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137-475: William Frederick Burr (born June 10, 1968) is an American stand-up comedian , actor, writer, and podcaster. He has released multiple stand-up comedy specials, including You People Are All the Same (2012), I'm Sorry You Feel That Way (2014), Walk Your Way Out (2017), and Paper Tiger (2019). Burr received a Grammy Award nomination for Paper Tiger , as well as a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for

274-404: A baseball bat , and an invitation to the launch event as rewards. The official Grand Theft Auto IV website was redesigned on 8 February 2008 to show a preview of activities and locales within the game's world. To encourage pre-order sales, Rockstar collaborated with several retail outlets to provide a special edition version of the game. It includes a metal safe deposit box , an art book, and

411-434: A cover system can be used as assistance against enemies. Should players take damage, their health meter can be fully regenerated by consuming food or drinks, using medical kits, or calling for paramedics. If players commit crimes, the game's law enforcement agencies may respond as indicated by a " wanted " meter in the head-up display (HUD). On the meter, the displayed stars indicate the current wanted level (for example, at

548-408: A hitman , ordering him to kill the son of Russian crime lord Kenny Petrović. When Petrović threatens retaliation, Dimitri convinces Niko to assassinate Faustin and satisfy Petrović. However, Dimitri betrays him after the killing and brings Niko to his former employer, Ray Bulgarin, who accuses Niko of stealing from him during a failed human trafficking job years earlier. Niko denies the allegation and

685-419: A third-person perspective . Players complete missions —linear scenarios with set objectives—to progress through the story. It is possible to have several active missions running at one time, as some require players to wait for further instructions or events. Outside of missions, players can freely roam the game's open world and complete optional side missions. Composed of the fictional city of Liberty City,

822-522: A "comedian's comedian" by observers of the American stand-up comedy circuit. Rolling Stone magazine called Burr "the undisputed heavyweight champ of rage-fueled humor". Burr often portrays himself as "that loud guy in the bar" with "uninformed logic". In an interview with The Boston Globe , Burr stated, "I'm the 'dude, bro' guy." According to the Montreal Gazette , Burr is "a cynic and

959-408: A Free Mode, in which players have the entire map open to explore, with no end goal or mission to complete. Hosts of the game can control many variables, such as police presence, traffic, and weapons. The multiplayer mode was discontinued on Windows in 2020. Grand Theft Auto IV takes place in 2008, within a redesigned version of Liberty City. The design of the city focuses on a recreation of four of

1096-469: A combination of different motion capture performances. For the gameplay and animations, the team redid a lot of the work from previous games, wanting Grand Theft Auto IV to "feel next-generation". The role-playing elements from San Andreas were removed fairly early in development, partly due to the animation work it would have required, and because consistently needing to visit the gym felt antithetical to Niko's motivations. The game's targeting system

1233-409: A contrarian who has never paid any heed to political correctness ". The New York Times in 2013 called Burr "one of the funniest, most distinctive voices in the country for years". His set typically spans an array of topics ranging from his childhood to sex robots to how much he loves his dog. When he does touch on a cringeworthy subject, his style lends him the ability to anticipate and even toy with

1370-541: A film rather than the whole narrative". The developers considered adding co-operative multiplayer to the main story campaign, but decided it worked better as a single-player experience. When Sam Houser first showed interest in using the Euphoria software in the game, he was told that it would be impossible or only limited to cutscenes, but some members of the team were able to make it work. Engineers from NaturalMotion worked on-site at Rockstar North for several months at

1507-472: A firefight ensues, allowing Dimitri and Bulgarin to escape. Dimitri's men burn down Niko and Roman's apartment and taxi company, forcing them to flee to Bohan. While Niko finds work with several local drug lords , Dimitri briefly kidnaps Roman in a failed attempt to lure Niko into a trap. Later, Niko discovers that his romantic interest, a woman named Michelle, is an undercover government agent, who then entraps him into working for her superior. In exchange for

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1644-650: A guest on his podcast. They reside in Los Angeles and have a daughter (b. January 20, 2017) and a son (b. June 2020). Burr is a licensed helicopter pilot and enjoys playing drums. His favourite drummers are John Bonham and Dave Lombardo . He enjoys rock and heavy metal music and is a fan of bands such as AC/DC , Gojira , Iron Maiden , Karnivool , Led Zeppelin , Meshuggah , Metallica , Ministry , Pantera , and Slayer . He loves smoking cigars. Burr supports gun control and abortion rights . He believes that political correctness fails to effectively address

1781-546: A live audience for the same reason. Jessica Delfino holds the record for most comedy sets performed in one night by a female comedian. Phyllis Diller holds the Guinness World Record for most laughs per minute, with 12. Taylor Goodwin holds the Guinness World Record for most jokes told in an hour with 550. Lee Evans sold £7 million worth of tickets for his 2011 tour in a day,

1918-457: A major bank robbery. Niko is later hired by Ray Boccino, a caporegime in the Pegorino crime family , to oversee a diamond deal, which goes awry. Boccino repays Niko by helping him find his ex-comrade Florian Cravic, now known as Bernie Crane, who claims he was not the one to betray their unit. Niko realises that the traitor was the only other survivor: Darko Brevic. Niko continues working for

2055-401: A mission is retried was to ensure that the gameplay felt "less canned and less like Groundhog Day ". Dan Houser described Niko Bellic as "a more rounded character" than those in previous games. He felt that his dual personality—often saving innocent people, while also being a "cold-hearted killer"—made him more relatable. He also felt that Niko's unfamiliarity with Liberty City allowed for

2192-416: A multiplayer match. Giant Bomb ' s Gerstmann and GameRevolution ' s Costantino felt divided about the multiplayer, the latter naming it a "fantastic idea", but feeling as though connectivity problems resulted in a "broken" experience. The Windows version received "universal acclaim", according to Metacritic. Reviewers liked the enhanced visuals and the additional features, but criticised

2329-420: A mural on a wall at a secluded warehouse location, showcasing the art in a video on 28 November 2007. A third trailer was released on 6 December 2007, introducing some of the game's characters, such as Roman and Michelle. The trailer features the song "King Ring" by Russian rap artist Seryoga , which Rockstar felt captured the "melting pot mentality" of Liberty City. Dan Houser wanted the third trailer to capture

