The article all flows as one. The "blue section"/ GOING Solo section found on Scan 6 is at the very bottom of the article.
GTA Scan 1/Main Article:
"C'mon, you're missing the turn! COME ON!"
In the darkened Rockstar offices, senior developer Jeronimo Barrera screams over his Xbox Live headset with an intensity that manifests only in multiplayer matches. This is a special kind of rage borne from others' incompetence. He's a crime boss, one of four passengers in an unnmarked sedan speeding its way across Liberty City. Or, rather, he was. In a panic, the driver crashed and rolled the car and the resulting wreck lit the gas tank n fire. With sirens trumpeting just blocks away, all four crooks scramble out of the deathtrap and hotwire a new ride, but if the boss ain't happy, ain't nobody happy.
"Hey! Don't leave without me!" Barrera barks. "Okay, go, go, go! There they are! Lets go lets go lets go!" His face looks red, but it's not his blood pressure - he's just bathed in the frosted pink glow of a nearby neon sign, a relic advertising the ancient land of Vice City.
---
GTA Scan 2/Main Article:
---
"The triumphs of Vice City are in Rockstar's past, and this Liberty City is the future - of the company's fiscal future, of Xbox 360 gaming in 2008, of Grand Theft Auto itself. Multiplayer modes like Cops 'n' Crooks are partly why GTA IV shifted from a November 2007 release to April 29, 2008. Gameplay needed to be balanced, networking code needed to be wrangled, and a seamless, full, authentic Liberty City had to be created for 16 players to explore and destroy simultaneously. In other words, the impossible needed to be achieved. "It's really ambitious and it's taking a while," admits Rockstar PR ace Steve Hahnel, who was thankfully not at the wheel for the bungled escape. "That's why it was delayed."
And while Take-Two's shareholders might grumble, the decision to give the game another six months of development was a wise move. There's simply too mich riding on GTA IV to release a game that's anything less than the best it can be. Of course, it will sell regardless of its guality - but it could easily mean the end of the franchise's dominance if the game can't end up living up to its own legacy. "Nothing would make the industry happier than to see us fail at this," says Berrar, "and we're not going to let that happen."
THUG LIVE
Today is the first day that anyone outside of Rockstar gets to see the multiplayer modes, let alone play them. Everyone looks proud but anxious. Hahnel bounces between our single-player warmup demo and scheduling our multiplayer session with testers both down the hall and at Rockstar North in Scotland. As I take my first few solo steps into the city, trying some early missions that introduce driving mechanics, combat controls, and the new cover system (see sidebar, page 56*), Berrara pipes up with gameplay advice and proud-papa comments like "Isn't that awesome?" and "Tell me, who isn't going to want to play that?" Periodically, marketing chief Alex Moulle-Berteaux glides into the room to silently observe the digital carnage, and possibly my reaction to it.
In multiplayer sessions, it's up to the host to select the game's options - including which weapons get used, whether friendly fire does damage, if auto-aim is in use, how much traffic gets in the way, and where within the sprawling realm of Liberty City the battle will take place. The real answer is "everywhere" - you can wonder around the various boroughs as you like. But if you die, you'll respawn in whatever part of the city the host has selected as the home of the battleground.
Nothing's easier to understand tahn "kill everybody," so we start with some Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch rounds. As the game spawns, health, armor, and weapon power-ups litter the streets, and after a few gun battles, so does cash. It's the cash that determines your online rank, from 0 to 10 - kill people and steal their money to boost your online credibility. When a little glowing yellow bundle of money appears on the ground, grab it before it dissappears, and it's yours to keep.
As a Team Deathmatch game begins, a voice crackles over the headset: "Okay, we need a car." "Come over here, get in," says Barrera, pointing out an ugly brown four-door with a color-coded teammate already behind the wheel. I slide into the backseat next to hahnel and tap the left bumper. Smash! The window shatters from the force of a jabbed elbow, giving me the chance to wave my pistol in the air like I just don't care. As the sedan screeches around a corner, our car full of orange Gamertags meets a car full of purple Gamertags, and the battle is on. "Aim for the tires," advises Barrera, noting that's exactly what our enemies are doing - GTA cars can still drive on rims, but in such condition have no hope of a fast, clean getaway. After several drive-by jousts, a few well-placed shots from our car find their targets through the glass - a blood splatter from a headshot pops on the inside of the windshield as their car lurches to a stop.
Our victory is short-lived - unbeknownst to us, one of their on-foot buddies grabbed the rocke launcher lying on the sidewalk. As the resulting automotive explosion hurls our bodies into the air, the in-flight view reveals that 16 people are running and gunning in close proximity, blowing up civilian cars and taunting the local 5-0. It's urban chaos.
---
GTAScan3/Main Article
---
NOTE: This is really just a filler page, with pictures... so to move on. Also, the big blue quote was already mentioned previously: "Nothing would make the industry happier than to see us fail at this," says Berrar.
