So GTA IV come out next week

I think I am going to pass myself but some people have it early and have been posting videos.

I have to say after seeing this video, Jack Thompson and his fellow zelatous regilous friends will have gameday with this game.

NSFW

I knew I loved you, Grambo - I thought I was going to be the only person here doing the midnight launch thing.  I've never been to one before, but the store I ordered at opened up at midnight for pre-orders only and I wasn't doing anything else, so I'm reading through the manual as we speak.  No impressions as yet, as I've only just got home, but I expect to cut a sorry figure at work tomorrow...

I picked it up at lunch.

360... I do not trust Gamespy's servers for online.  Plus, who's got a PS3 headset?  5% of the owners?  AND the PS3 version apparently runs in 630p and then upscales from there.  Though that's not really a big deal... Halo 3 did the same thing.

Well I spent an afternoon with GTAIV (yippee for Tuesday daycare!).  My observations are based on single player only so far.

If you liked any of the last three titles in this series, you will drool over this one.  The graphics are richer, the car driving is more realistic, and the new goodies are fun.  No more unrealistic turns while going 100mph - you drive fast, the turns will be clunky (until you start unlocking sportier cars later in the game).  You have the option to take taxi rides to your destinations now.  There are mini games of darts, bowling and pool (I have only played the first two so far) which are pretty lame so far, but they enhance your relationships with other characters.  The most controversial of the mini-games is a simple one to initiate - invite a friend to a bar.  You don't actually go in and drink, but pull up to the bar, and after a screen shift, exit the bar and head to your car.  You now have to drive with the screen doing all sorts of motion - definitely do not do this if you have been really drinking or you'll hurl in a second!

The early part of the game (mission-wise) is slower than the other early incarnations.  The missions themselves are pretty easy, especially when compared to the ones in San Andreas.  However, after playing for a couple of hours, you start to remember why you liked the earlier versions (that is, if you did like the earlier versions) and you get sucked into the world.  The random people on the street are better done with this version and the dialogue is a riot.

I hope to play some multiplayer tonight to see how that plays out.