GTA IV Has Evolved, Coming April 29th.
Just a few days ago I wrote that GTA IV needs to evolve or risk failing its fan base when jumping to the PS3 and Xbox 360 this year. The very good news is that hands-on impressions posted on the MTV Multiplayer blog shows the game has indeed evolved in important ways consistent with the franchise. The even better news is that Rockstar has finally put a release date on the game of April 29th.
The private demo of the game to Stephen Totilo showed a new targeting system that reminded me of Crackdown’s system, new options for taking taxis around the city instead of just carjacking with options to pay more to ignore traffic signals, and talked about how the wanted system has been reworked. Crimes don’t earn stars unless an officer witnesses them, and your wanted level won’t fall unless you move out of a given area highlighted on the city map. That area expands as you do more misdeeds while being pursued, such as attacking the pursuing police, ensuring that you stay on the move to stay alive.
Everything described so far has lifted my hopes for the game, and they even have some room to tease us up to launch day. Multiplayer wasn’t shown or discussed and the game was demonstrated on an Xbox 360 only, so there’s room for more previews leading up to the launch.
See also:
Burnout Paradise Proves Developers May Need to Stretch
Sources: EvilAvatar linking to NextGen and hands-on at the MTV Multiplayer Blog, along with how GTA IV will handle adult themes.
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Sifer2400
