooting a wall with a powerful weapon will cause the wall to be destroyed.

When in the hospital Niko has to pay 100$ to keep his weapons. In prison Niko has to pay more, and doesn't get to keep his weapons.

In a police vehicle, Niko can use an in-car computer to access the criminal database and discover information about various criminals in Liberty City, possibly including himself.

The player can call a taxi cab at any moment to travel to any destination within the city. You can choose whether to view the ride from the inside, or simply skipping the drive. You can ask the driver to change radio stations too.

Every street in the game will have a name. This is because some missions are very address-specific.

A day in Liberty City is forty-eight minutes long, instead of twenty-four as in previous Grand Theft Auto titles.

Gettin' Technical

After the first loading sequence there will not be a single loading screen in the entire game!! A Rockstar Spokesperson claimed that you can literally play GTA IV front to back without a single loading time.

Differences in terrain make characters walk differently. The player movement is controlled by the Euphoria instead of pre-written animations (basically movement is more realistic than pre-written animated games).

For example in a preview the character knocked an NPC out the window and then the character grabbed onto a ledge to stop himself from falling.

Anyone who argued that GTA never really pushed its graphics or improved, may be shocked with what the new Rockstar Engine can accomplish. The graphics on this game look stellar.

The Characters

--Niko--

Niko is revealed to be guilty of previous criminal acts in his life, such as killing, selling and smuggling people. During the course of the story, Niko is looking for someone and will stop at nothing to find him, enlisting help from wherever he can. Niko is said to be between 5'11 and 6'2, is between 28 and 32 years of age,190lbs-200lbs and is Eastern European. He has served in the Balkan Peace Force, and has been imprisoned in a third-world prison, for reasons unknown, at this time.

--Roman Bellic--
Roman Bellic is Niko's cousin who has lived in Liberty City for 15 years. Roman claims to be living the "American Dream" and that he has two women, four hot tubs and fifteen sports cars but in reality owns a gritty taxi firm in the heart of the city. He successfully manages to persuade his cousin Niko to move to the city using this deception. Roman is also heavily in debt with various figures around the city.

--Elizabeta--
Elizabeta is a successful small-time drug dealer in Bohan. However, she knows an upcoming drug crackdown is going to make her life very difficult and with her own narcotic use spiraling out of control she’s becoming increasingly paranoid and delusional. She appears in the third trailer and in the promotional artwork for the game. Although earlier renditions of the artwork depict her as much thinner than her final appearance.

--Little Jacob--
"Little" Jacob is a Caribbean arms dealer who lives in Dukes and sells Niko weapons out of the trunk of his car. He and Roman are good friends and he appears on cover-art for the game.

--Vladimir Glebov--
"Vlad" Glebov is a Russian loan-shark of the Hove Beach area in Broker. He owns a Bar, called "Comrade's" in his neighbourhood. Vlad tries also to gain respect from more influential gangsters and is sometimes hypocritical about the citizens of Liberty. Vlad also seems to be modeled after Vladimir Lenin.

--Manny Escuela--
Manny Escuela is a former hoodlum who has apparently changed his ways, and now wants to clean up the streets. He is currently recording a documentary explaining his struggles and problems.

--Brucie--
Brucie is a fitness enthusiast and a loud person, who enjoys fine women and cars. He enjoys the attention he gets from being rich. He sports a tattoo of a Chinese symbol meaning "Me" or "I". Brucie also owns a garage by Roman's Taxi Depot, and once Niko's relationship with him is high enough, he will provide free helicopter rides for you. In one of the missions he instructs Niko to steal a police car and type an informants name into the car's computer so you can find him and assassinate him.

--Phil Bell--
Phil Bell is a character that was shown on third GTA IV preview by Rockstar, he is introduced to Niko through another character called Ray, and has a strong Italian-American accent. He is believed to be a member of the Liberty City Mafia.

MINOR CHARACTERS
to give u an idea of what to expect throughout the game

--Francis McReary--

Francis McReary is a corrupt police detective who has "dirt on Niko's past." He threatens to reveal this information unless Niko helps him by obtaining various memory sticks with information about his own corruptions from lawyers and blackmailers alike. In one mission, he meets up with Niko in an area called Castle Gardens which is a coast-side hangout analogous to Battery Park overlooking the Statue of Happiness. He wears a black suit and tie, has a short moustache, and has slicked blonde hair with a strong side parting.

--Tom Goldberg--
Tom Goldberg is a lawyer working for Goldberg, Ligner & Shyster, a law firm based in Liberty City. In a demo presented to journalists by Rockstar, Niko receives a phone call from police officer Francis McReary asking him to kill Tom Goldberg. Niko then acquires a cab and heads to an internet café named TW@ café and submits a fake résumé to Goldberg, Ligner & Shyster using the game's internet browser. Niko schedules an interview with Goldberg, before picking up some business clothes. When Niko arrives for his interview, he lets Goldberg ramble on a bit about video game violence before using a 9mm handgun to assassinate Goldberg in his office, and then soon after ends up in a fire fight with law enforcement.

--Lola--
Lola is a prostitute who appears on promotional artwork for the game. In October 2007, her character art was painted on the side of a building in SoHo, New York, advertising the game.

--Karen--
Karen is the receptionist at Goldberg, Ligner and Shyster. She directs Niko towards Tom Goldberg's office.

--Playboy X--
Playboy X was introduced to Niko by Elizabeta. He is an African-American gangster, and owns a mansion in the North Alderney area. He used to do business with a pal called Dwayne Moore, who was recently released from prison, but Playboy has since moved on without him.

--Patrick "Packie" McReary--
Patrick "Packie" McReary is an Irish thug and relative of Detective Francis McReary. He has a sister who shows an 'interest' in Niko, and he is also said to associate with Elizabeta.

--Mallorie--
Mallorie is currently dating Roman Bellic.

--Mikhail Faustin--
Nothing much is known about this character, except that he was featured in the official game artwork, as well as on the boxart. , depicting him holding a pistol in one hand and a cellphone in another. He is thought to be a major figure in the Russian Mafia.

--Raymond--
Raymond is a character that appears in the Truck Hustle mission in GTA IV. His accent is heavily Italian-American and he is believed to be a major figure in the Liberty City Cosa Nostra.

--Bryce Dawkins--
Bryce Dawkins is the Deputy Mayor of Liberty City. He is said to be ultra conservative, and "enjoys ramming family values down your throat."

--Thomas Stubbs III--
Thomas Stubs III is the corrupt congressman of Liberty City State. He is currently facing allegations surrounding pork barrel spending.

--Bledar Morina--
Bledar Morina is an Albanian thug and a fitness enthusiast located in Broker.

PROPZ TO THEBAYMUSIC.COM FOR THIZZ