Multiplayer

Grand Theft Auto IV includes online multiplayer, with 15 modes of play available.^[16] It supports up to 16 players (32 players in the PC version^[17]) and allows players to explore the entire city.^[18]Hosts of the games can control many variables, such as police presence, traffic, and weapons. The console editions of the game do not feature any split screen or LAN multiplayer modes,^[19]but the PC version does have LAN support. All versions of the game include voice chat.

The online games are split into ranked and unranked matches. The reward for the ranked gameplay is cash, which determines players' ranks.^[20] Players use a customisable character in the majority of play modes, and cash earned during play gradually makes more customisation options available.^{[citation needed]}

Several different game modes are available. Team based gameplay modes include^[21] Team Deathmatch, where 2–8 teams compete to accumulate the most kills in a traditional deathmatch; Team Mafiya Work, in which 2–8 teams compete to complete contract work for the "mafiya", such as escorting/killing targets or stealing cars; Team Car Jack City where 2–8 teams compete to steal cars and earn money for keeping them undamaged; Cops n' Crooks, featuring a team of cops who must compete against a team of crooks (which features the "All for One" variation – requiring the cops to kill the crooks' "Boss" before he is escorted to the extraction point – and the "One for All" variation – requiring the cops to kill all of the crooks before they reach the extraction point); and Turf War, involving two teams who compete to take control of designated areas of the map and control them for as long as possible.

The game also includes a variety of racing and cooperative modes, which include Race, in which players race through checkpoints in a traditional automobile race; a GTA race variation, where players race through checkpoints in an automobile race, with the ability to combat their opponents; Hangman's N.O.O.S.E., a co-op mode that requires players to collect a person from the airport and safely escort him to the extraction point before the cops kill him; Deal Breaker, a co-op mission that requires players to assault a construction site captured by enemies, then chase a group of enemies before they escape; and Bomb da Base II, a co-op mission that requires players to clear out a ship, then destroy it with explosives, referencing the mission Bomb Da Base fromGrand Theft Auto III which featured a similar objective of destroying a ship with explosives. The game also features a Free Mode, in which players have the entire map open to explore, with no end goal or mission to complete.

Certain features from the single player mode are disabled in the multiplayer modes, such as the bowling, darts, and pool mini-games. The cheats, clubs and Internet café and some forms of transport (i.e. subway trains and taxi ride) are also disabled.

[edit]