UK-based PLAY Magazine is the latest magazine to get their hands on Grand Theft Auto IV. They have an eight-page multiplayer preview in their latest issue. There are no new screenshots, but there are some interesting (mostly minor) new details:
- Multiplayer can be accessed via your mobile phone during single-player. Select the ‘Multiplayer’ option and from there you can select game types and send invites for your friends to join you.
- The host can control things like time of day, vehicle classes (specifically for GTA Race mode), weapon types, traffic, the location of the match, the weather type and choose whether the game will feature police or not.
- As mentioned previously, you can customise your online character. You start off with basic modifications such as sunglasses, hats, tops, trousers and so on, but the more you play the game, the more options you unlock.
- PLAY Magazine saw a random pedestrian spraying graffiti on a shop. Pedestrians now have purpose. There are more unique moments.
- Each game mode can support differents numbers of players, with 16 being the maximum. Click here for a summary of the eight game modes which PLAY got to experience.
Be sure to pick up a copy if you see one, it’s well worth the read. Thanks to DeeperRed for the info.
And in other news, be sure to check out our new Music page, which details all of the game’s radio stations that we know about so far.
| GAME MODE | NO. OF PLAYERS | DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|---|
| Deathmatch | 2-16 | Fairly self explanatory. Anything goes, you can use any tactics you like to kill off the competition. Confined to specific areas of Liberty City to keep the action intense. |
| Team Deathmatch | 2-16 (in up to eight teams of two) | Same as above, except you’re working in teams. It’s possible to have up to four people in one car (or helicopter). |
| GTA Race | 1-16 | Race through the city on predetermined courses in a variety of different vehicle classes. You can pick up weapons en route and use these against your opponents, and you can also swap vehicles if you find a better one during the race. |
| Mafiya Work | 2-8 | Mafiya boss Petrovic has jobs for you, which he’ll describe to you over the phone. Each job is like a simplified mission. You might have to pick up recruits for the firm or take out a target, or – PLAY Magazine’s favourite – find and then dispose of a dozen severed heads. |
| Team Mafiya Work | 2-16 (in up to eight teams of two) | Same as above but this time you are in competition with another mafiya team for the same job. More tactical this time, and more challenging. |
| Cops N Crooks | 4-16 (in two teams) | One team plays the crooks, one the cops. One of the players on the crooks’ team is [randomly] assigned the boss and the others have to protect him and get him to an escape location on the map, while the cops have to hunt and kill him. |
| Hangman’s NOOSE | 2-4 | Mafiya boss Petrovic has illegally flown into Francis International Airport, and someone has tipped off NOOSE. You and your team must protect Petrovic and get him to a safe location in Liberty City. |
| Free Mode | 1-16 | Go anywhere and do anything! Like single-player, except playing with your friends. |