Grand Theft Auto IV trailer debuts

Next installment in legendary series appears to feature immigrant protagonist--but is it set in New York or Liberty City? Downloadable trailer and first screens inside.

Grand Theft Auto IV

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After weeks of anticipation, the trailer for Grand Theft Auto IV has premiered on the game's official Web site. The preview, which can also be downloaded below, offers millions their first glimpse of the eagerly awaited game--and some clues about its setting and characters.

At first glance, the trailer, titled "Things Will Be Different," shows what appears to be New York City. Landmarks like the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building, and the Brooklyn Bridge are all clearly shown in vivid detail, thanks to the new RAGE graphics engine, which was previously used in Rockstar Games Presents Table Tennis.

However, the devil is in the details, and a closer look at the trailer appears to indicate that it is set in a totally revamped version of Liberty City. A ship registered to Liberty City is shown docked at a wharf. A derelict "Liberty Ferry" is shown, as is a skyscraper with the logo "Liberteen" in front of it. During a shot of a Times Square-like plaza, a sign for the Liberty Tree newspaper can be seen, as can a small banner that appears to say "Welcome to Liberty City."

When questioned by GameSpot, a Rockstar rep played coy. "We would like to let the trailer speak for itself," he said. "However, we can confirm that all footage in the trailer 'Things Will Be Different' was captured directly from 720p gameplay running real time in our RAGE engine on a next-gen gaming console." The latter comments make it unclear if the trailer is for the PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360 version of the game.

One thing that is clearly present in "Things Will Be Different" is the series' traditional wicked humor. Re-creations of various landmarks had parody names, including the MetLife Building, which sports a giant "GetaLife" logo. The Times Square replica contains a movie poster for the fictional film I Slept With Your Mom and a billboard for Top Hooker, an apparent parody of reality show America's Next Top Model. The trailer also shows that several faux brands from San Andreas will return, including Sprunk, Cluckin' Bell Chicken, and BurgerShot.

The trailer closes by introducing what could be Grand Theft Auto IV's protagonist. A swarthy man with short black hair and a beard is shown in close-up looking around. "Life is complicated," a voice-over says with a pronounced accent, possibly Eastern European. "I've killed people, smuggled people, sold people," the voice continues, "perhaps, here things will be different." Given the series' signature violence, that prospect appears unlikely.

Grand Theft Auto IV ships in the US on October 16 and in Europe on October 19, and has not yet been rated.

1328 Comments

  • vs_world

    Posted May 8, 2008 6:17 am PT

    when they are lunching pc version...waiting

  • jlwarwick

    Posted Apr 23, 2008 12:49 pm PT

    xbox 360s taking the piss getting 2 epic down loads y cant the ps3 get them 2 ?

  • jlwarwick

    Posted Apr 23, 2008 12:44 pm PT

    xbox 360s taking the piss getting 2 epic eposods down loads y cant the ps3 get them 2 ?

  • Hameyadea

    Posted May 31, 2007 1:58 pm PT

    getahey: GTA was (and still is) a PC property... If you're meaning that 8-months-exclusivity thing then you are wrong. Sony bought the exclusive rights from Rockstar to promote the PS2 at the time... If that was up to Rockstar, then they probably have made the series a PC exclusive, because the console versions to the first games were low. Extremely low. The series has been saved thanks to the PC versions.

  • geteahay

    Posted Apr 23, 2007 10:08 am PT

    Seriously 'imwatchinu' it's commonly know that the graphics engine on the PS3 is far more powerful then the 360, so whatcha u thinking. Seriously all you fan boys of 360 I do think it's a good console, and if I had no other option I would buy it . But I'm just going to some it up 'you won the battle, but you lost the war.' Give PS3 a year and people will see the full potential of it and developers will just go full out, to give PS3 owners the better experience. So see sense now and buy a PS3 and don't be a Bill Gates bum boy. GTA was originally Playstation property so we have its true spirit, you have its evil twin.

    p.s. GTA will own on PS3

  • darren05r

    Posted Apr 23, 2007 8:52 am PT

    do you think the dirty little jeb end that is 'imwatchinu' is a microsoft fanboy??? who are you??? bill gates' son????? can you not accept the fact that the 360 has some good competition it has a year of sales over the ps3 and still it doesnt look any better than ps3 games?? or the fact that bluray is outselling hddvd and that microsoft have chosen to support the wrong product? get a life u absolutely useless son of a biatch.