2466-638: A new podcast co-hosted with fellow comedian Bert Kreischer , called the Bill Bert Podcast , in October. In December, he played Migs Mayfeld in two episodes of the Disney+ series The Mandalorian . In 2020, he appeared in Judd Apatow 's comedy film The King of Staten Island , and promoted the film on October 10 by hosting NBC 's Saturday Night Live for the first time. In March 2022, it

2603-467: A rough synopsis, a six-paged, detailed document. Once the synopsis was reworked, the designers broke it into missions, represented by a large flow document demonstrating each section. The writers then work on the introductions to the missions; the gameplay dialogue comes much later. Unlike previous Grand Theft Auto games, Grand Theft Auto IV does not have cinematic influences. "We were consciously trying to go, well, if video games are going to develop into

2740-424: A smaller group of characters, but found that the story became boring and that players were less likely to explore the world. The stranger characters found in the game world were based on the "crazy people" that populate New York, according to Dan Houser, which in previous games were only able to be captured through radio stations or mild pedestrian behaviours. The team based the ethnicities, clothing, and behaviours of

2877-597: A sold-out crowd of more than 60,000 at Gillette Stadium where he followed Jay-Z for the Tom Brady 's Patriots Hall of Fame ceremony. In 2023, Burr had a cameo role as the voice of pastor Nick Saint Angelo in the episode " the wizard " of HBO series Barry . It was announced that Burr would make his Broadway debut in 2025 the revival of the David Mamet play Glengarry Glen Ross acting opposite Kieran Culkin and Bob Odenkirk . Burr has been referred to as

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3014-475: A specific enemy. Individual body parts can also be targeted. Melee attacks include additional moves, such as dodging, blocking, disarming an opponent and counter-attacking. Body armour can be used to absorb gunshots and explosive damage, but is used up in the process. When health is entirely depleted, gameplay stops, and players respawn at the nearest hospital. The single-player mode lets players control an Eastern European war veteran, Niko Bellic . During

3151-421: A specified number of paying guests with them to receive stage time. As well as being a mainstay of the comedy circuit, festivals often also showcase up-and-coming acts, with promoters and agents using the festivals to seek out new talent. Experienced comics with a following may produce a television special or a comedy album . It may be recorded on tour or at a show advertised and performed specifically for

3288-509: A temporary tattoo of its logo. The game became widely anticipated. Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter suggested Take-Two may delay the game from its 16 October 2007 release date to boost 2008 financial results and avoid competing with games like Halo 3 ‍ ; Rockstar responded it was still on track for "late October". In August 2007, Take-Two announced the game would miss its date, delayed to their second fiscal quarter (February–April) of 2008, citing technical difficulties with

3425-443: A time to incorporate Euphoria software into the game. Rockstar also worked with Image Metrics for the game's facial animations. The facial rigs had around 100 joints, with a total of 300 minutes of facial animation. The scale of the project caused some issues for the animators, forcing them to have rigs completed before animation began. They also faced difficulty in the direction of the actor's head—either straight on when looking at

3562-512: A weekly one-hour podcast, Bill Burr's Monday Morning Podcast , in which he speaks about his experiences, current events, going on tour, and sports, and offers advice to questions submitted by the listeners. The podcast is available on Burr's website, Spotify , YouTube , and on the All Things Comedy network he co-founded in 2012. He is sometimes joined by his wife Nia Hill and has featured guests and interviews with other comedians. In

3699-516: Is considered America's first stand-up comedian. The first documented use of "stand-up" appeared in The Stage in 1911, describing Nellie Perrier delivering 'stand-up comic ditties in a chic and charming manner'. However, this referred to a performance of comedy songs rather than stand-up comedy in its modern form. The term appeared again in the “Stage Gossip” column of The Yorkshire Evening Post on November 10, 1917. The article discussed

3836-455: Is difficult to successfully sue for joke theft regardless due to the idea–expression distinction . According to Anna Spagnolli, stand-up comedy audiences "are both 'co-constructors of the situation' and 'co-responsible for it ' ". In stand-up comedy, an unspoken contract with the audience allows for the exploration of unexpected, controversial, or scandalous subjects. The reception of a joke, whether met with laughter or disapproval, hinges on

3973-567: Is followed by the opener, the feature, and then the headliner. The host may also act as the opener for smaller shows. Proven comics tend to earn regular bookings at clubs that are part of a chain and comedy venues. Jobbing stand-ups may perform sets at two or more venues on the same day. Clubs and small venues often run open mic events; these slots may be booked in advance or left for walk-ins. Comedians use open mics to work on material or to show off their skills to get an opener slot. "Bringer shows" are shows that require amateur performers to bring

4110-454: Is inspired by New York, it is not beholden to it. He wrote that the city "exists in its own universe and rightfully so". Crispin Boyer of 1UP.com directed praise at the city's "breathtaking vistas, incredibly varied scenery, and lived-in look." Conversely, Jesse Costantino of GameRevolution felt that the game lacked important features common in other open world games. Reviewers praised

4247-480: Is of German , Irish , and distant French descent, and has mentioned being distantly related to Aaron Burr (1756–1836), the third U.S. vice president . He was raised Catholic and graduated from high school in 1987. Afterward he briefly attended North Carolina State University for two semesters. Then in 1993, he obtained a bachelor's degree in radio from Emerson College in Boston , where one of his professors

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4384-467: Is summoned by Pegorino for a final favour: to help with a highly lucrative heroin deal in collusion with Dimitri. He must decide to either work with Dimitri or exact revenge. If Niko goes through with the deal, Dimitri betrays him again, kills Pegorino, and sends an assassin to kill Niko at Roman's wedding, but the assassin accidentally kills Roman instead; Niko retaliates by tracking and murdering Dimitri. If Niko chooses revenge, he kills Dimitri aboard

4521-537: Is the sixth main entry in the Grand Theft Auto series , following 2004's Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas , and the eleventh entry overall. Set in the fictional Liberty City, based on New York City , the single-player story follows Eastern European war veteran Niko Bellic and his attempts to escape his past while under pressure from high-profile criminals. The open world design lets players freely roam Liberty City, consisting of three main islands, and

4658-704: The 2016 presidential election , as he had a negative opinion of both candidates . In 2021, he criticized Florida's Republican governor Ron DeSantis for banning mask requirements in the state during the COVID-19 pandemic . Stand-up comedy A performer in this genre can be known by the masculine and gender-neutral terms stand-up comedian and stand-up comic , or by the feminine term stand-up comedienne . Performances can take place in various venues, including comedy clubs , comedy festivals , bars, nightclubs , colleges, or theaters . Stand-up comedy originated in various traditions of popular entertainment in

