GTA IV Producer Dan Houser Interviewed

Variety’s Ben Fritz recently sat down and had a lengthy talk with Dan Houser, producer of the GTA games (pictured left).  The article itself is pretty long, but it is a very interesting read, and gives us some small snippets of information about the highly-anticipated upcoming GTA IV.  

“…imagine him talking in his British accent as I present some extended excerpts from our interview. And when I say “extended,” I mean “extended.” This isn’t everything, but it’s a lot. Frankly, I just think everything in here is really interesting and worth sharing. I’ve got him talking why “GTA IV” is the first truly original game in the series, why storage capacity is more important than console power, why Rockstar doesn’t make first person games, why he doesn’t want to make a “GTA” movie, why he considers the upcoming episodic content an “experiment,” what he has to say to critics of “GTA’s” sex and violence, and why he thinks his games deserve to stand beside movies, not other videogames (amongst many other topics).“

If you’d like to read the full article, here’s the link.  It’s some nice reading in the countdown to the game being released in one weeks time.

And, on top of that, it’s been revealed that the soundtrack being available when walking around the map is no longer being included in the game.  Might not be the biggest feature to lose, but its one that some people were looking forward to and it could mean that in the next week we’re going to be told a few more maybe more important features won’t be making a final appearance in the game.  I mentioned in a previous article that may be the case, but as long as nothing big has to be sacrificed, I don’t think anyone will miss the lost features.

LIVE back online!

After a rather lengthy downtime of 8 hours, the online Xbox LIVE service is back up and available to use.  Don’t expect any kind of updates when you access your dashboard, though — this is just a spring clean.  The question is, though, will the usually flawless online gaming service falter when thousands upon thousands of gamers try to log on and shoot each other to death on GTA IV next tuesday?  A bigger question perhaps is whether the free PSN service will give up the ghost or not.  I sincerely hope not, but I think the single player would be able to keep me occupied while any problems are ironed out.

Ghostbusters PR

In this advanced gaming world, what can a developer do to grab peoples attention?  Screens are cool, but there’s nothing to show how the gameplay works, trailers can be misleading and Q&As never really tell us anything new.  So, Vivendi have taken a different route in their PR for their Ghostbusters game, and done this:

This is a fully restored Ectomobile, here making an appearance at Minnesota Best Buy to promote the new Ghostbusters game.  I’ve talked about the Ghostbusters game in an earlier post, and the fact I don’t really know much about it, so this car might not mean anything to me, but I’m sure fans of the films will recognise it.  For a games company to do something like this for promotion though is interesting, especially for a game that hasn’t really gotten the most press so far.

 

Xbox LIVE to be down on April 21st

Microsoft have recently announced that their online LIVE service will be unavailable for 8 hours (from 2AM to 10AM Pacific Eastern Time) on April 21st, similar to what happened on April 1st.  It means online gameplay will be off-limits, as will downloading anything from the Marketplace, but it’s likely to get everything ready for the 29th when the entire system will be swamped with millions of people trying to play GTA IV online.  There probably won’t have been this kind of online demand since Halo 3.

Ricky Gervais to star in GTA IV

  There’s quite a bit of GTA IV news filtering through recently, so here’s   another update.  Ricky Gervais will be taking his place in Liberty City     for the new game.  It was confirmed just recently, and so was his role   in the game.  Will he be giving you objectives to accomplish or is he     someone you have to ‘take out’?  No, he’s a stand up comedian.             You’ll be able to find him in Liberty Cities comedy club, where players   can find him perform new material plus jokes from his ‘Fame’               tour. ”It’s a first — which always interests me,” said Gervais to               London magazine Shortlist. “It was shot in New York, my favorite           place in the   world, and I got to wear a tight Lycra suit as part of the   digital process. No, hold on, that wasn’t so good.”

  The entire performance was motion captured, so it’s highly likely that   he is playing himself in the game.  Will it work without feeling forced   in?  We’ll have to wait and see.  But, he also indicated he’ll be making   an appearance outside the club at some point during the game, but     we have no idea what that would entail or in what capacity.  

GTA IV Xbox 360 Downloadable Content Bigger than San Andreas?

CVG magazine has just released a GTA IV special, where the entire magazine is dedicated to the game and the franchise surrounding it.  It’s all the usual stuff, listing some of the new gameplay additions and how new features work, but one thing that stands out is the fact they’re looking forward much more to the 360 version of the game than the PS3 version.  But, aren’t they basically the same game?  Yes, but the 360 has the edge in terms of exclusive downloadable content.  Before, it was thought it might be a few more missions or some new cars, but CVG compares the 360 exclusive DLC to Vice City and San Andreas in terms of scope — even claiming that 360 owners will be able to download a whole new city come August.

Here’s the scan, and the relevant quote:

“Of course, to call games as vastly ambitious as Vice City or San Andreas mere ‘expansion packs’ seems childish, but nevertheless, the downloadable content (DLC) coming for the Xbox 360 version of IV has repositioned those games in just this way. DLC so far has meant the odd new car, jumper or bit of horse armour, but GTA IV is set to completely redefine the idea with expansions that are to GTA IV what Vice City or San Andreas were GTA III. Yes, Rockstar is clearly hinting at new downloadable cities; and the chances of them being London, Vice City or SA again are slim to none. So that’s new as in brand new. GTA IV’s Liberty City is the beginning. Think about that and be excited.”

