Eurogamer takes GTAIV for a spin
As the impending release of Grand Theft Auto IV draws closer, the relative media content begins to pour out more steadily. One of the latest outlets to contribute to the growing stream of coverage is Eurogamer, which has laid down a three page preview of the game. The preview covers a lot but the overall focus is that Grand Theft Auto IV does everything its predecessors have done while reminding you that this is a new-gen GTA and it comes with new-gen perks. For instance, character models are now capable of much more detailed expressions that weren't possible in previous iterations. As Eurogamer puts it, "Niko and his fellow citizens have facial muscles that betray their reactions, can look each other in the eye, speak to one another with moving lips, take one another by the hand - and twist arms."
The preview also lauds the game for details such as its use of Euphoria to generate procedural stumbling animations when Niko is drunk. The preview concludes by noting that GTAIV's many features and details would be considered "back-of-the-box material" in most games, but are such a natural part of GTAIV that the game's demonstrators neglected to mention them.
The preview is really a good read and, at the very least, it will help you pass a few minutes between now and April 29.
