Geez, it seems like Game Informer is breakin’ all kinds of earth-shattering news these days. Last month it was tons of details on the Xbox 360 Elite, but this month something actually interesting graces the cover of the mag. So much for print journalism dying!

Somehow, GI has come to the table with all sorts of details about the only game I care about these days - Grand Theft Auto IV. So, without further delay, here are some bullet points on what you need to know:

1) The protagonist’s name is Niko Bellic, a man of Eastern Eurpoean descent
2) An all-new, fully realized Liberty City is indeed the setting, made up of four complete boroughs
3) These boroughs are: Broker (resembling Brooklyn), Algonquin (representing Manhattan), Dukes (nee Queens), and Bohan (tha Bronx). No word yet if models of Shea Stadium or Yankee Stadium are going to be included, but we can only hope.
4) There’s a fifth area called Alderney, which is a fictional chunk of New Jersey.
5) The story revolves around Niko coming to Liberty City to help out his struggling brother Roman. The storyline reportedly is significantly more open and user-controlled than past games; evidently it can go down in more than one way.
6) No planes!
7) There will be online multiplayer, although no details of that mode’s gameplay has emerged. One thing is for sure, it will not be an MMO-style model.

All of this info leads me to believe that IV may just live up to the hype. As a huge fan of the series, I personally can’t wait.

Single-player gaming FTW!