GTA IV fake shot madness

Monday 10 July 2006
Yet another image has appeared today that is claimed to be the first ever GTA IV screenshot. Except, of course, it's not. In fact, with a little research, we found that the image - originally posted on GTA-Four.net - comes from 3D design site 3DBlasphemy, titled City Street 2004.

But we're not disappointed. Take a look at the image - doctored to include a line of 'official' Rockstar North copyright text - and ask yourself if this is really what you want GTA IV to look like. Photorealism has never been a characteristic of the series' brilliant visual flavour, and we don't expect that to change, even with the grunt of next-gen hardware.

Above: No joke barber shop names, no humorous visual flair - GTA IV won't look like this

When the first screenshot of Grand Theft Auto IV does appear, there'll be no debate - it'll be unmistakeable. Having had a run of games set in fictionalised US cities, we'd like to see an Asian themed GTA. Wouldn't it be great to run and gun around the neon-lit streets of a Tokyo-style city? Don't agree? Why not discuss this hot topic in the GamesRadar forum?

Ben Richardson is a former Staff Writer for Official PlayStation 2 magazine and a former Content Editor of GamesRadar+. In the years since Ben left GR, he has worked as a columnist, communications officer, charity coach, and podcast host – but we still look back to his news stories from time to time, they are a window into a different era of video games.