Grand Theft Auto IV

Grand Theft Auto IV
File:GTAIV Logo.jpg Grand Theft Auto IV box art
Developer(s)	Rockstar North
Publisher(s)	Rockstar Games
Designer(s)	Dan Houser
Series	Grand Theft Auto
Engine	RAGE Euphoria (Motion engine)
Platform(s)	PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Release	29 April 2008
Genre(s)	Third-person shooter, action, Action-Adventure
Mode(s)	Single player, multiplayer

Grand Theft Auto IV (abbreviated to GTA IV and GTA 4) is a sandbox-style action-adventure video game developed by Rockstar North. It is the ninth title in the Grand Theft Auto series and the first in its fourth generation. Grand Theft Auto IV was released worldwide (except in Japan) on 29 April 2008 for both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Two episodic packs will be released exclusively for the Xbox 360, the first of which is due in August 2008 via Xbox Live.

The game is set in a redesigned rendition of Liberty City, a fictional city based heavily on modern day New York City. It follows Niko Bellic, a war veteran of Eastern European ethnicity, who comes to the United States in search of the American Dream, only to find his cousin has lied about the wealth that was promised to be awaiting him. Like other games in the series, GTA IV features "open-world" gameplay that gives the player more control over their playing experience. GTA IV is the first console game in the series to feature an online multiplayer mode, which contains fifteen different game types.

A major commercial and critical success, Grand Theft Auto IV broke sales records by selling about 3.6 million units on its first day of release and grossing more than $500 million in its first week. The game received overwhelmingly positive reviews, becoming the highest rated video game of all-time on review aggregator site Game Rankings.

Gameplay

Grand Theft Auto IV is structured similarly to previous games in the series. The core gameplay consists of elements of a third-person shooter and a driving game, affording the player a large, open environment in which to move around. On foot, the player's character is capable of walking, running, swimming, climbing and jumping, as well as utilising weapons and basic hand to hand combat. Players can steal and drive a variety of vehicles, including automobiles, boats, helicopters, and motorcycles.

The open, non-linear environment allows players to explore and choose how they wish to play the game. Although storyline missions are necessary to progress through the game and unlock certain parts of the map and content, they are not required, as players can complete them at their own leisure. When not taking on a storyline mission, players can free-roam. However, creating havoc can attract unwanted and potentially fatal attention from the authorities. The more chaos caused, the stronger the response: police patrols handle minor infractions such as attacking people, using a firearm in public, grand theft auto, homicide, etc. whereas helicopter support teams; the FIB (Federal Investigation Bureau), based on FBI; and an elite counter-terrorism and law enforcement team, N.O.O.S.E. (National Office Of Security Enforcement) replacing the military seen in previous renditions of the series, respond to higher wanted levels.

It is possible to have multiple active missions, due to the fact that some missions will run over the course of several days and will require the player to wait for further instructions, etc. The player can also partake in a variety of optional side missions. For the first time in the series, Grand Theft Auto IV features "morality choices" at several points throughout the game, in which the player is forced to choose between killing a character or sparing their life or killing one of two characters. The game has two different endings, which are determined by decisions made by the player throughout and at the end of the game. Each choice affects the final missions the player can partake, and the fate of some characters.

Combat and police response

File:GTAIV in-game screenshot.png

Combat in Grand Theft Auto IV has been reworked to include a cover system.

The gunfight system has been reworked to a better third-person scheme. The player can slide to cover, blindfire, and free aim. When locked on, the target's health is indicated by eight coloured segments on the target circle. Players can now target individual body parts using a revamped targeting system. Niko's health is represented by a green semi-circle on the left side of the minimap, and a blue semi-circle on the right represents armour. If Niko gets injured, he can recover health by using an escort service, eating, sleeping, using medical kits, or by calling for paramedics using his phone. Health is generally reduced by physical injuries such as falling from heights and going through the windscreen of a vehicle when crashing. Body armour is gradually damaged by gunshots and stab wounds. When Niko's health level reaches zero, he respawns at the nearest hospital, but loses 10% of his total wealth (up to a maximum of $10,000). Unlike previous GTA games, Niko is able to retain his weapons after re-spawning at a hospital; they are still confiscated if he is arrested and taken to a police station

Police and wanted levels operate differently from previous GTA games. When the police are in search of Niko, a search radius appears on the map in which the police will be looking for him. The size of this radius increases with the player's wanted level and re-centres itself on Niko's location if he is spotted by the police. The player can evade the police by escaping the search radius and temporarily keeping a low profile by not committing further offences. The wanted levels can be lost by either driving into a "Pay 'N' Spray" as in previous games (however, unlike the previous games, it doesn't work if the police are watching Niko enter the garage) or by disguising himself by clandestinely changing vehicles in empty areas such as parking garages. The player has the option to attempt escaping arrest before he is handcuffed, at the cost of increasing his wanted level. Additionally, pedestrians with cellphones can report crimes they witness in the surrounding environment.

