GTA 4 Preview

Having got behind the wheel we were able to see the new wanted meter in full effect. A circle appears on the map around your car and if the cops are outside that circle the wanted status will decrease. However, stray into the path of another cop and the wanted meter will remain and the police will stay glued to your tail. Indeed, each time you're spotted the search area re-centres on your location and the wanted status will go up again. Switching cars will help lose any attention, as will disguising yourself among your surroundings, whether that's hiding behind a bin or escaping into a nearby building.

Once Niko has the car away from the attention of the cops he can access the police database, via the onboard police computer. By tapping in the name of the informant Niko is able to pinpoint his home address – Long Street in Broker, which would be our next stop. Interestingly, Rockstar mentioned it would also be possible to upload photos of people from your phone's camera into the database to attain details as well.

A little morning jog for our friend Niko.

After a short journey in the car we found Rivas relieving himself against a wall, although he quickly scarpered when Niko hammered on the front door – and so ensued the first car chase. This staple of the GTA universe appears to have been given a much welcome make-over, with improved in-car gunplay and increased interactivity with the surroundings. In an example of the increased physicality of the new GTA, Niko smashed out the driver's side window with his elbow before pulling out a pistol. Indeed, guns can now be controlled with the right analogue stick, making it easier to shoot out tires to end a chase quickly. The traffic could also be bought into play as well – Niko switched on the police car sirens to clear traffic, plus shot at a truck carrying logs, causing its load to spill out across the road and create an obstacle.

Some of the explosions and particle effects that ensued from the chase had a cartoon-like dynamism to them, and it seemed that when the car made contact with a wall a mark of the encounter appeared on the concrete. After a couple of minutes of white-knuckle driving the mission finally drew to a close when Niko smashed side-on into Rivas's car, shunting it off the road and sending the snitch to a fiery death. At this point we noted a much-welcomed feature - the inclusion of auto-saves. Unlike the oft-infuriating save system of previous GTA games, GTA IV will now auto-save progress after important mission way-points, which should go some way to relieving some of the frustration experienced in the past. Rockstar also mentioned that if you fail a mission you'll be given the option to jump straight back in and have another attempt, using text messages on Niko's mobile.

With the mission successfully completed, we were then shown some more of the attributes of the seemingly integral phone. Managing friendship levels will play a key part to the new GTA experience and to maximise the potential of your relationships within the game it's vital to keep people sweet. We were re-introduced to Roman, Niko's cousin, by simply calling him up, at which point we had the option to take him bowling, play pool, take him to a cabaret or just for a simple tipple. Given the time constraints of our demonstration we decided to meet Roman for a drink. What followed, however, was one of the most down-right funny scenes we've ever witnessed in gaming.

Having activated the friendship side mission, we had a few minutes to pick up Roman and drive him to the bar. It's worth noting that you don't actually have to complete these missions once they've been started, but if you decide you can't be bothered to socialise it's best to call and let them know, otherwise they'll be noticeably off towards you next time you hook up.

Dynamic weather in full effect. Better be packnig a spare pair of joggers.

Eventually we reached a nearby watering hole, Bar Perestroika, which was highlighted on the map by a cocktail glass icon. Choose to go bowling or play pool and you actually compete in a mini-game, but head to a bar and the scene cuts straight to the chase of the after-effects of a skinful, with Niko and Roman falling out of the bar, barely able to walk. Here the full implications of the new Euphoria physics engine and skeletal models could be witnessed in the most humourous way possible, as the pair stumbled over themselves, falling over each other and putting out a steadying hand on nearby objects. At one point Niko attempted to upright himself on a parked car, misjudged and fell flat on his back in the gutter, while muttering drunkenly to himself. The characters all react accordingly to each other, and this extends beyond the main cast. While driving about Liberty City we noticed non-playable characters had been blessed with astounding little flourishes – at one point a car collided with a pedestrian at low speed, and they extended an arm and steadied themselves before moving on.



