Can you imagine what it would be like to play some of your favorite games without playing as their respective heroes? Like a Metal Gear Solid game without playing as Snake, or a Mega Man X game without playing as X. Or maybe a Sonic game where you spend very little time as Sonic?
Oh, right. Those all happened. And none were very well received for it, either. Which is why it’s a little alarming when the possibility is raised that in Grand Theft Auto IV’s downloadable content for the Xbox 360, Niko Bellic may not play a role.
At ComicCon ’08 GameTrailers had the opportunity to catch up with the voice behind Niko Bellic, Michael Hollick. Geoff Keighly prefaced one of his questions by stating that Rockstar has been very tight-lipped about the upcoming DLC, adding that no one knows what to expect. Michael responded by saying “neither do I.”
In the interview, Hollick gave the impression that he had yet to be approached by either Rockstar or Take-Two for involvement in what has been speculated to be some sort of continuation to the overarching story of GTA IV.
Pressing for information, GT TV asked “If Niko was going to be in it, you haven’t done his voice for it yet — would it be fair to say that?” Hollick confirmed that he had yet to do any voicework for the DLC, stating “it’s fair to say that.” You can see the segment in the video below at the 9:30 mark. — Ripten
Of course, upon reading the headline, I drew the same conclusion that Ripten did: That maybe Rockstar wasn’t too thrilled with Michael Hollick’s high-profile interview wherein he discusses the relatively paltry sum of money he received in light of GTA IV’s profits.
But then, Ripten also says:
Of course, Hollick’s response to GameTrailers could have just been “Niko speak” for “no comment”. It wouldn’t be the first time that a figure has fibbed a little to maintain the cover of a top secret project.
True enough.