Vehicles

Stealing a parked car will now show Niko breaking the glass (if it is locked) and hotwiring it to drive it; as opposed to previous games where the player would merely get in the driver's seat. During a mission with a target, if the player holds the cinematic camera button, the camera will turn towards and zoom closer to the target, but stay behind the player's vehicle until let go, returning to the normal camera. Every car in the game utilizes the in-game minimap as a GPS device, with voice directions to the destination; by default, the voice directions are only enabled on the most expensive cars, but it can be turned on in the Options menu for any vehicle. The player can hail a cab in order to travel quickly to various notable locations throughout the city, and the journey can be skipped straight to the destination at extra cost. The player is able to pilot helicopters, but not planes.

Car damage physics are more detailed in GTA IV than in its predecessors. When major collisions on motorbikes occur, the player's helmet will most likely fall off. The physics engine will turn the player into a rag doll after a crash, instead of using a predefined animation, resulting in more realistic collisions. Niko can lose health (or die) if he crashes or smashes through the windscreen of cars when colliding with objects at high speed. Vehicles will not explode if they are flipped over, or shot in any place other than the engine block or fuel tank, however they may catch fire and explode if they are repeatedly damaged via collisions. Explosions can sometimes render nearby vehicles unusable. Car engines can also die, rendering them unable to start, although phoning anyone will make the engine run again.

When driving or riding in a car, the player is able to smash the window, free-aim, and fire out of the vehicle with several different one-handed weapons as well dropping grenades or molotov cocktails. In certain areas of Liberty City, Niko can stop along side a prostitute, honk his car horn and let her in. This then enables him to receive different sexual activities with the prostitute at different costs.

Communication

The use of the mobile phone has been expanded to perform multiple actions. When selecting the mobile phone, a zoomed-in version of the phone pops up in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen. The phone allows the player to view text messages and appointments, as well as arrange to meet friends for a variety of activities. Retrying a failed mission can be performed by accessing the menu. The player can take photos with the mobile phone and upload them to the police computer during certain missions. Niko can dial 911 to call the police for them to arrest an enemy/pedestrian that is fighting/shooting at him, or just to trick them into wasting resources on a false alarm. He can also contact the paramedics and the fire station.

The game also features several different in-game databases that Niko can make use of. An in-game version of the Internet can be used by accessing the cyber café chain, "TW@", located throughout the city. There are over 100 accessible, fictitious websites within the game, and Niko can also send and receive email (complete with random spam mail) and set up prospective dates. Although the "TW@" cyber café was seen in Grand Theft Auto III, it did not give the player the option to browse the internet. In a police vehicle, Niko can use an in-car computer to access Liberty City's criminal database, discover information about various criminals in Liberty City and even track them down for a reward. The game also features in-game television programming, with several viewable channels featuring programs and advertisements. The television shows cover a wide variety of genres, including news, comedy, talk shows, and sports. There is also a mock of Ric Burns' New York: A Documentary Film running continuously on one of the game's television stations, detailing the history of Liberty City in the same grandiose style as Burns' 8-part documentary.

Multiplayer

Grand Theft Auto IV is the first console game in the series to include online multiplayer, with 15 modes of play available. The multiplayer supports up to 16 players and allows players to explore the entire city. Players use a customisable character in a majority of the modes, with cash earned during play able to be used to purchase clothing for their character. Hosts of the games can control many variables, such as time of day, police presence, pedestrian presence, traffic, location of game, and weapons. The online games are split into ranked and unranked matches. The reward for the ranked gameplay is cash, which determines players' ranks. The game does not feature any split screen or LAN multiplayer modes.

