Grand Theft Auto IV Multiplayer (XB360)

Yes, you heard right. Grand Theft Auto IV will let you take on Liberty City solo or with up to 16 players online. Outside of some limited co-op play on Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and multiplayer on a few PSP version of the game, this will be the first time that a GTA game dedicates itself to a robust online gaming experience.

We played through four of the more than a dozen multiplayer mod
es (the final number won't be officially revealed until the game ships) at Rockstar's NYC headquarters, and while the controls aren't fine-tuned for hardcore online fraggers, the average Joe will most likely find themselves sucked in for days, once the game ships on April 29.

Up to 16 players can go head-to-head in the "adversarial" multiplayer matches and up to four can play in online co-op modes. Keeping true to Grand Theft Auto, wins are measured in cash instead of points or kills. The more cash you earn the higher your rank climbs. Players start at a rank of '0' and can move up to a rank of '10.' Unlike Call of Duty 4's popular multiplayer, an increase in rank won't unlock new weapons or give avatars any special powers -- it's just for bragging rights. The lack up upgrading might be a turn off for hardcore multiplayer types, as will the limited custom-create-a-character mode, which essentially lets you choose the sex of the character, some basic hair and clothing options and you're off.

During the demo, we played through Team Deathmatch, GTA Race, Cops 'n' Crooks and Hangman's NOOSE. Of the four, Cops and NOOSE were the two standouts. Cops 'N' Crooks consists of two teams: one plays the cops and the other plays the crooks. The crook's goal is to get one team member, dubbed the "boss," to the extraction point without getting busted by the cops. They can see the extraction point on their radar, but can't see the cops. The cops, on the other hand, can't see the extraction point, but can see the crooks on their radar. Then they have to do whatever it takes to keep the crooks from reaching their destination.

Hangman's NOOSE (which stands for National Office of Security Enforcement), again requires a team to work cooperatively to escort a boss past hoards of AI-controlled police and to an extraction point by whatever means necessary. We ripped off an armored car from the cops, picked up the boss from his plane and drove like hell to the extraction point. You can also take him in a chopper or, if you're daring, on the back of a motorcycle. Unlike Cops 'n' Crooks, you face a never-ending army of police, and they call in all the big guns to track you down.

Team Deathmatch is a standard online multiplayer mode where two teams go head-to-head, the group with the most cash at the end wins. The teams can be any number --- go 8-on-8 or 1-on-15 – and the game can be played across the entirety of Liberty City or in different predetermined sections of the city. We loved having the whole city available, but it could be tough to find exactly where the action was, even with the other team showing up on our radar.

GTA Race sets players in the driver's seat, the goal to clear all the checkpoints first while avoiding opponents with rocket launchers and other obstacles. Driving in GTA IV, in both single and multiplayer, is much more challenging and it takes a supremely steady hand to keep cars moving in the right direction without skidding out of control. We found ourselves skidding so much that we'd get turned in the wrong direction as our opponents raced past us to the finish line.

The person who hosts each match will be able to customize the multiplayer games, which will include sections of the city, types of weapons, use of auto-aim, how many cops will be on the scene, how big the crowds will be on the sidewalk. Best of all, while the host sets up the game, waiting players can flip on the GTA radio to listen to songs from the game's giant soundtrack while they wait.

Does a game like GTA IV really need multiplayer? It certainly makes the game last longer, something that gamers who spend upwards of $60 a game have come to expect. GTA IV senior producer Jeronimo Barrera, in a recent interview with EGM, says they've always wanted multiplayer on the home console version of the game.

"We had lots of fun not only developing but playing the multiplayer in Liberty City Stories and Vice City Stories...," Barrera says. "When we were working on the PSP games we were limited by the limitations of the PSP, but now that we have a bit more horse power (and way more screen real-estate), we are happy to deliver to the fans and new players a pure GTA Multiplayer experience, which meant capturing the key values of the single player game in a more profound way -- freedom to do what you want, but consequence for your actions, a living, breathing world, and immersive game play scenarios that feel really cinematic, but give the player plenty of choices."