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GTA IV online multiplayer previews today

N

newsguy

Member
So the magazines have released their multiplayer impressions and today the websites do the same. Please post any new previews in this thread so we can have one place to see the latest info. This is not a sales, console warz, texture comparison, pissing contest thread so leave all that stuff in the 20 other threads that have devolved into that.

In an attempt to not clutter the OP I will just link to the rest of the previews and not quote stuff since alot of it is similar.

MTV

Gamesradar

CVG

Gamespot

Teamxbox

Gamedaily

Gametap

In Team Deathmatch, you can set up an equally balanced eight-on-eight battle or a lop-sided two on 14 fight. You can pick a custom or quick game, and if you're the party leader, tweaking options alters each game significantly. You can change weapon types (all handguns for instance or only snipers), add or subtract police, traffic, pedestrians, or blips (i.e. enemy location).
Click to expand...

New strategies are created by the addition of enemy blips and the cover system, enabled by pressing the right shoulder button. Enemies show on screen while moving and disappear when stationary. The amount of times I snuck up and shot an enemy dead was matched by the times opponents jumped from hiding to tan my behind. I also was able to tweak the reticule width, gamertag display, weather type, daytime, and control even voice chat options.
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Awesome

Cash is earned by winning levels, and it earns players more character customization options. More significantly, cash awards are accumulative throughout a persistent ranked career, which is how Rockstar "ranks" your skill level.
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IGN

We weren't given a view of the lobby system, but from Rockstar's hints, it sounds like you will just run around going Bananarama in Liberty City until someone launches a game. The good news is that when a game is set up, the host has a myriad of options depending on the mode. This is everything from turning on cops (yes, you can have a wanted level in multiplayer), adjusting the density of traffic, selecting from several weather options (fog and heavy rain being the coolest), time of day, and even what radio station is playing. We counted sixteen options for one mode and the others had similar amounts.
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ZOMG

Playing with eight people, we only had one instance of slowdown. And that was when all of us were firing RPGs into a crowd of cops.
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My favorite is holding tight to Davey Clay on the back of a motorcycle. You get a clear view of all enemies and you're free to fire while your partner drives. Headshotting a would-be assassin while popping a wheelie: priceless.
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However, with friendly fire off, I take no damage if an ally shoots a rocket at my feet to launch me in the air and onto a roof. Call it co-op rocket jumps. The only caution is that no one is immune to gravity. Jump over a building (instead of onto it) and the landing could kill you.
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:O

While all of the multiplayer modes I played were good, C&C was far superior to the others. It's my new favorite type of entertainment.
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As predicted, Cops and Crooks is the absolute shit.

It's tougher to get through in the armored van, but far more fun. One crook drives, Kenny rides shotgun again and two others can ride in the back. Kick open the doors and you can fire outside. Your task is to try and shoot out the tires on other police cars, which sends them spinning off into other cars. Or put a few shots through the windshield and ace the driver. The more of a mess you can make on the road, the harder it will be for the cops to halt your escape.
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Hangman's NOOSE

In a few of the videos on our site you can see quick examples of how enemies move in GTA but it takes hands-on time to appreciate how the SWAT Team flanks, advances, and dives for cover. And when you have more than one police chopper and a sea of squad behind your getaway vehicle team tactics are required. The best part about the large scale fight was how it exemplified how much action can take place on the screen at once in multiplayer without any technical snags.
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Kotaku

While the game allows you to select parts of the map to play in, choosing specific boroughs, smaller neighborhoods, or areas like the airport, it doesn't prevent players from roaming the entire city during any given match. Instead the respawns and weapon drops only occur in those areas.
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Very important info

There were some really nice touches to the game that made this stand out from some of the other modes I've played in shooters. For instance as the bad guys, you can give each other waypoints on the live map, allowing one player to drive and another to navigate.
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In another race, this one taking place at an airport complete with moving planes, I didn't bother trying to speed through the course and instead clamored on top of an airport gangway with a rocket launcher and just waited. When people came by I blew up their cars. Meanwhile Rockstar's Jeronimo Barrera was taking great pleasure trying to mow down Croal in what looked like a golf cart.
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:lol
A Rockstar developer took the wheel of the armored car again, and another rode shotgun. Croal hopped into the back to shoot at pursuing cops. I opted to swipe a helicopter that was on the runway and followed the wagon as it entered the interstate, trying to gun down the stream of cop cars in pursuit.

