GTA4

At a recent shareholder meeting, Take-Two chairman Strauss Zelnick (pictured) said he has seen some of the reviews for Grand Theft Auto IV ahead of their publication:

We’ve already received numerous [GTA IV] reviews, and to a one, they are perfect scores. My mom couldn’t write better reviews…

This is fairly unsurprising news, but the next ten days is set to go by awful slowly for a few million gamers around the world - especially once the embargos lift and we have to start reading the in-depth, glowing reports.

via GamePolitics.com

While Rockstar Games are remaining tight-lipped regarding what was cut from the Australian and New Zealand versions of Grand Theft Auto IV, one enterprising gamer decided to call Take-Two’s (expensive) customer service line:

Okay guys, I have some news for you regarding what was edited from the AU release. I just gave Take2 a call (a friggin expensive 1902 number!) and this is exactly what I was told:

“Well in regards to what Rockstar have removed for the Australian release, as far as we’re aware there was only one sexually violent cut-scene which Rockstar felt would cause the game to be Refused Classification. Unfortunately we’re not able to go into specifics until after the game has been released but I can tell you that the scene involves a weapon being inserted into an enemies private area during a mission where Niko is taking revenge after one of his close friends was forced into sexual intercourse during his stay in prison.”

Seriously I thought he was joking ….I was like LOL you’re joking right? He says “No. This is what Rockstar felt needed to be removed from the game for it’s Australian release. We were recently given permission to release this information because as we understand, Rockstar originally made a press release stating that the game would be released uncut world wide. We felt it would be misleading not to release the information”.

While many would argue the absence of a particularly violent cutscene is inconsequential to the GTA IV experience, the idea of paying nearly double the price (AU$120 converts to US$112) for a censored version of a game is proving a hard one to swallow for many Australians.

Whirlpool via Kotaku Australia

The Sydney Morning Herald reports that Australians are cancelling their pre-orders of Grand Theft Auto IV in a backlash against Rockstar Games and the government, after finding out their AUD$120 (US$112) purchase will leave them with a censored version of the game.

Many Australian gamers have cancelled their [GTA IV] orders.
Already angered by the price of the blockbuster in Australia - $120 compared to $US60 ($64) in North America - gamers have reacted with outrage to news… that developer Rockstar has edited the game for Australia in order to obtain an MA15+ rating.
Many gamers said they cancelled their orders with Australian shops and will import a cheaper, uncut version, flouting the law.

Australians are faced with a tough decision - either pay through the nose for a censored version of the game to play on launch day, or wait a few days for an International courier to arrive with their unedited copy of the game and hope that Rockstar Games and/or South Australian Attorney-General Michael Atkinson (the main roadblock to an R 18+ rating for games) read us loud and clear.

Industry analysts and sources close to Take-Two Interactive have told Variety they expect Grand Theft Auto IV to gross over $400 million in its first week on sale.

Blockbuster CEO Jim Keyes has also said he expects GTA IV to provide two times the volume of sales of Halo 3, while GameStop VP of merchandise Bob McKenzie says the game will fall short of the mark set by Bungie and Microsoft.

Elias92x from the PlayStation Forums has taken some snapshots of three massive Grand Theft Auto IV billboards that he encountered in Queens, New York.

More after the jump.

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Australians aren’t the only ones copping an edited version of Grand Theft Auto IV - New Zealand’s R 18+ rating for games hasn’t even saved them this time - putting the kibosh on the plans of many Australians to import the game from New Zealand.

Gameplanet.co.nz sent an e-mail to pre-order customers in Australia this morning:

We have been informed today that New Zealand will be receiving the same version of Grand Theft Auto IV as Australia.

As you have placed your order after Rockstar announced that the Australian version was edited, we are assuming that you will no longer require the game to be shipped from us, as we can’t supply you with an uncut version.

The last thing we want to do is supply you with a product that does not meet your needs and we’ve therefore taken the liberty of removing your GTA4 order from our web site.

We certainly hope we can be more helpful to you in the future!

The only choice left for Xbox 360 users wanting the unedited version of GTA IV is to import from the UK. Thanks to the lack of region-locks, PlayStation 3 users can opt for the US version from an import shop like Play-asia - and at under US$70, this is likely to be the cheapest option.

Rockstar has released a few new screenshots of Grand Theft Auto IV to the drooling public, making a total of 109 hi-resolution screenshots in our Grand Theft Auto IV gallery for your perusal.

Rockstar has released some information regarding the Team and Race multiplayer modes in Grand Theft Auto IV.

Team Deathmatch - Work as a team to smash the other players. Dead players drop cash, and the team with the most cash at the end of the round wins.

Team Mafiya Work - Complete contracts like escorting wanted criminals and stealing cars for a financial reward. Stop the other team from completing their contracts, and have the most cash when the round ends to win.

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Rockstar has announced a Bungie-esque leaderboard website called the Rockstar Games Social Club, set to launch alongside Grand Theft Auto IV on April 29. The site is compatible with Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network, so players on both platforms will be able to track the virtual crimes they commit.

The first player to complete 100% of the single-player game will be immortalized, and the rest of you will have to be content competing for the fastest completion of the game or dominance of other, lesser statistics such as total miles walked.

Pre-registration starts on April 17, full press release after the jump.

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OXM is the first to get their print review of Grand Theft Auto IV out - and unsurprisingly, it’s a 10. Apparently, when reduced to dot points, GTA IV offers:

• Amazingly realistic world
• Stunning action set pieces
• Genuinely engrossing storyline
• Hugely entertaining multiplayer
• Vast in every aspect

Before you mouth off about perfect scores and what not, I suggest you read over OXM’s review score guide:

10: Classic

One of those rare and very best of games. Every Xbox gamer simply must buy it and play it, whether or not they’re a fan of the genre.

…which leads me to a question. Would anyone care if GTA IV got a dud review?

GTAForums [reg. required] via Kotaku