You read right - it was a review, not a preview. The Official Xbox Magazine (OXM) has just awarded Grand Theft Auto IV a perfect score - 10 out of 10. A world first. This article comes with many new screenshots, with many revealing the HUD (Heads-Up Display). Impressive - both the game and the article.

“It says something that even at the end of a three-day session, with every island and a substantial chunk of the sidequests unlocked, I was still ploughing on because I wanted to see how the story ended. And I was still finding new stuff: the way a police klaxon goes strangled and gargley if you dent the light bar, the pedestrian who had the original GTA theme as their phone ringtone, the way that headshot drivers can fall on the horn and accelerator so you’re run over by a dead man…This sets the standard for what you should expect from a truly next-gen game. You owe it to yourself to play it.”

These reasons were cited when given a perfct score of 10 to Grand Theft Auto IV: Amazingly Realistic World, Stunning Action Set Pieces, Genuinely Engrossing Storyline, Highly Entertaining Multiplayer and Vast in Every Aspect. A summary of the information can be read below.

• Skipping a taxi trip will cost more than simply sitting back and enjoying the view of the driver’s head
• The Statue of Happiness is clutching a coffee cup rather than the torch
• Some celebrity voice actors play themselves in the game.
• Like Crackdown’s Orbs, one of the collectables in Grand Theft Auto IV make a soft sound as you get close to them, aiding you in finding them all
• Your in-game email account will get spam too!
• Driving through flames will set a car’s tires on fire, causing them to burst after a while
• One mission involves traveling across town with two bodies in the trunk - if you hit a bump and it opens, you’ll have to scramble to close it again before any passers-by notice
• The mobile phone you receive at the start of the game is an old, second hand model capable only of calling and texting. You’ll need to wait for an upgrade later in the story to unlock the full functionality that people get from more modern models.

Surely, Grand Theft Auto IV isn’t at all a perfect game, but it can be said to be the most entertaining, detailed and artistic video game ever. I mean, what beats grinding the road with a burnt-out tire grooving to Smash Pumpkins while watching pedestrains cleaning windows, sipping coffee and just going about thier lives realistically?

You can live your inner musical soul in Grand Theft Auto IV too! Grand Theft Auto IV’s Soundtrack boasts 200 over tracks to be heard in the game’s 18 radio stations. One more song has since been confirmed to be in Grand Theft Auto IV - “I’m So Fly” - DJ Green Lantern (featuring Fabolous, Akon and Fat Joe). Listen to it below.

In fact, whatever much of a Guitar Hero, Devil May Cry, Burnout, Warcraft, Halo, or Call of Duty game isn’t going to replicate, imitate or even come close to the entertainment experience that Grand Theft Auto IV provides. It clearly lives up to the pre-release hype, as clearly stated by many game reviewers who have played it.

This should summarize the sheer entertainment quotient Grand Theft Auto IV packs in just a few sentences. However, if you want to read more, do read the magazine article. The scans are above, please give them some time to load (thanks to RAWRferal). Do pre-order Grand Theft Auto IV and play it on launch day! This is not something to be missed!

With so much to do in Grand Theft Auto IV, along with two downloadable episodes due to come out in August 2008 and sometime in 2009 respectively, will you ever get bored? In case you really do get bored, there’s always Midnight Club 3 ready to fire up.

Do you crave for more? We’ve got all your Grand Theft Auto IV cravings covered! Visit more Grand Theft Auto IV links on the sidebar for Information and Media! Don’t forget to subscribe to our RSS feed to be informed about the latest updates when they get posted. Stay tuned!

The Grand Theft Auto games might have made a dent in the Computer and Video Games Industry in the United States of America, Europe, Austrailia, New Zealand, as well as Japan too. However, Grand Theft Auto games have never seen a concurrent Asian release in countries like Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

This month, Grand Theft Auto IV will be released in this region on the same day (or one day earlier if you took the time zone into factor) as in the rest of the world on April 29 2008. You can also pre-order your copy and recieve it on the release day.

Xbox Asia has also taken this chance to promote Grand Theft Auto IV by giving Asian gamers a chance to win 500 Microsoft Points if they play Grand Theft Auto IV and login to Xbox Live on April 29 2008 itself. Sounds cool? Sign up right here with your Xbox LIVE gamer tag if you’re Singaporean!

Also, there has been two new other screenshots, which emerged yesterday. One of them was from the ShortList magazine, while the other comes from the Grand Theft Auto IV Xbox 360 contest page, as said about above.

With just exactly two weeks left to Grand Theft Auto IV’s release, brace up! If you do need more Grand Theft Auto IV goodness, you can always check the section to the right for more Information, Videos and Screenshots. Stay tuned!

