Gta 4 when was it released

A special edition of the game was also released for both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox It utilised Games for Windows - Live for online play [70] and supports 32 players for multiplayer.

These two episodes were first released separately, exclusively on Xbox Live , [75] as downloadable content DLC , requiring the original game to play. They were later released together as part of a standalone game, titled Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City , which does not require the original game to play. Jeronimo Barrera, Vice-President of Product Development for Rockstar Games, said that the episodes were experiments because the team were not sure that there was enough users with access to online content on the Xbox Like previous games in the Grand Theft Auto series, Grand Theft Auto IV features a soundtrack that can be heard through radio stations while the player is in a vehicle.

Liberty City is serviced by 19 radio stations, three of which are talk radio stations. In other games in the series, each radio station was essentially a single looped sound file, playing the same songs, announcements and advertisements in the same order each time. With the radio stations in Grand Theft Auto IV , each sound file is held separately, and sequenced randomly, allowing songs to be played in different orders, announcements to songs to be different each time, and plot events to be mentioned on the stations.

Certain songs are also edited to incorporate references to the fictional Liberty City. A variety of real celebrities provide voices for the radio DJs in the game, including fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld , musicians Iggy Pop , [88] Femi Kuti , [89] Jimmy Gestapo [90] and Ruslana , [91] and real-life radio talk show host Lazlow Jones.

The disc contains several soundtrack selections. Several artists re-recorded their songs to make references to in-game locations. Near the ten-year anniversary of the game's release in April , Rockstar issued patches to all versions of the game to remove some of the licensed songs from the game which they no longer have licensing rights for. Rockstar said this was primarily from the Russian-themed radio station, "Vladivostok FM", and that they were to replace these songs with new music in the patch.

Metacritic , which assigns a normalised rating in the 0— range, calculated an average score of 98, indicating "universal acclaim".

Reviewers lauded the open world design, some further complimenting the freedom that it allows the player. He wrote that the city "exists in its own universe and rightfully so". Reviewers praised the game's narrative. IGN's Goldstein accepted that the darker tones to the story, a break from series tradition. Jon Hicks of Official Xbox Magazine felt surprised by the amount of depth to the story.

The game's protagonist, Niko Bellic , with the main antagonist, Dimitri Rascalov. Reviewers praised the game's story and characters, commending the morality choices faced by players. The game's characters—particularly Niko—received positive reactions from critics. Many reviewers found the combat system was more responsive than in previous games, particularly praising the addition of the cover system. Reviewers praised the sound design. Goldstein of IGN praised the actors' performances and the use of licensed music.

GameSpot's Calvert and GamesRadar's Walter also commended the licensed music, the latter admiring the humour of the radio's talk stations. The game's online multiplayer mode received positive reactions from critics.

Metacritic calculated an average score of 90 out of , indicating "universal acclaim", based on 40 reviews. The in-game features added in the port were well received. The port's enhanced visuals were commended by many reviewers. GameZone Template:'s Hopper considered the visuals an improvement over the original versions. Following the critical acclaim it received on its release, Grand Theft Auto IV has received various awards from various critics and publications.

Template:Efn Template:Clear. In the United Kingdom, the game became the fastest-selling game of all time, selling over , copies in twenty-four hours. In the first week of availability, the Windows version of Grand Theft Auto IV debuted at seventh place on the weekly charts; [] by the second week, it had left the top-ten.

Prior to and since the release of Grand Theft Auto IV , the game had been subject to a great deal of controversy, as was the case with previous Grand Theft Auto titles. The initial version of Grand Theft Auto IV released in Australia and New Zealand was pre-censored by Rockstar to allow the game to meet the perceived requirements of the Australian classification system. The unedited version was subsequently given an R18 rating and cleared for sale in New Zealand.

There have been reports in the United Kingdom and the United States of crimes perpetrated against people purchasing Grand Theft Auto IV , as well as employees of stores selling the game. Notes Template:Notelist. Rockstar Games Wiki Explore. Rockstar Games. Manhunt Manhunt 2. Smuggler's Run Bully L. Noire Agent. Explore Wikis Community Central. Register Don't have an account? Grand Theft Auto IV. Edit source History Talk 0. Ziff Davis. Retrieved on 4 March Retrieved on 26 July Retrieved on 23 February Retrieved on 17 November Edmunds Insideline.