Then it happened: Croal was shot. The hit didn't kill him, but it did knock him from the truck which continued to speed toward the drop off point. Soon Croal was surrounded by cops on the middle of an interstate. I turned my chopper around and told Croal I was coming for him. Landing the copter in a nearby clearing, I got out to try and find Croal, but he had snatched a car and was already out of the police infested area.

I ran back to my copter only to find its rotors had been snapped off during my crap landing next to a copse of trees. The whole thing ended with me being gunned down by a phalanx of cops as I ran down the interstate toward the distant extraction point, and the whole team losing.
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WOWWOWOWOW Epic

Destructiod

Visually, there’s an obvious downgrade from the single-player game, but it doesn’t really have a significant impact on the gameplay. The created avatars certainly aren’t as detailed as Niko or other single-player characters, and the textures and things like shadowing are ramped down noticeably. The trade-off, however, is a smooth multiplayer experience; we experienced no lag or framerate issues in our multiplayer sessions, which took place across Microsoft’s private Partnernet network.
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Kikizo

If you're playing with just knives, things are going to become stealthy, so another useful option is to turn off player markers that appear over people's heads and also turn off people's locations on radar. You can also turn the Police on or off and toggle auto-aim on or off - useful as the auto-aim is very merciful and allows you to mow down moving targets with ease, particularly if you have a semi-automatic weapon.
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Helicopter travel is brilliant - you can lean out of the side in an over-shoulder perspective and shoot bitches on the ground; the cinematic view as the chopper traverses the tangible cityscape is simply awesome.
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Shoot bitches I shall

If the driver is killed, a passenger can simply press Y to take over the driving. And, straying from GTA IV singleplayer's physical world, each player can choose radio stations independently of everyone else in the car.
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Brilliant features
 
E

Epix

Member
It's a battle of the threads!

MGS4 vs. GTA4.

inigo4.jpeg
 
C

chubigans

y'all should be ashamed
Cash is earned by winning levels, and it earns players more character customization options. More significantly, cash awards are accumulative throughout a persistent ranked career, which is how Rockstar "ranks" your skill level.
Click to expand...

As impossible as it may seem, this game got 500% more AWESOME.
 
C

Chû Totoro

Member
Too many threads... why did the GTA IV hype thread had been closed ? It was way more convenient to have all the news in one place...
I'm waiting for the Official GTA IV thread though :D
 
$

$1148 Jack

Member
Chû Totoro said:
Too many threads... why did the GTA IV hype thread had been closed ? It was way more convenient to have all the news in one place...
I'm waiting for the Official GTA IV thread though :D
Click to expand...

It's so close now...:D
 
N

newsguy

Member
Chû Totoro said:
Too many threads... why did the GTA IV hype thread had been closed ? It was way more convenient to have all the news in one place...
I'm waiting for the Official GTA IV thread though :D
Click to expand...

The point of this thread is because of the fact there are so many threads. We need to post all of today's previews here (there will be a few) otherwise the info will be separated in the comparison threads and buried.
 
T

Tr4nce

Member
I'm impatiently awaiting the new Kikizo preview. Kikizo previews render every other preview out there obsolete.
 
N

newsguy

Member
Tr4nce said:
I'm impatiently awaiting the new Kikizo preview. Kikizo previews render every other preview out there obsolete.
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Truth. the last couple were like 8 pages long and packed with info. Today's shouldn't be as big since it's multi, but the info should be awesome.
 
P

painey

Member
with all the options and stat tracking online it is probably going to be the best multiplayer experience this generation, although I still doubt I will play it much because I am a single player gamer mainly
 
C

C4Lukins

Junior Member
This game will breed the most verbally abusive online experience the galaxy has ever known. You thought the Halo kids were bad, just wait.
 
M

MrCompletely

Member
C4Lukins said:
This game will breed the most verbally abusive online experience the galaxy has ever known. You thought the Halo kids were bad, just wait.
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I really hope ranked games can be played w/friends only....

If so, I may never have to take a dip in the public pool.
 
C

C4Lukins

Junior Member
MrCompletely said:
I really hope ranked games can be played w/friends only....

If so, I may never have to take a dip in the public pool.
Click to expand...


