Grand Theft Auto IV Secrets Hidden Around Liberty City

Liberty City in Grand Theft Auto IV hides jokes, landmarks and nods to earlier games in places most players fly or drive straight past. Here is where to find the best-known ones.

The Heart of the Statue of Happiness

Fly a helicopter to Happiness Island once the area is open and land on the statue’s upper pedestal. A door marked No Hidden Content This Way leads inside, and a ladder climbs to a room where a giant heart beats, held in place by chains. Leaving the room rewards Niko with a Statue of Happiness T-shirt.

A Lake Shaped Like an Alien

The lake in Middle Park, Algonquin, looks ordinary at street level. Viewed on the map or from a helicopter, its outline forms the shape of an alien head.

The Photocopier Error Message

In TW@ internet cafes, a Kakagawa photocopier sits behind the cashier’s desk. Look at its screen through a sniper rifle scope to read a joke error message about unleashing a ninja guru.

The Wilhelm Scream

During the mission Final Interview, Niko escapes the offices of Goldberg, Ligner and Shyster. Shoot the guard at the top of the last flight of stairs, and he falls with the Wilhelm scream, the stock sound effect heard in many films.

The Ice Cream Van Tune

Steal a Mr. Tasty ice cream van and use the horn: it plays Soviet Connection, the game’s main theme. Calling ZiT while the tune plays brings back a text reply.

A Rare Car in Alderney

In Westdyke, Alderney, follow the dirt roads behind a rundown mansion. A Sultan RS, a car that does not appear in normal traffic, is parked in the bushes.

Nods to Earlier Games

• Claude’s outfit – after killing Playboy X in The Holland Play, his apartment wardrobe holds the leather jacket and trousers of the Grand Theft Auto III protagonist.
• Carl Johnson – a Fruntalot billboard in Algonquin shows a man said to be the hero of San Andreas.
• Donald Love – the businessman who disappeared in Grand Theft Auto III appears on some Liberty Tree newspapers.
• Gouranga – in multiplayer, running over another player can produce a message that references the Gouranga bonus from the first Grand Theft Auto.

The Swing Set Launch

In the Firefly Projects, drive a car backwards onto the swing set in the park. The physics engine can launch the vehicle high into the air, a quirk players have used for stunts ever since. Community documentation treats it as a quirk of the physics engine rather than a planned feature.

The full story and side content are covered in the story walkthrough and the friends and unlockables guide.