It doesn’t explicitly say how big the new city will be, and it does say that Rockstar are only hinting at downloadable cities, there’s nothing fully confirmed right now, but I’m unsure whether it will transpire as being the truth.  Firstly, this special edition has been sponsored by Microsoft, featuring adverts for 360 games such as GTA IV with the downloadable content.  There is the possibility the journalism has been affected, hinting at things such as large downloadable content to drive sales of the 360 version of the game.  They shouldn’t really be doing that, but they’re hardly a big magazine and they aren’t stating things like they’re fact, it’s all conjecture.  Also, they have to take into account the size of hard-drives.  The lowest sized hard-drives a 360 owner could have is 20 GB, so how big is a new city going to be and how much space will it take up?  I doubt many people would be very happy with it taking up most of they HDD’s, or will it only be available to people with larger drives, leaving many gamers out in the cold.  

I just can’t see full downloadable cities becoming a reality, to be honest.  Nothing Rockstar have said so far has really indicated that, and I wouldn’t imaging they’d add cities simply as DLC when they could work on them for the next game.  From what we’ve been told so far, it appears the DLC is big, but I don’t think it’s new city big.  And, where does this leave the PS3?  For me, I’ll still be going for that version.  Yeah, DLC would be nice, but it’s been said PS3 will be getting its own content to download in time.  Will 360 owners be getting whole new cities to download this August?  I highly, highly doubt it, but it does have me interested about what the downloadable content for the 360 will actually be.

GTA IV Reviewed by OPM & Radio Stations Revealed!

With only just under 12 days left until GTA IV hits the shelves, another magazine reviews it.  Don’t forget that pre-registration for the social club opens today, too.  And, like OXM, the game is given top marks in 10/10.  It contains a few new details about the game such as the fact cars no longer set on fire after simply being shot a couple of times and your first girlfriend in the game is called Michelle.  But, the review also reveals the name of every radio station featured in the game.  And there are quite a few.

• WKTT — We Know The Truth (right wing talk radio)
• San Juan Sounds (latin)
• Integrity 2.0 (speech, hosted by Lazlow)
• Liberty City Hardcore (punk/hardcore)
• Liberty Rock Radio 97.8 (classic rock)
• The Vibe 98.8 (soul/r’n'b)
• PLR — Public Liberty Radio (call-in chat show)
• The Classics 104.1 (old school hip-hop)
• Jazz Nation Radio 108.5 (jazz)
• Vladivostok FM (eastern european) (maybe only works in some areas)
• Radio Broker (alternative rock)
• Tuff Gong Radio (raggae)
• Electro Choc (dance)
• Massive B Soundsystem 96.9 (dance hall)
• IF99 – International Funk (funk)
• The Beat 102.7 (contemporary hip-hop)
• K109 The Studio (disco)
• Fusion FM (unknown)
• The Journey (ambient)

So, quite a lengthy list.  Will they all be used?  Will some only work in certain areas of the map?  There does seem to be quite a lot of dance/hip-hop stations, but no classical types (of course, The Journey could be a more classical radio station.  There are 19 radio stations to choose from in GTA IV — too many or just the right amount? 

Ghostbusters: The Videogame Early Preview

This is a strange one for me to write about, really.  I haven’t really seen any of the Ghostbusters films, but when I saw images and the trailer from this game, it sparked my interest.  And, I know there’s probably some dedicated Ghostbusters fans out there, so it makes sense for me to just put a little bit of information down here.

The game’s being released for pretty much every system available – PS3, Xbox 360, PC, PS2, Wii, DS.  No PSP version, though, and strangely two production companies are taking on the game.  Presumably they’ll both give the game the same story (which is being written by the original films writers), but the style in which they’ll do it will be different.  Terminal Reality is producing the PS3, 360 and PC versions, while Red Fly Studios are in charge of the PS3, Wii and DS versions.

This ‘Ghostbusters In Hell’ storyline associated with the third film (this game is really Ghostbusters 3) will not be used for the game, although Dan Aykroyd announced the possibility of a computer generated film based on that plotline.  The videogame will be released on September 26th 2008.

It’s also worth considering which platform you’ll buy it for, too, since there will be marked differences.  The PS3, 360 and PC versions will have better looking graphics and be more singleplayer based.  The Wii, PS2 and DS versions will have more cartoony graphics and be more centered around the multiplayer experience.  These versions will have the same story, but with multiplayer modes such as free-for-all added on.

So, there’s some scant information on Ghostbusters The Video Game.  Despite not being a big Ghostbusters fan myself, I’ll be following the progress of the videogame.  It seems like the films lend themselves to making a fun videogame.  But, we all know what the majority of film-to-game transfers are like.