4795-556: The AMC series Breaking Bad (2011–2013), Migs Mayfeld in the Disney+ series The Mandalorian (2019–present), and Ray Bishop in the film The King of Staten Island (2020). He made his feature-length directorial debut as the co-writer, director, and star of the comedy film Old Dads (2023). William Frederick Burr was born in Canton, Massachusetts , on June 10, 1968, the son of nurse Linda Ann (née Wigent) and dentist Robert Burr. He

4932-534: The Grand Theft Auto series surpassing a collective total of 100 million copies. As of July 2013, the game has sold over 25 million copies, making it one of the best-selling video games , and one of the best-selling games on both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 . All sales records broken by Grand Theft Auto IV were beaten by its successor, Grand Theft Auto V . In the United Kingdom,

5069-557: The Mafia and earns the trust of Don Jimmy Pegorino, who orders him to kill Boccino after suspecting him of being a police informant. Niko also helps Packie kidnap Don Giovanni Ancelotti's daughter to ransom her for the diamonds, but Bulgarin intercepts the exchange. In the ensuing firefight, the diamonds are lost. Eventually, government agents find Darko in Romania and bring him to Liberty City for Niko to decide his fate. Afterwards, Niko

5206-553: The Platypus , prompting Pegorino to target Niko at Roman's wedding but accidentally kill Packie's sister Kate, whom Niko had been dating; Niko retaliates by tracking and murdering Pegorino. Later, Niko learns that Mallorie is pregnant. Preliminary work on Grand Theft Auto IV began in November 2004, a month after the release of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas . Rockstar president Sam Houser felt that following up San Andreas

5343-545: The Tabernacle Theater in Atlanta, Georgia. Unusual for modern comedy specials, the film was shot in black and white . All Things Comedy was officially launched on October 1, 2012, with a roster of 11 podcasts including Burr's own Monday Morning Podcast , The Long Shot Podcast by Eddie Pepitone , and Skeptic Tank by Ari Shaffir . By 2014, the network had six dozen members and over 50 podcasts. The network

5480-507: The jester's privilege , which is the right to discuss and mock anything freely without being punished. Social commentators have referred to the concepts of "punching up" and "punching down" in attempting to describe who should be the "butt of the joke". This carries the assumption that, relative to the comedian's own socio-political identity , comedy should "punch up" at the rich and powerful without "punching down" at those who are marginalized and less fortunate. Many comedians have criticized

5617-607: The most expensive video games ever made. The game's setting, Liberty City, is based on New York City. The team did not look at the previous renditions of Liberty City as inspiration, wanting it to retain the "general feel" but nothing else. The map is roughly three times the size of Grand Theft Auto III ' s. The developers originally considered using the entire state of New York , before restricting it to Manhattan, and then expanding it out again. They considered including more suburbs with woods, and would regularly vote on which areas to include. Art director Aaron Garbut said that

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5754-406: The "visceral qualities" of the game, but focus less on the story, as the first two trailers had done. On 8 February 2008, five teaser trailers for the game were released, each showcasing a particular character or service within the game. Similar teaser trailers were later released in pairs on 21 February, 7 March, and 11 April. Another trailer, released on 27 March 2008, showcases some scenes from

5891-533: The 2008 video game Grand Theft Auto IV , Burr voiced Jason Michaels of the biker gang The Lost MC in the mission "No Love Lost". In 2009, he reprised his role in the game's expansion pack The Lost and Damned . Burr also appears as a guest on radio shows and other comedians' podcasts, such as Opie and Anthony , You Made It Weird with Pete Holmes , The Adam Carolla Show , The Joe Rogan Experience , WTF with Marc Maron , The Nerdist Podcast , The Adam Buxton Podcast , and Nobody Likes Onions . Burr

6028-516: The 9th Game Developers Choice Awards including Game of the Year , four at the 12th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards including Overall Game of the Year , and seven at the 5th British Academy Games Awards , tying with Modern Warfare for the most nominations at the latter. At IGN ' s Best of 2008, it won eleven awards, including Best Voice Acting across all three platforms and overall, and Best Story for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. It

6165-645: The Apollo in 2000, Comedy Central Presents in 2003, Just for Laughs in 2004, One Night Stand in 2005, and Live at Gotham in 2006. Also during this time, he co-starred in the TV series Townies in 1996, appeared in Two Guys and a Girl in 1998 and Law & Order: Criminal Intent in 2002. He gained prominence as a regular on Dave Chappelle 's popular sketch comedy series Chappelle's Show in 2004 on Comedy Central . Since May 2007, Burr has recorded

6302-714: The Comedy Castle by Brian Scolaro , and This Will Make an Excellent Horcrux by Jackie Kashian . Madrigal sees the network as a way of improving representation of Latin American people in media. For instance, the network hosts Spanish-language podcasts such as Leyendas Legendarias and El Dollop . All Things Comedy also partnered with Comedy Central to produce a documentary about Patrice O'Neal in addition to three comedy specials. Burr voiced lead character Frank Murphy in F Is for Family , which premiered on Netflix on December 18, 2015. The show, an animated sitcom he created and co-wrote, drew on Burr's stand-up and

6439-535: The NPCs on the photographs and videos that they captured around New York, divided into different areas; they created mood boards for each location. The NPCs also converse in different languages. Grand Theft Auto IV sees a shift in the series to a more realistic and detailed style and tone, partly a result of the transition to consoles which offered high-definition graphics and the new and improved capabilities of such consoles. The development team worked to represent

6576-629: The PlayStation 3 version. IGN predicted the delay would benefit other publishers, particularly Activision with Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare . On 24 January 2008, Rockstar announced the 29 April release date. Some gameplay features were censored for the Australian and New Zealand versions but the restrictions were subsequently removed. Capcom published the game in Japan on 30 October 2008. In August 2008, Rockstar announced that

6713-537: The Rockstar North offices "so while they worked they could look up and there was New York". Benzies claimed that the team took over 100,000 photographs on location in New York, though Garbut estimates that they took around 250,000. They also studied architectural plans for apartments, used satellite images to determine city block layout, researched sales figures for models of cars, and read books that detailed

6850-687: The Windows version is "the most attractive version", it's "annoyingly fiddly to get there". GameSpy ' s Tuttle was able to overlook the demanding system requirements in exchange for the game's other features. Grand Theft Auto IV earned awards from several critics and publications. It received Game of the Year awards from Digital Spy , the Entertainment Merchants Association , GameTrailers , Giant Bomb , IGN Australia , Kotaku , Los Angeles Times , The New York Times , and Time . The game led

