Welcome to Liberty City (Again)

GTA IV coming soon to a PS3 or XBOX360 near you. Kotaku has a lengthy impression of a 'hands-off' live demo of the game their editor, Brian Crecente, was shown in a hotel room at a (in)famous Hollywood hotel.

The official website launched last week and has a lot of stuff in it, screenshots, mini-games, videos, and other stuff (the Sprunk game is fun, but very, very vulgar). The attitude of the game can be summed up by the splash screen on the website, this is the quote that greets you, "Welcome to Liberty City At least we're not as racist as the midwest".

The whole Grand Theft Auto series is a bit frustrating. They are the most successful, and some of the best video games made, period. However, the world they create is a nihilistic nightmare that encourages and demands that the player model a variety of anti-social behaviors. Doesn't stop these games from being a great experience, just makes you want to shower afterward (and keep the game far, far away from preteen kids).

The newest game looks no different in that regard, but it brings in a new level of realism, freedom of action, and attention to detail. This game is going to become a must have title, and not only sell the software, but help encourage people to buy the hardware to play it on if they hadn't already taken the HDTV and PS3/Xbox360 plunge.

It's a shame you couldn't be a hero in the game, rather than an anti-hero, though.

Also, productivity is going to be seriously damaged when this game is released April 29th, expect a lot of folks to develop mysterious illnesses the week it's released.