14 DAY TRIAL // No hardcore gamer was surprised when Rockstar announced that GTA IV would make its way to the PC. It is a tradition for the developer to launch its games on the PC roughly six months after the console release. But now, after the announcement, Rockstar is showing off the way the game will look and play on the new platform and the excitement in the community seems to be building up.
At the Leipzig GDC show, goers were showed the Three Leaf Clover mission, which was running on a resolution of 2560 x 1600, said to be the maximum supported resolution in the PC port. The textures are vastly improved and the game generally runs smoother, with better looking backdrops and impressive explosions.
The Rockstar Social Club, which tracks game metrics and achievements for the console versions of GTA IV, will be put to good use in the PC game. There's a replay function that has been implemented which records the last 30 seconds of the game and you can also hit a button on the keyboard to begin capturing images which you can then edit in-game and upload to the Social Club.
The multiplayer is generally considered another area where the PC is superior to consoles and the developers are promising that more than the 16 players supported by consoles will be able to join in games. There's also talk of improving the search and the filter function related to the multiplayer areas so that the players will get into the game they want much easier than on gaming consoles.
If Rockstar manages to make the game look as good as the GDC presentation, then the PC version of Grand Theft Auto IV will most likely be seen by gamers as the definitive version of the title, even if its arrival on the PC will likely generate less interest than the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360 release which occurred earlier in the year.