There are several different game modes available. Team based gameplay modes include Team Deathmatch, where 2-8 teams compete to accumulate the most kills in a traditional deathmatch; Team Mafiya Work, in which 2–8 teams compete to complete contract work for the "mafiya", such as escorting/killing targets or stealing cars; Team Car Jack City where 2–8 teams compete to steal cars and earn money for keeping them undamaged; Cops n' Crooks, featuring a team of cops who must compete against a team of crooks (which features the "All for One" variation - requiring the cops to kill the crooks' "Boss" before he is escorted to the extraction point - and the "One for All" variation - requiring the cops to kill all of the crooks before they reach the extraction point); and Turf War, involving two teams who compete to take control of designated areas of the map and control them for as long as possible.

The game also includes a variety of racing and co-operative modes, which include Race, in which players race through checkpoints in a traditional automobile race; a GTA Race variation, where players race through checkpoints in an automobile race, with the ability to combat their opponents; Hangman's N.O.O.S.E., a co-op mode that requires players to collect a person from the airport and safely escort him to the extraction point before the cops kill him; Deal Breaker, a co-op mission that requires players to assault a construction site captured by enemies, then chase a group of enemies before they escape; and Bomb da Base II, a co-op mission that requires players to clear out a ship, then destroy it with explosives. The game also features a Free Mode, in which players have the entire map open to explore, with no end goal or mission to complete.

Community features

The Rockstar Games Social Club is a web site that displays the gameplay statistics of registered users and feature competitions and awards based on player activity within the game. The Social Club web site was announced on 27 March 2008 and launched on 17 April 2008. The main features of Social Club launched on the same date of the game itself 29 April 2008. Social Club will also provide online features for Rockstar's latest Midnight Club game, Midnight Club: Los Angeles. Social Club consists of multiple parts. It initially included the LCPD Police Blotter, The Story Gang, The 100% Club, The Hall Of Fame, The Liberty City Marathon and The Zit.

In an interview with Playstation World Magazine, Rockstar mentioned that they will "heavily support" Sony's PlayStation Home, a community-based service for the PlayStation Network. Rockstar also mentioned that visitors to their PlayStation Home apartment would receive 'goodies' such as clothing for their avatar and items and decorations for their own PlayStation Home apartment. In addition to this, users can earn PlayStation Home trophies for their home space (Similar to the achievements for the Xbox 360 version).

Synopsis

Plot

File:GTAIV Niko and SoH.jpg

Statue of Happiness behind Niko, symbolizing his pursuit of the American Dream.

Niko Bellic is an Eastern European immigrant and a veteran of the Bosnian War who, after persuasion from his cousin Roman, comes to Liberty City to pursue the American Dream. After his arrival, Niko quickly learns that Roman's tales of riches and luxury were lies, concealing Roman's struggles with debt and gangsters. Niko aids Roman in his troubles while hoping to carve out a new life for himself in the city.

It is later revealed that Niko came to Liberty City primarily to search for the person he blames for the betrayal of his old army unit: Florian Cravic. Niko soon creates ties with the Liberty City Bratva through Vladimir Glebov and later makes acquaintance with a major figure of the Bratva, Mikhail Faustin and his associate, Dimitri Rascalov. Niko completes jobs for Faustin before joining Dimitri's plot to betray Faustin and take over the organization. Niko assassinates Faustin on Dimitri's orders and later meets with him to collect his reward for the killing. Dimitri, however, betrays Niko and reveals that he is in collusion with Rodislav Bulgarin, a former employer of Niko who orders his men to kill him. Little Jacob arrives on the scene and rescues Niko, however Dimitri escapes and Jacob suggests dealing with him later.

Niko receives a phone call from Roman, who is hiding in a remote location after having received several silent calls. The two meet up and they drive back to find both Roman's apartment and taxi depot in flames. The two escape to Bohan, after receiving death threats from Dimitri, and Roman reveals his plans to propose to his girlfriend Mallorie. Niko progressively obtains new allies in the city, gaining the money to provide for his and Roman's life while furthering his connections towards locating the person he is searching for. Niko discovers that Florian has changed his name to Bernie Crane and ultimately, Niko determines that Bernie is not the person responsible for his unit's betrayal leading Niko towards the only remaining suspect, Darko Brevic.

Towards the conclusion of the storyline, a shadowy government agency (under the name of "U.L. Paper") that had forced Niko to help them in collusion with an aging mobster, Jon Gravelli, locates Darko in Bucharest and arrange to have him brought to Liberty City as a final reward. Niko confronts Darko, who has become a drug-addicted, guilt-ridden wreck. The player is then left with the option of either executing Darko or sparing his life. Afterwards, having dealt with his past, Niko relaxes at a bar when Jimmy Pegorino shows up and asks him one final favour; to obtain a shipment of heroin for him that he can sell to a buyer: Dimitri Rascalov.

