So, this "GTA 4" thing then...

[Wrestlevania]

Wasn't looking like I was going to be able to afford it this month, but I've been paid early and had a cost of living increase. So, in the absence of being able to pre-order the game, I'll be at my local 24hr Asda's at midnight this evening.

Who else is getting it? I read the Eurogamer review late last night (insomnia, no idea why) and I particularly like the sound of the multiplayer modes:

Via a lobby system that allows you to form teams and check out other players' details, you set up games that apply old norms and GTA-skewed derivatives to the game's fabulous open world. In a world of lock-ons, with weapon spawn-points on the mini-map, regular and team deathmatch come down to knowledge of the terrain, which is only acquired through persistence.

But the team-based Cops n' Crooks, where one team starts on foot, escorting a VIP to an escape point while the cops spawn in a police cruiser and try to chase them down, is an instant hit, and others like GTA Race are more than they sound. With guns and rocket launchers, bad losers make it more entertaining for the front of the pack.

Then there is Free Mode, which lets you do whatever you want in Liberty City with up to 15 other people, and leaderboards for all.

NB: Slightly edited for readability.

[toblix]

GTA IV is fucking going to rock your cock.

Edited for brevity.

[ThunderPeel2001]

Well it's made the BBC headlines... but probably not quite in the way you'd imagine.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7370590.stm

I guess somebody there is fed up of Jack Thompson/actually likes games!

[Nachimir]

I'll be picking it up on Wednesday. I think my boss specially planned for us to put on an event in a different city tomorrow just to guarantee I wouldn't end up sitting around in my pants playing GTAIV all day.

[Thrik]

I know we all realise scores don't mean everything here, but damn. Clearly not bad, then.

I'm kind of taken aback by how graphic the hooker sex scenes are in this game. I mean, jeeze — it goes far beyond 'Hot Coffee', with everything from a basic wank-off in the car to her getting her legs over him and going the full hog. How has this gotten an M rating instead of San Andreas' AO, which had an uncut sex scene consisting of nothing more than two clothed low-polygon models rubbing together?

[Wrestlevania]

Had no idea it was explicit; will have to make a point of not trying to sneak an hour of this into my Saturday morning routine when looking after the kids then...

[Ginger]

you've got to desensitises them at a young age, these kids aren't lucky enough to grow up with Thatcher as their leader, she taught us how to fuck people over, luckily for them they have the hookers in GTA to help them learn, it's not quite as good as Thatcher but it'll do.

[miffy495]

Getting it ASAP. As mentioned in the "help me decide" thread, I'm going to have to use Future Shop gift certificates though, which means I'll be going to FS tomorrow morning and hoping they have a copy or two left for me to escape with. Otherwise I'll be waiting for their next shipment and/or my first paycheque from a new job which I can use wherever the hell I want.

EDIT: Actually, after checking, it turns out the store I'd be going to tomorrow morning is having a midnight launch. I may have to make it down there tonight to ensure I'm playing tomorrow night.

[ThunderPeel2001]

Let us know what it's like! I doubt I'll find the time to play it soon.

[Wrestlevania]

Right, looks like it's time for me to amble down t' shops. See you lot on the other side, though I can't play it tonight as I'm hanging from only 4hrs sleep, post a highly vigorous weekend.

(Digging out the dozens of shrubs, bushes and small trees from the back garden, if you must know. Filthy children!)

[miffy495]

I'll be leaving in about an hour myself. Whether or not I get any playtime in tonight (provided I secure a copy) will be all down to my luck with getting home. Transit in this city is very hit and miss. If I have to walk, no game time for me. If I can catch a bus, I'll probably get an hour or so to play.

[Wrestlevania]

Well, I managed to pick up a copy for both a colleague and myself.

Twitter'd some thoughts whilst I was waiting in line, which I'll post up here a bit later for the sake of posterity.

I also took a picture--there were loads of people queueing up last night and they sold out very quickly.

I've only played the intro so far, but it certainly does look a lot better than San Andreas.

[miffy495]

Just got home myself. The guy behind me in line was a buddy from High School whom I hadn't seen since, so it was a nice experience in line. Crapload of people here too. Got my copy on 360 and will be moving the console to my room in a few minutes so that I can play without irritating my roommates. I'll post up some thoughts when I'm turning it off to go to bed. Luckily, even though transit had shut down for the night, my buddy was nice enough to offer me a ride home, so I beat even the time I'd been hoping to make.

[miffy495]

Ok, this is pretty sweet. I'll get my gripes out of the way first.

After playing for an hour:

Cons:

-Niko turns in kind of a weird way. He leans like he's running around an oval track even when he's just walking. He also turns slower than the camera so if you (like me) have gotten used to turning in 3rd person games by rotating your camera around the character and having him continue moving forward, you're going to have to take some time to adapt.

-The aliasing is pretty pronounced. Not a game-breaker, but whatever.

