First Impressions: Grand Theft Auto IV Teaser
See what the IGN editors think and watch the trailer in its entirety right here.
by IGN Editorial Team
March 29, 2007 - With the debut of the highly anticipated Grand Theft Auto IV trailer just moments ago (3pm Pacific Time), IGN editors from all over the office flocked to their desks to watch it (it's a good thing too, because the server immediately crashed). Collected below are the genuine first reactions from a myriad of different editors.
Jeremy Dunham, Editor in Chief, IGN PlayStation Team
It's good to see that the location has shifted back to Liberty City. I was really impressed by the lighting and the level of detail in each of the buildings; the animations and activity shown by the passers-by was great too, and the new Jean Reno lead character certainly looks different from past protagonists. Of course, he's not really Jean Reno, but it certainly looks like him only with a Russian accent. It's great to hear that everything shown in the trailer, according to Rockstar reps, is all in-game as well. I'm left highly impressed.
Hilary Goldstein, Chief News and Features Editor, IGN .com
The problem with building month-long hype for a trailer is that each day leading up to the trailer grows fan expectation. There's no way the GTA IV trailer could give fans everything they wanted or reveal too much about the game. But I liked what I saw. Seeing a true New York revealed -- with numerous identifiable landmarks, including the Chrysler Building and Grand Central Terminal -- gave me a bit of a charge. It's about time Rockstar gave up on "impressions" of real places, buckled down and gave us free reign in over a real city. What better place to debut a true GTA adventure than in the city that never sleeps?
The trailer showed a day/night cycle, some swanky next-gen graphics and revealed one character who apparently belongs to the Russian mob. If Rockstar uses real gangs, as Erik Brudvig suggested after seeing the trailer, GTA IV could be pretty brilliant. I expect nothing less than a full-scale New York City with functional subway system, a true blue Yankees Stadium and lots of innocent pedestrians to endanger. Though the gameplay remains a hidden secret, I am still slightly apprehensive about falling in love with GTA IV. So far it looks fantastic -- but if Rockstar doesn't fix its controls and give me something more than what's come in past GTA games, I'll be disappointed. That said, following the trailer debut, GTA IV is definitely a game that is high on my wish list.
All those moments will be lost, like tears in rain... Time to die.