The screenshots from IGN's "characters" preview are now available in our gallery, in their original uncompressed (unwatermarked) formats:

Link: GTA IV Screenshot Gallery

Some new GTA IV screenshots and artwork have emerged:

The first one on the second row featured in magazine previews back in July, so it isn't necessarily new. However, it is the first time we have seen it in its original uncompressed digital format, as opposed to grainy scans. The character in the artwork is believed to be called "Faustin".

(Thanks to R* for these)

This map shows a small area of Broker, Liberty City. It is deduced entirely from what is revealed in screenshots and trailers, and therefore is mostly accurate but not entirely accurate. It was produced by the combined efforts of the GTAForums community. See this thread for more details, and feel free to post your own contributions.

Click to see the fullsize map

Remember, this is only a small part of Broker. It is not the full map. Attempts are also being made to map parts of Algonquin.

Link: GTAForums Topic: Mapping Liberty City

IGN have just posted a new preview titled "The Characters of GTA IV" along with 5 new screenshots. It provides character profiles for Roman Bellic, Vlad, Elizabeta, Manny, and Brucie - five of the characters which were seen in the latest trailer. Check it out: IGN: "The Characters of Grand Theft Auto IV."

We'll have the new screenshots in our gallery as soon as R* give us the go-ahead to post them. Meanwhile, check out our updated Overview page, and keep an eye on the Characters page for updates which are due to occur shortly based on the new info.

Related Link: GTAForums Discussion

GTA 4 has received the MA 15+ rating by the OFLC in Australia, which means it is "not suitable for people under 15, and under 15s must be accompanied by a parent or adult guardian." The game therefore contains "Strong violence, Strong coarse language, Drug and sexual references." No surprises there then. The date of classification was December 11, 2007.

• The Classification Board and Classification Review Board
• GTAForums Topic: "Australian version already rated"

Rockstar Advanced Game Engine (RAGE) is the game engine currently being used by Rockstar Games to develop upcoming titles Grand Theft Auto IV and Midnight Club: Los Angeles. Kikizo have just released an extensive first-hand preview of Midnight Club: LA, which we felt was worth mentioning since it gives a fair insight into how the RAGE engine performs. Check it out:

"...the next thing to forget about is so-so last-gen visuals. Midnight Club LA is a visual BEAST of a game. With it running on the RAGE engine, which powers Rockstar's Table Tennis and also the forthcoming Grand Theft Auto IV, you can in fact expect a very similar visual quality to the in-car segments of GTA4 - scenes which we have already given high praise to in our first-hand coverage earlier this year..."

Link: Kikizo's Midnight Club: Los Angeles Preview

Our partner site PlanetGrandTheftAuto have produced an extensive shot-by-shot analysis of the third GTA IV trailer, "Move up, ladies," with 80 shots examined in total. Be sure to check it out, and leave any feedback/suggestions/comments at our forums.

In an interview by Crave Online, Iggy Pop has claimed that he is doing voice work for GTA IV. However the interview mainly focused on his music, so there wasn't much else said about it. Here is the excerpt:

Crave Online: This isn't your first time doing a voiceover either. You did an episode of American Dad, right?

Iggy Pop: Yeah I did. In fact I just did something for Grand Theft Auto 4 last night so I do a bit of stuff yeah.

Thanks to Pandazoot for finding this.

Related Links: Iggy Pop Interview, GTAForums Topic

Three new GTA IV screenshots have emerged:

View more screenshots here.

Yahoo! has posted a mini developer diary feature detailing a bit of the process behind the creation of Liberty City. The article includes a few new screens side-by-side with photos of the real places.

Thanks to HolyHondaEk4 from the forums for pointing it out.

The third GTA IV trailer (which was announced last Wednesday) has been released by Rockstar Games. You can watch it here (below) or head over to the official GTA 4 website. Be sure also to check out IGN's trailer Q&A with Rockstar.

We have updated the trailers page to include the new trailer, and we have also added a collection of stills to the screenshot gallery. Keep an eye on the rest of the site for further updates.

What did you make of the new trailer? Were you impressed by it? Has it rekindled your interest in GTA IV following a long period of inactivity? Discuss your thoughts and impressions in our IRC channel, or at the forums.

This is simply a reminder that GTA IV Trailer 3: "Move up, ladies" will be released later today at 3 PM EST and 8 PM GMT. Refer to the countdown at the top of this page to see how much time remains.

Various sites have reported that the two shots released yesterday were taken from scenes in the new trailer, however we are not so sure. Rockstar Games released screenshots prior to Trailer 2, and the very same claim was reported, even though none of the shots ever featured in the trailer. It was simply bad reporting by the sites that claimed it, and that could very well be the case again.

One hundred people voted in a topic at our forum, to estimate how long they think the trailer will last. The majority of them (33%) believe the trailer will last for 1 minute, where as 30% predicted 1.5 minutes, 16% voted 2 minutes, and a very optimistic 10% voted 3+ minutes. Trailer 1 and Trailer 2 both lasted approximately 1 minute, and we are led to believe that Trailer 3 will last approximately twice that length (i.e 2 minutes).

If you want to discuss the new trailer, head over to our forums or join the IRC channel.

They are coming thick and fast. This time from IGN:

Two new screenshots have surfaced:

Immediate impression: Niko's appearance has changed slightly since the last batch of screens were released (in July). His hair now looks shorter, and tidier. Discuss these shots at the forums.

We've been provided with some digital versions of the screenshots you have all been enjoying in print previews.

Now let's hear all the criticism that our lovely GTA fans can give us. We know you want to pick these apart. Here's your chance.

In other news, the cost of the GTA IV special edition in Australia has been confirmed as $149.95. The contents are the same as the UK and US special editions. Find out more about the Australian special edition at IGN.