GTA IV drives slo-mo, learns days of the week

by Alexander Sliwinski { Mar 14th 2008 at 1:35PM }

In a recent test drive of Grand Theft Auto IV, MTV's Multiplayer discovered a couple new features for this go-around in Liberty City. One very passive feature is GTA IV will have days of the week. So, instead of an endless cycle of night and day, there'll be an endless cycle of day and night split over seven infinitely repeating days. This will affect gameplay by only allowing Niko to access certain areas on specific days of the week. MTV says you don't have to worry about it turning into Animal Crossing though, the day/night cycle will be the same as other entries into the series -- meaning gamers won't need to mess with their system's internal clock.

The other reveal is the use of a slo-mo while driving. GTA veterans can already imagine the advantages and cool factor this could have while avoiding traffic or trying to hit a stunt point perfectly. A very nice feature, but one we'll have to see for ourselves to get a better feel for when and where it can be used. GTA IV is still expected to hijack the sales charts beginning April 29.

Tags: grand-theft-auto, grandtheftauto, gta-iv, gtaiv, rockstar, slo-mo, take-two, taketwo

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

copa @ Mar 14th 2008 1:41PM

If you read the article, you will see that Totilo was only able to confirm the existence of Thursday and Saturday on an XBox 360 build. Rockstar could not fit the other five days onto a DVD-9.

Marty @ Mar 14th 2008 1:44PM

Hahahaha, heh, ha, he- um, no. Go away.

Huey2k2 @ Mar 14th 2008 1:47PM

Funny, I just read the article and it didn't say that anywhere. Nice job trying to troll though.

sifer2400 @ Mar 14th 2008 1:48PM

lol PS3 FANBOY trolling the area lol

copa @ Mar 14th 2008 1:50PM

Woohoo! In the space of seven days, Joystiq commenters have called me a 'Microsoft Zealot' and a 'PS3 Fanboy'.

Achievement Unlocked!

License to ill @ Mar 14th 2008 2:07PM

No shit pull the stick out of your asses, you can't tell he's joking...

Crono (NDF - Knight of the Old School) @ Mar 14th 2008 2:21PM

Who was it on here we kept calling a PS3 fanboy, but really he was an MS guy?

I think it was sheppy. I'm not sure though.

DemonGSides @ Mar 14th 2008 2:21PM

However, they did confirm that the possible Wii version will not have days, or even hours. It will in fact all fit in the space of a single hour.

The cited lack of motion control possibilities as a problem.

Rollins @ Mar 14th 2008 2:24PM

Good job, +1 for you. I got called a Sony fanboy the other day, and I don't even own a Sony system.

JonFitt @ Mar 14th 2008 2:32PM

The PC version is due out in 2009 and will have an additional 2 days of the week.

samfish @ Mar 14th 2008 2:39PM

"Who was it on here we kept calling a PS3 fanboy, but really he was an MS guy?"

No, no. That was LongshotX.

ThornedVenom (Harley Quinn Defense Force) @ Mar 14th 2008 4:44PM

General rule of thumb on Joystiq: the first comment is always going to be made of win or phail.

Marty @ Mar 14th 2008 1:45PM

The slow-mo driving will definitely be a helpful addition... especially during those oh-so-many police chases where precision traffic weaving is a must.

sicsided @ Mar 14th 2008 1:48PM

all i care about is cooking grenades, and then dropping them out at the my pursuers behind me. :D

Steve @ Mar 14th 2008 1:55PM

Think I'll go out and kill me a couple of hookers tonight. Just to get into the right frame of mind.

Dan Davis @ Mar 14th 2008 2:01PM

They should assign a diamond rating to the hookers in GTA IV... 1-7, with 7 being the best!

PSN: KillaKornbread (the shirt is a lie!) @ Mar 14th 2008 3:01PM

hey it is set in New York right? maybe ex-Governor Spitzer will be in charge of the hookers in this one!

ba-zing!

Trev @ Mar 14th 2008 1:56PM

Didn't it always have the day of the week on the time info? You may have had to pause to see it but I think it was always there and it was just irrelevant to most, possibly even all, things.

Its also nice to hear that its running equally well on both consoles, though disappointing that neither one has a rock solid framerate. I suppose there are lots of factors that go into a sandbox game for that, but damn anyway.

