All hell ready to break loose in GTA IV

GTA IV

GTA IV

(Rockstar. PS3, Xbox 360. R18)

There is only a couple of weeks to go before the long-awaited release of what could be the
biggest game of the year.

The excitement is really building for the latest Grand Theft
Auto, GTA IV, out April 29.

As always, developer Rockstar Games is keeping everything
close to its chest.

What we do know is that the single player will be massive hours
of fun and guns as always. But for the first time there is an online multiplayer
mode, supporting up to 16 players on Xbox and PS3 and with an amazing 15
multiplayer modes. The way things are looking, gamers are in for a huge
surprise.

All favourite bases are covered - the classic deathmatch,
missions, team modes like cops and robbers, co-operative, and a multiplayer
Race mode with an array of cars, boats and helicopters, including a special GTA
Race allowing weapons for the duel.

Watch for:

Team Deathmatch: (2-8 teams) You snuff the life out of other
teams for money and the team with the most cash at the end wins. Grabbing the
cash off the dead is essential.

Team Mafiya Work: (2-8 teams) You're a member of a crew
doing contract work for the mafiya - including such plum gigs as escorting
wanted men, picking up MacGuffins and stealing cars. Work as a team to complete
contracts before the time period ends and get the rewards. You'll probably want
to do your best to scupper the other crew's hard work as well. Each contract
you complete gives your team cash, and the crew with the most cash at the end
of the round wins. 

Team
Car Jack
City: (2-8 teams) Cars
spawn parked around the map and the teams must steal them and take them to a
drop off point. The cash teams get for dropping off stolen vehicles depends on
their condition - more damage means less cash. The exception to this is special
bonus cars, stuffed with drugs, which give a set amount of cash on delivery no
matter how damaged they are. Your crew has to get hold of the vehicles the boss
wants. Whichever crew makes the most money wins.

Cops n' Crooks: (two teams) A team-based mode in which the Crooks
must get their Boss to safety while the Cops have to take him down. The Boss is
marked with a crosshair. This mode has two sub-modes: 'All For One' and 'One
For All.' In All For One, one team is made up of Crooks and a Boss, and the
other team is made up of Cops. The Cops are trying to hunt down and kill the
Boss while the Crooks are trying to protect him. The Cops win by killing the
Boss and the Crooks win by getting the Boss safely to the getaway vehicle.

One For All is similar but there is no Boss. Here, the Cops
win by killing all of the Crooks and the Crooks win by filling up a getaway
vehicle with members of their team. Only four people can escape in the getaway
vehicle. Players cannot respawn in this mode. Both of these variations can be won by the Cops if they
manage to destroy the getaway vehicle.

Turf War: A timed capture-the-base mode. There are a number
of bases around the map that you have to take by standing on them for a short
period of time. The more players that are on a base, the faster it can be
captured. The more bases that your team owns, the faster your team's cash score
increases. If the rival gang is on or near a base, you won't be able to take
control of it - so do what you can to try and displace them. The team with the
most cash at the end of the round wins.

Race: Race to the finish through each checkpoint in order.
If you take a wrong turn or mess up in some way, you can respawn your vehicle
on the last checkpoint you passed. There is a large selection of races for
cars, boats, and helicopters - you can choose laps and vehicle class/type. This
mode has two sub-modes: 'Free Race' and 'Cannonball Run.' Free Races are point-to-point
races. First one to reach the end point wins. In Cannonball Run races you have
to traverse several checkpoints in any way you can.

Those who buy the Xbox 360 version will find that Xbox Live
has two exclusive downloadable episodes.

The story takes us back to good old Liberty City.Though not
all the news is good.

Inevitably, there has been some controversy for the game out
April 29 on PS3 and Xbox 360.

Rockstar confirmed it had submitted a modified version of the new game to get it
past the strict Australian censors because the country lacks an R18 rating. The
closest it has is a MA15+ rating.

Previous GTA releases had a similar editing fate. New Zealand
does have an R18 rating - and GTA will be classified as such with the warning
the game contains violence and offensive language.

So Australians won't see all of what gamers elsewhere
including in the US and Europe see but Rockstar emphasises the changes are
insignificant.

"We do not believe they take away from the level of

scope and detail that make GTA IV such an incredible experience. We would not

release the game in Australia

if we believed these differences compromised the quality of the game in any way,"

the Rockstar statement said.