Grand Theft Auto IV -- It might feature crime and prostitutes.

They're saying it takes an hour to get from one side of the map to the other, presumably on foot. This is quite something, I did a timed 'strole' from one corner of the SA map to the other last night which took just over half an hour.

The only eventuality I had was at some point a nutcase wanted to run me down in a big-foot, but i out maneouvered him and he gave up. (i was playing the multiplayer game)

also, looks like i'm opting for the ps3 for this. i have a question.

do i *really* need to buy a hdtv?

Oh, Ste.

I would've said "Oh yes" until I got one. Now I would only say "yeah, probably."

I used to have to play my NES on a black and white TV in my bedroom. I could DO it, but it sucked.

It would be cool to see the difference in person between playing a new game on an HD vs. SD TV. Now is actually a pretty good time to start thinking about an HDTV as the prices have gotten quite a bit more reasonable. If you're not super worried about a big size screen you can even get some pretty nice 22" HD monitors for 350 USD - in particular I was recently looking at the Gateway HD2200 which has hook-ups for HDMI and component video as well as the standard VGA. Note that neither the PS3 or Wii can be hooked up via VGA (as far as know - maybe with an expensive (100+) VGA converter box), but you can buy the 360s 40 dollar VGA cable to use it with a standard computer monitor.

I JUST ORDERED A HD TELLY HA HA HA I AM MAD!

good work.

so it didn't arrive and the order has been cancelled.

so close.

damn.

EA to buy Take Two and therefore Rockstar?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7262328.stm

I thought that that bid was already rejected a few days ago? Or is that a new one?

oh nvm it says it's rejected there

http://www.rockstargames.com/IV/#?page=lcpdrecruit&content=video0

some new stuff appearing

Have you bought your console yet Ste?

http://www.rockstargames.com/IV/wet/loveMeet/embed/mboringloser.jpg

"Hank, I married a MAN, I didn't marry a ... GAMER"

Antexit, no not yet. I wasn't impressed with a recent PS3 demo of COD4 and Burnout so I'm holding back until the release of this game. It still may be an xbox360.

Came across this board and am in the same prediciment as Ste. I found this article, which has me leaning towards the PS3.

I don't believe that 16.4% failure rate. I'm pretty sure it is quite a bit higher. As somebody who has both systems, like I said above, I prefer the ps3, because (among other things) it runs A LOT quieter (as somebody who plays a lot more late at night, a quiet machine is nice) and smoother - sometimes my 360 seems to have trouble loading open world streaming data - which worries me & it has definitely crashed more than my ps3. On the other hand, the 360 has better library of games, is less expensive and is going to have the extra content for GTA IV eventually (I'm assuming each extra episode with be 15-20 dollars though). And as somebody whose 360 got the red rings of death, it's not too big of a deal - you just call up Microsoft - they send you a box - you send in your 360 - and about three weeks later you get it back.

i really want my 360 to die so i can get a new one already!

The only problem with that is - the "new" 360 they sent me back actually works worse (runs as loud, makes more weird sounds, crashes more) than the one I had before. I guess it was probably a refurbished one?

Do you get your DLC back?

With the red ring thing you detach your hard drive and power cables and just send in the box. So when you get your 360 back, you just clip your hard drive back on and you're pretty much good to go (just have to recover your gamertag, I think).

erm, ah. i think i'll get a ps3 then. lol.

might as well if you're not playing a lot of gamews, you have a bru-ray then as well.

A quick warning though - it might be worth it to wait a bit on the ps3 until they start bundling in the dual shock 3 controller (I think that happens before gta IV, right?), as it's a much better controller than the orginal pack-in (more solid feeling + rumble).

i was thinking about that but then i realized i was gonna get a second controller anyway so i ordered a dual shock from play-asia. or yes-asia. or something.

Oh Ste I just remembered, only the 360 version will have the exclusive "downloadable content" aka episodes you can download and add to the game a few months after release.

Anybody see that quite good-looking fake(?) intro that someone put on youtube today?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQWTijxy6x8

online mutliplayer details + screens

holy shit am i excited by this. like the single player isn't going to swallow my life on its own.

Yeah, surely we're all going to be multiplaying this lots, so the console ste should buy is the one that most of us have? Which is...what? I'd guess 360. That's what I'll be playing on.

meh, tried GTA multi mode on the San Andreas game, it's really an anticlimax.

I like to play GTA solo anyway, it's that sort of game for me.

(altho MultiTheftAuto is a lot more fun, but it's just vehicle based - no on foot action)

The multiplayer stuff here looks to be a lot more fully realized than earlier attempts. Time will tell, but I'm definitely looking forward to fooling around with those different modes this time around (never did before).

lol is that supposed to be a scan from an actual magazine?

360 = more single player once they release DLC! the choice is so easy!

So a new, and final, trailer is to be released tomorrow.

I have this awful feeling that they'll fuck something major up and make it unplayable. In both Stories games they managed to completely ruin vigilante missions by making them ridiculously hard (crims just shot the shit out of your car), these were one of my favourite parts of the game.

Have you decided on a console yet Ste? I love that you can jump in and out of multiplayer from single-player. ILG hoo-ridin'!

god no, and time is ticking away. What has everyone else got, or getting?

I think the majority on this board are Xboxers? If you're really buying a console as a GTA platform, seems like if you're a real nut for the game the episodic content is a dealmaker, since they're otherwise identical, and more of your multiplayer buds have it. Though if I were buying a system this year and wanted something futureproof I would probably opt for the PS3.

The thing about picking up a ps3 would be that you could also pick up Gran Turismo prologue, Metal Gear Solid 4 (in May, right), Wipeout HD (in June?) and Little Big Planet in the fall - and also free online. But if you're just buying a system for one game (and don't mind a noisier, somewhat clunkier machine), you probably save a little money if you pick up an xbox, plus like others have said, you can also only buy the extra content (whatever that will be) if 100 hours of game isn't enough for you.

http://kotaku.com/372415/gta-iv-street-map-leaked

Besides Gears 2 are there even any 360 exclusives worth knowing about this year? It really seems like it's the PS3's year.

From Official Xbox Magazine: "Jeronimo Barrera, a senior developer at Rockstar, says it takes testers playing 4 hours a day 'a good 2 weeks to get through the whole single-player game.'"

40 hours? That ain't very long for this kind of game, even if they're just playing right through.

I think 40 hours is about how long it took me to get through the last one

For me it was way longer, but I did a lot of fucking around and side missions along the way.

and you didn't have the pressure of getting the job done on you either :P

when you dick around at all when playtesting you don't playtest for long

Yeah, half the fun was just driving/flying/biking/fucking around. Trying to find weird little bits on the map like the ramp on the top of a mesa in the desert, where you could launch a 4-wheeler off of before pulling a parachute.

That kinda thing.

I forgot - has there been any announcement if the game will let you set up custom soundtracks?