6987-462: The Year awards from several gaming publications . It is among the best-selling video games with over 25 million copies sold by 2013. The game generated controversy, with criticism directed at the game's depiction of violence and players' ability to drink-drive . Its successor, Grand Theft Auto V , was released in September 2013. Grand Theft Auto IV is an action-adventure game played from

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7124-545: The absurdity of political correctness . Season 4 of the series debuted on Netflix on June 12, 2020. Burr writes and executive produces the series along with Michael Price . Burr's fifth hour-long special, Bill Burr: Walk Your Way Out , debuted on Netflix on January 31, 2017. He appeared in the third episode (titled "Bill Burr") of the second season of the HBO series Crashing . Burr's sixth hour-long special, Paper Tiger , debuted on Netflix on September 10, 2019. He premiered

7261-484: The action significantly". The port's enhanced visuals were commended by many reviewers. GameZone 's Hopper considered the visuals an improvement over the original versions. Andy Robinson of Computer and Video Games called the visuals "impressive", while Tom Orry of VideoGamer.com called them "superb". Conversely, the port's system requirements, considered difficult to run with advanced settings, received criticism. Eurogamer ' s Gillen said that, though

7398-559: The appeal of stand up is in appreciation of the skill of the performer, as studies have shown that many people find the idea of standing on stage daunting; research on the subject has consistently found that the fear of public speaking is more intense than the fear of dying . The audience is integral to live comedy, both as a foil to the comedian and as a contributing factor to the overall experience. The use of canned laughter in television comedy reveals this, with shows often seeming "dry" or dull without it. Shows may be filmed in front of

7535-474: The areas that they felt "characterised it the best". Garbut wanted to capture a caricature of the city as he felt that most people were familiar with "the highlights" from film or literature but did not need to know the areas precisely. The city was not built with specific missions in mind; the area was created first, and missions implemented later. To achieve a realistic environment, 60–70 employees from Rockstar North travelled to New York for research: first at

7672-399: The audience's understanding of the premise and appreciation of the punchline. A seasoned comic is able to instantly react to the audience's reaction and use it to further the narrative. Stand-up comedy, distinct from traditional performing arts, features a lone comedian directly engaging the audience. Success hinges on creating spontaneity, fostering intimacy, and deterring heckling. Part of

7809-468: The beginning of the project in March or April 2005 for a week and a half, and a smaller trip in 2007. Police officers who previously worked the beat drove the team around Washington Heights . A full-time research team based in New York handled further requests for information, such as the ethnic minority of a neighbourhood or videos of traffic patterns. Videos shot in New York were played on televisions at

7946-404: The best feature of the port, and Steven Hopper of GameZone called it a "great touch". The port's upgrade to 32 concurrent players in the online multiplayer mode, as opposed to the console version's 16 players, was also met with positive feedback; Eurogamer ' s Gillen said that the "possibility for mayhem... increases", while Will Tuttle of GameSpy felt that the player increase "changes

8083-592: The biggest first-day sale of a British comedy tour. Ricky Gervais set a new Guinness World Record for the highest gross from a single stand-up performance with his tour "Armageddon." The performance at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, California, on May 6, 2023, garnered £1,410,000 ($ 1,790,206.50). Grand Theft Auto IV Grand Theft Auto IV is a 2008 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games . It

8220-399: The billboards were implemented in the game around six months prior to release. The game's script, written by Dan Houser and Rupert Humphries, is about 1,000 pages. Approximately 660 actors provided voices for the game over 80,000 lines of dialogue. After conceiving the character and setting, Dan Houser spoke with his brother Sam Houser and Leslie Benzies to bounce story ideas before writing

8357-403: The boroughs of New York City : Broker (based on Brooklyn ), Dukes ( Queens ), Bohan ( The Bronx ), and Algonquin ( Manhattan ). The setting also includes the neighbouring state of Alderney (based on New Jersey ). Initially, bridges are locked down due to a terrorist threat, and police constantly pursue players if the bridges are crossed. The blockades are lifted as the story progresses, allowing

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8494-404: The career of a comedian Finlay Dunn, stating that Dunn was "what he calls a stand-up comedian'" during the latter part of the 19th century. However, the term may have been used retrospectively. Stand-up has multiple genres and styles with their formats. Common ones include: In a typical stand-up show, the host, compere, or emcee "warms up" the audience and introduces the other performers. This

8631-415: The character customisation available in the multiplayer mode, and noted that it runs "just as smoothly" as the single-player game. 1UP.com ' s Boyer called the multiplayer modes "excellent", and IGN ' s Goldstein named it one of the best. Official Xbox Magazine ' s Hicks dubbed the multiplayer as "hugely entertaining", while Walter of GamesRadar praised the "seamless" process of entering

8768-456: The city's infrastructure, including its subways , sewers, and garbage disposal. Hove Beach is based on Brighton Beach , which Sam Houser found "pretty incredible" and unusual; the name is based on the English city Brighton and Hove , made up of the former neighbouring towns Brighton and Hove . Houser appreciated that Brighton Beach was home to several Eastern Europeans due to the nature of

8905-438: The city. He befriends Yardies second-in-command Little Jacob and is forced to work for Vlad Glebov, Roman's Russian loan shark, whom Niko eventually kills upon learning he had slept with Roman's girlfriend, Mallorie. In retaliation, Niko and Roman are kidnapped by Russian mobsters on orders of their boss Mikhail Faustin and his lieutenant, Dimitri Rascalov. Indifferent to Vlad's murder, Faustin releases them and employs Niko as

9042-408: The cover system allows players to execute an attack plan. In addition to the combat system, most reviewers noted the vehicle handling was more realistic than in previous games. Robinson of Computer and Video Games felt that the vehicle handling echoed realism, while Hicks of Official Xbox Magazine called the vehicle selection "excellent". Costantino of GameRevolution praised the improvement of

9179-400: The crowd's reaction. Burr will often stand still, casually leaning one arm on the mic stand, a mischievous grin on his face, acting like the loud guy at a bar. Burr has cited Richard Pryor , George Carlin , Bill Cosby , Sam Kinison , and Patrice O'Neal as the five greatest stand-up comedians of all time. In 2013, Burr married actress and producer Nia Renee Hill, who sometimes appears as