---
GTAScan4/Main article
---
CATCH ME IF YOU CAN
If that's all GTA IV included in the way of multiplayer, it might be enough. But the objective-based modes we tried offered more structure and more cinematic fun. Cops 'n' Crooks - the mode that got Barrera all hot and bothered - is designed to play like a scene straight out of a crime movie. The game will support 16 players, but the early build we tried during our visit would behave only when we dropped it down to eight - four cops, four crooks, one of whom is a VIP who must be protected. (In this mode, all other goons can respawn if shot.) the crooks' mini-map shows their destination - how they want to get there is up to them. They just know that the fuzz is somewhere else in the city, en route to intercept, so they have to hurry. Any one of the crooks can hop into the map with the Start button, drop a waypoint on the goal line, and go back watching for the law. The in-game GPS instantly maps (and recalculates) the best route for the team's getaway.
What the crooks can't see on their GPS is the cops. By contrast, the police can see the bad guys on their radar, but they can't tell where the crooks are going - there's no telling how close their targets are to getting away, so speed is of the essence. But thieves under pressure make wrong turns, crime bosses start to shout, and sirens can do a lot to rattle an amateur crook. If both teams are paying attention, every match becomes a shootout on wheels.
All the passangers in a car can fire out the car windows, but the driver can also steer and shoot simultaneously. It's not easy to work the left analog stick to steer, the right trigger to accelerate, and the left bumper to shoot, all at the same time - nor should it be, when you think about it. But it is stunningly satisfying when you do manage to put a bullet through the brainpan of another driver - especially when that driver is the boss, and the headshot wins the round.
---
GTAScan5/Main Article
---
FAMILY BUSINESS
Team Mafiya is a little less high-concept, but no less enjoyable. Kenny Petrovic, a minor character in the single-player narrative, comes into his own as a boss in multiplayer, sending you and your eight-man crew on missions that another eight-man squad is trying to achieve simultaneously. For instance, when some jury members came to the wrong decision, Kenny called on the cell phone to tell us that they need to be eliminated - and each jury member came with a bounty. Red targets appeared on the mini-map, but were slowly eliminated by the rival gang before we got a chance to rub them out ourselves. Once that was done, we both crashed an ATM heist in progress at Kenny's behest.
After the crew with the most money won the game, we split into eight teams of two players each. Kenny called with news that the cops were wise to our car-boosting ring and the evidence had to be destroyed. As target cars appeared on the radar, each two-man wrecking crew raced to the objecrives, pulling each other out of the vehicles that needed to disappear forever. Some folks pulled out their guns and shot the cars on sigh; others figured the fireball from a high-speed crash would melt the problem away. The varying strategies and limited number of targets led to hilarious carnage; picture The Three Stooges, only with 13 more knuckleheads.
GTA Race lent itself to similar violent hijinks. It's what you'd expect - everybody selects a car (or dirt bike, or scooter, or helicopter) and hits the street on a checkpoint race. Mind you, the race started out friendly enough, until Barrera decided to park his ride in a narrow archway and start shooting at the cops, creating an enormous, bullet-riddled roadblock for all the other drivers. Later, he collected several cars on a bridge on-ramp, snagged a rocket launcher, climbed to high ground, and waited for poor suckers to turn the corner. Violent mayhem defines a GTA Race - you still win by coming in first, but depending on what choices the host has made, chances are good that you're going to get shot at by other drivers and hounded by the police mid-race. And if your car (or bike or helicopter) is detroyed, just grab another vehicle - any vehicle - and get your *** to the finish line. You can walk over it if you want, just be first.
THE GETAWAY
For Hollywood-style thrills, it's hard yo beat the hour-player co-op online mode known as Hangman's NOOSE. That's an acronym for the National Organization of Security Enforcement. Liberty City's answer to SWAT, and they've been tipped off that a notorious crime boss - Kenny Petrovic, our Team Mafiya tipster - is being moved from the airport to a safe location. But instead of the random Cops 'n' Crooks VIP scenario, a game of Hangman's NOOSE starts at the airport with Kenny in his private jet. With the police already on-scene, he won't budge until his four loyal lieutenants secure an armored vehicle to guarantee his safe passage. Thoughtfully, the cops have provided plenty, so in the midst of the opening shootout, one or more players need to steal a plated riot van. Once Kenny's inside, it's up to the players to determine the best course of action. The team's wanted level is already maxed out at six stars, so sneaking away from multiple helicopters and cops in riot gear isn't exactly an option.
First, we made a run for it in the van, speeding past jumbo jets rolling to the runway and weaving as best we could around (and ...
---
GTASCan6/Main Article NOTE: The "GOING SOLO" blue section will be at the
bottom of post.
---
...sometimes through) the opposing forces of good. One false move complicates an operation like this - if, say, you mean to press the button to fire and you accidently throw yourself out the back door into the waiting bumper of a speeding police cruiser. Anothetr time, we tried to steal our own chopper before leaving the airport, hoping to fly to the baseball diamond that marked our safe zone, but thick air support and an inexperianced pilot ended that escape attempt in dramatic fashion.
