Grand Theft Auto IV review

This is the first of the game's three co-op modes, which involve four players working together on a job for Mafiya boss Kenny Petrovic. In this one, a gang of bikers is conducting a deal down at a sprawling industrial complex; Petrovic wants you to drive out there, break up the deal, grab their stuff and kill every last one of them before regrouping at his place. It's fun, but not quite as crazy or replayable as some of the other modes.

Another four-player Petrovic mission, this tasks you with meeting him at the airport - which just so happens to be overrun by NOOSE officers and cops. Your job is to take Petrovic to the safety of a baseball diamond several miles away, and choosing to ferry him in anything but an armored truck or attack chopper will practically guarantee a quick death. Fortunately, both of those things are within easy reach, provided you can cut down the NOOSE guys guarding them.

Petrovic's final mission is also the most elaborate; once again joining up with three teammates, you'll first need to track down an armored truck that's driving around the city, find a way to steal it and then drive it back to a rendezvous point. Then, equipped with explosives, you'll need to make your way out to the docks, board the Platypus - the giant cargo liner that Niko comes to Liberty City on - and fight your way through its many guards before planting bombs at two points on the ship. Then, all you need to do is escape before it all blows; we opted for a daring last-minute helicopter getaway as the final seconds ticked down.

Sixteen players, no objectives and an entire city at their disposal. This one's a lot like Party Mode, actually, except that score is kept, variables (like cops) can be set and everyone's free to make their own fun. At best, that involves some fairly elaborate mayhem, as you'll see in the following video:

Apr 27, 2008