9316-514: The cultural rhetoric concerning "punching up" and "punching down", including Colin Quinn , who described the terms as a product of activism and "not created by humorous people." Appropriation and plagiarism are considered "social crimes" by most stand-ups. There have been several high-profile accusations of joke theft, some ending in lawsuits for copyright infringement. Those accused will sometimes claim cryptomnesia or parallel thinking, but it

9453-602: The dark comedy series Immoral Compass (2021). In 2017, Rolling Stone ranked him 17th on its list of the "50 Best Stand-Up Comics of All Time". Burr has hosted the twice-weekly Monday Morning Podcast since 2007 and co-founded the All Things Comedy network in 2012. He also created, co-wrote, and voiced the lead character in the Netflix animated sitcom F Is for Family (2015–2021). His other notable roles include various characters in Chappelle's Show , Patrick Kuby in

9590-399: The design was a face to convey the appropriate emotions and a body that could move nicely with the new animations. The in-game purchasable outfits were also designed to fit with the character. The team ensured that the gameplay choices presented to the player were not too extensive, as they still had to make sense to the character, who is driven by the people around him. Dan Houser felt that

9727-570: The developers. The proprietary Rockstar Advanced Game Engine was used for Grand Theft Auto IV . Garbut found the game's technical design similar to Grand Theft Auto III ' s, with both being the first in the series released on their respective platforms. He claimed an operable game engine was not finalised until late in development, at which point "there's still plenty of guesswork" until optimisation near release. The characters' physical performances were recorded using motion capture . Up to eight actors, dressed in full suits, could perform on

9864-460: The development of routines, which they construct and refine with jokes and interconnected "bits." These bits form an interwoven narrative, leading to the "closer," the final joke that ties the show's themes together for a satisfying conclusion. Most jokes are the juxtaposition of two incongruous things and are made up of the premise, set-up, and punchline , often adding a twist, topper ,or tagline for an intensified or extra laugh. Delivery relies on

10001-678: The episodes to show "a different side of Liberty City". In January 2010, Rockstar announced that the DLC would be bundled as Episodes from Liberty City , released for PlayStation 3 and Windows on 13 April 2010 in North America and 16 April in Europe. Episodes from Liberty City was also bundled with the main game in The Complete Edition , released on 26 October 2010 in North America and 29 October in Europe. The Xbox 360 version of

10138-407: The first contemporary game in the series since 2001's Grand Theft Auto III ; the team felt that enough time had passed to avoid feeling repetitive. The types of in-game vehicles were decided upon early in development, after which the vehicles department begin creating the designs. The vehicles are not based on specific real-life counterparts, but take elements from several, with some original ideas by

10275-449: The fourth and fifth seasons of AMC 's Breaking Bad as Patrick Kuby from 2011 to 2013. A later special, You People Are All the Same , premiered in 2012 as a Netflix exclusive. Burr's stand-up special You People Are All the Same (2012) was the first to premiere exclusively on Netflix. He played Mark Mullins in the 2013 buddy cop film The Heat . In 2014, Burr filmed his fourth hour-long special I'm Sorry You Feel That Way at

10412-428: The freedom that it allows the player. Seth Schiesel of The New York Times named the city the "real star" of the game. Official Xbox Magazine ' s Hicks was impressed by the city, attributing this to the game's artificial intelligence . Robinson of Computer and Video Games considered the environment believable, and felt that the world was "utterly unmatched". Goldstein of IGN felt that, although Liberty City

10549-439: The game an element of "replayability". Eurogamer ' s Tom Bramwell considered the morality choices a fair substitute over "bosses with large health bars". The game's characters—particularly Niko—received positive reactions from critics. Hicks of Official Xbox Magazine and Andy Robinson of Computer and Video Games both called Niko "charismatic" and "likeable", stating that they prefer him over previous protagonists of

10686-461: The game and its DLC were made backwards compatible with the Xbox One on 9 February 2017. Industry analysts found Grand Theft Auto IV ' s marketing much more subtle than Microsoft's marketing of Halo 3 (2007), identifying Rockstar's interest in controlling the output at all times. The game was marketed through video trailers and press demonstrations. On 29 March 2007, the debut trailer

10823-468: The game became the fastest-selling game of all time, selling over 631,000 copies in twenty-four hours. This broke the record set by Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas at 501,000 copies over the same period. During the first five days of availability, the game sold over 927,000 copies in the United Kingdom. In the United States, Grand Theft Auto IV sold 2.85 million units in its first five days. By

10960-485: The game itself serves as a reboot for the series. The new timeline established by Grand Theft Auto IV would continue with two expansion packs, The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony , and a sequel, Grand Theft Auto V , as well as its online component, Grand Theft Auto Online . The handheld game Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars is also considered part of the HD Universe, because it features

11097-538: The game were placed on buildings and public transport. The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) removed advertisements promoting the game from their property in April 2008; Take-Two filed a lawsuit in response, claiming that the CTA had violated a contract. Visitors to the website of WKTT Talk Radio—a fictional radio station within the game—were offered a chance to leave a voice mail message stating their problems. Prior to leaving

11234-494: The game would be coming to Windows on 18 November 2008 in North America and 21 November in Europe, with additional development work by Rockstar Toronto . Microsoft partnered with Rockstar in a US$ 50 million deal to bring two episodic downloadable content packs to the Xbox 360: Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned on 17 February 2009, and Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony on 29 October 2009. Dan Houser wanted

11371-485: The game's characters. Dan Houser described Liberty City as "the biggest character" of the game. The Grand Theft Auto IV rendition of Liberty City is more detailed and larger in size than most earlier entries in the series; although smaller than San Andreas, the setting of the previous main game, the developers considered it comparable in scope due to city's verticality, number of buildings, and level of detail. The team wanted less dead spots and irrelevant spaces, such as

11508-514: The game's hip-hop radio station The Beat 102.7. Record producer Bobby Konders, who owns the record label Massive B and hosts the in-game radio station Massive B Soundsystem 96.9, flew to Jamaica to get dancehall artists to re-record tracks to make references to the boroughs of Liberty City. The Housers's father, jazz musician Walter Houser, provided several classical music tracks for the game. Microsoft 's Peter Moore announced Grand Theft Auto IV at E3 2006 by rolling up his sleeve to reveal