Finale

The story features two possible endings depending on the choice made by the player at this point in the game. The player can choose to have Niko exact revenge on Dimitri or make a deal with him.

If the player chooses to exact revenge, Niko ambushes Dimitri on his tanker while he is supervising a shipment. A gunfight ensues within the hull of the tanker and Niko kills Dimitri in cold blood. In the aftermath, Roman and Mallorie's wedding takes place and Jimmy Pegorino, furious after the betrayal, commits a drive-by outside the church killing Kate McReary. Niko, Roman and Little Jacob chase some of Pegorino's men, who take them to an abandoned casino in Alderney. Niko attempts to kill Pegorino, but he escapes to Happiness Island via boat, whilst Niko chases him with a helicopter. Niko kills Pegorino, after a long conversation. After he kills him , Niko laments on the supposed "American Dream" to Roman and Jacob.

If the player chooses to strike a deal, Niko meets Phil Bell at the docks to make the exchange. Dimitri sabotages his side of the deal but Niko and Phil eventually retrieve the drug money regardless. Kate, who was against making the deal, is furious with Niko and refuses to attend Roman and Mallorie's wedding. The wedding takes place and an assassin sent by Dimitri to kill Niko shoots Roman during a struggle. A devastated and vengeful Niko teams up with Little Jacob. They go to an abandoned casino in Alderney to kill Dimitri, who is now in partnership with Pegorino. Niko tells Little Jacob that he "needs to do this for Roman." Jacob then leaves to formulate an escape plan for Niko after he kills Dimitri. In the casino, Dimitri executes Pegorino and attempts to escape. Niko and Little Jacob follow him to Happiness Island, where Niko implicitly kills Dimitri. The story ends with a parting shot of the Statue of Happiness, with Niko concerned for the well-being of his soul.

Setting

Main article: Liberty City (Grand Theft Auto) § Grand Theft Auto IV rendition

File:Liberty City GTAIV.jpg

GTA IV's rendition of Liberty City is more heavily based on New York City than in previous GTA games.

Grand Theft Auto IV takes place in a redesigned version of Liberty City consisting of four boroughs, based on four of the boroughs of New York City. Broker is the equivalent of Brooklyn, Queens is Dukes, The Bronx is Bohan and Manhattan is Algonquin. Adjacent to the city is the independent state of Alderney based on New Jersey and named after the Channel Island of the same name. A Staten Island-esque area is not featured in the game as the developers believed that gameplay in such an area would not be fun. Initially the city's bridges are locked down due to a terrorist threat, but eventually the armed police blockades are lifted and the player is able to lead Niko across the Broker, Algonquin, and Northwood Heights bridges and explore the rest of the city.

Several real-life districts and landmarks exist within Liberty City, including "Hove Beach", based on Brighton Beach and named from Brighton and Hove; "Firefly Island", based on Coney Island, featuring the "Screamer" roller coaster modelled on the Coney Island Cyclone; "Middle Park", a replica of Central Park; "Statue of Happiness" modeled on Statue of Liberty, featuring a Styrofoam coffee cup in place of a torch; "Star Junction", a replica of Times Square; "BOABO" (Beneath the Offramp of the Algonquin Bridge Overpass) a parody of DUMBO; the "Thornton Building", a replica of the Flatiron Building; the "GetaLife Building", a replica of MetLife Building; the "Booth Tunnel", modelled on the Lincoln Tunnel and named after Abraham Lincoln's assassin, John Wilkes Booth; "BAWSAQ", a parody of NASDAQ; the "Rotterdam Tower", the in-game equivalent of the Empire State Building and the "Zirconium Building", Liberty City's equivalent of the Chrysler Building.

Characters

Main articles: List of characters in Grand Theft Auto IV and List of gangs in the Grand Theft Auto series

Niko Bellic with Dimitri Rascalov at a seaside amusement park.

The characters that appear in Grand Theft Auto IV are diverse and relative to the respective boroughs of Liberty City they are based in, belonging to various gangs and ethnic groups. The player controls Niko Bellic, a veteran of the Bosnian War of unspecified Eastern European ethnicity. A number of other recurring characters appear in Grand Theft Auto IV, though, according to Dan Houser, virtually none of the characters from the previous games are returning, as "most of the characters we liked were dead," further evidenced by in-game graffiti bidding farewell to these characters.

