Official Video Game Thread

[ronmexico]

My sarcasmeter is off the charts.

[BigRog]

I though he love me too :'(

[DJEagles]

Yes BigRog, I love you.

What's your gamertag?

[BigRog]

BigRog69

[brutushayesosu]

Preorder Ninja Gaiden 2 from CircuitCity.com and receive the Halo 3 Legendary Map pack free! Code will be sent via email within a week!

I don't know if you can just cancel the preorder after you get the code and redeem it. I would imagine that they will still charge you for the code if you do that. Just thought that anyone who plans on getting NG2 and has Halo3 might want to do this.

[ixcuincle]

The radio show I listen to got an advance copy of GTA IV , and brought on Lazslow or whatever his name is. He said the 360 version is more favorable due to the exclusive content , that comes up around August. There are also videos on youtube with audio of people from said radio show playing the actual game...the audio has profanity or i'd post the links here :mad:

[Mav3rek]

It just went gold yesterday I believe. Should be in stores middle of next week at the latest!

[BigRog]

The radio show I listen to got an advance copy of GTA IV , and brought on Lazslow or whatever his name is. He said the 360 version is more favorable due to the exclusive content , that comes up around August. There are also videos on youtube with audio of people from said radio show playing the actual game...the audio has profanity or i'd post the links here

360 version will be less glitchy also

[brutushayesosu]

opie and anthony radio as mentioned above

also, I love this picture

[pujols]

Who's up for some release night GTA multiplayer?

[ixcuincle]

Not me...I still don't have a 360 or the game. If I did get it though , I'm thinking of hooking it up to the Commodore 64 screen (no HD technology exists here)

Anyways , the other forum I go to had a list of the songs in the game. I wish they would bring back the classical music station from GTA 3...but they have a jazz station so that isn't that bad.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Theft_Auto_IV_soundtrack

Ricky Gervais , a comedian from the British Office , is also going to be in the game. Supposedly you can go visit comedy clubs in this game , that should be fun.

[BigRog]

I am assuming that isn't a complete list just yet. Its looking good so far though.

[seanzarelli]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=JnNLpeJzDi8&feature=related

Here is a leaked intro to GTA: IV. Some dude has the PAL Version already. Must be nice to not have to wait.

[Mav3rek]

it's a fake.

[seanzarelli]

Looked pretty legit to me. But, I just came across it so I haven't read anything about it being fake.

[Mav3rek]

couple little details here and there, but biggest one is no hologram at the center of the disc. I have yet to see an xbox 360 game without a hologram at the center of the disc.

[brutushayesosu]

Looked pretty legit to me. But, I just came across it so I haven't read anything about it being fake.

there's no MS hologram on the game disk.

[Mav3rek]

look at the center here, all xbox 360 games have this in the middle.

[seanzarelli]

there's no MS hologram on the game disk.

I didn't even realize that, haha

[Sandlot]

I saw that video before and never noticed the hologram missing. Anyone going to their midnight release for GTA?

[seanzarelli]

I won't be because I can't afford to take a day off from work. I'll just play it from 5:30pm-11:30pm once I get off, lol.

[BigRog]

Yeah ill be there.

[Sandlot]

I've missed enough school, I'm praying GTA IV doesn't make me miss more. I am going to be tempted to playing it past 4 am once I get it at midnight. (So that's probably a bad idea) lol

[BigRog]

http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/868/868607p1.html

GTA IV: Live Free or Die Online

Run wild with 16 people and bring Liberty City to its knees.

by Hilary Goldstein

April 22, 2008 - Since the Grand Theft Auto series went to 3D back in 2001, it's been known for a compelling and lengthy single-player mode. While GTA IV looks to continue that tradition, Rockstar has also added a robust multiplayer featuring plenty of competitive, cooperative and team modes. We've previously offered an in-depth look at Hangman's NOOSE, Cops 'n' Crooks, Team Deathmatch and GTA Race. Get ready to learn about some of the other modes which you will almost certainly be playing online next week.