But back to the gutter… Niko soon realised that Roman would be needing a ride home and had little time to sober up. It'll take a strong stomach to endure a drunken car-ride in GTA IV, with the screen swaying merrily and the control system itself inebriated. The effects are said to wear off after a couple of minutes, but after being subjected to 30 seconds of the drunken experience on Rockstar's 60-inch behemoth of a screen we were all feeling a little queasy and could have done with a couple of Alka Seltzers ourselves.

Maintaining good relationships, while not essential to the main narrative thrust of the game, will certainly make passage a lot easier, as well as providing an enjoyable peripheral activity. For example, keep Roman onside and he'll be able to provide you with free taxi rides around the city, while staying buddies with Brucie will give you access to helicopter rides. Stay in touch with weapons dealer Little Jacob he will garnish you with an arsenal of the finest firepower.

Oh - you don't wanna look in there.

After the drunken antics we observed some late night driving around Liberty City. The heavy mist that shrouded the city at night was at first a concern to us – could it have been disguising some build quality issues? However, our Rockstar rep turned to the debug controls and, in an example of the dynamic weather utilised in the game, the mist dissipated to reveal a breathtaking vista of Liberty City by night. It certainly was a bewitching sleight of hand; we went from doubters to believers in one deft switch of a debug control, the view from Broker Bridge setting our hearts aflutter and showing what the next generation of GTA can offer.

Driving around the city you soon get a feel for the distinct districts – the financial district is a jungle of concrete and steel devoid of any pedestrians, while at the opposite end of the scale Liberty City's thinly veiled take on Times Square is a cavalcade of neon signs and complex architecture. What's more, there were no noticeable dips in the frame-rate as we cruised through Liberty City's centerpiece, further serving to massage any fears about the robustness of the game's engine.

We weren't able to ascertain how much of the city would be open upon first play, though Rockstar were kind enough to further highlight the dynamic lighting system by speeding through a day via the debug controls. The effects of the sun's rise and fall were spectacular, enough for us to hope that a feature to speed up the time frame will be un-lockable in the full game. Currently two minutes equates to one hour of game-time, although that is subject to change.

Playboy X was the next character we were introduced to, a familiar figure from the Looking for That Special Someone trailer. The mission, Destruction for Beginners, takes you to his Penthouse apartment, where you'll also meet the just released convict Dwayne, a dour foil to some of Playboy X's more outlandish character traits. The task is to take out the Russian Mafia involved in union dealings on a nearby construction site. After a shirt drive you park up in a back street, grab a sniper rifle from the boot and, with Playboy X in tow, take a window-cleaner's lift that scales a nearby skyscraper which overlooks the building site.

Using the sniper rifle to take out some of the lookouts on the site, the enhanced physics engine again comes into play. The downed Mafia goons fall from their perches and make quite an impact when hit the ground – one victim fell onto the roof of a parked SUV, and it was hard not to wince at the ferocity of the collision.

You just can't say no to a bazooka.

Heading down from the rooftop, we were given a first glimpse of the overhauled combat system that looks to dramatically enhance the GTA experience. Taking its cues from games such as Gears of War, it focuses on the effective use of cover – though unlike examples such as Kane & Lynch, GTA IV looks to have hit a fine balance. With Playboy X communicating to Niko over the headset, our protagonist runs from cover to cover, whether it be a parked car or an overturned barrel, with the sort of grace seen in Hollywood blockbusters such as Heat. Indeed, Rockstar has gone out of its way to ensure that the cover system doesn't become a source of frustration during combat, and you can go into cover against any object in the game with a single button press. Cower behind a car, however, and you could soon find yourself exposed as the vehicle drives off. Niko is also a fairly acrobatic lead, sliding and diving into cover with ease, and in another nod to Gears of War he can also blind fire around corners.

