We've been asking for it for years, and now - finally - a console Grand Theft Auto has a multiplayer mode. Actually it has about 14, all but three of which support up to 16 players at once. You can access multiplayer at any time from Niko's cell phone in the single-player game - hell, you can ignore the single-player altogether, if you just want to play against friends. Just be warned that the money you collect here only counts toward your online rank - not toward Niko's adventure.

In all of the game types, you've essentially got the run of Liberty City, although you can scale a match down so that you'll only respawn within a certain area. You'll also have full access to vehicles, and if you choose to turn them on, you'll even have to deal with police. Once you've customized a male or female avatar (and maybe practiced a little with a quick tutorial), you're ready to go; here's what you can expect:

Do you hate sitting around in text-only lobbies, waiting anxiously to play while the host and his two friends argue about what map to play in next? Now you can spend that time gunning down the other players instead. Party Mode is essentially an open, playable lobby, "open" in that you're free to run around Liberty with other players while the host sets up the next game. No score is kept, so it can get a little dull, but overall it's a whole hell of a lot better than just listening to strangers argue while staring at a list of gamertags.

  
If you've ever played any kind of multiplayer shooter, we're going to guess you already know what this is; just run around in a pre-designated area, killing the other team or just everyone you see. It's not complicated, but GTA IV brings a wealth of options to the table - like, say, police presence. Or our personal favorite, the ability to restrict every player to just one weapon type. Like rocket launchers. It might not be revolutionary, but the chaos caused by 16 people letting off RPGs on a crowded street is pretty damn unique. See it for yourself below: