GTA IV - First Look Preview

The first cuts between crowds of people bustling along busy streets, art house shots of glass-lined buildings, and Philip Glass' famous music for "Pruitt-Igoe", a section from the 1982 movie "Koyaanisqatsi"; the gaming world's first look at Grand Theft Auto IV culminated in a minute-long teaser that hinted at things to come. A new look Liberty City, a far cry from the Chicago/Boston-based setting of GTA III and Liberty City Stories, emerged to wash away rumours of a London-, Continental US-, and even a Martian-based gameworld(!)

Since then, whisperings of the game's features have flowed across the net; some confirmed, others not. But with GTA IV's release five months away, Rockstar is slowly beginning to lift the lid, turning the screw in the build up to the autumnal launch. TVG visited the Liberty City suburb of Brooker (the city's parody of Brooklyn) with Rockstar, and took a guided tour of what their North studio has in store...

Beginning the demonstration in a warehouse being used by Bellic's cousin as a taxi depot, some of the new visual additions being added to the game thanks to the next-generation consoles were evident. Waves of light poured in from the outside, almost showing the dust floating in the air throughout the dishevelled and desperate looking office. Leaving the building to see not only the outside world of this new and more realistic Liberty City, but also to demonstrate that GTA IV is free from the interior/exterior loading screens of previous titles, we first of all went for a short stroll around the block. Grotty, graffiti-lined walls, bags of rubbish and trashcans, and the sort of detritus usually found around decrepit urban areas were everywhere. In short, Brooker stinks (in the 'best' worst way), showing the squalid conditions Niko's cousin finds himself. There was a hustle and bustle about the area however; GTA has always had the walking pedestrians and the traffic, but seeing the likes of bums huddle around a lit oil can, or a hotdog vendor selling his 'food', seems to be adding a level of further depth to the city's ambience.

The depiction of crowds and the main character's reaction to them looks to be a key element in a number of the big titles coming towards the end of the year, and at the very least GTA IV will use crowds to bolster the feeling of high density environments. Even during the Work in Progress demonstration, Niko reacted to the Brooker populace, pushing them out of the way with contempt - their non-reaction however is one area that will surely be worked on by the time the game is launched.

Coming to a brown house in the heart of Broker, Niko's ability to enter a building without having to wait for a short loading screen was again demonstrated, this time with the Eastern European pulling out a handgun - just in case. This time however, there was no opponent to take down; instead quickly demonstrating a subtle shift in camera angle when aiming the weapon. Like so much of Grand Theft Auto IV, Rockstar are yet to flesh out how the targeting system has been refined this time around, instead saving that unveiling for another day. Leaving the house through the back door and into the side alley, Niko's athletic ability was then hinted at as the character climbed up a telegraph pole to get a greater view of the neighbourhood and its 'verticality'. Niko has also been given a centre of gravity for the first time so that he now leans into corners when he runs. And yes, he can swim too...

Remember how the population in the previous GTA universes always forgot to lock most of their parked vehicles, allowing the likes of CJ Johnson and Tommy Vercetti to just open the door and drive away? Well the locals in GTA IV are a little bit smarter than that, forcing Niko to crack a side window with his elbow, unlock the door from the inside, and then hot-wire the car. While it wasn't demonstrated, it doesn't take much to see that quick car thefts are going to be a thing of the past come October - perhaps players will be forced to car jack more often instead? Driving also seems to be much tighter than before; the camera angle behind cars are certainly so. Added suspension to the red Admiral saloon driven by Niko in the demo meant that the car bounced along the pot-holed neighbourhood of Broker and BOABO docks (based on New York's DUMBO area), and it'll be interesting to see how the other vehicles perform on the road.

Finishing off with a very pensive Niko looking at the vista of Algonquin (the game's interpretation of Manhattan) across the river, which with the glorious soft lighting and HDR pouring behind the skyscrapers like a religious vision of paradise. Putting one foot onto the broken wall above the river below, which only added to the evocation of Niko pondering his future in Liberty City, the man from the anonymous Eastern Europe country dug out his mobile phone, and selected his contact in the city - which is where the sun set on our first experience of GTA IV.

Even from this fairly short introduction to GTA IV it's clear that Rockstar's aim is to provide the most densely populated and realistic depiction of modern urban life in a videogame. As a continued Work in Progress a lot of what was demonstrated is up for change, alteration, and polish, so the occasional popping of buildings in the background during our tour should be overcome by October. But Rockstar are also brainstorming other issues left in the gameworld. For instance, will the subway system instantly 'teleport' Niko to the relevant areas of town or will players have to sit Nellic in a sardine tin as it makes its stops along the train line? Will players have to wait while an elevator takes Niko up to the top of Liberty City's towering skyscrapers?