Recieved my copy of Rockstar's 'UNIVERSALLY ACCLAIMED' blockbuster yesterday morning (a day late) and spent the entire day at work ready to bolt for the exit as soon as the clock struck 5. I even woke up at 5am (couldn't sleep - too excited/anxious about whether it would turn up) and got to my desk a good 90 mins early, so I could leave a good 90 mins early at the end of the day.

It seems that with moments like these, I am truly one with the hype. My own excitement exceeding even my own expectations, much like the general critical reaction the game has recieved thus far. Even when the dust settles, it's unlikely GTA IV will fall from it's pedestal as the game with the highest aggregate score of all time (ahead of Mario, Zelda & HL2!).

Of course, all of the above is completely irrelevant if you don't like GTA games. I like them so much it's given me the faith to try other Rockstar games such as The Warriors and the excellent (and much overlooked) Bully (or Canis Canem Edit for PS2). that infamous logo is a true sign of quality to me, and shines brighter than ever herein...

First of all, the longer I play GTA IV, the more familiar things become. This is most definitely GTA, but a GTA polished and perfected into another dimension. The treatment they've given Liberty City is as sublime as it's likeness to a certain major city I spent some time in about a year ago. It's not 100% geographically correct, but everything's where it should be.

Some quirks/differences I've noticed so far:

1. Actually nicking cars is a much bigger deal than before. In previous games I've been able to stroll up, nick a car and casually drive away at my leisure. In IV, any act of crime seems to be met with extreme hostility and a guaranteed 'loose the cops' chase sequence. This will no doubt please Daily Mail readers no end...

2. Being able to walk into buildings seamlessly is so much more than it sounds.

3. If you try nicking a convertable, Niko will leap over the door rather than open it (sweet)

4. The cars still handle in cartoonish way, but it feels much better in the hand with the 360 controller (rumble/analogue acceleration etc). Likewise the guns all pack a far more realistic punch.

5. The procedural animation for stuff like actually walking down stairs is ace. You have to see it running to appreciate it.

A lot of last night was spent with the multiplayer modes (Have hardly touched the SP yet - which is most unlike me) which all start in a sort of city-sized lobby free-for-all while people decide what kind of game they want to play. VW and I were arsing around at first, getting used to the controls (interestingly, the much-wrote-about target lock-on is off by default in MP) and then whooping like madmen that yes, this is GTA, and the guy in the passenger seat is another real human being. Once we'd (sort of) got over that we decided to get in a boat, VW driving, myself taking pot shots at other boats and flicking radio stations. We wind up powering along in parallel to this incredible skyline (skyscrapers etc) with Iggy Pop on the stereo.

Still at sea, I notice we've just passed under the brooker (brooklyn) bridge and to our right is something that's a dead ringer for South Street Seaport. "Follow the island round to the right", I say to VW, "and we should see the Statue of Liberty (happiness) whatever". Sure enough, once we make the turn and my eyes adjust from the lens flate/HDR etc of the slowly setting sun I can see Liberty Island straight ahead. Looking to the right at the expanse of skyscrapers and neon glow from the top of the Empire State Building it's absolutely uncanny how well they've managed to recreate NYC.

Much hilarity ensues running around this amazing sandbox environment in various forms of vehicle, but eventually I yearn for something with a clearer objective.

The first mode we try is 'Hangman's Noose' which starts in airport runway. You're surrounded by cops and must defend a static location while one player runs for a getaway vehicle. Getaway vehicle then gets driven to the boss's plane. Everyone get's in the vehicle which must make it to a waypoint a LONG way away, with the cops in pursuit. Everyone's firing out the back of the truck. Was very reminiscent of a mission in GTA: San Andreas, BUT IT'S MULTIPLAYER. W00T!!!

The other mode we tried (once) was the Cops Vs Crooks mode where one team has a boss character and there's a team of cops (real players this time) in pursuit. In the game we played everyone started on foot. We were the 'Crooks' and we had to make use of whatever we could find to get the boss (a real player this time) to the waypoint. Lots of high speed pursuit mixed with gunplay ensues. A comedy mis-manuevre on my part takes us into an underground tunnel. A passenger (random player) tells me I need to go back the way I came to reach the getaway vehicle. VW arrives (like a twat) in a 2 door ferrari (or equivalent) and does absolutely fuck all to help as the cops come along and massive firefight ensues. 3 of the team hold of the cops while I escape with the boss character in another car... can't wait to play more of this game-mode. :)

Hardly scratched the surface so far, but with a full roster of friends ALL PLAYING GTA IV it shouldn't be too hard to explore the multiplayer stuff quite extensively over the coming weeks and months. The fact that Ninja Gaiden 2 is out in only 4 weeks barely registers. I just want to loose myself in GTA IV utterly... Glad I booked off that week and a half now...

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