GTA IV doesn't have a traditional menu. When you pop the disc into your console, you are launched into your most recent single-player campaign save. To get to multiplayer, just whip out Niko's phone and select it from the list of available applications. Once you've chosen a ranked or unranked match, you're off to the lovely land to murder, death, kill online.

Microsoft doesn't offer native clan support (thanks a lot, Uncle Gates!), but the in-game party system has become a popular alternative. Invite some friends to your party and you'll be able to teleport around to various game modes, sticking together between each session. But you won't be sitting around long staring at boring screens. That's because Party Mode drops you into a secluded part of Liberty City with a host of guns and vehicles available to smack your buddies around. This is your lobby and it can become a pleasant distraction while the host tries to get his act together and launch you into one of the many multiplayer modes available.

Though you do spawn a bit out of the public eye, you can still hop in a car or helicopter and take off from more populated areas. As with all of GTA's multiplayer modes, Liberty City is wide open to you. If you want, you can abandon your friends and go exploring. While this may sound enticing, there is a mode designated for causing mayhem in the streets. Party Mode is a distraction while the host sets up the real fun -- Free Mode.

Weather and time of day are customizable in multiplayer.

Free Mode

As much as we've loved Cops 'n' Crooks, Free Mode is going to be the bread and butter of GTA IV multiplayer. Here's the deal: Up to 16 players can run around Liberty City doing whatever they want. Create your own game modes, hunt for Easter eggs, work together to survive a six-star wanted level -- if you can dream it, there's probably a way to do it. And this mode begins in the most unusual, jarring way.

You begin in a standoff with the other players. Everyone spawns in a circle and there is, at least the first time you play Free Mode, a brief moment of surprise when no one does a damn thing. This lasts a few seconds before someone takes out a gun and shoots their neighbor in the face. But this standoff isn't just to start the killing (and jump people around the city with their first respawn); it also allows players to talk about what they want to do in Free Mode. This way you don't have to hunt for anyone in order to discuss plans to take a bus caravan down to Star Junction or to agree that there will be a knife fight atop the Algonquin Bridge. Or you can just blow each other up. It's Free Mode -- do whatever the hell you want.

As with the other MP modes, the host has plenty of options to customize the experience, from setting the level of traffic, to turning cops on or off, to the time of day, to weapons available and so much more. This also includes setting a time limit if you don't want Free Mode to last forever.

Free Mode taps into the very essence of the GTA series. As much as we may love the single-player narrative, the core game is still the open city ready to be explored. Part of enjoying a GTA game is spending dozens of hours racing around the city, causing trouble and hunting for Easter eggs. Now you can do it with 15 of your closest friends. No longer do you need to nudge your buddy and say, "You looked up the Statue of Happiness' skirt yet?" Now you can pick him up in a chopper and show him what you're going on about.

At first, people will be content to run around the city destroying one another. But over time, games will emerge from these online jam sessions. Take a few people to the top of Playboy X's pad and try to defend it from the rest of the group; play a game of "Quell the Riot" where one person hops into a fire truck and uses the fire hose to keep back a crowd armed only with baseball bats; or make your own version of "America's Most Wanted," which has everyone acquire a six-star wanted level and see who can make it to the other end of Liberty City without dying.

There are many possibilities for Free Mode. It's wide open. You decide how to approach it.

Ride or die.

Team Mafiya Work

Your cell phone plays a major role in the single-player campaign, but is a fairly minor thing in multiplayer. That is, until you play Team Mafiya Work. Throughout the match, you and the competing teams receive text messages assigning you missions from the mafiya. This might mean jacking a specific car, assassinating an informant, or any number of other errands. The team that completes the objective first scores the cash. Just don't get cocky. As soon as one errand is completed, another one pops up on your phone.

