Bonus Wednesday Post! GTA IV Special Edition Bundle Spotted in the Wild!

Yes, here is a bonus for all my faithful readers out there [all zero of you!] I was just out walking in midtown Manhattan, where it is currently about 78 and absolutely gorgeous in the way that only NYC in early spring can be. I was on my way to the Gamestop at 33rd and Broadway, and once there [to put a pre-order in for Wii Fit] i noticed the store had a display case all set up containing the GTA IV Special Edition bundle with the duffel bag, the lockbox, the art book, the game itself and the soundtrack CD [just one???]…so I quickly grabbed a shot on my phone, which you can see below. Not sure if these extras are really worth another $30. I’ll just take the game, thank you! I’m just glad to have an image on here that I actually took myself, and didn’t have to pilfer it from another site

Under a Week left…!

It’s getting crazy out there! More reviews coming in, all excellent and loving the game. Some more in-game tidbits have been leaked as well, including the following [thanks to the British site - hence the spelling - CVG]:

1 GAME FOR A LAUGH
There are plenty of mini-games tucked away in GTA IV. Old favourites pool, basketball and Go Go Space Monkey return, joining new games such as darts. You can even visit the driving range to practice your golf swing. For fights, of course.

2 IN FOR THE LONG HAUL
San Andreas’ RS Haul is back, and some missions will be centred around it. Details haven’t been revealed by Rockstar, but given Niko’s history of people smuggling… well, let’s just say, you can fit a lot of immigrants in the back of a lorry…

3 THE GOOD SECHS SHOW
The Gruppe Sechs securicars are back too, but this time there’s a bigger emphasis on jacking them, nicking the money and destroying the evidence. Don’t expect an easy ride; stealing one is a tough task, but losing the cops in the aftermath is even trickier.

4 CRACKING JOKES
The poster behind Manny is more than just a hint at a drugs-related side mission – it’s a blatant nod towards fellow sandboxer Crackdown. We’ve also seen Crackdown’s name on a news ticker, and there are plenty more references tucked away in the final game.

5 SMILE FOR THE CAMERA
We knew that the camera would return, and now it’s been placed on the mobile phone. But the official website hints at something quite brilliant, and even more exciting: the ability to upload and share your pics with other GTA IV players.

6 ALL GONE TO SHITZU
Most vehicle brands will return, but we know for sure that the Stallion and the Comet are definitely in. And San Andreas’ fastest bike, the Shitzu NRG500, has been bettered – the NHG900RR is now the motorcycle of choice.

7 SPRAY WHAT YOU SEE
Keep your eyes peeled for graffiti loaded with knowing winks. The red motorcycle on the left is a direct copy of the bike on the Vice City box art, while GTA 3 characters El Burro and 8-Ball are visible on the right.

8 MAP OF HONOUR
Again with the self-references. While San Andreas contained maps of Vice City, IV has actual photos. One of the first promotional shots of Vice City can clearly be seen pinned to the wall of the bar.

9 SUPER STORES
San Andreas brand names like Binco, Burger Shot, 24-7 and Clucking Bell are all back in GTA IV, along with plenty more brands from previous games. Alderney will also be the home of strip malls, providing a one-stop-shop for clothing, food and more.

10 TICKER TAPED
Rob a bank? Murder a crime boss? People are going to know about it. The news tickers in Star Junction (Liberty City’s Times Square) and around the city are always being updated – along, sadly for you, with descriptions of the perpetrator.

11 COFFEE REPUBLIC
The Hot Coffee mod fiasco landed Rockstar in some hot water, but it’s good to see they’ve seen the funny side of it. Bean Machine Coffee signs litter Liberty City. The ‘familiar’ positioning of the coffee beans in the logo is no accident either…

12 MAN IN THE MIRROR
Those of you who aren’t overwhelmed by the graphics (seriously – what’s wrong with you?) should take a close look at this. First car: driver facing forward. Second car: driver checking the mirror. Third car: driver looking out the side window. GTA IV’s about the little details – and they’re staggering.

13 JUST GOTTA RIDE IT
Flushing Meadows (site of the NY World’s Fair) is featured in its entirety, as is a recreation of theme park Astroland at Coney Island. Rides such as the Corpse Ride and Cyclone can be tested, and the major tourist spots will play a part in some missions.

14 CANNED LAUGHTER
Mmmm. Sprunk: A Taste of (Things to) Come. The drink from Manhunt, Vice City and San Andreas is back, and for a mere $1 you can grab a can and top up your health. Even the Statue of Happiness loves a helping of Sprunk – just look in her hand.

15 PHONE SEXY
In a nod to Saints Row, any phone number you find, be it on a sign, flyer or even scrawled on a bathroom wall, can be contacted for aid and, sometimes, secrets.

16 BAN THIS FILTH!
Visit the Videogeddon Arcade to try out a number of tongue-in-cheek games, and keep an eye out for people and posters attacking violent games.

17 BAT MAN BEGINS
We all know the cops are crooked, but did you realise that they display the fact on their uniform? Take a close look at the badge this copper’s wearing with pride – two cops with bats dragging off a beaten man.

18 WHAM BAM TRAM
See the sky tram on the box? It’s actually a form of transport that you can ride – if you pay the fare.

Slightly Over a Week to go!

Well, here we are, the start of another week – and with just over a week to go till the 29th, the anticipation is killing me! Couple of tidbits: just found out i should get my copy of the game and my new console right around the same time, so i’ll be able to jump into the game with the rest of the unshaven masses. Also I joined the Rockstar Games Social Club, a new web site from R*, with features described thusly on the excellent GTA4.net:

* 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.

Lazlow from R* on, ugh, Opie and Anthony, 4/18

Lazlow from Rockstar Games was on that shitfest of a radio show O+A this morning, and he had the following to say about the game:

- Comedian Jim Norton plays a worker in a porn shop. “That’s a vintage bush” is a line he says.
- Here’s a random line: “Eat my fat hairy fist!”
- There are over 100 radio commercials.
- Sometimes there are announcements in the subway about police harassing you and searching you randomly.
- There are Piswasser commercials mocking the Budweiser radio commercials played in America. Lazlow played one of them and it’s sung by Anthony himself.
- You can go on different news websites in the game and read about different crimes you’ve committed.
- You can date girls you’ve met on dating websites.
- When you get shot in individual places, there will be different reactions e.g. if Niko gets shot in the leg, he will begin to bleed from there and he will also begin to limp.
- Recording sessions went on for weeks, ten hours a day, every day.
- There were a lot of weekends that were spent by Rockstar employees trying to make the game as great as possible.
- Lazlow says he prefers the Xbox version because of downloadable content: new missions, characters, comedy, etc.
- O&A admit that it’s amazing and as Anthony puts it “everybody will have a blast playing.”

Thanks to PlanetGrandTheftAuto for the post! Which I stole! But hey, at least i’m crediting them…

My office building is in the game!

Man, that spiky building in front of LC’s version of the Empire State Building sure looks familiar…[CLICK FOR BIG!!]

11 Days To Go

Welcome to “From Long Island City to Liberty City!” In this blog, I [a resident of Long Island City, NY] will relate my experiences leading up to, during and after the launch of the new version of Grand Theft Auto – GTA IV – which takes place, of course, in a thinly-veiled version of NYC called Liberty City. Today’s the 18th of April, so we’ve got 11 long days to go until this is released. With over 260 screenshots out there already, and a whole slew of videos, commercials, trailers and assorted video mishmash out there, what can I possibly add to the hubbub surrounding this game? Well, my own unique, humorous and unnecessarily wordy take on it, of course! Stay tuned for updates as we get closer to launch.