Liberty City returns again in Grand Theft Auto IV, although this is not the same Liberty City you’ve come to know over the years. This is a completely overhauled, brand new Liberty City that is very heavily based off of New York City, but of course with Rockstar’s own twists and changes to it.Liberty City will contain 4 of the 5 New York boroughs, plus a part of New Jersey. The boroughs include Broker (Brooklyn), Algonquin (Manhattan), Alderney (New Jersey), Dukes (Queens), and Bohan (Bronx). Staten Island (or as we know it, Staunton Island) has been left out because Rockstar thinks it would not be fun to play there.

In comparison to San Andreas, the total map area is smaller, however, the new Liberty City is the largest individual and most detailed city to date. Rockstar has said that although Liberty City will be smaller than San Andreas, it will be comparable in terms of scope when one takes into account “the level of verticality of the city, the number of buildings you can go into, and the level of detail in those buildings.” In addition, Dan Houser has also stated that that there would not be any “dead spots” or “irrelevant space” within Liberty City, unlike the countryside and deserts filling a substantial amount of map area in San Andreas.

To get a basic idea of Liberty City, just imagine only the three main cities in San Andreas. Now imagine them combined into one mega-city, filled with tall buildings, detailed interiors, alleyways and more. Finally, imagine them without any “filler” space like countryside and desert.