Grand Theft Auto 4 What You Want To Know

Weapons

Glock (probably a G17)

Caliber: 9x19mm

Capacity: 17

Developed in the 1980s by Austrian engineer, Gaston Glock,

the eponymous pistol soon became the world's most popular

civilian and law enforcement sidearm. With its polymer frame

and simple, internal striker-fired mechanism, the Glock is

both lightweight and extremely durable

Desert Eagle

Caliber: .357 Magnum, .44 Magnum, or .50 AE

Capacity: 9, 8, or 7

In 1979, Magnum Research Inc. set out to create the first

gas-operated, magnum-caliber pistol. While the end product

is generally considered too heavy and too expensive to

serve as a practical combat pistol, it hasn't stopped the

Desert Eagle from becoming the weapon of choice for

Hollywood (and video game) bad guys.

Micro Uzi

Caliber: 9x19mm

Capacity: 20

The smallest member of the Uzi family was introduced by

Israel Military Industries in 1986 as a security weapon to

fill the firepower gap between pistols and standard

submachine guns. Between its short barrel and extreme

rate of fire, things like aiming are but an afterthought.

MP5 N(A3)

Caliber: 9x19mm

Capacity: 30

The Heckler & Koch MP5 was originally developed in the

1960s, but has been further refined and revised over the

years into a number of different models. Thanks in large

part due to the number of options available, reliability,

and accuracy, it is the most widely used submachine gun

today.

SW MP-10

Caliber: 9x19mm Capacity: 30

The Special Weapons MP-10 (also known as the PXP-10)

is essentially an MP5 clone with a custom polymer upper.

Not much is really known about it, as it's apparently made

in very small numbers by a very small and, err, mysterious

company. At this point, it's hard to say whether this appears

in the game in addition to the MP5 above, or if the MP5 has

been replaced since the older screens..

M4 Carbine

Caliber: 5.56x45mm NATO

Capacity: 30

Despite some teething problems with the earlier M16 variant

during the Vietnam War, Eugene Stoner's 1958 AR-15

design went on to become one of the most popular and

versatile rifles in the world. Boasting a light weight,

compact size, and a ridiculous amount of add-ons and

accessories, the M4 has something for everyone.

AK-47

Caliber: 7.62x39mm

Capacity: 30

Even after sixty years, Mikhail Kalashnikov's legendary

AK-47 rifle is still a hard act to follow; both in reliability

and popularity. Created with mass production in mind, the

simple design and loose clearances resulted in a rifle that's

practically indestructible, and that will remain functional

with little maintenance or cleaning.

G3SG/1

Caliber: 7.62x51mm NATO

Capacity: 20

The G3SG/1 is a version of the H&K G3 rifle optimized for

sniper applications.

PSG1

Caliber: 7.62x51mm NATO

Capacity: 20

The PSG1 is another H&K G3 sniper variant. It is unknown

if both this and the G3SG/1 will be in the game, or whether

the above is only in the art. Probably the latter.

Sniper Rifle

Caliber: ???

Capacity: ???

This thing is really too generic to identify.. Might it be a

Parker-Hale M85?

SPAS-12

Gauge: 12

Capacity: 8

This Italian semi-automatic shotgun was designed by the

Luigi Franchi company in the late '70s. Originally intended

for police and military use, the SPAS-12 features a heat

shield under the pump/handguard to protect the user's

hands during sustained fire. While this is a definite plus

on a combat shotgun, it comes at the price of added weight.

Winchester Defender

Gauge: 12

Capacity: 5

Based roughly on the classic Remington 870

(which is also featured in some artwork), the Winchester

1300 line is also known as the "Speed Pump" series thanks

to the short, fast cycling of the action. This feature has made

the shotgun popular for both sporting and security purposes.

RPG-7

Caliber: 40mm

Capacity: 1

This classic anti-tank, rocket propelled grenade launcher

was first used by the Soviets back in 1961. It has remained

popular ever since thanks to its durability and low cost.

Molotov Cocktail, Box cutter, Switchblade

There are two questions I know everyone wants answered right off the bat.

Are the PS3 and 360 really the same? No.

Does GTA4 live up to the hype? Yes.

GAME PLAY

You're going to like GTA4. But you'll only love part of it. The game play is essentially

the same as it was in previous GTA games, which is what you'll love. There are a few

extras/improvements that you'll also love. Vehicles are fantastic. The cover system is

effective and easy to get used to, as most games now have some sort of cover system.

The squeaky car animation used when hookers do their thing is now accompanied by

foggy windows-sweet. You can store your favorite vehicles in garages or parking spaces,

which is a nice touch. Pay ‘n Spray will replace your broken windows and change your

car color...but that does nothing when the police are already in pursuit.