Unlike previous games in the series, the voice actors of Grand Theft Auto IV do not include notable and high-profile celebrities, instead opting for lesser known actors such as Michael Hollick, Jason Zumwalt, Moti Margolin, Thomas Lyons, Timothy Adams and Coolie Ranx. However, several high-profile DJs host the various radio stations within the game such as Karl Lagerfeld, Iggy Pop, and Lazlow Jones. Katt Williams and Ricky Gervais also have their likenesses and comedy depicted in an in-game comedy club.

Soundtrack

Main articles: Grand Theft Auto IV soundtrack and The Music of Grand Theft Auto IV

Like previous games in the Grand Theft Auto series, Grand Theft Auto IV features a soundtrack which can be heard through radio stations while the player is in a vehicle. Liberty City is serviced by eighteen radio stations, three of which are talk radio stations. The other stations feature music from a range of genres, spanning different decades and also taken from modern day music. Notable inclusions to the game's soundtrack include Smashing Pumpkins, Thin Lizzy, Seryoga, Bob Marley, The Sisters of Mercy, The Who, Queen, Black Sabbath, Fela Kuti, Femi Kuti, Phillip Glass, Justice, Kanye West, Busta Rhymes, R. Kelly, Liquid Liquid, John Coltrane, Aphex Twin, The Boggs, Elton John, ZZ Top, R.E.M., Ne-Yo, Nas and Barry White.

The game uses a similar music system to that of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. In earlier games in the series, each radio station was essentially a single looped sound file, playing the same songs, announcements and advertisements in the same order each time. With the radio stations in Grand Theft Auto IV, each sound file is held separately, and "mixed" randomly, allowing songs to be played in different orders, announcements to songs to be different each time, and plot events to be mentioned on the stations. However, certain stations limit certain songs to specific DJs. Certain songs are also edited to incorporate references to the fictional Liberty City.

Following a partnership between Rockstar Games and Amazon.com, players will be able to purchase real world MP3s through GTA IV's in-game mobile phone. Players are able to 'mark' radio songs that they like by dialing ZIT-555-0100 on Niko's phone. They will then receive a text message providing the name of the song and the artist. If a player is registered on Rockstar's 'Social Club' website he or she will also receive a real world e-mail with a link to an Amazon.com playlist where all of the player's marked songs will be listed and available to purchase. Initially, this service is only available in the U.S., but will follow shortly to other international territories.

Development

See also: Marketing for Grand Theft Auto IV

Mural ad for the game on a wall in New York City, July 2007.

Work on Grand Theft Auto IV began in November 2004, almost immediately after the release of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. According to a financial consultant for Take-Two Interactive, around 150 game developers worked on Grand Theft Auto IV. The team consists of core members of the Grand Theft Auto III team, albeit larger. The game uses Rockstar's own RAGE game engine, which was previously used in Rockstar Table Tennis, in combination with the Euphoria game animation engine. Instead of pre-written animations, Euphoria uses procedural animation to control the way the player moves, enabling character movements to be more realistic. The Euphoria engine also enables NPCs to react in a realistic way to the player's actions. In one preview, a player knocked an NPC out of a window and the character grabbed onto a ledge to stop himself from falling. The game also uses middleware from Image Metrics to facilitate intricate facial expressions and ease the process of incorporating lip-synching. Foliage in the game in produced through SpeedTree.

Grand Theft Auto IV sees a shift in the series to a more realistic and detailed style and tone, partly a result of the transition to consoles which offered high-definition graphics and the new and improved capabilities of such consoles. Rockstar co-founder Dan Houser said "what we're taking as our watchword on [GTA IV] is the idea of what high definition actually means. Not just in terms of graphics, which obviously we are achieving, but in terms of all aspects of the design. [...] You know, trying to make something more realistic, more held together, but still retaining the overall coherence that the other games had." Art director Aaron Garbut said one of the reasons they decided to set the game in New York because "we all knew what an amazing, diverse, vibrant, cinematic city it is. [...] And since we were hoping to push the detail, variety and life, for lack of a better word, to such a degree it seemed that basing the game in a city so synonymous with these things was a great fit." Dan Houser added "because we were working in high definition and we knew we'd need a shitload of research, we wanted to be somewhere where we had a foothold." The developers consciously avoided creating a block for block recreating of New York City, Dan Houser said "what we've always tried to do is make a thing that looks real and has the qualities of a real environment, but is also fun from a game design perspective." The Grand Theft Auto IV rendition of Liberty City is far more detailed and is the largest individual city in the Grand Theft Auto series. Although smaller than San Andreas, Liberty City is comparable to it in terms of scope when "the level of verticality of the city, the number of buildings you can go into, and the level of detail in those buildings" are taken into account. The goal for Liberty City was to have no dead spots or irrelevant spaces, such as the wide open deserts in San Andreas. To achieve a realistic environment, the Rockstar North team, based in Edinburgh, Scotland, made two trips to New York for research, one at the start of the project (which is done with every GTA game) and another smaller one further into development. A full-time research team, based in New York, handled further requests for information ranging from the ethnic minority of a neighbourhood to videos of traffic patterns.