Rockstar was unwilling to discuss how the health system works, though we can report that the enemies have easily-targeted hit points. There's the obligatory headshots, plus the ability to shoot enemies in the legs, merely disabling them – perhaps we'll be seeing some more humane approaches to some of GTA IV's missions? The weapons we saw were nothing new to the series, with an AK-47, M4 carbine and shotgun being put through their paces, although the implementation of grenades has been vastly improved, with the ability to lock-on-and-throw enabling increased accuracy. Another nice touch was that when a locked-on adversary was blown into the sky by an explosive, the camera followed their flailing corpse trial through the air. Maybe GTA isn't the place for humane approaches to missions after all.

The end of the Destruction for Beginners mission saw Niko take down a helicopter with a bazooka, which left an arcing smoke trail as it streaked through the sky. The mafia boss scooted away from the chopper before we nuked it though, meaning we had to chase him on foot and fire the killer blow while he tried to escape up a ladder. It's pretty brutal stuff, and it all managed to display the new dynamic to the combat system that means GTA IV should be straying away from the anemic and oft-frustrating gunplay offered by its forebears, and may well hold its own against the current generation's batch of shooters.

New facial models really add to the atmosphere.

Getting out of the car and walking to the destination, we noticed another aspect of Niko's phone – its built-in radio. Sound quality is, as you'd expect from a mobile, realistically tinny and having the soundtrack accompanying you on foot is a welcome addition. Although all the tracks we heard in game were merely place-holders while the myriad licensing issues are being attended to, we're sure GTA IV will be no different to its predecessors with their supreme soundtracks. The radio also seemingly responded to Niko's previous antics – our destruction of the helicopter on the building site was being reported on the radio news bulletin.

We were then treated to another demonstration of the improved combat model of GTA IV, although this time somewhat more fiery as grenades were used with abandon, resulting in some quite spectacular explosions. It seemed that when targeting an enemy, their health would appear on the aiming reticule, and the Triads being taken out appeared to be a sturdy bunch – although a well-placed grenade soon took care of them.

Approaching the truck in which the 'cursed' batch of brown was stashed, a Triad climbed into the car and began to drive off. At this point Niko grabbed onto the rear bumper and clung on as the vehicle accelerated through the streets. Gradually he made his way to the roof, where progress was made on his belly, the player rolling him left and right to prevent him from being flung off as the truck swung around corners. Having finally made his way to the driver's cab, Niko swung down next to the driver and unleashed a round in his face. The death animation was extremely brutal, as the driver's head jolted back and a fair amount of brain-jam issued forth. It is of course not unexpected for a GTA game to be violent, but the visceral level attained with the enhanced engine can still be a little shocking. Commandeering the truck, the mission ended as Niko drove into the grounds of a disused factory building.

Bikes. Of course there's bikes.

Our tour of Liberty City Rockstar drew to a close with a scenic jaunt around the coast. Beginning with a ride through the dunes on off-road bike, we made our way to the shore-line before climbing into an inflatable speed boat. Taking in all the sights of Liberty City, we got an impression of the vast scale of the play-area. By holding down the B button, you'll be able to switch to a cinematic viewpoint of the proceedings – not a new feature to the series, but implemented with more flair than ever before. The water effects looked fantastic, reflecting the skyline of the city and even mirroring the planes and clouds in the sky. The camera was flecked with water being spat from the back of the boat, and again there were a few of the deft Rockstar touches – one boat we passed had more than a superficial resemblance to the Orca ship from Jaws, and a restaurant on the shore had the fantastic moniker 'Poop Deck'. Finally we took in the Statue of Happiness (nee Liberty), before ending back on the docks of Broker, right back to where our journey had began.

We were surprised by the amount we saw in the demo, and of course it's only a small percentage of the final game. Overall the experience was heartening, with the build at worst sturdy, and at times downright dazzling. There's still a whole world of questions about the game to be answered, and Rockstar were reticent about revealing anything about the online and multiplayer elements of GTA IV – that will come in the next month or so - other than the fact that they exist. We've been promised a hands-on within the next couple of weeks, as well as a look at the PS3 build, when more will no doubt become clear. But till then, rest assured the last six months have been well spent and that GTA IV is shaping up to be well worthy of the hype bestowed upon it.