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Kotaku recently posted an article about multiplayer on Grand Theft Auto IV. Here’s a brief description of what to look forward to:

All but one of the multiplayer modes supports up to 16 players. (The co-op missions only support up to four.) The host has an amazing array of options that they can control. While setting up a game, the host can choose to modify the routine, like re-spawn times, weapon selections and friendly fire, or the unusual, like the time of day, the weather, how heavy the traffic is or how many people are on the street. You can even control police presence in your matches.

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The ESRB has the rating for GTA IV. Here it is:

You weren’t expecting anything less than an “M”, were you?

Controversy aside, the Grand Theft Auto series is a shining example of how to make a single-player sandbox experience. It dropped you in the middle of a city with a myriad of things to do. Your greatest limitation is your life because there’s usually not enough time to do everything that you want to do in a single sitting.

For all its positive points, there is one thing that GTA has been lacking: multiplayer. It’s not a major downside, really. The games provide you with so much to do you don’t really notice that it’s missing until the end, when you’ve realized how cool it would be to whack somebody online. GTA IV will let you do just that, apparently. Here are some of the details:

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The announcement of the April 29 release date of GTA IV has caused Take-Two Interactive’s stock to jump by about 11 percent. Excerpts from the report:

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Take-Two Interactive Software Inc (TTWO.O) said on Thursday it will release the highly anticipated “Grand Theft Auto IV” video game on April 29, sending its shares up about 11 percent.

Take-Two shares were up $1.57, or 10.9 percent, to $16.03 in mid-morning Nasdaq trade. The stock has fallen 11.6 percent over the past year but has risen 30 percent since hitting a year low of $12.25 when it delayed “GTA IV” in August.

Read: Yahoo!

GTA IV has a release date. Gamers are rejoicing. Anti-gaming folks are marking their calendars. I’m actually not sure about that last statement, but it isn’t hard to imagine. Anyway, for those of you who are wondering what caused the delays in the first place, well, here’s the reason:

“GTA” games haven’t missed their announced release dates before. When the delay was announced in August, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick told investors that “the reason it is being delayed is almost strictly technological problems — not problems, but challenges.” Barrera offered a little more detail to MTV News this week: “It’s really no surprise to anybody that the PS3 was definitely a contributing factor to that. Now, we’re neck and neck. That’s not an issue anymore. But back then that was something we were taking into account. That’s not to say there’s anything wrong with the PS3 version. It’s awesome. They’re both identical.”

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Next-generation Console Debut of the Grand Theft Auto Franchise Set for April 29, 2008

New York, NY - January 24, 2008 - Rockstar Games, a publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO), is proud to announce the release date for Grand Theft Auto IV, the new title in the genre-defining Grand Theft Auto franchise. Developed by Rockstar North, Grand Theft Auto IV will be simultaneously available for Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system and PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system and will be in stores worldwide on April 29, 2008.

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