The story of Grand Theft Auto IV was written by Dan Houser and Rupert Humphries. Unlike previous Grand Theft Auto games which have a strong cultural or cinematic influence, "[GTA IV doesn't] really have any cinematic influences", said Dan Houser, "we were consciously trying to go, well, if videogames are going to develop into the next stage, then the thing isn't to try and do a loving tribute or reference other stuff. It's to reference the actual place itself." Houser also said, "In terms of the character, we wanted something that felt fresh and new and not something that was obviously derived from this movie. [...] Maybe could do something ourselves that would live alongside that stuff."

File:GTA IV Special Edition copy.png

GTA IV: Special Edition contents: Grand Theft Auto IV, metal safe deposit box, Rockstar Games keychain, duffel bag, Art of Grand Theft Auto IV book and The Music of Grand Theft Auto IV soundtrack.

To date, Grand Theft Auto IV has the largest soundtrack for a video game with 214 songs. Music supervisor Ivan Pavlovich said "[we had] to pick the songs that make New York today what it is, but make sure they won't feel dated by the time the game comes out." The developers contacted over 2,000 people in order to obtain recording and publishing rights. They even hired a private investigator to locate the relatives of late Skatt Bros. member Sean Delaney to license the band's song, "Walk the Night". Citing sources close to the deals, Billboard reported that Rockstar paid as much as $5,000 per composition and another $5,000 per master recording per track. Developers originally considered letting players purchase music by going to an in-game record shop and for Niko to have an MP3 player, but both ideas were cut. Grand Theft Auto IV's theme song is "Soviet Connection" by Michael Hunter, who also composed the theme for Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. People who provide voices for the radio DJs include fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld, musicians Iggy Pop, Femi Kuti, Jimmy Gestapo and Ruslana, and real-life radio talk show host Lazlow Jones. DJ Green Lantern produced tracks exclusively for the game's hip-hop radio station The Beat 102.7. Record label owner and record producer Bobby Konders, who hosts the in-game radio station Massive B Soundsystem 96.9, went through the extra effort of flying to Jamaica to get dancehall artists to re-record tracks to make references to the boroughs of Liberty City.

Microsoft vice president Peter Moore announced at E3 2006 that the game would appear on Xbox 360, by rolling up his sleeve to reveal a GTA IV tattoo. Rockstar Games initially appeared to be committed to the original 16 October 2007 release date; however, Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter suggested that Take-Two may choose to delay the release of the game in order to boost its financial results for 2008 and to avoid competing with the release of other highly anticipated titles, such as Halo 3. Rockstar responded by saying that Grand Theft Auto IV was still on track for release in "late October". On 2 August 2007, Take-Two announced that Grand Theft Auto IV would miss its original release date of 16 October 2007 contrary to their previous statements, and would be delayed to their second fiscal quarter (February–April) of 2008. Their stated reason for the date change was "due to additional development time required to complete the title." In a later conference call with investors, Take-Two's Strauss Zelnick attributed the delay to "almost strictly technological problems... not problems, but challenges." It was revealed that technical difficulties with the PlayStation 3 version of the game contributed to the delay. On 24 January 2008, Take-Two announced that Grand Theft Auto IV would be released on 29 April 2008. As the release date approached, Rockstar Games and Take Two marketed the game heavily through various forms, including television ads, Internet video, billboards, viral marketing, and a redesigned website. A special edition of the game was also released for both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. At a Take-Two shareholder meeting on 18 April 2008, Take-Two CEO Ben Feder announced that GTA IV had already "gone gold" and was "in production and in trucks en route to retailers" Overall, Grand Theft Auto IV took over 1000 people and more than three and a half years to complete, with a total cost estimated at approximately $100 million, making it the most expensive game ever developed.