On our third try, we made it to a chopper and scored the ultimate hero move, shooting down two polic whirlybirds with a humble assault rifle on the way to the ballpark. Unfortunately, one of our crew traveling by stolen pickup truck found himself in a massive tollbooth shootout with police - and there's no winning Hamgman's NOOSE unless all players reach the safe zone alive. This mode made for voice-chat chaos - lots of shouting, lots of cursing, lots of tension, and ultimately, lots of fun.
WELCOME TO THE SOCIAL
The final multiplayer mode we saw was the dream of every GTA gamer: Free Mode. Players have always enjoyed creating random chaos around Vice City and San Andreas; now they can do it with up to 15 pals. At last, the single-player sandbox is open to the public.
"Let's meet at Central Park... can you turn on all the rockets and sh*t?" asked Hahnel, and the host complied. Steve's plan was simple: We'd all steal the biggest vehicles we could find, drive to Centr... um, Middle Park, abandon our rides next to (is not in) the pond, and blow up the pile. No scores, no teams, no cash, and no real reason - it's just fun to watch things explode.
"Ooh, a bus! Where'd you get a bus?" Hahnel asked a tester over the headset. After he revealed the location, a few more buses joined the pile, along with...
---
GTAScan7/Main Article
---
...sedans, a pickup, and at least one police cruiser (the cops had noticed our shenanigans by now). "Let Dan pull the trigger," announced Hahnel. "He gets the honors." Unfortunately, I was out harvesting a firetruck when someone moaned: "Okay, who shot it? Who started the fire?" By the time I lumbered back with my shiny red prize, the cars were a pile of charred husks - and the cops were pissed.
The scene quickly devolved into a police shootout as we all tried to rack up the highest wanted rating. As the sun came up, someone suggested driving over to Pier 45 - Liberty City's answer to NYC's South Street Seaport - and jumping in some helicopters for some aerial sightseeing. We met up across the water at Happiness Island - you know, where hopeful immigrants like Niko Bellic see the Statue of Happiness - for a little tour. And by "tour," we mean "kill everybody in sight with the copter's machine guns and, when we disembark, get into knife fights with unarmed strangers."
When we ran out of pedestrians to slaughter, we stole some nearby watercraft (speedboats, rubber raftes, and even a pokey yacht) and took to the high seas. "you guys are going to be target practice for me," warned one of the chopper pilots, to which we happily agreed. He wasn't that good a shot - and certainly, the player who saved his rocket launcher from earlier in the session was a better one: it took him only a few missle to bring the bird splashing down.
We wrapped up the whole affair with a celebratory cop chase back on the mainland, pretty much proving that Free Mode is what you make of it. If Halo 3 is any indication, it won't be long before we see homemade variations of football, zombie attacks, and follow the leader, but we predict that the social, hyper-violent hang-out will remain Free Mode's killer app.
LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL
Rockstar won't reveal other multiplayer modes yet; like the bulk of the single-player story, Barrera says they want to keep some surprises for players to find out on their own. But we played enough to know that the team's goal - to make multiplayer feel like a true Grand Theft Auto experiance, and not just "GTA with multiplayer" - is bound to succeed. And though the game's delay was painful, Barrera thinks the multiplayer improvements in GTA IV will prove worth the wait: "I can see this thing lasting for years and years."
--
* & ** GTASCan6/GOING SOLO/Blue Section
--
GOING SOLO
Our sample single-player missions gave us a chance to learn GTA IV's mechanics and controls bvefore leaping into multiplayer mayhem. In "Jamaican Heat," we officially met Rastafarian arms dealer Little Jacob, and by covering him from above in an alleyway shootout, we got to try out the targeting system: Hold the left trigger to lock on to a target, then flick between enemies with the right analog stick. While locked onto targets, you can still push the stick up for headshots and down to cripple thugs at the knees. If you prefer a free targeting system, just squeeze the left trigger halfway.
Little Jacob's follow-up mission, "Concrete Jungle," introduced the cover system, which felt easy and intuitive mapped to the right bumper. Tapping the bumper a second time "unsticks" you from a wall, but the left analog stick does the same duty. We needed that to survive a shootout with a shotgun-wielding drug dealer - as Jacob blasted through the doorways, we braced against the outside wall, smashed the front window, and slind fired through the shattered glass. Lucky headshots for the win!
Not that we were always so fortunate. We got filled with lead several times, but we were able to restart each failed mission with minimal load time thanks to our cell phone. Tap Up to call up the phone, and you're asked if you want to retry the mission immediately. You can always decline and return to the mission later through normal city navigation, but we expect everybody will use and love the handy feature - a convenience that open-world games like Burnout Paradise lack.
Bron: http://forums.xbox.com/1/19326878/ShowPost.aspx#19326878