  • m4gicm4rty

    Posted Apr 21, 2007 6:24 am PT

    a fictional setting for the new GTA would be far more desirable. it wouldnt recieve as much bad press (from media killjoys, no names {cough}-jack thompson!). also, it feels that the story would progress in the history and future of the game if it was set for example in Liberty city. oh yeah, and ps3 probably will be the best version (my oppinion).

  • imwatchinu

    Posted Apr 19, 2007 5:57 pm PT

    are u sure this game aint set in hull?

  • xxdeedee

    Posted Apr 18, 2007 7:23 pm PT

    i get board of these kak kinda games i would rava play halo or sumink u can get good at

  • xxdeedee

    Posted Apr 18, 2007 6:41 pm PT

    they shld of made a grand theft auto in london wouldv beemuch better

  • imwatchinu

    Posted Apr 18, 2007 2:58 pm PT

    cant wait to see this game on XBOX360 and PC as they will both be miles better than the PS3 version as we all know the PS3 has a NVIDIA G70 graphics chip inside it and the XBOX360 has an ATI R520 graphics chip inside it the R520 is a miles better GPU infact so much so that NVIDIA needed to strap 2 of them onto a single pcb to compete against it --and still couldnt beat it AND AS FOR THE PC VERSION IT WILL ROCK U SEE U LITTLE PS3 FANBOYS ACTUALLY BELIEVE THAT THE GTA FRANCHISE IS A PLAYSTATION THING -----GET REAL---WE WERE PLAYING IT ON PC YEARS BEFORE IT EVER CAME OUT ON PS1--OUR VERSIONS HAVE ALWAYS AND WILL ALWAYS BE BIGGER AND BETTER THAN THE PS3s

  • imwatchinu

    Posted Apr 18, 2007 2:51 pm PT

    HIDEOUS KOJIMA also hinted that the huge processing power of the CELL(which has been designed around gods brain) will be used to HYPNOTIZE PEOPLE into believeing that they r playing in a real world with THE CELLS RAW POWER WE WILL BE ABLE TO CONTROL PEOPLES BRAINS AND MAKE THEM THINK THEY CAN REALLY FEEL THE POWER OF A BULLET WHIZZING PAST THERE HEAD,OR THINK THAT THEY REALLY CAN FEEL THE SENSASTION OF SPEED WHILST DRIVING A FORMULA 1 CAR-------HIDEOUS KOJIMA ALSO STATED THAT THE TECHNOLOGY INSIDE THE PS3 IS FROM THE FUTURE AND HAD BIN GIVEN TO SONY BY A RACE OF TIME TRAVELLING ALIENS CALLED THE ZYSTATRONS---HE SAID THEY DID THIS BECAUSE IN THE FUTRE THEY UPGRADED THERE ONSHIP SYSTEMS TO WINDOWS VISTATRON 3007 AND HAVE HAD NOTHING BUT STABILITY PROBLEMS EVERSINCE----THEN IN A FLASH OF BLUE AND AMBER LIGHT HIDEOUS KOJIMA SIMPLY VANISHED AND REAPPEARD IN 598 PLACES AT THE SAME TIME

  • imwatchinu

    Posted Apr 18, 2007 2:50 pm PT

    and let us not forget the PS2 WITH ITS EMOTION ENGINE the only games that really shined on that console were the ones the developers could afford to put through sonys optimizer(SONY DEVELOPED THE OPTIMIZER FOR CODERS WHO REALLY DIDNT KNOW HOW TO SQUEEZE EVRYLAST DROP OF POWER OUT OF THE CONSOLE)why? because just like now they have developed an overly technical piece of machinery which really doesnt and shouldnt have blu ray in it---AT THE END OF THE DAY PEOPLE NEED TO ASK THEMSELVES 1 QUESTION ---WHY WOULD A COMPANY LIKE SONY,SELL AT A LOSS TO THE WORLD THE MOST HI TECH NEXTGEN(not to us pc fanmen consolers idea of nextgen is our oldgen) CONSOLE MANKIND HAS EVER SEEN(apparently) ANSWER IS EASY REALLY --TO PUSH BLU RAY THROUGH AS THE NEW DVD FORMAT

