Grand Theft Auto IV: Kikizo Preview 2

Kikizo's second massive first-hand preview of GTA IV is so detailed that we're a bit worried about our own mental health. Get your FULL update on the game of the year fresh from our extensive meeting with Rockstar.

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By Adam Doree

Welcome to our second massive first-hand preview of Grand Theft Auto IV. Last time, we took an in-depth introductory look at the game and cruised around the streets of Broker (Brooklyn), winding up with a fascinating view across the water to Algonquin, which left us wondering what things might be like over there in the game's version of Manhattan. Here in our second private preview, we found all the answers - and more.

We'll continue to update this page with all our regular previews, based on our rather privileged, direct access to the game at Rockstar. Remember you can subscribe to this RSS feed or simply bookmark GTA4.kikizo.com if you don't want to miss a single beat.

All First-Hand GTA IV coverage:

• Announcement HD Trailer (March 29, 2007)
• Living the American Dream (April 11, 2007)
• Preview 1: Welcome to GTA IV (May 25, 2007)
• Preview 2: Gameplay, Missions & More (July 25, 2007)
• Preview 3: Big characters, big deals (January 23, 2008)
• Preview 4: Hands-on Impressions (February 28, 2008)
• Preview 5: Multiplayer and more (April 8, 2008)
• The GTA IV Review (May 1, 2008)

Grand Theft Auto IV: Kikizo Preview 2

Once again, our demo takes place on the Xbox 360 version of the game - in fact, nobody has seen anything of the PS3 version to date, outside of Rockstar and Take 2. We actually expected to see the PS3 version this time. "It's still a week or two behind," Rockstar told us, saying that we'll "absolutely" get to see it soon, but that for demo purposes this version was easier to show. The build is actually specially made for our demo, so certain things happen much sooner and more obviously that they will in the final game, so that we can really get an understating of all the new features.

And even though this build is five weeks old, we can reveal that frame rate is much improved - certainly more stable since the last build we looked at - so anyone worried about the version shown off at Take 2's conference at E3 two weeks ago can relax. We're almost certain that was precisely the same code that we saw for our first preview, which was already quite old at the time we saw it back in May. When they warn that they are showing unoptimised code, strangely enough, they mean it. Now, the game is graphically a lot more stable, which is why they didn't hesitate to put the game engine through its paces this time with some very fast driving and shooting action around the city, that rarely struggled to keep up, unlike the more, shall we say, 'fragile' old build people have seen.

So, we have absolutely no concern about the technical quality that the final game will offer based on this latest viewing. The only issue at this time, is that as we slowly pan the camera around when there's a very broad view of many buildings, the many windows in sight are a bit jittery as they reflect the world - though this is not the case during typical in-game scenarios, where building detail is usually closer as you pass it by. Of course, the game is still a work in progress - visuals, voice acting, AI and so forth still have a few months' of thorough optimisation and finalisation time.

In the scheme of things - as we'll explain today - it's a minor detail to iron out, as this game is looking absolutely stunning. Rockstar's ultimate goal, they told us, is to set the standard for what a true next-gen action adventure videogame can be - and frankly it looks like they're already there, judging by the small portion of the game we've seen so far.

Indeed, the entire team at Rockstar is virtually unchanged since before GTA III - it's the same lead producer, executive producer, art directors. "What we have changed," Rockstar explained, "we have added a group of incredibly talented people on top of this pile to help us come up with something really special. They have an ambition which we believe is unmatched in the industry for what we're trying to achieve with next-gen GTA."

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Video Coverage (Latest Videos & Video FAQ)
PLEASE DO NOT DIRECT LINK TO ANY MEDIA FILE ON KIKIZO
Description	Dur.	Size	Details
Grand Theft Auto IV Trailer 2 HD 720p (High quality version - Download WMV)	1:06	46MB	HD, 16:9 1280x720/30p 8Mbps
Grand Theft Auto IV Trailer 1 HD 720p (High quality version - Download WMV)	1:02	42MB	HD, 16:9 1280x720/30p 8Mbps
Grand Theft Auto IV Trailer 1 SD (Stream)	1:02	8MB	SD, 16:9 640x360/30p 2Mbps
Sam Houser on GTA IV Developer comments on PS3 including Rockstar president Sam Houser, who is clearly discussing GTA IV.	4.22m	72MB	DF, SD, 30 640x480 2.5Mbps