Even with friends you are required to spew obscenities while in a knife fight suspended from a girder 100 stories above the streets of Liberty City.
 
M

MrCompletely

Member
C4Lukins said:
Even with friends you are required to spew obscenities while in a knife fight suspended from a girder 100 stories above the streets of Liberty City.
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Of course, but we like to keep our obscenity spewing on a tasteful and non-derogatory level :D
 
T

Twig

Banned
I've never been excited about a Grand Theft Auto game before. Played them and enjoyed them, sure. But this whole excitement thing? Never.

This is a new feeling.

It feels good.
 
C

Coin Return

Loose Slot
Multiplayer is accessed from the single-player game via Niko's cell phone and supports up to 16 players. Oh, and the entire world runs at the same time. That's right -- all the pedestrians, traffic and cops are there. The entire city is open to you and your fifteen friends in apparently every mode.
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fappppppp
 
S

Stoney Mason

Banned
I haven't been this excited since Halo 3. Hopefully I don't end up a little disappointed like I was with that title (Despite it being solid)
 
J

jet1911

Member
Hangman's noose is part of a collection of co-op, objective-based missions engaging four humans versus a countless AI horde. Each mission starts with a cutscene, is followed by a set of goals, and requires teamwork to achieve success. These ministories aren't part of the single-player game; they're random. Our mission opened up with an unending stream of SWAT police (called "noose" in GTA IV) driving into an airport runway, flanking and surrounding our team. The object was to survive the first few waves of noose attacks, secure a vehicle, prevent Kenny Petrovic from dying, and get to the designated location. Within seconds of jumping into a car, the difficulty level increases, as multiple helicopters swarm the skies. Cop cars congregate setting up road blocks, pedestrian cars get in the way, and, in the medium and hard levels, GTA's trademark orchestrated blend of chaos, skill, and madness ensues.
Click to expand...

3346cu9.png
 
C

chubigans

y'all should be ashamed
Coin Return said:
Cops N Crooks sounds amazing!
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It sounds INCREDIBLE! I am so psyched for that mode. Unbelievable.

Racing sounds pretty dull though. I don't think I ever liked any of the street racing things from GTAIII onwards. Bah.
 
S

Stoney Mason

Banned
Hil's Take: I went into GTA IV believing that the multiplayer would be like a third-person version of Quake -- twitch gameplay, lots of deaths, and just a touch of shallowness to the whole deal. I was wrong. The cover system makes a big difference.

Most folks died three or four times in a 10 minute match.
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Sounds awesome. Seems tactical. I also though it would just turn into quake craziness but it sounds like it doesn't.
 
S

Scopebob Sniperpants

Member
I wonder how weapons are obtained in multiplayer. You obviously aren't going to be able to call your friend that supplies them via the trunk of his car.

Do you spawn with specific (host defined) ones? Or are there some in certain street/locations?
 
J

J-Rzez

Member
Ariexv said:
GTA IV wins 1 hit K.O
Click to expand...

Yeah, no. Really sucks MGS4 isn't on the 360 though, more people would appreciate the game then. I liked it better before when it was heavily rumored to be on both, people credited the game more :lol

Some of the modes I read about before for GTA4 sounds pretty interesting though, I think it just has to do with objectives though, as they sound pretty silly and fun. Glad to see them taking character customization into account here too, not enough games allow that this gen. I'm just genuinely curious to see how well this runs online. I'd also love to see some long in depth vids on these MP play sets.

I didn't think I'd fall for it, but the GTA4 hype got me.
 
$

$1148 Jack

Member
Hangman's noose is part of a collection of co-op, objective-based missions engaging four humans versus a countless AI horde. Each mission starts with a cutscene, is followed by a set of goals, and requires teamwork to achieve success. These ministories aren't part of the single-player game; they're random. Our mission opened up with an unending stream of SWAT police (called "noose" in GTA IV) driving into an airport runway, flanking and surrounding our team. The object was to survive the first few waves of noose attacks, secure a vehicle, prevent Kenny Petrovic from dying, and get to the designated location. Within seconds of jumping into a car, the difficulty level increases, as multiple helicopters swarm the skies. Cop cars congregate setting up road blocks, pedestrian cars get in the way, and, in the medium and hard levels, GTA's trademark orchestrated blend of chaos, skill, and madness ensues.
Click to expand...

wlvlhs.gif
 
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