The Grand Theft Auto IV video dump

by Griffin McElroy { Apr 27th 2008 at 2:45PM }

With today's dissolution of the embargo on all things Grand Theft Auto IV, came a veritable deluge of reviews and media related to the game. By now, we've seen all the teasers released by Rockstar, and read the write-ups which were hidden behind the floodgates just a few hours ago. However, in this maelstrom of perfect scores and cinematic trailers, there hasn't been much in the way of actual gameplay footage -- until Gametrailers cracked open their secret stash, revealing a bevy of cutscenes, car chases, and call girls just aching to be viewed by the impatient crime drama enthusiast. We've got some highlights after the jump; those purposefully trying to remain in the dark would be well advised to steer clear. You've been warned!

(You probably don't need us to tell you that some videos are NSFW.)

Tags: gameplay, gametrailers, grand-theft-auto-4, grand-theft-auto-iv, gta-iv, rockstar, rockstar-games, rockstar-north, video-dump

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

longhairbilly @ Apr 27th 2008 2:48PM

Please! Joystiq please stop with all these videos. It's making the time go by that much slower..

BananaBoat @ Apr 27th 2008 3:56PM

I'm not watching them. Right now all I know about this game is that A: Niko is fresh off the boat and B: He probably commits crimes of some nature. I fear spoilers more than I fear gigantic hairy spiders.Coincidentally, I won't be reading any comments on any GTA IV stories until the game is out. Although, I think I'm pretty safe with the multiplayer videos and what not, so I'll watch those.

The dream is close....oh so close!!!

TomCo @ Apr 27th 2008 6:05PM

I watching them. Right now all I know about this game is that A: Niko is fresh off the boat and B: He probably commits crimes of some nature C: He shot a prostitute in the head.

TomCo @ Apr 27th 2008 6:05PM

I mean watched, I WATCHED THEM.

WATCHED

Shmil @ Apr 27th 2008 6:53PM

They're just gameplay footage. Mostly driving, some hand to hand combat, a couple of minigames. Nothing to do with the story, they are all spoiler free

Mike @ Apr 27th 2008 2:59PM

the fact that I'm not playing it right now hurts my soul. Hope my preorder ships in a timely fashion.

Fullmetal Salchemist @ Apr 28th 2008 12:42AM

If it makes you feel any better, stores (at least GameStop stores) have had them for almost a week now, but they've been street dated.

Nick the Hero of Canton @ Apr 27th 2008 3:04PM

GTA IV? But I'm just getting into San Andreas!

jynxycat @ Apr 27th 2008 3:04PM

IGN has about a dozen videos posted.

After watching them all, all I can say is that the RPG explosions look ridiculous.

RoboChamp @ Apr 27th 2008 3:08PM

Enjoy the peace and tranquility everyone, before Gametrailers posts a comparison video of GTA4, and all of the internet is consumed in a raging vortex of flaming hatred and fanboys.

The sky. It's so blue.

Shmil @ Apr 27th 2008 3:22PM

that's called the calm before the storm.

deaftly @ Apr 27th 2008 3:50PM

IGN already has a head 2 head up, I didnt notice any differences from their vid honestly.

LaughingTarget @ Apr 27th 2008 4:00PM

There's always a storm. This is the hurricane before the giant meteor hits the Earth.

PSN: KillaKornbread (the shirt is a lie!) @ Apr 27th 2008 9:24PM

well hopefully ill (and everyone else) will be too wrapped up in the game to even come on here and argue about it. thats how you would know this game was great, if it got everyone to shut up and just play lol.

Meloche @ Apr 27th 2008 3:21PM

Wow, I'm excited for this game.

And I don't even have a PS3/360.

PeterBeck @ Apr 27th 2008 3:31PM

I'm not usually prone to motion sickness, but the last vid of the drunken physics kinda makes me woozy.

Love how they make the cars move though, seems more real in their weight.

Chris @ Apr 27th 2008 3:46PM

Favorite part of that video: when he breaks the window of the Magnum-looking car and the alarm goes off. Always been a pet peeve of mine in GTA games- either the car is unlocked and he gets inside, or it's unlocked and you have to move on.

What kind of car thief says "Aw, shit. This car is locked... guess I have to keep looking... -sad face-"???

PSN: KillaKornbread (the shirt is a lie!) @ Apr 27th 2008 9:27PM

lol that used to annoy the hell out of me. it happened mostly with cop cars but occasionally it would happen to normal cars as well. i will be very interested to see all the different knockoff cars they will have in this game this time. that Magnum look-a-like looked tight as hell. im more of a motorcycle guy myself though, better for weaving through traffic.

deaftly @ Apr 27th 2008 3:49PM

1 MORE DAY!

JakubK666 (Ninja Defence Force) @ Apr 27th 2008 3:51PM

If you think about it those videos show so much,yet so little.

You could easily some more trailers out of all this footage.

teddyroosevelt @ Apr 27th 2008 3:56PM

Anyone else think the streets are a little empty of both traffic and people?

FifthInFlight @ Apr 27th 2008 3:58PM

All I can think when watching those minigames is they'd be a lot more fun on Wii. Also, the level of realism in this game has definitely reached creepy. Watching Niko gun folks down makes me cringe a bit.

Haggard @ Apr 27th 2008 6:00PM

Yeah, the one with the call girl where he stabs her in the side once she's on the floor.. In the old GTA's it was so cartoony that it didn't seem out of place, but the way she twisted to it and grabbed the wound - it seems kinda sadistic now.