The official Grand Theft Auto IV website has just received a update with loads of goodies! As there are just weeks left to the release date of Grand Theft Auto IV, this, or the next update, should be the last one. These additions (and updates) were made to the website:

• Bean Machine
• Electrochoc
• Goldberg, Ligner & Shyster
• Liberty City Gun Club
• Liberty City Hardcore
• The Men’s Room
• Middle Park
• Playboy X
• ZiT
• Multiplayer section launched
• Music section updated
• Screenshots section updated
• New wallpapers - outdoor series
• MySpace profile themes

Need more Grand Theft Auto? You shall be able to satisfy yourself by visiting the Image Gallery, or the Grand Theft Auto IV links on the sidebar! Don’t forget to subscribe to our RSS feed to be informed about the latest updates when they get posted. Stay tuned!

New Multiplayer hands-on previews have just been released, along with 12 new screenshots of Grand Theft Auto IV, first released by GameKult. These screenshots all depict Multiplayer gameplay in Grand Theft Auto IV.

Looks cool, doesn’t it? Read the new previews have been released online on these sites: Destructoid, CVG, SPOnG, IGN, Gametap, TeamXbox, Kikizo, Kotaku, TotalVideoGames, GameSpy, GameSpot, GameDaily and GamesRadar.

Some Fresh Information:

• Each player can choose radio stations independently of everyone else in the car
• For those of you worried about lag while playing online, “Rockstar told [Kikizo] that it’s been tested with hundreds of people up at Rockstar North and transatlantic, and the performance is apparently consistent and solid”.
• There’s an option to turn off player markers and player locations on the radar, making for some excellent stealthy knife-only matches, for example.
• Kikizo’s opinion on helicopter travel: “[It's] brilliant - you can lean out of the side in an over-shoulder perspective and shoot bitches on the ground; the cinematic view as the chopper traverses the tangible cityscape is simply awesome.”
• One notable feature missing from multiplayer is replays

Plus, a new artwork of DJ Karl has emerged. Karl Lagerfeld will be the host of the Grand Theft Auto IV radio station K109 The Studio. There is also a short article about Lagerfeld and his involvement with Grand Theft Auto IV over at Style.com.

Well, hope to meet you guys on Xbox LIVE and PSN on April 29th 2008! Have any comments? Don’t forget to leave yours here. Also, I reccomend subscribing 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!

Computer and Video Games (CVG), has just posted published a massive article on Grand Theft Auto IV. It has revealed to us many new information. It seems that many things from Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas will indeed be returning. There were no new screenshots accompanying the article, though.

Just when we thought that we knew almost everything except for the Multiplayer mode, the article contained a list of “secret” features in Grand Theft Auto IV which weren’t revealed before. Read the main points below.

• Mini-games confirmed for Grand Theft Auto IV include pool, basketball, darts, golfing at driving ranges and arcade games, such as Go Go Space Monkey, which was also featured in San Andreas. (NOTE: many of these have been confirmed to be removed, but Bowling, Darts and Pool as well as QUB3D are confirmed mini-games for the final game build.)
• The trucking company from San Andreas, RS Haul, returns and missions based around the company have returned as well.
• ‘Gruppe Sechs’ securicars have returned and players are able to steal them and deliver them to locations for a reward, but this task is said to be much trickier than in previous games. (Now ‘Gruppe 6′)
• The game features many references to ‘Crackdown,’ a GTA-style game available for the Xbox 360 which also uses RenderWare, GTA’s previous engine.
• Vehicles such as the Stallion and Comet from previous games appear in IV, as well as the NRG500, a motorcycle. A new motorcycle called the NRG900RR is also confirmed to be in the game and is rumored to be the fastest one available.
• GTA IV contains photos of Vice City, similar to the maps found scattered around San Andreas. References to previous GTA games through graffiti is also spread throughout the city. (As well as on TV!)
• Binco, Burger Shot, 24-7 and Clucking Bell are all returning, in addition to many other brands from previous GTA games. ‘Algonquin’ features several strip malls where you can purchase food, clothing, and more.
• New York City-style news tickers on buildings will be constantly updated based on what crimes you commit in the game.
• There are several innuendos and references to the Hot Coffee mod for San Andreas.
• As previously mentioned, pedestrian actions will be incredibly varied and detailed compared to previous games.
• “Flushing Meadows (site of the NY World’s Fair) is featured in its entirety, as is a recreation of theme park Astroland at Coney Island. Rides such as the Corpse Ride and Cyclone can be tested, and the major tourist spots will play a part in some missions.” (Also removed in the final build.)
• Sprunk can be purchased, as in San Andreas, to replenish your health.
• Similarly to Saints Row, yet another GTA-style sandbox game, phone numbers are scattered throughout the city and you can call them for whatever services they entail.
• A place called the Videogeddon Arcade allows you to play arcade games and posters attacking violent video games can be seen. (Removed.)
• The ’sky tram’ featured on the box-art for GTA IV can actually be used as a mode of transportation, although it costs money as do the taxis.

Read the original article here at Computer and Video Games. Also, there will be new Multiplayer hands-on previews released over at major gaming sites such as IGN and GameSpot on Tuesday/Wednesday.