Downloadable content

During Microsoft's 2006 E3 press conference on 9 May 2006, it was announced that Rockstar Games will offer exclusive episodic content for the Xbox 360 version of the game, which will be released after the full game via Xbox Live. Peter Moore, the then head of Microsoft's Interactive Entertainment Business division described downloadable content as "epic episode packs", and not just an extra car or character. A press release during the conference said that the packs would add "hours of entirely new gameplay" to the game. Details on the pricing of these downloads have not yet been revealed, though it would almost certainly not be released for free, as Take-Two Interactive's former CEO, Paul Eibeler, has said numerous times that these downloads would provide "additional revenue streams" to the company, but Microsoft has said that it will be up to Rockstar on whether or not they will charge for it. Jeronimo Barrera, Vice President of Product Development for Rockstar Games, has said that the episodes are an experiment because they are not sure that there are enough users with access to online content on the Xbox 360. Take-Two Interactive's Chief Financial Officer, Lainie Goldstein revealed that Microsoft was paying a total of US $50 million for the two episodes. On 20 February 2008, it was announced that the extra content will be introduced starting August 2008.

Downloadable content for the PlayStation 3 was said to be "likely" by vice president of development Jeronimo Barrera, in the May 2008 edition of PlayStation World. The form that the content will take was not stated.

Reception

Reception

Aggregate scores

Aggregator	Score
GameRankings	PS3: 97.5% (54 revs) 360: 97.4% (68 revs)
Metacritic	PS3: 98% (48 revs) 360: 98% (62 revs)

Review scores

Publication	Score
1Up.com	A+
Edge	10/10
Electronic Gaming Monthly	A+/A+/A
Eurogamer	10/10
Game Informer	10/10
GameSpot	10.0/10
IGN	10.0/10
PlayStation Official Magazine – Australia	10/10
PlayStation Official Magazine – UK	10/10
Official Xbox Magazine (UK)	10/10
Official Xbox Magazine (US)	9.5/10

Grand Theft Auto IV has received near-universal acclaim from video game critics. The Xbox 360 and PS3 version of GTA IV have received average critic review scores of 98% from review aggregators Game Rankings and Metacritic. It is the highest rated video game of all-time on Game Rankings. Ahead of its worldwide release, most publications were not sent copies of the game. Instead, reviewers had to play the game at Rockstar premises or in booked hotel rooms.

The May 2008 issue of Official Xbox Magazine (UK) published the first Grand Theft Auto IV review, giving the game the maximum score of 10/10. The magazine also stated that the game has an "amazingly realistic world; stunning action set pieces; genuinely engrossing storyline; hugely entertaining multiplayer;" and that it is "vast in every respect." PlayStation Official Magazine (UK) also gave the game 10/10 in their May 2008 issue, describing the game as "a masterpiece that improves on all GTA's best bits." Xbox World 360 gave the game a 98% rating, the highest it has ever given to any game, mentioning the game was "everything we were entitled to expect, and yet somehow impossibly more." GameSpot's Justin Calvert initially submitted the review with a 9.5 score. However, that was before the review was overlooked by the GameSpot committee, who agreed that the score should be heightened to a perfect 10. The initial score of 9.5 became available on Gamespot's web site due to a bug in their publishing system. It became the first game since 2001 that GameSpot had rated perfect. The review called the game "compelling," with a "plethora of online multiplayer features" and stated that GTA IV is "undoubtedly the best Grand Theft Auto yet."

Hilary Goldstein of IGN gave the game a 10/10 score, with the game earning 10/10 in each individual category: presentation, sound, graphics, and lasting appeal. It is the first game in the publication's history to receive straight-10 subscores across the board. Goldstein called the game "just as big a leap forward" as Grand Theft Auto III, albeit "in subtler ways", and said it "sets a new benchmark for open-world games", with "no one major weak aspect." Goldstein's only serious criticism was for "the occasional flaw in the cover system", but the review concluded with the statement that "We don't give 10s often—just to games that merit the score."

The British newspaper Daily Star gave it a positive review, praising: "This could be a console defining title, one that in years to come people will remember as the stand-out of the era." The New York Times wrote a favourable review as well, calling it a "violent, intelligent, profane, endearing, obnoxious, sly, richly textured and thoroughly compelling work of cultural satire disguised as fun." The film magazine Empire gave the game a perfect 5/5 in its game reviews section, calling it "damn-near perfect".

