Rumor: GTA IV DLC to bring quarantine, zombies [update]
by James Ransom-Wiley 
{ Oct 23rd 2008 at 11:53AM }
Original:
A new Eugenics Inc. "ad" has appeared on RockStar Social Club, issuing a vague quarantine order locking down the mysterious company's compound due to a contagious disease outbreak. Eugenics Inc. is a physical location in Grand Theft Auto IV, located in Bohan, though it doesn't play into any part of the game ... yet.
The quarantine announcement is actually the second Eugenics Inc. display to appear on Social Club, following a "Sperm for Cash" ad posted in April (now removed), which, to date, has never been an actual in-game activity. Obviously, Rockstar is proliferating the company's existence for some purpose, right?
Last we heard, Microsoft confirmed the exclusive GTA IV DLC for this fall -- so, any day now. The quarantine posting (unobstructed text after the break) has sparked some speculation that the DLC could be tied to Eugenics' mess. Namely, a potential zombie outbreak! With art assets already in place, what's to stop Rockstar from turning GTA IV into a "28 Days Later" scenario? Keep your eyes peeled.
[Thanks, Alexander]
Full text of "Quarantine" announcement:
"Contagious Disease
"No one shall enter or leave this premises without the proper documentation issued by Eugenics Inc. No person expect an authorized agent or employee of Eugenics Inc. shall alter, destroy or remove this sign. Anyone violating these regulations will be arrested and prosecuted by the federal authorities.
"By order of Liberty City Police Department / Eugenics Inc."
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Eric @ Oct 23rd 2008 11:56AM
Zombies sweet!
Just Mr ESC. @ Oct 23rd 2008 12:44PM
I aprove this message.
(I have been playing Braaains in Halo,is a lot of fun with help of my friend the mute button.)
AlixanderMcFly @ Oct 23rd 2008 1:33PM
My social club standing has changed to infected
waves @ Oct 23rd 2008 1:38PM
Grand Theft Auto IV: Dead Rising NYC
Miguel @ Oct 23rd 2008 11:58AM
Zombies in GTA?
eh, no thanks.
Jakka @ Oct 23rd 2008 12:37PM
lol, Zombie Defence Force?
Heh (Mr. ESC, living in the hearts of us all) @ Oct 23rd 2008 12:45PM
FUCK YOU I LOVE ZOMBIES.
Sorry I'm late, I'm a tad slow at these things.
Esat Dedezade @ Oct 23rd 2008 12:49PM
Slowpoke = slow.
It's not your fault, we understand.
Miguel @ Oct 23rd 2008 1:00PM
well fuck you too heh, im sorry i have a difference in opinion.
Duke @ Oct 23rd 2008 2:18PM
He was kidding with you...ya know, being the Zombie Defense Force.
dark_inchworm @ Oct 23rd 2008 3:22PM
I see how it is, Miguel. All you want to see is beeg American teetees.
ExMcCloud @ Oct 23rd 2008 12:02PM
That would be sweet as long as the zombies aren't fast as shit...
theGreenGrunt @ Oct 23rd 2008 12:02PM
Sign me up!
Do you know what else would be cool in GTAIV as DLC? How about replace the main character with Master chief and the rest of the people with Elites, Brutes and Grunts and terrified citizens along with some ghosts, warthogs, banshees and pelicans!! Now that would be a cool DLC for GTAIV!!!
Markez @ Oct 23rd 2008 12:09PM
Either my sarcasm detector is broken, or you're serious?
Heh (Mr. ESC, living in the hearts of us all) @ Oct 23rd 2008 12:34PM
His name is "theGreenGrunt" so, sadly, I think he was serious.
Jakka @ Oct 23rd 2008 12:37PM
He better be!
DBuck_Eye @ Oct 23rd 2008 3:08PM
I think you're confusing Halo with Left 4 Dead.
USMarty @ Nov 3rd 2008 4:57PM
see...thats what I'm saying.
