Details of San Andreas Emerge

Last week at E3 we received confirmation that Rockstar's newest addition to the "Grand Theft Auto" series, "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas", would take place in Los Angeles. Well, that was only partially true. We have now learned the game will start off in Los Angeles (or Los Santos, for GTA purposes), but players will also travel to San Francisco (San Fierro) and Las Vegas (Las Venturra), making the environment reportedly six times greater (although some are reporting ten times greater) than that of "Vice City".

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In addition to a drastically larger playground, Rockstar has added many new gameplay elements, proving they do, in fact, listen to the gamers. First and foremost, they have done away with redundancy. In each and every mission of the game, the player will be learning a new skill, ranging from gambling their money in a casino, to recruiting gang members, to robberies that will actually require a good amount of planning if the gamer wants to make it out alive and with the loot. "San Andreas" also brags of a stronger connection that all non-mission activity will have to the game as a whole. Everything the gamer does within the "San Andreas" realm will relate to the story, and, again, the gamer will pick up skills which will be needed in later and official "missions".

Another change in this newest incarnation, is the requirement to feed Carl, the main character of the story, in order to maintain his stamina meter. There are dozens of accurately modelled restaurants, food stand and eatteries throughout the game to make this task that much easier. The player will actually be able to see the weight of Carl physically fluctuate as they play through the game, the goal being to keep him away from the skin and bones level. On a funny note, it is possible to overfeed Carl, slowing him down and causing people on the street to call him a "fat bastard". We're assuming the "fat bastard" version of Carl would also cause problems with another addition in the game, the ability to ride the bike (shown below) up and down various hills and ramps throughout the game. Dave Mirra, are you listening?

Perhaps upsetting to the hardcore gamers, but surely pleasing to the masses who play the "GTA" series, the AI has been so greatly improved, gameplay will change based on the gamer's in-game skill level. In other words, if a gamer can't get past a certain level, the challenges within the level will become less and less until the gamer can pass through it. Maybe the hardcore gamers will be able to forgive this as "San Andreas" promises to be even more brutal, with the implementation of "rag-doll physics" and better hand to hand combat. Graphics will also be improved, specifically in terms of lighting. A new lighting engine will make sunlight "realistically reflect off car windows".


Finally, expect to be able to swim for short distances in "San Andreas", marking the end to the frustration many felt that their bad ass characters could escape the clutches of the cops, FBI and SWAT teams, but die the second his big toe hit the water.