Despite the almost unanimous praise given to GTA IV, the game has received some criticism. A review in Ars Technica states that the game "...[is] not perfect. It does not deserve unquestioned, unadulterated praise. In many ways, the slight regression of the series from San Andreas is surprising: there are fewer vehicles, weapons, and story missions, less character customization, and even the size of the city itself is smaller." GameSpot noted that there are occasional problems with friendly AI and avoiding the police being "a little too easy." There were some minor complaints with the game's cover system, which reviewers noted, stumbled in box-filled environments and the stickiness of cover points being an issue. The occasional presence of noticeable pop-in was also criticised.

Sales and impact

Shares of Take-Two Interactive gained as much as 3.4% amid positive reviews before the game's launch. Scott Hillis of Reuters said first week sales of the game were expected to reach $400 million. Some observers suggested that GTA IV's success could dampen the box office for the 2 May 2008 release of Iron Man, setting a precedent where movie studios will begin browsing video-game release dates to check for conflicts. Matt Richtel of The New York Times said the game's release was "expected to be one of the biggest video game debuts ever" and said 5 million copies of the game were expected to be sold in the first two weeks. Analyst Michael Pachter predicted the game will sell 11 to 13 million units by the end of 2008. Pachter also expects Grand Theft Auto IV to represent 3.2% of all US and European software sales for 2008 and for lifetime sales of the game to reach 16 to 19 million. Analyst Evan Wilson predicted that Grand Theft Auto IV would have opening week sales of $550 million.

Not only has it surpassed the expectations stated above, Grand Theft Auto IV has claimed two entertainment industry sales records, posting the best single-day and seven-day sales totals for a video game. The game sold more than 3.6 million copies on its first day of availability (garnering $310 million in sales), while also selling 6 million copies in the first week of availability (garnering $500 million in sales). In the United Kingdom, the game sold 631,000 copies on its first day of release, making it the fastest-selling game in a 24 hour period within that region, according to Chart-Track. The previous record holder in the UK, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, sold 501,000 copies within 24 hours.

There have been reports in the United Kingdom and the United States of crimes perpetrated against people purchasing Grand Theft Auto IV, as well as employees of stores selling the game. One of these incidents, an attack near a Gamestation store in Croydon, was later reported to be an unrelated argument between two groups of people leaving a pub and the story has been referred to as a "media panic."

On 6 May 2008, it was reported via Major Nelson's website that Grand Theft Auto IV was the most-played title on Xbox Live for the week beginning 28 April 2008, taking the number one spot from Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare which had held it for the preceding 12 weeks.

GameStop and EB Games reported that the game led in sales the first week after its release, noting that its stores in Puerto Rico led all districts in pre-release reservations and sales 48 hours after its release. According to GameStop, the Xbox 360 version of the game outsold the PlayStation 3 version by about 2 to 1 in the first week.

On 13 May 2008, Grand Theft Auto IV broke the Guinness World Records for "Highest grossing video game in 24 hours" and "Highest Revenue Generated by an Entertainment Product in 24 Hours". It sold 3.6 million copies on day one, which equalled roughly $310 million in revenue. For first day sales it also broke the record of "Fastest-selling video game in 24 hours", previously held by Halo 3 at $170 million.

During the first five days of availability, the title sold 1.85 million units on the Xbox 360 and 1 million on the PlayStation 3 in the United States, according to the NPD Group; in the United Kingdom the Xbox 360 version sold 514,000 copies and the PlayStation 3 version sold 413,000, according to Chart-Track.

Technical issues

A blog entry on Kotaku reported that several PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 owners had complained of the game freezing during the initial cut-scene, rendering it unplayable. It was also reported on Kotaku that the online multiplayer was down on release day for some PlayStation 3 users.

On 7 May, Rockstar and Sony released a patch for the PlayStation 3 version of the game to improve the multiplayer experience. According to developer Rockstar, the update prevents GameSpy's servers from being overloaded and therefore reduces the impact on those servers that were causing the game to stutter and lock up.

Controversies

Main article: Grand Theft Auto IV controversies

Prior to and since the release of Grand Theft Auto IV, the game has been subject to a great deal of controversy. Figures including George Galloway, Jack Thompson and Glenn Beck have criticised the game, as have organisations including New York City officials and Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

The version of GTA IV released in Australia and New Zealand was edited to remove content to allow the game to meet the requirements of the Australian classification system.

External links

• Grand Theft Auto IV Official website