11645-425: The game's mechanics, particularly the physics engine's advanced vehicle and character animations. Reviewers praised the sound design. Goldstein of IGN praised the actors' performances and the use of licensed music. GameSpot ' s Calvert and GamesRadar ' s Walter also commended the licensed music, the latter admiring the humour of the radio's talk stations. Michael Pinson of The Pro Audio Files praised

11782-490: The game, The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony , which both feature new plots that are interconnected with the main Grand Theft Auto IV storyline, and follow new protagonists. Development of Grand Theft Auto IV began soon after the release of San Andreas and was shared between many of Rockstar's studios worldwide. The game introduced a shift to a more realistic and detailed style and tone for

11919-465: The game, such as a bank robbery and police chase. A television commercial from GameStop debuted on 1 April, focusing on the activities in Liberty City. Viral marketing strategies were used to promote the game. Wanted posters were placed around New York City promoting the game's characters and website; billboard versions were also posted throughout the city. Murals and posters advertising

12056-401: The game. Garbut found the increased demand of detail brought on by the advanced technology daunting. A technique used to make the visuals look real was to avoid harsh edges, instead blending surfaces together to make the world look dirty and lived-in. The props department created multiple variations of different objects to make the world more interesting and unique. Grand Theft Auto IV was

12193-574: The game; though not the largest map in the series, they considered it comparable in scope due to its verticality and level of detail. The budget climbed to over US$ 100 million , making it one of the most expensive video games to develop . Grand Theft Auto IV was released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles in April 2008, and for Windows in December. Upon release, the game received critical acclaim, with praise particularly directed at

12330-399: The highest-rated PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 game. Reviewers praised the narrative, open world design and combat system. Hilary Goldstein of IGN felt that the game "sets a new benchmark for open-world games", and Andrew Reiner of Game Informer wrote that the game "completely changes the landscape of gaming". Reviewers lauded the open world design, some further complimenting

12467-691: The in-game Internet, which allows Niko to send and receive emails and set up prospective dates with potential girlfriends, Niko can use Internet cafés located around the city. The game also features a subway system , allowing players to quickly traverse through the game's world. The online multiplayer mode for Grand Theft Auto IV allows up to 32 players to freely roam across the map. Players decide which game mode they wish to play, including deathmatches and street races. Both cooperative and competitive game modes are available, split into ranked and unranked matches. For players to level up through ranks, in-game money has to be earned. The game also features

12604-583: The late 19th century. These include vaudeville , the stump-speech monologues of minstrel shows, dime museums , concert saloons , freak shows , variety shows , medicine shows , American burlesque , English music halls , circus clown antics , Chautauqua , and humorist monologues, such as those delivered by Mark Twain in his 1866 touring show Our Fellow Savages of the Sandwich Islands . Charles Farrar Browne (April 26, 1834 – March 6, 1867), better known by his nom de plume , Artemus Ward,

12741-410: The maximum six-star level, efforts by law enforcement to incapacitate players become very aggressive). Law enforcement officers will search for players who leave the wanted vicinity. The wanted meter enters a cool-down mode and eventually recedes when players are hidden from the officers' line of sight. The game's cover system allows players to move between cover, to fire blindly, aim freely, and target

12878-412: The message, callers were asked to read the terms and conditions, which revealed that some of the voice mail message would be selected for use in the game. In the month prior to launch, Rockstar and GameStop held a competition offering up to US$ 10,000 and a trip to New York City for the game's launch event. Microsoft held a similar sweepstakes competition, offering consoles, games, Microsoft Points ,

13015-668: The missions in San Andreas had become too linear, and wanted to present choices to the player in Grand Theft Auto IV . The writers found that Niko needed a motivation to come to America, so they created his cousin, Roman. Dan Houser felt that the two could not be brothers as there would be a deeper level of familiarity than necessary. He described the two as a double act , with Roman's fantasist charm playing off Niko's tough cynicism. The team gave other non-playable characters (NPCs) more definable behaviours and dialogue to make them feel more alive. The writers initially considered having

13152-538: The most realised video game characters attributing this to the game's script, while 1UP.com ' s Boyer commended the use of character bonding during missions. Many reviewers found the combat system was more responsive than in previous games, particularly praising the addition of the cover system. Justin Calvert of GameSpot wrote that the cover system makes the game's combat a "huge improvement" over previous games. Reiner of Game Informer agreed, writing that

13289-418: The motion capture stage at one time. The camera included a teleprompter for actors to read their scripts. Over a hundred moves would be captured each day of production. The voice acting performances were often recorded months later alongside facial reference capture, and an actor's voice could be composited over a different actor's physical performance. The in-game animations were crafted similarly, using

13426-611: The murders of several known or suspected terrorists , the superior clears Niko's criminal record and aids him with seeking the traitor. Roman's fortunes improve when he receives a large amount of insurance money from the arson, which he uses to rebuild the business and buy an apartment in Algonquin. Roman also proposes to Mallorie, who accepts. While working for the Irish Mob , Niko befriends gangster Patrick "Packie" McReary, helping him and his brothers carry out various jobs, including

13563-557: The music video for Rick Astley 's " Never Gonna Give You Up ". The second trailer was released on 28 June 2007, showcasing the game's physics engine and featuring the song "Arm in Arm (Shy Child Remix)" by the Boggs . Dan Houser noted that the game was "still rough" when the first trailer was released, but that cutscenes were "coming on board" by the second trailer's release. To unveil the game's cover art, Rockstar contracted artists to paint

13700-452: The narrative and open-world design. Grand Theft Auto IV broke industry sales records and became the fastest-selling entertainment product in history at the time, earning US$ 310 million in its first day and US$ 500 million in its first week. Considered one of the most significant titles of the seventh generation of video games, and by many critics as one of the greatest video games of all time , it won year-end accolades, including Game of

13837-455: The narrative. IGN ' s Goldstein accepted that the darker tones to the story were a break from series tradition. Jon Hicks of Official Xbox Magazine felt surprised by the amount of depth to the story. Reiner of Game Informer wrote that the level of freedom in the game contributed to his enjoyment of the story. The morality choices faced by players throughout the narrative were also welcomed. 1UP.com ' s Boyer felt that they gave

13974-472: The neighbouring state of Alderney, which is based on New Jersey . The game is played from a third-person perspective and its world is navigated on foot and by vehicle. Throughout the single-player mode, players control Niko Bellic. An online multiplayer mode is also included with the game, allowing up to 32 players to engage in both cooperative and competitive gameplay in a recreation of the single-player setting. Two expansion packs were later released for

