PS3 News
Rockstar destined for a fall with Grand Theft Auto IV?
By Stevie Smith
Dec 7, 2007, 5:40 GMT

It’s suffered repeated delays that have stamped sizeable dents into the PlayStation 3’s performance card during 2007, and there may be some gamers not overly impressed by the prospect of experiencing yet another of Rockstar’s mission-based sandbox adventures, but there’s little doubting the pulling power and controversy that follows Grand Theft Auto like a stalker with a loaded 45.

So, it’s no surprise to see the Internet positively blazing with reaction to GTA IV's latest trailer clip ‘Move up, ladies,’ which launched late yesterday.

It would appear that Rockstar North has been using its extra development time wisely, with the vehicle models and related movement physics all looking much more polished since the last wave of trailers that hit during the summer.

Sadly, however, that injection of effort doesn’t seem to have washed over the character models or their animations, which still look a little ruff around the edges and sport some extremely out-of-synch dialogue.

And what of the narrative? Well, here’s where detractors may be sharpening their knives. Because, yep, you guessed it: anti-hero (Niko) is sent on various missions around a gritty re-creation of New York (Liberty City) that involve wielding high-powered weaponry while taking down deserving gang members, stealing cars, evading and killing cops, causing explosions, flying helicopters, and generally being a one-man badass with a dodgy accent. Par for the course.

While the phrase "if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it" certainly applies fully to the Grand Theft Auto series considering its ongoing popularity, it’s difficult to see GTA IV emerging as quite the hit release that Rockstar and Take-Two Interactive are accustomed to.

Indeed, while the very first Police Academy movie managed to coax some guilty belly laughs the first time around, by the sixth or seventh sequel, the rinse and repeat formula was tired, washed out, and more than a little embarrassing.

Will Rockstar implement anything remotely ‘new’ to help its flagship series maintain its once groundbreaking appeal? Or will it merely rest on its laurels by relying on reputation and the controversy it generally dredges up with every software release?

We can only hope for the former, not least because shock value, contentious content, and high-profile media reaction didn’t exactly serve Manhunt 2 very well (it flopped).

The videogame industry is constantly evolving, let’s just hope GTA IV shows some sign that Rockstar has dragged its knuckles from the cave floor, grown opposable thumbs, and has learned to walk upright.

Oh, here’s the trailer. It offers nothing remotely new.