WTF. I did not expect this when I wandered into the internets today. It seems GameInformer is shipping out their May issue to subscribers, and inside is a 10page feature on one of this year’s biggest games. Wanna know some of the juicy stuff? Thank Joystiq:
Setting: re-created Liberty City (better mirrorsreal-world NYC; smaller “geographical mass” than San Andreas, but moredensely populated)
- MetLife building = “Getalife”
- Statue of Liberty = “Statue of Happiness”
- DUMBO = “BOABO” (Beneath the Offramp of the Algonquin Bridge Overpass
- Area includes an adaptation of four of NYC’s boroughs (no love for Staten Island), and a section of Jersey:
- Manhattan = “Algonquin” (The Lenape did speak an Algonquin language from which our word “Manhattan” is derived)
- Brooklyn = “Broker”
- Queens = “Dukes” (a duke ranks just below a prince)
- Bronx = “Bohan”
- New Jersey = “Alderney” (also named for one of the British Channel Islands — or a breed of cattle)
Main character: Niko Bellic; “Eastern European” (’cause who really keeps track of the countries over there?)
- Lured to Liberty by cousin Roman’s suspicious emails (Roman claims to be living the America Dream: 2 women, 4 hot tubs, and 15 sports cars); Roman actually operates a rundown taxi depot in Broker and has gotten himself into a “load of trouble”
- NEWS FLASH: “Many of Niko’s activities revolve around being a criminal”
Miscellaneous:
- NPCs: lots of “non-American” characters, varied behaviors (e.g., shopping, drinking, smoking, chirping,hurrying, or just maxing on the stoop), “context sensitive,” anddependent on environment; more freaks: “angry yuppies” and “lunatics”
- Dynamic storyline: “A big part of the game is delivering story in new ways and allowing the player to plot their [sic] own destiny”; less of a sense of being a slave to NPCs’ demands; communication is also dynamic (in person, by celly, etc.)
- No planes; but motorbikes
- Improved physics; characters’ movements are influenced by weight and variations in physical terrain
- Emphasis on night and day lighting
- Seamless loading after initial boot (even between indoor and outdoor environments)
- No details about targeting system — but Rockstar claims to have found the new “sweet spot”
- Voice casting will not focus on big-name stars; soundtrack will reflect 2007
- Crimeexperts and ex-police have helped Rockstar create a realisticcontemporary criminal atmosphere (i.e., it’s not the 80s or 90sanymore; crime and crime-fighting have evolved)
- Multiplayer confirmed; not MMO
- Both Xbox 360 and PS3 version will ‘likely’ be identical; Xbox 360 version will include exclusive episodic content
no MMO?!!? though they did say they were saving that for GTA5…