-Night driving is near impossible. Holy crap, when it gets dark it gets dark. This will probably get better when I'm in the financial districts of Algonquin rather than the poorer areas of Broker that I'm in now, but for the moment it's really tough to do anything after dark.

Pros:

-The game keeps going even when you're doing a mission for someone else. Seriously. The following spoiler is from the period of time between the third and fourth mission. Not really a big one, but if you're sensitive, you know.

I got a call from Roman, Niko's cousin. He said there were some loan sharks coming to beat his ass. I elected to go on a date with the girl I'd just been introduced to instead. While I was bowling with Michelle, I got a call from Roman. Now, instead of going to help him out, I got to pick him up from the hospital while he lectures me on choosing "coos before cousin." and telling me that if there were justice, his "breath would be smelling like titty, not yours." If I'd gone to help Roman and waited to take Michelle out, different outcome.

You can't tell me that that's not cool.

-The damage modelling on the cars is beautiful. Dents in all the right places, and very realistic crumple. Haven't gotten to see any explosions yet, but if they've put this much effort into a dented fender, I'm excited for when I do.

-The new wanted system is pretty cool, and adds a lot of intensity to things. I accidentally plowed into a cop car while running a red immediately after finishing the intro mission. I really didn't mean to, but it meant adapting quickly to the change. For those who don't know, rather than finding police bribes or anything like that, when you get a star now there's a circle that appears on your map that shows where the alert cops are. The more stars, the bigger the circle. If you can get out of that circle and stay out of sight for a while, the stars go away. It almost feels like outrunning the guards in Assassin's Creed. You make a frantic dash to get out of sight and away from the police, rather than having to mark a pay n spray on your map or anything like that. Hell, that random bump with a cop ended up with me outrunning a two star level on the freeway. Pretty damn cool.

Keep in mind, all this is before the game has even given me a weapon yet. Needless to say, I'm enjoying myself. Wrestle, can't wait to hear your thoughts when you start playing. If we happen to be awake and online at similar hours, I'd be glad to go on a rampage or two with you.

[DanJW]

Heh weird that GTA would adapt a cop system from a Driver game of all things.

The whole game sounds awesome though. I am sad that it will probably be a year or two before I get to play it

[Nappi]

To me, that new wanted system sounds a lot better than the old one. I really disliked having to memorize the locations of the pay'n'spray places.

I'm gradually becoming excited about this game. Too bad I don't have Xbox360 or PS3.

[Marek]

Just got the game. The timing is excellent for me. Today is my last day at my current job and I don't start my next one for another 2 weeks. Time for some oldschool unhealthy 24/7 gaming. Will report back soon.

[Wrestlevania]

Great first impression, Miffy.

And thanks also for your candor with regard to even the tiniest of spoilers; I think Rockstar will have packed this GTA to the rafters with fantastic little details, rather than rewriting the whole game mechanics from scratch.

Wrestle, can't wait to hear your thoughts when you start playing.

Heh, thank you--too kind. I'll be giving this a run-through tonight, for a couple of hours or so as time allows. Off to London to meet Yahoo UK and learn about Fire Eagle tomorrow night though, and so won't be back until about 1:30am on Thursday morning.

If we happen to be awake and online at similar hours, I'd be glad to go on a rampage or two with you.

That would be eff-ing awesome - and I use that word very rarely. The colleague who I bought the second copy for just pointed out the 2-4 co-op modes noted on the back of the packaging.

[miffy495]

I'm also going to add that I just played one more mission and the fog effects are really, really pretty. Even the traffic lights look beautiful. I went up a hill into oncoming traffic and the headlights of the cars I was about to hit just looked so damned real. Excellent work there.

As for when I'll be online, I'll probably be playing tomorrow afternoon before the Pittsburgh game, which starts at 5 my time. Odds are that I'll be playing from 3 until 5. I believe (but could be mistaken) you're 7 hours ahead of me, so that'd be 10 til 12 for you. Cheers.

[Erkki]

I picked up my preordered copy during lunch. Some stuff at work is keeping me from going home and enjoying it. I'll not be able to play a lot this week, though.

[Marek]

Put in the GTA4 disc .... got red ring of death. This is bullshit. I'm trying the towel trick now

[miffy495]

God damn. My condolences, sir.

[ThunderPeel2001]

Put in the GTA4 disc .... got red ring of death. This is bullshit. I'm trying the towel trick now

Doh! That really sucks. I hope you get your replacement quickly (although my friend had to wait 2 or 3 weeks... )

[Marek]

Erm yeah, I won't be able to get a replacement soon as I'm moving to the UK in 2 weeks. So unless this towel thing works, I'm going to be fucked for some time.

[Nappi]

Sorry to hear about your xbox.

That towel thing sounds really suspicious though. Is it supposed to fix the issue permanently or just allow you to play for a couple of hours or something?