If I wasn't so burnt out on the ultra repetitive nature of GTA missions after GTA3, Vice City, then San Andreas basically being the same game, I'd be more excited for IV. I'm sure that will clear up once they release more/any gameplay footage.

Miguel @ Mar 14th 2008 2:34PM

San Andreas already had days of the week and events that only occurred on those days. That is not new.

Void Munashii @ Mar 14th 2008 1:58PM

They had driving slo-mo in the first True Crime game, didn't they? I seem to recall it was wonderfully useful in driving gun battles.

Hammertime @ Mar 14th 2008 2:08PM

I heard Eliot Spitzer is an unlockable character

PSN: KillaKornbread (the shirt is a lie!) @ Mar 14th 2008 3:02PM

oh damn you to hell! i just cracked a joke about Spitzer and you already did it. damn page search, i would have never known if i didnt use it lol. sigh, +1 for you though...

tmacairjordan87 @ Mar 14th 2008 2:13PM

we already knew about the days of the week feature for a while now. Before the game was delayed info came out about certain missions objectives only occuring on a certain time of a certain day.

as for slo mo + euphoria engine together i cant fuckin wait to mess around with it.

JonFitt @ Mar 14th 2008 2:34PM

I just hope they manage to fix it so that crimes/murders committed in the middle of nowhere with no witnesses don't magically generate a star rating.

tmacairjordan87 @ Mar 14th 2008 2:47PM

the way it's supposed to work now is if you kill someone in an alleyway with no one else there nothing will happen, but if there's even 1 witness he/she will run off and try to call the cops either from a pay phone or a cell phone.

Dont' know how well they can execute that but here's hoping they do

J @ Mar 14th 2008 2:54PM

That's how it was supposed to happen in GTAIII, but never did.

DssTrainer @ Mar 14th 2008 2:38PM

Isn't that slow-mo driving button stolen from Need for Speed: Carbon.. all the same I think it would be a cool addition here too :)

Marty @ Mar 14th 2008 2:43PM

Carbon was definitely not the first game (not even in the NFS series) to have that feature. Did you just start playing video games like, yesterday?

riggs @ Mar 14th 2008 4:09PM

no yesterday was when he left the rock he was living under.

DssTrainer @ Mar 14th 2008 7:08PM

Ok then what was the first? What's that gotta do with anything smart ass? On the Need for Speed: Carbon page you could say "didn't need for speed take that slow-mo thing from _______" and some asshole say the same thing to you.

jynxycat @ Mar 15th 2008 12:36AM

Well, NFS:Most Wanted did it :P

J @ Mar 14th 2008 2:50PM

Hrm. I thought they were trying to go for a more realistic feel this time around, and then they add something like this...

Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ Mar 14th 2008 3:58PM

So what? You want Rockstar to start implementing traffic laws into the game to make it more realistic?

Please, while yes Rockstar is making this game much more realistic, keep in mind that this is GTA. The game where you can run over anybody, and somehow get away with it. It doesn't have to be that realistic.

J @ Mar 17th 2008 2:51PM

"So what? You want Rockstar to start implementing traffic laws into the game to make it more realistic?"

A. I never said anything about traffic laws. I was referring to the slow-motion ability. You know, because it's the subject.

B. Rockstar IS implementing traffic laws. At least according to some previews I've read. Running red lights and speeding now draws more attention than it did before.

I think we're done here.

giantenemycrab @ Mar 14th 2008 3:23PM

Hopefully EA won't F&%@ this up.

Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ Mar 14th 2008 3:55PM

.... Okay what?

Alright Alright. I understand that we all like to jump on this bandwagon that EA is a bunch of nazis taking over everything, but can please tell me how exactly EA will some how mess this up, especially since there is only one month left before the release of this game, and especially since Take-two hasn't even accepted the deal yet.

I know we all hate EA here, but lets try to be a bit more logical than that.

Desco @ Mar 14th 2008 3:29PM

If I steal GTA IV, can I blame the game?

Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ Mar 14th 2008 3:56PM

Well everyone's doing it. And you might be able to minimize your jail sentence doing so.

Sam @ Mar 14th 2008 4:43PM

can you drive at a speed less than insane in this one? i always hated that in gta you had stopped and OMG 180MPH YEAAAAAAAAAHHH!!! probably because of the bad response from the shoulder buttons, but yeah, sometimes you don't want to destroy everything in sight.