14111-474: The next stage, then the thing isn't to try and do a loving tribute or reference other stuff," said Dan Houser. He said that the writers wanted something "fresh and new and not something that was obviously derived from [a] movie". Dan Houser felt that the quality of the writing had to improve alongside the advancements in graphics and technology. He noted that the improvements in facial animation allowed for slower-paced cutscenes. The unique dialogue that plays when

14248-467: The nominees at the 2008 Spike Video Game Awards with eight nominations; it led the winners (tying with Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots ) with three awards: Game of the Year, Best Action Adventure Game, and Best Performance by a Human Male for Michael Hollick 's role as Niko. The following year, The Ballad of Gay Tony won Best DLC. Grand Theft Auto IV was nominated for three awards at

14385-424: The numbering scheme absent from the previous two main games to represent the same leap in production as Grand Theft Auto 2 (1999) to Grand Theft Auto III (2001). Development of Grand Theft Auto IV ceased by 21 April 2008 when the game was submitted for manufacturing . Producer Leslie Benzies estimated that the budget of the development efforts exceeded US$ 100 million , making Grand Theft Auto IV one of

14522-484: The player to relate to him more, only driven by his vague past and relationship with Roman. When deciding on Niko's background, the writers felt that being an immigrant could lead to more dangerous situations, and therefore more enjoyable missions; after discussions with criminal experts, Dan Houser found that "the real scary characters are not born in America anymore". He felt that Niko's outsider view of American culture

14659-426: The player to traverse between islands safely. Grand Theft Auto IV is set in the fictional "HD Universe ", which mirrors and parodies the real world. The previous games formed fictional universes of their own, which despite having many similarities with the HD Universe, are considered to be different continuities. Hence, the Liberty City depicted in Grand Theft Auto IV is different from its previous renditions, and

14796-564: The port for its inferiority over the console versions. The in-game features added in the port were well received. The addition of the Video Editor was met with positive reactions; GameSpot ' s Calvert called it "a great way to get creative", while Kieron Gillen of Eurogamer criticised the unpredictability in its timing. Critics also praised the addition of the customisable radio station, which allows players to listen to their own choice of music; Tom Chick of 1UP.com named it

14933-455: The problems it aims to fix, such as racism , because it only focuses on the words people use rather than changing their attitudes. He has also said that political correctness has no answer for, or impact on, other major sociopolitical issues such as the power held by bankers and pharmaceutical executives . He voted for Green candidate Ralph Nader in the 2000 presidential election . He voted for neither Hillary Clinton nor Donald Trump in

15070-427: The purpose. A TV special originally released on television, video on demand , or in film theatre's may be re-released as an album on audio CD , LP record , or audio streaming . A "half-hour special" is typically between 20 and 35 minutes in runtime excluding commercial breaks and an "hour-long special" is typically between 40 and 65 minutes excluding commercial breaks. Stand-up comedians define their craft through

15207-641: The record for the most consecutive sold-out shows at Boston's Wilbur Theatre , where he performed 19 sold-out shows in a row, almost doubling the record of 10 set by Aziz Ansari . Burr sold out 20,000 seats at the Los Angeles Forum on September 28, 2018. In September 2021, he sold out Red Rocks Amphitheatre . In 2023, he performed at the 5,000-seat ancient Roman amphitheater, the Odeon of Herodes Atticus in Athens, Greece. In 2024, Bill performed in front of

15344-728: The same map as Grand Theft Auto IV , except for Alderney. Niko Bellic, an Eastern European ex-soldier, arrives in Liberty City aboard a cargo ship, the Platypus , to escape his criminal past, pursue the American Dream , and search for the man who betrayed his unit to an ambush during a war ten years prior. Reuniting with his cousin Roman, he discovers that his tales of riches were lies concealing his small, dirty apartment, unprofitable taxi company, gambling debts, and disputes with loan sharks . Niko begins assisting Roman with his problems, which leads him to make his first criminal contacts in

15481-441: The separate features of the sound design—including the city's ambiance, licensed music, character dialogue, and vehicle and weapon sound effects—applauding the developer's use of uniting the features together. Carolyn Gudmundson of GamesRadar also retroactively praised the soundtrack, commending its suitability to the setting. The online multiplayer mode received positive reactions from critics. Reiner of Game Informer praised

15618-448: The series. George Walter of GamesRadar praised the depth of the character, and IGN ' s Goldstein felt that the character of Niko feels relatable when faced with difficult decisions. Jeff Gerstmann of Giant Bomb felt that Niko was "the only thing that mattered to [him]" as he progressed through the story, with the character becoming one of his favourite features of the game. Schiesel of The New York Times named Niko one of

15755-402: The series. Unlike previous entries, Grand Theft Auto IV lacked a strong cinematic influence, as the team attempted an original approach to the story. As part of their research for the open world, the development team conducted extensive field research in New York, capturing over 100,000 photographs and several hours of video. The developers considered the world to be the most important element of

15892-404: The soundtrack CD. The publisher also collaborated with Sony to release a 40 GB PlayStation 3 console with a copy of the game. GameStop hosted midnight launch events at over 3,500 of its American stores, with contests and giveaways. Grand Theft Auto IV received "universal acclaim" from critics, according to review aggregator Metacritic . It is the second-highest-rated game on the site, and

16029-420: The story, Niko meets and befriends various new characters. They can then perform favours for Niko whenever he asks; for example, his cousin Roman, who owns a taxi service, can send one of his cabs to take Niko to any destination around the city. Cabs are always available during gameplay for quick travel to a destination. Throughout the course of the game, players are also faced with morality choices, which alter

16166-461: The storyline appropriately depending on the player's choice. While free roaming the game world, players may engage in context-specific activities such as bowling or darts . Other available activities include a vigilante mini-game, and in-game television programming. Niko has a cell phone for contacting friends and starting activities. The cell phone is also used to access the game's online multiplayer mode, and to enter cheat codes . To access

16303-431: The targeting system makes players feel responsible for all deaths. IGN ' s Goldstein praised the fluidity of the cover system, and felt that the auto aim mechanic is a "great help in larger battles". GamesRadar ' s Walter wrote that the cover system has "paved the way to a new style of mission". David McComb of Empire called the combat "sharp and instinctive", and Hicks of Official Xbox Magazine felt that

