It has been revealed that the playground of GTA IV is smaller than San Andreas, but that doesn’t translate into less gameplay, since the game is taking place in the huge megalopolis of Liberty City, a re-creation of New York. Just as NYC has become LC, it’s been revealed that Brooklyn will be renamed Broker,Manhattan will be Algonquin, Queens will appear as Dukes and Bronx will become Bohan. Finally, New Jersey will appear in GTA IV as Alderney.
The game will tell the story of Niko Bellic, who comes to America after receiving emails from his cousin Roman, who is supposed to be living the “American Dream.”
Far from the truth, Roman is actually having problems, and his debts have brought him lots of enemies.
Playing as Niko, you come to America, help your cousin and subsequently become a name in the underground ghettos. Rockstar let slip in the preview that, although your character’s main purpose will be to help Roman, his past will haunt him later in the game. This could definitely mark the difference between the downloadable episodes that are exclusive to each console.
Game Informer got to preview the game on an Xbox 360 XeDK unit, which comes as a total surprise for a game that has been traditionally associated with the PlayStation platform. During the demo, the game’s new physics system and animations were shown off. For example, the demo had Bellic breaking a car’s window, which smashed into pieces that fell to the street and into the car’s seat. Another part of the demo showed how Bellic’s walk changed depending on the terrain he was crossing.
Another highlighted feature was the game’s impressive lighting system. Rockstar has put special emphasis on replicating the nighttime changes to “the city that never sleeps.”. There will be different gameplay experiences depending on where you are and the time of the day. Ultimately, Rockstar aims to capture the diversity that comes from New York’s cosmopolitan nature.
In perhaps the preview’s biggest news, it was confirmed that the game will feature a multiplayer mode, though no further details were provided.
To read the preview yourself and get a look at the first screenshots of the game, pick up a copy of the latest issue of Game Informer, which should be hitting bookstore shelves in the next few days.