UPDATE: It seems that many cool features have been removed from GTA IV, including mini-games, the Videogeddon arcade in Chinatown and the Firefly Island carnival. We’re unsure why, but this must be a last minute move, as this article was written almost a month before the games’ release. The information posted here was true at the time of writing.

The first man to finish Grand Theft Auto IV is actually Rob Taylor, deputy editor of Xbox World 360 magazine. Every Grand Theft Auto fan’s dream, huh? He has, to be kind enough, writen a spoiler-free article on his experience.

The best GTA game to date?
ROB TAYLOR: GTA IV. By a country mile. It craps on all the others – even the mighty Vice City – from a height equivalent to the Statue of Happiness. Believe me, GTA IV is even better than the hype suggests! It’s certainly tighter, both in terms of the way Liberty city is structured and the way in which the narrative feels more movie-like than before. Otherwise, everything feels as if it’s been given the next-gen treatment; in particular the driving and shooting are light years ahead of past GTAs. Overall, it’s a stratospheric leap forward, beyond anything I’d imagined.

Plus, three magazines (OXM, GamePro, EGM) were released this week on the Multiplayer mode of Grand Theft Auto IV. They were all hands-on multiplayer previews, but there were no new information in any of them. There were, however, 9 new screenshots (here for the images!).

Before you go, do remember to leave us your comments! There’s only 23 more days to Grand Theft Auto IV’s release, if you don’t want to miss out on anything, you should subscribe to our RSS feed to be informed about the latest updates! Enjoy!

GameStop has just released a video of Liberty City. Created in collaboration with Rockstar Games, it is to promote pre-orders of Grand Theft Auto IV from GameStop stores. It certainately looks as polished as a trailer, too bad it isn’t in High Definition!

This video is about a minute long, and it features the narration of Liberty City top celebrity, Jeremy St. Ives. According to GameStop, the video-cum-commercial is meant to showcase “some of the unseen features from the new game.”

Enjoy the video, but don’t forget to leave your comments. Be sure to stay tuned to us, or subscribe to our RSS feed if you don’t want to miss out on any Grand Theft Auto IV news, information or media. Have fun!

Several major Grand Theft Auto fan websites, about 10 of them, have just received exclusive screenshots of Grand Theft Auto IV from Rockstar Games. We have uploaded all 10 of these screenshots, which you can view above.

The respective website that received the honour are namely PlanetGTA, GTA4.TV, GTAGaming, GTA-Series.com, TheGTAPlace, GTASite.pl, GTANetwork.it, GTA Warehouse, GrandTheftAuto4.fr, and GTA4.net.

Do also check out the new Grand Theft Auto IV GameStop Pre-Order Promotion video that was also released today! Do leave us your comments, or why not subscribe to our RSS feed to be updated? Stay tuned to us for more news, information and media right here! Have fun!

Entertainment site IGN has posted the second part of their huge Grand Theft Auto IV feature, entitled “Pushing the Limits”. The first article (11 pages long) was released a few days ago together with “The History of Grand Theft Auto” article.

This second part of this feature is 9 pages long, and they interviewed Dan Houser and Aaron Garbut about various aspects of Grand Theft Auto IV’s gameplay including multiplayer and downloadable content.

This article also comes attatched with 5 new screenshots, click here to view it in our Image Gallery! Also, click here to read the article “IGN: Grand Theft Auto IV: Pushing the Limits”, and here for the previous articles if you have missed them.

Plus, Grand Theft Auto IV has been reported by MCV to be rated “18″ in the UK by the BBFC (British Board of Film Classification), just like all the previous Grand Theft Auto games. The deadline for all entries in the Liberty Swingers Season Ticket Sweepstakes is also up soon, click here to sign up, quick!

Today also saw a release of another interesting read, “Grand Theft Auto IV Travelogue” over at 1up. This article comes without any new information on Grand Theft Auto IV, but rather about the sheer beauty of the city of Edinburgh in Scotland, where Rockstar North offices are located.

Happy April Fools’ Day, guys! Don’t forget to leave a comment before you go! If you don’t wish to miss out on some of the latest in our Grand Theft Auto IV coverage, you can subscribe to our RSS feed to be informed about the latest updates when they get posted. Have fun!

The first ever Grand Theft Auto IV in-game screenshots were released, this time, courtesy of the latest issue of the ZOO! magazine. The first one show Niko Bellic on foot, while the second one shows the player in a vehicle.

As mentioned before, we can see from these two pictures that the HUD is dynamic, and certain aspects of it will only be displayed when activated, while the health and armor meters represented by semicircles around the perimeter of the radar.

Well, many of you wished for in-game screenshots of Grand Theft Auto IV. So, here they are! Savour the pictures (click to enlarge them, don’t forget to save them to your hard drive!) Thanks to GTAGaming for the screenshots, have fun!

Well, don’t forget to leave a comment before you go! It’s just a month away to April 29th 2008, so don’t miss out on any piece of news, subscribe to us! Stay tuned to us for more Grand Theft Auto news, media and information — right here!