Take the main character, and replace him with Batman, IronMan, Hulk, Predator, Spiderman, Superman etc....
The whole city is already built! Just make a sweet superhero to replace that and give the hero powers...it's practically interchangeable for all the above. And the game would f*&^ing score through the roof as the best game for anyone of those heros.
Dartmerc @ Oct 24th 2008 4:38AM
Sigh.
Robert @ Oct 23rd 2008 12:03PM
Hopefully it will be better than the zombie mini-game in saints row 2. That part just pisses me off - I really like the rest of SR2 though, I prefer the crosshair type shooting to the lock-on method of GTAIV.
Brian @ Oct 23rd 2008 12:49PM
i hope you know you can turn off auto aim completely?
Robert @ Oct 23rd 2008 2:19PM
Excellent Brian, thanks! - I'll have to return to this one after Fable 2 and Fallout 3 to give that a shot (no pun intended). Admittedly I was playing GTAIV with a friend who prefers lock-on (and who also did most of the actual playing) so I don't really remember that.
Henry @ Oct 23rd 2008 12:04PM
Ahh man!
Please do this for PS3 too!
Jakka @ Oct 23rd 2008 12:05PM
Rockstar, you made a decision and went realistic.It was a failure but now you have to stick with it so stop trying to be like Saints Row 2 as it will never work again.
Jonafun @ Oct 23rd 2008 12:16PM
You have an odd definition of failure.
Dirty @ Oct 23rd 2008 12:46PM
While it was a commercial success and a critical success, I gotta agree with Jakka.
The serious GTA lost a lot of its fun factor for me. Saints Row did a lot of things right that I feel they missed the boat on in GTA. I sold my copy of GTA already, and if the next GTA looks to be in the same vein, I wont be buying (who am I kidding, I will still rent it, its fucking gta man).
riggs @ Oct 23rd 2008 12:56PM
ive heard about zombies coming to gta 4 a long time ago, whether it was rumor or not, it wasnt a "ripoff" people wanted it and ive seen the request for it posted in alot of gaming forums.
Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ Oct 23rd 2008 6:25PM
What? How was GTA4 a failure? It was a damn good game, even though it was toned down. While Saints Rows is more like the earlier gta games, it runs iinto the same problem as Vice City and San Andreas where you really don't care about the missions and only really care about blowing shit up. Plus the fact it lacks everything that makes GTA good(like good writing, memorable characters, humor, etc).
Haon @ Oct 23rd 2008 12:09PM
I remember a few months ago Shawn Elliot talked about this same thing on one of the 1up podcasts. I would love to have a zompocalypse in GTAIV.
ogvor @ Oct 23rd 2008 1:01PM
That's the first thing I though of when I read this. I thought it was a really far out and unlikely thing, even though it sounded really cool. Maybe Rockstar thought so too.
SoulBlade @ Oct 23rd 2008 12:14PM
I hope it's more than this. From all the hype surrounding it, it seemed more epic.
dark_inchworm @ Oct 23rd 2008 1:45PM
Zombie apocalypse isn't epic? What did you expect, ninja pirate robot dinosaur zombies?
SoulBlade @ Oct 23rd 2008 2:14PM
Another city/island? Perhaps an extension of the game in a different locale?
This just let me down a bit - but since I don't know anything about the mode and all of this is speculation, I'll try to remain open minded. However, my hopes have been lowered.
mirage @ Oct 23rd 2008 2:14PM
What do you mean more epic than this? This could be HUGE!! A whole conspiracy regarding the origin of said zombies, Niko and Roman saving New York ermm.. Liberty City from a Zombie infestation, or even just a survival story. I am not sure what you are expecting from the DLC but this plotline could make for hours of original story and gameplay!!
