GTA IV New Screenshots And Trailer

[Dark Drakan]

For anyone who missed the new trailer it can be found here:

Gametrailers.com - Grand Theft Auto IV - Everyone's A Rat Trailer

10 New Screenshots



Rockstar reveals online Social Club service

Originally Posted by CVG

April 29th is a pretty ginormous and fantasmical day for gamers, what with the release of the much anticipated Grand Theft Auto IV (you may have heard of it). But now those waiting can add another metaphorical flower to their bonnet with today's declaration of developer Rockstar's new online project, Rockstar Social Club, which launches on the same day as GTA IV.

What is the Social Club? Well, it works like Bungie.net does for the Halo series. It's a website that offers GTA IV players around the world the chance to check stats from their games and how they compare to others around the world and it's open to anyone with either an Xbox Live Gamertag or a PlayStation Network ID.

Some of the specialties offered are the LCPD Police Blotter, which keeps track of the most commonly used items, the most crime-filled areas in town and so on. For personal achievements, they offer the Story Gang, which keeps an eye on players as they travel through the game's main story, tracks how long they take to complete it and rank who has finished it first (thus letting friends know who has the most free time).

On top of that story-centric list, the Social Club will also feature the 100% Club, which will let the world know who's dedicated enough to finish the game completely. The first 10 people (let's call them "fanatics") to do so will be given a real, commemorative "key to the city" to let the others be aware of their triumph. There will also be a Hall of Fame to illustrate who have gotten more specific feats and who won special Social Club competitions.

A more specific inventory is the Liberty City Marathon, which will track all the player's physical accomplishments, such as bullets fired, miles walked/swam/driven and similar deeds.

Rockstar promises that this is just the beginning, as they plan to use the Social Club to introduce many new competitions and challenges for players for months to come. They also want you to know that the Social Club isn't just for GTA IV, but for more Rockstar games to come.

Players can start registering at this currently empty site on April 15th.

GTA IV music downloads on way too.

Originally Posted by Gamespot

However, that isn't the only tidbit of GTAIV news surfacing today. Aside from the mayhem and controversy, one of the most distinguishing characteristics of the GTA series has been the game's finely crafted soundtrack. Playing into that, Rockstar Games and Amazon will be partnering on an in-game music-distribution initiative, in which gamers will be able to purchase for download any of the songs they hear over one of the game's radio stations from real-world artists, reports Yahoo. According to Yahoo, the service will be rolled out first in the US.

Grouped under the label "ZiT," song downloads will reportedly be a part of the in-game mobile-phone mechanic, and players will be able to mark tracks for download by using their in-game communicator to call a special number. These tunes will then be flagged and compiled for the gamer on Amazon's music-distribution site, where the songs can then be previewed and purchased for the online warehouse's standard rate of $.89 to $.99 per song. Once downloaded, the songs can then be transferred to most any PC or MP3-compatible music player.

The report also notes that GTAIV's soundtrack will feature a number of rare tracks, such as Electrick Funk's "On a Journey" and Elton John's "Street Kids," as well as exclusive ballads such as Greenskeepers' "Vagabond (Liberty City Mix)" and Nas' "War is Necessary."

To facilitate gamers finding their songs on Amazon, the service will also link up with Rockstar's recently unveiled Social Club. Promising to be "more than just a standard gaming site," the Rockstar Social Club will play home to standard fare such as leaderboards, and will regularly update with challenges, tournaments, and player milestone recognitions. As it pertains to the ZiT song downloads, gamers who sign up for the Rockstar Social Club will be e-mailed a link to Amazon, where they can purchase their marked songs.

[Tsuyu]

Just me or does that shotgun look like a plastic toy...?

[Dark Drakan]

Originally Posted by Tsuyu

Just me or does that shotgun look like a plastic toy...?

just the graphical style they have chosen.

[Solus]

I thought I saw a Lambo and a Chrysler 300 in there
Maybe they are going to use real cars this time?

[projectego]

Those pics look gorgeous. I can't wait until Grand Theft Auto 4 is finally released. I'll be pre-ordering my copy today from Amazon; along with a new USB cable for my Canon Photo Printer since we lost the old one...

[Adam]

I actually like Saints Row more than GTA.

[Amanda]

Originally Posted by Adam

I actually like Saints Row more than GTA.

Crazy.

Originally Posted by Solus

I thought I saw a Lambo and a Chrysler 300 in there
Maybe they are going to use real cars this time?

I doubt they will use actual vehicle names this time around and they have always modeled the automobiles around real life ones. We shall see shortly though!

[Dark Drakan]

Reminder: Rockstar Social Club tomorrow

Originally Posted by CVG

For those not staring at the big graphic on the Rockstar Social Club site, here's a reminder (and a free advert) that you'll be able to pre-register on the GTA stat site from tomorrow.

What is it? Well, it works a bit like Bungie.net does for Halo, as in GTA IV players across the world will be able to track their stats and records. And compare them with other players who will more than likely shatter and destroy all of your dreams.

Some of the tracking features on the Social Club include the LCPD Police Blotter, which keeps track of the most commonly used items, the most crime-filled areas in town and so on. It sounds cool.

What's more, the first ten people to 100% GTA IV will be sent a key to the city, which is probably big, plastic and worth loads on eBay. We look forward to never in a million years receiving ours.

Read info in first post of thread with full details.

[Orpheus Lupus]

Originally Posted by Adam

I actually like Saints Row more than GTA.

I agree, oddly enough. It's the character customization (not that it isn't good in later GTA games, but I'm still playing a pre-set character you know?) and, for the upcoming sequal, full-game co-op that's sort of won me over.

I think they both have their own merits, really. That just may be my weariness over "This game/system is better than game/system" arguments talking though.