16440-468: The team chose the setting because of the detail and variety it provided, describing New York as "an amazing, diverse, vibrant, cinematic city". Writer Dan Houser added that the team "wanted to be somewhere where we had a foothold" due to the amount of research required for the world; Rockstar Games's main headquarters are located in New York. The team consciously avoided a precise recreation of New York City to allow for more enjoyable game design, selecting

16577-465: The teleprompter, or down when looking at a script. Image Metrics head of production David Barton noted that "having realistic eyes is 90 percent of the battle", as it allows the player to believe the character. SpeedTree was used for in-game environment rendering. When selecting music for the in-game radio stations, music supervisor Ivan Pavlovich said "[we had] to pick the songs that make New York today what it is, but make sure they won't feel dated by

16714-653: The time the game comes out." The developers contacted over 2,000 people to obtain recording and publishing rights; they hired a private investigator to locate the relatives of late Skatt Bros. member Sean Delaney to license the band's song, "Walk the Night". Billboard reported that Rockstar paid as much as $ 5,000 per composition and another $ 5,000 per master recording per track. Developers originally considered letting players purchase music in an in-game record shop and for Niko to have an MP3 player , but both ideas were cut. DJ Green Lantern produced tracks exclusively for

16851-399: The title. After one month of availability, the game had sold over 8.5 million copies. It broke three Guinness World Records on 13 May 2008: highest grossing video game in 24 hours, highest revenue generated by an entertainment product in 24 hours, and fastest-selling video game in 24 hours. On 11 March 2011, Take-Two announced that the game had sold over 20 million copies, with

16988-406: The upgrade in quality across all design aspects while maintaining the coherence of the previous games. The team took the game's development as an opportunity to "strip things back and start again", refining the art style without losing the style of the series; they distanced the game from the "cartoon-like style" of its predecessors while creating a new style that was consistent across all aspects of

17125-426: The use of intonation, inflection, attitude, and timing as well as other stylistic devices, such as the rule of three , idioms, archetypes, or wordplay. Another popular joke structure is the paraprosdokian , a surprising punchline that changes the context or meaning of the setup. In order to falsely frame their stories as true or to free themselves of responsibility for breaking social conventions, comedians can use

17262-400: The wide open deserts in San Andreas . They wanted the game to be "a more focused experience" than San Andreas , and Dan Houser felt that the limited activities of New York allowed this. The team felt that the addition of Niko's mobile phone added to the immersion of the world and represented society's shifted focus on phones. The in-game brands and products are designed over several years;

17399-476: The world is larger in area than most earlier Grand Theft Auto series entries. At the beginning of the game, players can only explore the first island—composed of Dukes and Broker—with all other islands unlocking as the story progresses. Players use melee attacks, firearms and explosives to fight enemies, and may run, jump, swim or use vehicles to navigate the game's world. There is a first-person perspective option when using vehicles. In combat, auto-aim and

17536-492: Was "a nightmare". Rockstar North , the core 220-person team behind the game, co-opted studios owned by parent company Rockstar Games to facilitate development between a full team of over 1,000, including 50 employees at Rockstar NYC , 40 at Rockstar Lincoln , 10 at Rockstar San Diego , and around 600–700 working part-time internally and externally. Some key members of the development team worked 12-hour days during production, often without holidays. The team decided to continue

17673-533: Was "fun". The team wanted Niko to be "more of an anti hero than a hero, capable of making positive actions within his criminal world". They wanted his demeanour to reflect the weight of his past and choices. Niko's design underwent a few changes, but was finalised early in development. His outfit underwent several changes based on Eastern Europeans, particularly photographs of men fighting in winter wars in Yugoslavia and Chechnya . The primary motivation for

17810-600: Was also the first guest on Tom Green 's podcast. Burr's first hour-long special, Why Do I Do This? (2008), was filmed in New York. Burr's special Let it Go was recorded at The Fillmore in San Francisco and premiered on Comedy Central on September 18, 2010. That same year Burr appeared in the comedy film Date Night as Detective Walsh. On April 18, 2011, he guest hosted the Hollywood Babble-On podcast alongside Ralph Garman . He also appeared in

17947-421: Was announced that Burr would co-write, direct, and star in the comedy film Old Dads , his feature-length directorial debut; it was released on Netflix in 2023 to mixed reviews. A few months later, he received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Actor in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series nomination for the dark comedy series Immoral Compass (2021–present). His seventh stand-up special, Live at Red Rocks ,

18084-418: Was nominated for Choice Video Game at the 2009 Teen Choice Awards . Within twenty-four hours of its release, Grand Theft Auto IV sold over 3.6 million copies, equating to approximately $ 310 million in revenue. Within a week, it generated more than $ 500 million in worldwide revenue, equating to approximately 6 million copies sold for Take Two. The numbers surpassed analysts' expectations for

18221-426: Was one of the first focuses of development due to the advanced technology; the team wanted it to feel realistic without being too technical. The cover system was a "natural addition" to the targeting. Benzies described the multiplayer as the hardest part of the game's development. The team wanted the multiplayer to feel like an extension of the cinematic single-player experience. Dan Houser described it as "a section of

18358-497: Was released on July 12. On August 21, 2022, Burr became the first comedian to perform at Fenway Park , in front of a sold-out crowd of around 35,000 people. It was also the largest comedy show in the history of Boston. He has had sold-out shows at Madison Square Garden on November 14, 2015, and then again on November 11, 2023, the Royal Albert Hall on June 6, 2018, and consecutive shows on March 4 and 5, 2019. He holds

18495-461: Was released. It was narrated by protagonist Niko, and depicts the open world accompanied by the song "Pruit-Igoe" by Philip Glass , originally composed for Godfrey Reggio 's 1982 documentary film Koyaanisqatsi . The trailer is credited for starting the Rickrolling meme; after the higher viewership crashed Rockstar's website, several users re-posted the trailer, but some misleadingly played

18632-469: Was started by comedians Al Madrigal and Bill Burr with The Daily Show on the All Things Comedy website. The network was established as an artist owned cooperative , which Madrigal and Burr emphasize as an important aspect of the collective. All Things Records was started in March 2014 and released three albums in the months following its creation including Believe in Yourself by Sam Tripoli, Live at

18769-434: Was the writer David Foster Wallace . He worked in warehouses before starting his comedy career, later stating that he enjoyed the freedom of the job: "If my boss gave me a rough time, I could just get on a forklift and just, like, drive away." Burr first performed stand-up comedy at the age of 23 on March 2, 1992. He moved to New York City in 1994. He started to appear in numerous shows performing standup such as Showtime at

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