First GTA IV Review - OXM give 10/10

The latest issue of Official Xbox Magazine (UK) has reached subscribers today and it contains the world's first review of Grand Theft Auto IV. The magazine gave GTA IV a perfect 10 out of 10 score.

The magazine's verdict says:

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

In addition to this there's also a number of new screenshots on the article, including some which show off the game's HUD. Numerous other small bits of information are scattered around the article, below is a summary of the more interesting facts:

• Skipping a trip in a taxi costs more than it would if you sat back and enjoyed the ride.
• The Statue of Happiness is actually clutching a coffee cup, not a Sprunk/beer can as many had previously thought.
• Some celebrity voice actors play themselves in the game.
• Similar to Crackdown, hidden packages in GTA IV make a quiet sound as you get close to them, helping your search.
• Sometimes your in-game email account will get spam.
• Driving through flames will set vehicle tires on fire, causing them to degrade and burst after a while.
• A mission similar to "Dead Skunk in the Trunk" from GTA3 is in the game, this time there are two bodies in the trunk, and if you hit a bump and it opens, you'll have to get out and quickly close it again before any pedestrians notice.
• The mobile phone you receive at the start of the game is an old, second hand model capable only of calling and texting. You'll need to wait for an upgrade later in the story to unlock the full functionality that people get from more modern models.
• Downloadable content is confirmed to contain at least 10 hours of gameplay.

Thanks to RAWRferal for the scans. Go out and buy the magazine if you're able to as it's a great read.


On a sidenote, the magazine mentions an achievement called Assassin's Greed, this was also on the "leaked" list, and from what we've since seen it does appear that these achievements are indeed the real deal. We had tentatively updated our GTA IV achievements page yesterday with those from the list, achievements are sorted by GS and grouped into single player achievements first, followed by multiplayer.