You can imagine the madness that ensued last night after Rockstar premiered the first Grand Theft Auto IV trailer. The game's official page came crashing down in no time, but luckly in a matter of minutes a dozen other websites were already mirroring the trailer. Most were at poor quality and/or with logos on them, but thanks to the modern wonder of technology called BitTorrent, we managed to get a hold of the original 720p full-res version. So you can now download the GTA IV trailer locally - or, should our streaming / download servers have a tragic fate of their own, the official website seems to be back online... for now.

As you can (hopefully) see from the trailer, Rockstar is taking us back to Liberty City to New York, in a city modeled with an impressive amount of detail, and more full of life than ever. The day-night cycle has also undergone a major enhancement in this next-gen rendition, with shadows and rays of light moving along with the sun. The cars and victims pedestrians have a decent amount of detail, and if all the footage shown is in-game stuff, it's looking good!

The trailer also introduces what could be the main character in Grand Theft Auto IV - a nasty looking guy with a Russian accent, who deals with people. Literally.

"Life is complicated. I killed people, smuggled people, sold people. Perhaps here, things will be different."

I think it's safe to assume that he doesn't intend to "help people" from now on, not unless he'll mostly be helping himself in doing so. Which is what every GTA game is about, after all. That, of course, and grand thefting autos. And taking prostitues for a ride (in the backseat). And pretty much about every kind of imaginable felony. Including - but not limited to - pissing off Jack Thompson. So, Jack, how do you like the trailer so far?

Actually Jack's busy celebrating last night's take-down at Take-Two...

(N.B. Archive text, links removed)