While most team-based games play best with just two groups, Mafiya Work is better with more teams. The errands given are usually fairly easy to pull off and something that a small group of three or four people can handle. You get greater chaos and a more competitive match with more teams vying for the same objective.

Defend your turf.

Mafiya Work is a fairly unique objective-based multiplayer. We didn't play a lot, but we never had a duplicate mission. As great as Cops 'n' Crooks or Team Deathmatch may be, they have the same objective every single time. Mafiya Work mixes things up and will keep you on your toes because you can never anticipate what the next errand might require. And it can lead to some chicanery.

In multiplayer, you can use your phone to dial and have private conversations with members of your own team or of the opposing team. So give a call to an enemy -- one who's not too bright -- and act like you are on his team. Who knows, he may just be dumb enough to follow your instructions. And if nothing else, at least you can mock him until he hangs up his phone.

Team Car Jack City

Taking the name Grand Theft Auto to heart, Car Jack City has teams stealing selected cars from around Liberty City. The marked cars show up on your radar as do dropoff points. Of course, you're in competition with the other teams, which makes things interesting. Unless the car is secretly stuffed full of drugs, it loses value as it takes damage. So when you get in a car, the other teams will target you -- either to jack the car from you or destroy it outright.

One strategy is to have people waiting near the dropoff points. Armed with a rocket launcher, they can turn a jacked car into a smoldering mess moments before the other team scores.

Team Car Jack City is a test of both your driving and navigation skills. Crashing into cars and lampposts may be fun, but it also devalues your ride and costs you valuable dollars. But at the same time, if you don't know shortcuts and can't figure out the quickest way to intercept somebody, then you're going to have a tough time stopping the other teams from winning.

Like Team Mafiya Work, Car Jack City is best played with several teams when possible. The smaller groups make things far more frantic as there are only a handful of marked cars at any given time. What's more fun than having two people shoot it out over stealing a high-powered Infernus? Having three people shoot it out, of course.

Do as much damage as possible before a car is delivered.

Turf War

Turf War is your classic capture-the-point mode. There are three points on the map (though there may be options to add more) and just two teams to try and hold them. To snag a point, you need to stand in the circle at the center of the base. The more people who stand in the circle, the quicker the base is captured. Don't worry, the points are in the same neighborhood -- you won't have to run around all of Liberty City. You could wander off it you wanted to, but that's not really the point of Turf War.

Capturing a base is pretty easy. Holding onto the base is a lot more difficult. In our numerous sessions with Turf War, it became a challenge to get all three points at the same time. Leaving enough people to defend two bases and then reclaim another is not easy. But there are some tricks we learned. Setting up road blocks is a wise strategy. Pile cars on the street to block off access. You can also shoot up the lead car and get it smoking and close to total destruction. This way, if the other team tries to smash through the barrier, they should do enough damage to the smoking car to set it on fire -- and have it explode. And you pop one car and the other 15 are sure to follow. Done properly, you can create a fireworks display heretofore unseen in a block party.

You don't have to capture all points to win the match. You just need to score the most points before time runs out. Points, obviously, are given for controlling bases. So the more you control and the longer you control them, the better your chance of winning.

Turf War is a fun and frenetic mode. It's the mode most likely to inspire a drive-by. And, like most of the other modes in GTA IV multiplayer, is puts a premium on teamwork. Eight individuals doing their own thing leads to failure. Success comes to those who communicate and work together. You know, the stuff Xbox Live is famous for.

You only have one week of waiting left before you can get your hands on GTA IV multiplayer. And if this doesn't have you pumped and ready, remember that we will have continuing coverage of GTA IV throughout the week. Check back each day for new details on this year's most anticipated game.

[brutushayesosu]

Some GTA 4 gameplay

better quality vid. from a Youtuber

The NTSC and PAL versions have been leaked online and so the flood gates to videos and spoilers are wide open. G4 will be airing a live gameplay show on Sunday @ noon ET.