I can’t pretend to care all that much about the upcoming Grand Theft Auto IV. Other than III the series has not impressed me all that much, and even in that case the love only lasted a few days. But I can say that Rockstar has made some of the best commercial spots for a video game I’ve seen in a long while. They’re not artsy or esoteric, and there’s no hidden message. You also get a little gameplay footage, but the focus is clearly on the characters. Both those in the game, and in the world of Liberty City itself.

Of particular note is the Steinway commercial, which proudly proclaims that it doesn’t get any better than warm beer and misogyny. I couldn’t agree more. And damn if I’m not a little entranced by Rockstar’s new opus, as much as I told myself I’d give it a whirl in a year or two. Hell, I only got to San Andreas about this time last year. GTA IV might get me back in on the ground floor.

Although I’m still not impressed with the look of the game, and if the controls haven’t been reworked then I see no reason to put myself through a high def version of what is slowly becoming a tired series. The creativity is present in the trailers found below, I hope this translates to the game itself.