But I guess it's up to the player you play the game. I'll definitely be treating it a lot more like Oblivion anyway - only killing when I have to.

PSN: KillaKornbread (the shirt is a lie!) @ Apr 27th 2008 10:27PM

well i can say that the uncanny valley and GTA will not mix well at all. you think Rockstar has legal problems now? wait til they reach that point. they seem to be getting close cause that blood spray is certainly sparking some kind of emotion in me. i guess ill have to see when i buy it 2morrow night.

tmacairjordan87 @ Apr 27th 2008 11:29PM

The last thing the wii needs is more minigames

LaughingTarget @ Apr 27th 2008 4:02PM

Endorphin looked nice in that video, but the vehicle collisions are still wonky. Guess that one gets fixed in GTA4 - Cincinnati (totally made it up because Cincy never gets any love).

tmacairjordan87 @ Apr 27th 2008 5:39PM

I guess the main character in that one would be anyone from the bengals.

PSN: KillaKornbread (the shirt is a lie!) @ Apr 27th 2008 9:30PM

lol bengals players? that sounds about right. i would say Chris Henry since he has alot of free time now ;-D

LaughingTarget @ Apr 27th 2008 10:34PM

Well, GTA is a crime simulator afterall.

valdemiro @ Apr 27th 2008 4:07PM

Watching that video made me wish GTAIV had a way to record your game ala Halo 3. It's still gonna be fun as hell wrecking the city, but i must resist that temptation and beat the game within 30 hours for the achievment.....

C.K. Sample III @ Apr 27th 2008 4:36PM

Mahalo has a live stream of actual gameplay: http://www.mahalo.com/Grand_Theft_Auto_4_Live_Stream

Arno @ Apr 27th 2008 4:54PM

Please give us MORE!

Zeus.:God @ Apr 27th 2008 7:09PM

Can't wait to see Yahtzee's review of this game.

mykie @ Apr 27th 2008 5:30PM

gametrailers needs to learn how to drop a cookie for the psuedo-age verification...

having to scroll down to the year I was born just makes me feel old.

LaughingTarget @ Apr 27th 2008 5:45PM

Why are you bothering with the actual year? Just pick any random year before 1990. Yes, the cookie route is better, but you can do it much faster by just hitting the mouse wheel and grabbing a random year.

PSN: KillaKornbread (the shirt is a lie!) @ Apr 27th 2008 9:32PM

do you actually put in your actual birth date every time? i usually just move the year down to the early 80's and just pick something. i was born in '87 anyway so it's close enough.

eNrique @ Apr 27th 2008 5:43PM

this is way overhyped, how can u compare this to a real good game, the one that is Appreciated in every place, like RE, MGS, LoZ, c'mon, i know patriotism but this is just too much...

EMaster @ Apr 27th 2008 6:10PM

That's how I felt during the whole Halo 3 hype... the thing is it wasn't until now that I have understood the Halo 3 Fanbase for being so excite until I got that way about GTA IV. Trust me, there will be the game that u can't get enough previews/hype for as well. We all have the game that makes us drool and inhale the hype.

Anticrawl @ Apr 27th 2008 7:20PM

OH MY GOD! Joystiq's forum dweller zombie barrier is down! They are here! We must flee from this place in horror!

ThornedVenom (Harley Quinn Defense Force) @ Apr 27th 2008 5:53PM

Holy shit, I'm already getting an endorphine rush just by watching these videos.

And the last video of being drunk is hilarious. Euphoria FTW

EMaster @ Apr 27th 2008 6:08PM

***ejaculating....

Good thing gamstop already called me to come at midnight Monday or after work Tuesday to pick it up.. It better considering I paid for it a fucking year ago!

PSN: KillaKornbread (the shirt is a lie!) @ Apr 27th 2008 9:37PM

GameCrazy called me when i was at work today. they said pick it up at midnight monday (technically tuesday but whatever lol) or anytime after. ive never felt that i needed a game that much that i had to go to a midnight launch but i think i may go this time. i mean ill be getting off of work at 10 anyway so ill just go to the store and take a nap in my car or do homework or something until midnight. that way i wont have to go get it on my lunch break on tuesday.

TomCo @ Apr 27th 2008 6:13PM

Does anyone find the way Niko turns when he's walking or running a bit..... odd?

Its like he's on a bike or something.

Anticrawl @ Apr 27th 2008 6:46PM

Glad someone else agrees. Noone leans that much when they make a slight turn.

PSN: KillaKornbread (the shirt is a lie!) @ Apr 27th 2008 9:39PM

yea it looks like hes going to fall over. you may lean like that when your rounding a corner at full speed or something but not when your jogging.

Jerk Face @ Apr 27th 2008 6:40PM

Oh god...

I... I think McElroy might have been right on last week's podcast..

After watching all of those? It just looks like Grand Theft Auto. Like, JUST Grand Theft Auto. I sure hope all of the character interactions and missions that those videos didn't show are what makes this game a '10'.

Because those videos? All those did is ruin most of my anticipation. Did I just get dragged onto the hype train for all these months? I thought this was supposed to be the BeSt GaMe EVAR or something...

Well, we'll find out this week; won't we?

Anticrawl @ Apr 27th 2008 6:50PM

The flock as always thought GTA was gods gift to gaming since number III. To think they would think any different for the first full sequal is insane. This game will be GTA, which means it will be so-so and then if you don't focus on the missions or story it will sit dusty on your shelf after a week or two of being burnt out on the sandbox design. Hopefully though they have discovered a way to push the player along through the story or the average player will lose interest.