Controversy aside, the Grand Theft Auto series is a shining example of how to make a single-player sandbox experience. It dropped you in the middle of a city with a myriad of things to do. Your greatest limitation is your life because there’s usually not enough time to do everything that you want to do in a single sitting.
For all its positive points, there is one thing that GTA has been lacking: multiplayer. It’s not a major downside, really. The games provide you with so much to do you don’t really notice that it’s missing until the end, when you’ve realized how cool it would be to whack somebody online. GTA IV will let you do just that, apparently. Here are some of the details:
- There are 15 multiplayer game modes in GTA IV. PSM had an opportunity to play 7 of them. The rules of each game are determined by the host.
- Multiplayer supports upto 16 players.
- Your online character is fully customizable. You can alter his race, sex, hair, clothing etc.
- In Race and GTA Race, the host gets to decide which vehicles are involved, and the number of laps to be played. You can shoot and throw molotovs from the window, and even steal your rivals’ car.
- In Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch, the host gets to decide whether the police can intervene or not. The host also gets to decide the number of pedestrians, the amount of traffic, and the type of weapons.
- In Cops n Crooks, one team play as cops and the other play as criminals. The cops must stop the criminals from escaping. They can monitor the locations of the criminals on their GPS systems, while the criminals have no idea where the cops are.
- In Mafia Work and Team Mafia Work, you play as one of Kenny Petrovic’s mafia henchmen. You must complete hits ordered by the boss (via the cellphone) before your rivals are able to do so.
- A single-player mission called “Hangman’s NOOSE” features co-op. You and your friends will be able to escort a mobster, while being pursused by a SWAT team.
- The map used in multiplayer is the same map that is used for single player.
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