Archived from the original on 13 July Retrieved on 13 October Ziff Davis , Games 29 April Retrieved on 24 August Archived from the original on 7 June Retrieved on 30 January Retrieved on 27 September Archived from the original on 6 July Retrieved on 25 September GameTap 8 April Archived from the original on 10 May Retrieved on 15 May MTV Multiplayer. Archived from the original on 22 November CMP Game Group. Retrieved on 3 April Archived from the original on 2 March Retrieved on 7 December Retrieved on 28 April Archived from the original on 9 October MTV News.

Retrieved on 18 May Retrieved on 8 December Retrieved on 5 April Retrieved on 7 June It also reveals that GTA IV will have multiplayer, and that the game will be set in with 4 of the 5 boroughs of New York featuring in the setting, as well as part of New Jersey. It contains all of the screenshots that Game Informer showed, plus 3 exclusives. The special edition features the game - presented in a customised Grand Theft Auto metal safety deposit box - a Grand Theft Auto IV art book, a selected soundtrack CD, a Rockstar keychain for the safety deposit box, and a limited edition duffel bag.

These sites later posted a "first look" preview along with the exclusive shots. It means Yahoo! It is just over 1 minute long, and reveals many new graphical and gameplay features. Rockstar also announce that the game is using NaturalMotion's Euphoria package. It reveals the ability to surf the internet and use a mobile phone to purchase weapons, and also details the new combat system. It's based on an in-game radio station called WKTT We know the truth Radio, and contains a phone number which you are able to call so you can tell the presenter what you think is wrong with America.

Some of these calls will then appear in the final game. Among them are Kikizo , who produced a page report on the demo. This was done because "some elements of development proved to be more time-intensive than expected. A new trailer is also announced, which is set to be released via the official website on December 6. Its main focus however is on the relationship between Niko and his cousin Roman.

A collection of new screenshots are also released. Three missions are explored in-depth. The Take2 Interactive press release can be found here. Sending an email to ' [email protected] ' will trigger an auto-response. More screenshots begin to surface from various sources. More exclusive screenshots begin to surface on various websites. He hints at the various multiplayer modes that will be available in GTA4, and talks about the Hot Coffee events. There was much controversy over Grand Theft Auto IV , continuing the tradition of controversy the series has always been associated with.

New York City officials were also perturbed by the game's New York-inspired setting, though said officials have been accused of hypocrisy as countless crime dramas and action films have taken place in the city years before GTA IV was released.

The initial Australian and New Zealand releases of GTA IV was pre-censored with blood and sex scenes toned down; a patch was later released which uncensored the Australian console versions. A number of real-world crime incidents were also blamed on GTA IV , namely a crime spree perpetrated by a band of teenagers in New Hyde Park, New York in , and on the same year, an attempted carjacking in Thailand where an year-old student murdered a taxi driver which police captain Veerarit Pipatanasak stated that the student "wanted to find out if it was as easy in real life to rob a taxi as it was in the game", and when a year old woman in Slaughter, Louisiana was shot and killed by her eight-year old grandson after playing the game.

Little Lacy Surprise was criticised by some outlets for promoting paedophilia, though while similar mentions of sexual deviancy was alluded to in the series lore, in no way does the game encourage or put players in the role of a sex offender; visiting the site would merely lead to an instant wanted level, as a possible parody of law enforcement response and raids against suspected paedophiles.

The drunk driving elements also courted controversy, with Mothers Against Drunk Driving MADD calling for the game to be rated Adults Only, which would have de facto banned the game as console manufacturers do not allow AO-rated media from being published.

As a result, it became no longer possible to generate the additional keys needed to continue selling the PC version of the game. Besides omitting multiplayer functionality, certain songs were also removed from the game due to expiring licenses.

GTA Wiki Explore. The Games. The Vehicles. Community Noticeboard About Staff Promotion. Media Trivia Talk page rules Blocking. Explore Wikis Community Central. Register Don't have an account? Grand Theft Auto IV. View source. History Talk Do you like this video? Play Sound. Spoiler Warning: Plot details, ending details, or both are in the text which follows. For Niko Bellic, fresh off the boat from Europe, it is the hope he can escape his past. For his cousin, Roman, it is the vision that together they can find fortune in Liberty City, the gateway to the land of opportunity.

As they slip into debt and are dragged into a criminal underworld by a series of shysters, thieves, and sociopaths, they discover that the reality is very different from the dream in a city that worships money and status, and is heaven for those who have them and a living nightmare for those who don't.

This article or section needs to be cleaned up to meet the standards of the GTA Wiki. Needs rewording in some areas. Collectibles Multiplayer Modifications Controversy. Universal Conquest Wiki.