(What follows is an excerpt of my coverage of my hands-on with “Grand Theft Auto IV” multiplayer mode, originally filed at MTVNews.com)
…Our two hours at Rockstar showed that the secret of “GTA IV” multiplayer is the same as the secret of single-player: Whatever the rules are in “GTA,” the most fun may be attained by not following them.
For example, [Rockstar's Jeronimo] Barrera and another Rockstar rep seemed to have a jolly time avoiding the actual point of a “GTA” multiplayer race set in the Liberty City airport. In theory, this race was set up to pit four players on motorcycles and mopeds on a three-lap race across and around an active airport runway. While Monsters [Totilo] was busy finding a fueling truck to race instead and Shoplifting [a guy from Yahoo] ditched his bike to putter along in a luggage-cart cab, Undead CJ [Barrera] was ignoring his lap count to focus on creating a multi-vehicle roadblock. Then he stood there with a pistol, daring people to complete their laps.
….
The full scope of “GTA IV” multiplayer hasn’t been revealed. Even just a few weeks before release, the game isn’t spilling all its secrets, and that includes the other multiplayer modes. “We put in as many options as we can,” Barrera said. “We think this is totally fun.”
And how would he distinguish the “GTA” multiplayer mode from that of other games? “Not tacked on,” he said. “It fits seamlessly into the game — the variety and ultimately the freedom that players are going to enjoy for a very long time.”