It's the things that are missing that will turn the volume down on your experience.

If you've never played GTA, then you won't miss much. The absence of the Dodo stinks.

Going on rampages is now almost impossible. The ability to commit crimes is much more

difficult. Wanna shoot rockets down the street, blow up a parking lot, etc? Well, you won't

get far. The 5-0 in GTA4 are smart, and they work really hard to bring you down.

It's also a bit disappointing that law enforcement actually spawns. The game would feel

much more realistic if cops had to call for back up, and patrol cars would actually drive

to your location from a few blocks away before joining the fun. But that's not how it works.

A handful of cops will appear out of nowhere (on the 360, they actually pop-in if you didn't

do the install). NOOSE will appear out of no where. And choppers? Well, there's no faint

pitter-patter of blades in the wind to alert you of their approach. I think they jump to position

through worm holes or something.

But aside from these annoyances, GTA4 is fantastic. It feels so real.

Euphoria didn't do as much as I hoped. Let's face it, when you hit a pedestrian at 50 mph,

they do one thing: fall. It may look different in slow motion, but when you're really doing

it-when you're in the middle of the action-animations always feel the same. There are

moments, though, where Euphoria will kick in and you'll say, "Awesome". When you try

to duplicate it, you won't be able to. This is where Euphoria shines. There will be one

time moments of sheer bliss-and it's worth every second.

Riding in a Taxi is awesome. You'll spend your first twenty or so trips admiring the city

from the cab. Remember the car ride in Call of Duty 4? This is equally as engaging, if not

more so. Seeing the world like this, hustling and bustling, living their digital lives...it makes

a bullet to their head an extra level of satisfaction.

CONTROLS

I preferred the PS3 controls because I've always played GTA on PS hardware. The

controls

aren't identical to previous games, but the learning curve is really small. Most people

will

probably prefer the 360 controller, but that's to be expected.

There were a couple minor things about the controls that bugged me. I'll mention the

single

big thing: running. Tapping a button to run works well in theory, but I just know that the

wear and tear on my controller has to be increasing exponentially. Still, it's better than

having fatigue in game, as how much you run literally depends on your fatigue in the

real world. If you're tired of tapping, you walk or take a cab. If the cops are on your tail,

you muster up the energy to tap some more. All in all, it works as a concept...but it's

bitter-sweet.

GRAPHICS

Been waiting for this? Well, what can I say? It's beautiful. But I know you're really

concerned

about which system it looks better on, and I have the scoop! The truth is that, if installed,

the game looks equally impressive on both systems.

The PS3 has a more relaxed color pallet, but this gives everything a more realistic look.

If you don't like the realistic look, and you have a HDMI connection, you can fiddle with

your PS3 display settings and get it looking much more saturated. The textures are just as

sharp as the 360 version, and there's little to no pop-in or screen tearing. The PS3 takes

longer to load than the 360, but I took several different head counts in game at different

locations, and I always found the PS3 to be more populated than the 360. This could be

attributed to the dynamic nature of the world, but it's hard to tell. Either way, the difference

was never more than five to seven pedestrians or three to four cars-it's not really much of

an advantage.

The 360 is bright. Boy is it bright. Based on discussion history, this one will be claimed to

look better, but it'll really be preference. The texture quality is the same on both systems,

but the 360 has a more cartoon-like look. This isn't a bad thing. It just depends on

preference.

I'd compare the difference to that of Oblivion on each system. The 360 also suffers from

some frame rate drops that are almost non-existent on the PS3. Installing the 360 version

on your system's hard drive, however, will bring performance almost up to par with the PS3.

Let me add that these differences are only noticeable when the games are shown side by

side. I'd liken it to shopping for a TV. There's always one that looks better than another,

the 60" make the 50" seem too small, etc. The truth is, once by itself in your living room,

it'll look fantastic, and you won't be disappointed.

MULTIPLAYER

I didn't get to use this. I know, you want details, but all I can confirm is split-screen on PS3

only. I was alone, so I didn't actually get to have any matches, but I could tell that the

split-screen worked really well. There was a significant decrease in the amount of traffic

and pedestrians, but it didn't ruin anything. This is understandable. Rendering two

instances

of Liberty City is a chore for any machine. I can't conclude one way or the other why the

split-screen mode was not available on 360, but I assume by the drop in on-screen objects

on the PS3 that the 360 just couldn't handle it. If you own a 360, don't worry. You have

Xbox Live...so you're set.

CONCLUSION

Grand Theft Auto 4 is worth the hype. It's worth $60, and you'll easily spend over 75 hours

with this game. That's a pretty decent bargain. It's difficult to rate the game without bias!

Any complaints I have are almost completely based on my experience with other GTA

games...so it's tough!