Grand Theft Auto IV - PLAY Multiplayer Hands-On + Jack Thompson finally Sanctioned

It’s time to make merry, Grand Theft Auto fans! Jack Thompson is now barred from being a lawyer! Also, we have a new Multiplayer hands-on preview from PLAY Magazine, plus 4 new screenshots! Read below for a summary of the main points covered in the article.

• The maximum number of players allowed in each game on some multiplayer modes were finally disclosed:
  • Deathmatch + Team Deathmatch: 16 players
  • GTA Race: 16 players
  • Mafiya Work: 8 players
  • Team Mafiya Work: 16 players (in up to 8 separate teams of 2 players)
  • Cops n’ Crooks: 16 players (in two teams of up to 8 players each)
  • Hangman’s Noose: 4 players
  • Free roam: 16 players
• Grand Theft Auto IV will use the Eastern European/Russian spelling of Mafia - “Mafiya“
• Also, differences between the PS3 and XBOX 360 versions of the game are undetectable “with the naked eye”
• Multiplayer games are accessed from the in-game cell phone in a similar manner to that of Burnout Paradise’s quick launch menu
• The host can control the time of day that the match takes place
• The host also controls the location of the match by choosing from a predefined set of levels in Liberty City
• Levels sampled by editors included Colony Island, Francis International Airport and Broker
• Police intervention can be turned on or off by the host prior to starting a game
• Multiplayer character customization is very detailed - you can change what the character is wearing right down to their choice of eyewear and accessories
• The more you play the game the more flexibility you have in customizing your character, meaning that it’s easy to tell how experienced a player is just by looking at how zany their character is
• The magazine claims that the character and the game camera are “quite clumsy to control sometimes”
• The magazine’s editors claim that the attention to detail stretches all the way to the pedestrians, who now have a “sense of purpose” in the game world
• Weapons are said to be much more difficult to acquire than in previous games
• Simple shopping at Ammunation won’t fulfill all of your needs. You must make friends with dodgy dealers who can get their hands on some shady weaponry in order to succeed in single player
• Cops now have a line of sight, meaning that if you’re doing something nasty a little way behind their back, they won’t react like they would in previous titles. This is offset by a greater number of cops patrolling the city, thanks in part to the power of the new generation consoles
• Pay n’ Spray is said to no longer there to wipe out your wanted level. Whether there are any other respray garages in the game remains to be seen

Meanwhile, Jack Thompson, the anti-video games Ambulance Chaser, is now being sanctioned by the Florida Supreme Court! After having filed mountains of strange filings (complete with cartoon kangaroos and porn), the Court has issued a show cause order asking him to explain why they should allow him to keep abusing the system.

It seems that the Court isn’t satisfied by his response though, and have now barred him for filing any suits himself. As such, if he plans another stunt to block the release of Grand Theft Auto IV like he did with Bully, he’ll have to hire another lawyer to represent him.

There is also a Florida Bar Trial under way where they will decide whether to revoke his license to practise law. It means that Jack Thompson would not be an attorney ever again if his license is revoked. This spells the end of doom for the video games industry, or is it?

Of course, we really do hope that Jack Thompson stops all his antics. Money is indeed the root of all evil. The Grand Theft Auto series is indeed the most money-making video game in the whole of the United States of America. As such, it has attracted the eyes of deranged groups of people such as Jack Thompson, Hillary Clinton, and those Electronic Arts executives. However, such things are seriously inevitable in the world we are living in now.

Well, we will be reporting more on Grand Theft Auto IV very soon! Do remember to leave a comment, or subscribe to our RSS feed if you don’t want to miss out on any piece of Grand Theft Auto IV News which comes out. Stay tuned for the latest Grand Theft Auto news, information and media!

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