SoulBlade @ Oct 23rd 2008 6:14PM
Alright mirage sold me - if they do that, that's going to be pretty chill
reynish @ Oct 23rd 2008 8:14PM
hate to break it to you
Roman is dead
James @ Oct 23rd 2008 12:16PM
Oh my god yes.
Yes.
YES.
TheAbbotFire @ Oct 23rd 2008 12:17PM
AWESOME!
joeybeast @ Oct 23rd 2008 12:18PM
Sounds like fun but doesn't fit into GTA IV's more mature feel.
Duke @ Oct 23rd 2008 12:56PM
Oh, I disagree. Zombies are very very mature. How many little kids have you seen take on a zombie?
Yeah, thats what I thought.
philmcphail (Welcome Back Mr. ESC!) @ Oct 23rd 2008 7:02PM
@ Duke, I think he meant GTA IV more realistic feel (mature) compared to like the crazy, randomness of previous games, like San Andreas.
Erluti @ Oct 23rd 2008 12:18PM
Wow. I would actually play GTA4 if this happened! It sounds like fun!
tmacairjordan87 @ Oct 23rd 2008 12:23PM
I call bullshit on this as it would add 2 things Rockstar made certain would not be part of GTA 4.
1) Something unrealistc
2) Something fun.
Heh (Mr. ESC, living in the hearts of us all) @ Oct 23rd 2008 12:28PM
I see what you did there.
Waiting for the PC version myself and haven't had too much tie with it aside from some play on my friend's game. Was GTA4 really that bad?
AwesomeTown @ Oct 23rd 2008 12:36PM
@Heh, It's a great game and really fun, but overrated I would say. Not the best game ever like a lot of reviews are implying.
Anyway, I love zombies, and zombies make everything better, but they don't seem to fit in GTA. Then again, each GTA isn't very different and it's starting to get stale for me. It would be nice to see GTA start to go in a different direction, but I'm not sure if zombies are it.
Jakka @ Oct 23rd 2008 12:36PM
GTA4 was a classical example of "One step forward,two backwards".It seems like Rockstar tried so hard with the technology, they forgot about all the gameplay and fun.Is the driving realistic: Yes. Does it make it fun: Fuck No!
It was far inferior to San Andreas because once you completed the main missions there was absolutely nothing left to do there.Add a shitty multiplayer to the equation and the outcome is definitely not "The Best Game Ever Created" as many reviewers tried to make you believe.
Vidikron @ Oct 23rd 2008 12:44PM
Honestly, virtually nothing about GTAIV is realistic. It may be less over-the-top than SA, but it's not even remotely realistic.
tmacairjordan87 @ Oct 23rd 2008 12:44PM
Let me clear things up. No GTA 4 wasn't a bad game, but by GTA standards it is.
I'm assuming you've played san andreas so I'm using that as an exmaple. Take san andreas, now shrink the total landmass by at least half if not more.
Ok, now all that cool shit you did in san andreas like flying planes, using jetpacks and hovercrafts, and parachutes among other things? Take that away, and in place add bowling alleys, darts, and being able to watch TV....in a game.
But wait there's more! All those crazy missions you did in san andreas like stealing a harrier jet, or robbing a casino bank and escaping off the roof with a parachute, or driving a bike up the back of a cargo plane before taking off, bombing it and then parachuting out....all of that's gone. Instead, you get to play around 96 missions that either have you chasing someone in a standard car/bike/boat chase with nothing special happening, or you get a standard kill special guy X. It would be fine if there was cool shit in-between, but there isn't.
The only +'s in my book were the graphics, and the euphoria engine.
Deeznuts420 @ Oct 23rd 2008 12:57PM
grand theft auto 4 is a "spiritual continuation" of grand theft auto 3, please show me where there were harrier jets and parachutes in GTA3 please. (not trying to be a dick, just making a point)
AwesomeTown @ Oct 23rd 2008 1:10PM
Man, I guess I missed out. After III and Vice City, I need a long break from GTA and never got around to getting San Andreas. I was ready again with IV, though.