Grand Theft Auto IV will be, and probably already is, one of the most hotly anticipated titles of the next-gen era. Both the Sony PS3 and Microsoft’s Xbox 360 have dibs on the game, due to be launched in October, which pretty much guarantees a sell out, chart topping success before the developers even lift a finger. But after a first glimpse at the trailer, available now from the Rockstar Games website, it seems obvious that Rockstar haven’t been slouching at all.

GTA IV returns the action to the much-loved Liberty City, the place that started it all in both the original and its later 3D reinvention that brought the series back to light and took it further than ever before. This time, apart from the obvious graphical improvements, it looks bigger, bolder but still with that same satirical perspective we now expect from Rockstar.

We are also given an enticing insight into the new protagonist – a mysterious, unshaven man of Eastern European (quite possibly Russian) persuasion. Little is known about him as yet other than a brief mention of his human trafficking past, but I suspect he’ll also have a fondness for handling firearms, entertaining hookers and generally delving into every sordid vice that pushes Jack Thompson towards a coronary.

After a disappointing run of sales of Bully, its most recent title, and not to mention the stinging fall out of the Hot Coffee scandal, Rockstar will be keen to, well, I’d say rebuild its good reputation, but I don’t think that’s really its thing. It is probably fairer to say that Rockstar will be looking to prove that its real skill still lies in making games and not just making headlines.

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