GTA IV News

There’s just two weeks now until the highly anticipated Grand Theft Auto IV hits the shelves all over the world.  There’s been so much talk about the game and lots of rumours circulating, but now with only 14 days left, there are more confirmed details about the game.  The Official Xbox Magazine has reviewed the game, giving it a perfect 10 out of 10, so expectations are high.  [see UPDATE]

Elsewhere on the net, previews of the new online multiplayer component of the game have been filtering through from respected sites such as Gamespot and IGN.  It’s getting generally positive feedback from everyone.  Yes, the graphics and framerate may suffer a little when you’ve got 16 other real people all piling up on the road, but I really don’t think it will impact the gameplay in any significant way.  This is multiplayer on GTA, something people have been wanting for a very long time.

There have been many new updates to the way the gameplay in general plays, too.  Too many to list, but ones which will become apparent as you play through the game.  Important ones are the new cover system and improved aiming and lock-on with weapons.  Along with that, the physics of driving have changed slightly to make the handling more realistic and the animation of actually getting into a car is modified, with Niko (the protagonist of GTA IV) breaking the window to open the car before taking a couple of seconds to hotwire it.  It doesn’t take much longer than the previous game animations, but just adds a shade of realism to the whole thing.

On that note, the wanted system has also had a major overhaul.  This is GTA, you’ll still be commiting criminal acts, and at one time a cop is going to spot you.  In past games, you just got a star level and you just had to drive and get away from the ever appearing police cars.  Here, however, when a cop spots you, a circular area will appear on your radar, which is the policeman’s search area.  Get out of that area unspotted (maybe change your car) and you’re fine.  If another cop spots you, the search area shifts again to center on your location and you’ll have to get out again.  Makes it a little more realistic than tanks and helicopters knowing wherever you are and appearing from no-where.

There’s really too much in GTA IV to cover in a single blog post, but I am going to take a second to outline the protagonist of this, and the character you’ll be playing through the game as.  His name is Niko Bellic.  He’s persuaded by his cousin Roman to move to Liberty City, and live the ‘American Dream’, but quickly becomes apparent that isn’t going to happen soon.  Niko is looking for someone, and enlists help from wherever he can (presumably setting up the mission structure).  He doesn’t have a clean past either, with murder and human trafficking as his past crimes.

GTA IV will be available on both the PS3 and Xbox 360 consoles, released April 29th.  But, which version should you get?  Graphics-wise, both will be very similar, with barely any differences.  And, with gameplay both versions are identical.  The 360 seems to have taken the edge so far with confirmed exclusive downloadable content.  These are described as ‘epic’ packages, and these will be available for download starting in August 2008.  It’s unclear whether they will be free or require a payment.  However, the Playstation 3 will also get its own downloadable content in time.  It won’t be the same as the 360 content for obvious reasons, but there will be added material for PS3 owners to look forward to.  So, your decision can be based on which controller set up you prefer, which online service you prefer, or simply which two consoles out of the two you have.  And you don’t have to feel as if you’re missing out.

One final thing some people may be interested in.  The Rockstar Social Club.  Registration opens this Thursday (April 17th) for this new website to house indepth stat tracking and leader boards.  Even if you’re not planning on breaking any records or doing things first, I’d recommend you still register.  It means you can compare your progress and records on the games against other people all over the world.  Here are some of the features of the site mentioned in the March press release:

• LCPD Police Blotter - A virtual map and tracker of single-player criminal activity logged in Liberty City from the aggregated data of millions of connected players – showing the most dangerous areas of town, most commonly used weapons and more.

• The Story Gang - This special single-player leaderboard recognizes players who complete Niko Bellic’s main story arc of Grand Theft Auto IV – The leaderboard ranks players according to the total amount of playing time it’s taken to complete the story, as well as a historical rank by who has completed it first. Members of this club will receive special online widgets and merit badges marking all of their in-game accomplishments.

• The 100% Club - Watch to see who will be the first to complete 100% of the game. The first ten people to be identified on the Social Club as reaching 100% will be sent an ultra-rare commemorative ‘key to the city’ to mark their accomplishment. In the future, the 100% Club will then carry a historical leaderboard showing rankings of who has completed 100% of a game in the shortest span of playing hours.

• The Hall of Fame - This area will dynamically recognize those singularly elite players who have reached the top of the hill on various statistical leaderboards, and will also contain a personal awards display of special in-game landmarks and successes in Social Club competitions.

• The Liberty City Marathon - A ranking of special physical milestones achieved in the game – from the amount of miles walked, driven, or swam – to the number of bullets fired and stunt-jumps jumped. There will be additional special marathon-based competitions in the future from this area as well.

The one I’m particularly interested in is the 100% club.  I’m looking forward to seeing how quickly some people get the full 100% on the game.  The other features and leader boards all look intriguing though, and I’m wondering whether I might be able to get onto a couple of those.  So, pre-registration starts on April 17th, and I recommend everyone with a PSN account or Xbox Live membership does so.

Well, that’s about it for this lengthy update.  I’ve only touched on a few of the features here, so I may have to do a ‘Part Two’ before the game release, and when the game is released I’ll be keeping you updated with my progress here on the blog, and maybe even posting up a review.

[UPDATE: To see scans of the OXM review, visit here]