  • imwatchinu

    Posted Apr 18, 2007 2:48 pm PT

    1080p isn't a solution yet and is only native on a VERY few select television systems, most of which are still not capable of receiving 1080p signals digitally. Even less are capable of displaying @ 60 FPS. 1080p is not a broadcast standard yet which is a major factor in why manufactures have not felt the need yet to develop the technology a bit more. You just have to be realstic - PS3 in HD (despite its ridiculous 1080p wild claims, which it makes many and often) will be transmitting 1080i. My guess is that they MAY make the PS3 capable of transmitting @ 1080p@24ps for movies (which is a MUCH more realstic solution) and are blurring the concept over to the gaming end to HYPE up the PS3 (Sony has a history of tactics like that.) Those familiar with HD understand what interlaced compression is how it affects picture quality. 1080i is displaying frames at a perceived resolution of 1920x1080, but in reality is displaying @ just about half that. The common method in calculating an interlaced resolution's true resolution is to multiply its perceived res by 0.6. 1080i comes out to about 1152x648 which is, in fact, WORSE than its HD standard counterpart 720p (1280x720) in terms of picture quality.

    Because console gaming (even now with HD) has taken place on an inferior resolution standard - their video cards are much less robust than the $500+ dollar video cards (over 100$ more than a complete 360 premium system) us computer gamers pay for the best possible gaming experience. Therefore, you just simply cannot compare the video card in a console to those high-end cards that are being installed in gaming PCs.

  • lewisstarwars

    Posted Apr 17, 2007 11:04 am PT

    it looks gd but it wood b better in london

  • birdmandaddi

    Posted Apr 16, 2007 2:18 pm PT

    its easy ppl it has Liberty city ritten all over it but it looks like NYC and on the side it says i luv Liberty city insted of NYC

  • moneymaker4149

    Posted Apr 16, 2007 1:42 pm PT

    i wonder what other missions they gonna have us doin

  • Hakkzpets

    Posted Apr 13, 2007 7:28 am PT

    It's not GTA 5... It's GTA 4 FFS!

  • magicfrog0

    Posted Apr 13, 2007 2:41 am PT

    Why cant they come up with a new more (fun) city like texas or Louisiana

  • vecha

    Posted Apr 11, 2007 5:31 pm PT

    "GTA5 will exceed by far on the Ps3 rather then on the xbox 360. We all know that Ps3 has better frame rate and smother graphics then the xbox 360. This game will make everyone grab the Ps3, that and some other great hits, exemple Suntman and killzone : ) By the way the guy is russian or turkish not afgani unno, best game ever ever"

    no we don't know if the ps3 is better. We do know they are about the same.

    you fanboys should shut up

  • loung747

    Posted Apr 11, 2007 9:41 am PT

    fake world is alot better.

  • Sparky2002

    Posted Apr 11, 2007 7:04 am PT

    2 things they should have done with this game

    1. world of warcraft & place there world online have pvp & pve could u image gangs doing driveby RAID in GTA or Missions.

    & last charactristic changable character

    Now That would be OMEGA GTA AWESOMENESS Woot

  • rossenndop

    Posted Apr 11, 2007 6:30 am PT

    GTA5 will exceed by far on the Ps3 rather then on the xbox 360. We all know that Ps3 has better frame rate and smother graphics then the xbox 360. This game will make everyone grab the Ps3, that and some other great hits, exemple Suntman and killzone : ) By the way the guy is russian or turkish not afgani unno, best game ever ever

  • crsx

    Posted Apr 10, 2007 8:00 pm PT

    HEY FAUIJI STFU, AND L2SPELL

  • jackfatal

    Posted Apr 10, 2007 3:44 pm PT

    from his look he looks arab!! but ! but i think he will be somewhere near middle europe or turkish

  • tylert20

    Posted Apr 10, 2007 10:03 am PT

    I wish you could create your own main character in GTA: IV. I can't wait to see what creativeness they put into the Xbox 360 acheivements!

