GTA IV Multiplayer Hands-on- "Amazing"

The new Xbox World 360 magazine will have a 17 page blow out on the multiplayer mode in their next issue. They've also done a podcast where they talk about it, the discussion begins around 49 minutes in.. I just listened to it and here's some of the highlights

- They love the multiplayer mode. They talk about how in other games you're able to forgive it for having a poor multiplayer mode because it might have an amazing single player mode. But then you see GTA4 and it has as big of a single player mode as those games and an amazing multiplayer mode to go along with it.

- They say it's one of the best looking games on the 360. The lighting is what makes it according to them. They go on to talk about how games like Oblivion are hurt visually because of it'll chug sometimes and how something like Gears is really beautiful but it's very linear. But GTA4 has the size of Oblivion and the beauty of Gears.

- The framerate is really smooth. They mentioned the only time it started to chug is when 4-8 of them were shooting rocket launchers at a gas station to make it blow up.

- It's mentioned that at any time you can just pull out your phone and jump into a game.

- One of them mentions how he's always felt that the series has been a "jack of all trades, master of none" type game, and now it's a master of them all.

- The combat is amazing. They said it feels like Resident Evil 4.

- The driving is really good although it's harder than any of the previous versions. They mention that if an actual racing game used its driving model you'd be happy with it.

- They'll be leaving next week to review it.