Those Who Have Already Played the PC Version's Multiplayer

The editors of GameSpy, IGN and 1up were lucky enough to try out GTA 4's multiplayer on PC. As we already knew, compared to the console version, 32 people can run around in the game at once instead of 16. That still pales next to the 64, or even 128-player battles of FPS games, especially considering how huge the area is, but those 32 players can also smash into each other with cars, so it's not exactly a small number...

The three write-ups can be read at the following links: IGN, 1up, GameSpy

A short summary for those who don't understand English, or are just lazy: It's very good, it kicks ass, 32 players is better than 16, it matters a lot that you can aim more precisely with a mouse, and it's also great that you're not just thrown onto some random server, but there are filters and you can set what you want: plain deathmatch, team deathmatch, GTA Race, etc. There are 15 game modes in total.

All three articles discuss GTA Race separately, so I'll say a few words about it too. The point is that players have to get from A to B as fast as possible. We've seen that before, but this is GTA, so of course you can shove the others out of the way, there are multiple possible routes, you can switch cars, wreck the others' rides, and so on. Just imagine up to 32 cars and bikes squeezing against each other on the highway... And when someone gets angry, drops out of the race, and just stands next to the presumed route with a big, fully loaded rocket launcher... Perfect chaos, the true GTA feeling, huge fun. Supposedly. Anyway, it's got me in the mood.