New Multiplayer Preview in OXM

US publication Official Xbox Magazine has a new GTA IV multiplayer preview in its latest issue. The preview shows two new pieces of artwork, and 8 new screenshots. Not much of the information inside is new but here's some points worth mentioning:

• Jeronimo Barrera, a senior developer at Rockstar, says it takes testers playing 4 hours a day "a good 2 weeks to get through the whole single-player game."
• Rockstar's Steve Hahnel says the ambition of GTA IV is the reason the game was delayed. Multiplayer was one of the main reasons for the delay, with network code and components needing to be written and maintained etc. Gameplay needed to be balanced, and "an authentic Liberty City had to be created for 16 players to explore and destroy simultaneously."
• In multiplayer the host also gets to configure options such as the weather, vehicles, spawn locations, friendly fire, and even decide if auto-aim can be used.
• Voice chat options can also be tweaked, the options are:
  
  • Everyone hears you.
  • Only players on the same team hear each other.
  • Proximity chat (only players close by can hear you).
• Health, armour and monetary pick-ups are available during multiplayer. The cash determines your online rank - from 0 to 10. Killing people and stealing their money boosts your online credibility.
• You can use the entirety of Liberty City during multiplayer, but if you die you will respawn in the area that the host has set.
• You can apparently skim rockets across the ground if aimed correctly.
• Shooting and driving simultaneously is allegedly quite difficult.

Source: Mongoose 360 at GTAForums.