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Xbox 360 | Action | Grand Theft Auto IV

Boxart for Grand Theft Auto IV
Grand Theft Auto IV 166 screen shots
  • GRAPHICS: 4.75
  • SOUND: 4.75
  • CONTROL: 4.75
  • FUN FACTOR 5.00
  • AVG USER SCORE 4.6
  • AVG CRITIC SCORE 5.0
Winner of the GamePro Editor's Choice Award

Preview: Grand Theft Auto IV

Preview by Crotch Violence | 07/03/2007 | 17:57:53 PM PST

Rockstar revs up its engines

With this current console generation, Rockstar wants to make sure that human movement in this game is represented more realistically than ever before. That's why they've gone with NaturalMotion's "euphoria" engine as the technology behind the movement of its main characters and other NPCs. With this advanced middleware that emulates the human motor nervous system, Rockstar will be able to depict injuries that are obvious to the player. Getting shot in the leg will cause a character to limp; getting shot in the arm will cause it to drop lifelessly. And if the latest reports are correct, the crunches and snaps of a typical hit-and-run will make vehicular manslaughter into a much more disturbing experience.

Struttin' just like any gangsta would

Struttin' just like any gangsta would

Meanwhile, Rockstar is handing the duties of texturing and graphical representation of the entire in-game world over to RAGE, the Rockstar Advanced Game Engine. This engine has already made its debut in this console generation with Rockstar Presents Table Tennis, and will most likely be used in most of the company's future next-gen titles.

One giant leap towards realism

Gamers needn't even touch Grand Theft Auto IV to realize the obvious fact that Rockstar is making serious strides towards making this game as realistic as possible. Even looking past the adaptation of New York City as a setting and the more authentic human movement, Rockstar has shown so many more examples of their attempts at a truer-to-life gameplay experience.

For one thing, preliminary, yet still unconfirmed reports claim that the developers are doing away with the game's HUD. If this is true, gamers will no longer be able to know how much HP or armor protection their characters have or how many bullets are left in their clip. Gamers will now have to guess, or at least use visual cues to get a gauge of their status. For instance, visual damage will remain on bulletproof vests until the armor disintegrates entirely.

Additionally, these same reports claim that mere bullets will not make a car completely explode as simply as they do in Hollywood movies. In order to make a vehicle explode, one will have to use an actual explosive device. Should this rumor actually turn out to be true, that would make the game's physics more realistic than most people realize.

Thankfully, it'll take a lot more to make a car like this explode

Thankfully, it'll take a lot more to make a car like this explode

As we stand now, very little has actually been revealed about the game, although a ton of information has so far been speculated. In any case, whether or not this leaked info turns out to be true, it probably won't change this fact: it would take a disaster of monumental proportions to make this game anything short of a resounding success. For good reason, flocks of gamers will be awaiting this title with credit cards eagerly in hand come October 17th.


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