GTA IV on Sony PS3: Resolution, Online Issues Hamper Experience

When it isn't locking up your system with inexcusable game-ending glitches, Grand Theft Auto IV, for all intents and purposes, has delivered as advertised.

That is, if you're playing the Xbox 360 version.

Confirmed reports today put two additional issues at the feet of the PS3 version of GTA IV. These issues include inaccessible online play and a less-than-true-HD 640p resolution.

Sony is aware of the online problems, read a post over at Kotaku, but Rockstar so far has not responded to their inquiries. The GTA IV servers are hosted by Gamespy.

As for the resolution issue, several outlets have confirmed the PS3 version runs at 640p, compared to the Xbox 360's HD 720p. Before you go stringing up Sony and Rockstar for the gaff, however, remember that Halo 3 experienced the same un-HD treatment when it launched in 2007.

It should also be noted that neither version runs at 1080p, the resolution most touted by both Microsoft and Sony in the run up to the "next generation console war." Maybe GTA IV could come out for Wii after all?