  • boobush

    Posted Apr 10, 2007 7:03 am PT

    If it's based in NYC, maybe they wanna bomb True Crime. God, I hated that game.

  • hitman1988

    Posted Apr 10, 2007 5:47 am PT

    The trailer look nice, can't wait to see some proper game play...do we know 100% sure that the guy in the trailer is the main character?

  • jae_cru15

    Posted Apr 10, 2007 1:37 am PT

    so why dont u try the getaway

  • nonoyawns

    Posted Apr 9, 2007 6:24 pm PT

    i would rather have an england based gang game....

    (SNATCH = amazing movie)

  • Zigmond1

    Posted Apr 9, 2007 4:36 pm PT

    he looks like someone off of Timesplitters

  • scruffybawls

    Posted Apr 9, 2007 3:46 pm PT

    i know its better for the story but i would rather create my own character or play a guy in the irish mob, after seein the departed, set in boston.

  • jakjbt

    Posted Apr 9, 2007 2:13 pm PT

    Looks amasing.
    But when i think of New York ...I think of Driver parallel lines...witch is good but nowere near the standered of GTA.
    The cars look better,they look less "square".
    also Rockstar look like they are still kepping their sense of humor
    did anyone seee the buliding saying "get a life"

  • clayton12345

    Posted Apr 9, 2007 7:49 am PT

    in one of the screen shots where it has the people and the advertisements there is a billboard next to a make up advert possibly advertising a car you can find in gta iv it looks a lot like an audi tt which could mean they have more real car designs

  • macedon23q

    Posted Apr 8, 2007 8:49 pm PT

    which russian is dark in colour and has a arab face??!! his albanian

  • Sparky2002

    Posted Apr 8, 2007 8:28 pm PT

    Has Anyone heard anymore news yet about the Game & the Expansion // Exclusive Downloadable Contents?????

  • key584

    Posted Apr 8, 2007 3:25 pm PT

    i think that this will be the best grand theft auto so far, i'm am ready for it to come out.

  • rainerj2006

    Posted Apr 8, 2007 12:39 pm PT

    I just love how they made it look and sound like a Naqoykatsi / Phillip Glass movie....although loved the entire series (katsi) this is tooo much of a rip off....

  • ldavidtw2000

    Posted Apr 8, 2007 12:15 pm PT

    Ever going to have PC version?

  • Nightcreeper

    Posted Apr 8, 2007 1:20 am PT

    I'm glad they moved away from the whole hip-hop-theme. Because of that whole hood-thing I didn't buy the last game. As it seems they are taking a different approach now. - GREAT!

  • camusigma

    Posted Apr 7, 2007 9:13 pm PT

    This game also msg 4 is a great reason why I prefer ps3

  • djsundowner

    Posted Apr 7, 2007 8:28 pm PT

    Liberty City is NOT New York City... based on NYC, yes, but the thing about the GTA3 "series" (III, VC & SA) is that they were in imaginary cities. Moving to a real city is a good move.

  • Xuco

    Posted Apr 7, 2007 6:09 pm PT

    Now, I have high hopes for this game. I certainly think it has potential to be great fun. But this trailer shows virtually nothing as far as actual gameplay goes. Why so excited?

  • ginyahead

    Posted Apr 7, 2007 10:50 am PT

    THIS GAMES GONE BE SICK........EVEN SICKER CUZ I LIVE IN NEW YORK = )

  • ElHypno

    Posted Apr 7, 2007 10:26 am PT

    How about this, I just buy a Ps3 and a 360 and throw them against one another until one is victourous. Will that then solve all the PS3 and 360 confllict?

  • BrideInDream

    Posted Apr 7, 2007 2:15 am PT

    i want this game so baddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd

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