--Official Info--

The game will be based around "Recent Films" relating to the Californian gangster theme.

The GTA style innuendo's will return, bigger and better than before.

The game will use a Dual-Layer DVD because Rockstar have already filled up a full DVD disk!

The [Game Boxart] will look like this.

The game should take the average player no less than 150 hours to complete.

Release Dates

USA and Surrounding NTSC Areas: October 19th, 2004

UK and Europe: October 22nd, 2004

Australia: October 28th, 2004 [Click Here For More Info]

Characters

[Carl Johnson] - The main character and the gangster who the player will control.

[Sweet Johnson] - Carl's brother and part of the Orange Grove Families Gang.

Brian Johnson - Carl's 10 year old brother who was killed in a tragic car accident. Some people blame Carl for his death.

Kendl Johnson - Carl's sister. Not much is known about her as of yet but she is always arguing with Sweet.

[Smoke] - A family friend of the Johnson's who also takes his place in the Orange Grove Families Gang.

[Ryder] - Another friend of Carl and member of the Orange Grove Families Gang.

[Old Reece] - Carl's Barber. The guy who will be in charge of giving you all of your wacky hair styles.

Eddie Pulaski - One of the corrupt cops who frame Carl for homicide and make his life difficult.

Frank Tenpenny - The other corrupt cop who is always getting on Carl's back.

[Cesar] - A mysterious Latino character armed with a .45 and a body full of tattoos.

[LSPD] - The guys who'll be constantly on your tail when you break the law in Los Santos.

Mysterious Cabin Woman - A girl from a previous GTA re-appears as Carl's Accomplice... We predict Catalina.

Gangs

[Orange Grove Families] - Carl Johnson's gang who the player will move with throughout the game.

[The Ballas] - A rival gang of the Orange Grove Families.

The Flats - Another rival gang

The City / Map

The state of San Andreas is made up of the cities; Los Angeles, San Francisco and Las Vegas.

The three cities from above will be named Los Santos, San Fierro, and Las Venturas in the game.

Each city is the same size as Vice City.

The entire game will be about Four to Six times bigger than Vice City.

San Fierro will contain hills and will be more driving based.

You can drive from Los Santos, through the countryside, up a mountain and into San Fierro, then onto Las Venturas.

Driving through the desert will be vibrant and alive with weird things to see.

There will be tumble-weed in the desert.

The game will contain photographs and digital images as textures.

There will be Lakes, a Mountain, Farms and Fields plus more in the countryside.

The map is so big players will get lost frequently.

Buildings / Places

There will be a lot more buildings with open interiors.

The only loading times in the game will be a short pause when you enter buildings!

There will be places in GTA San Andreas called the following:

[Los Santos]

San Fierro

Las Venturas

[Well Stacked Pizza]

[Tuff Nut Donuts]

[St. Brutus Motel]

[Reece's Hair Facial Studio]

[Mount Chiliad]

Angel Pine

Dillamore

[Vinewood]

[Gasso Gas Station]

Pay N' Spray

Orange Grove is the name of the area where Carl and his gang will live.

The Mountain, Mt. Chiliad, Is the biggest single object in the game.

There are tunnels and lots of foliage on the mountain.

There is a Liquor Store, Bakers, Single Screen Cinema and a Trailer Park in Angel Pine.

Dillamore contains a Gas Station.

Graphics

The graphics engine has been tweaked.

Smog will be present in Los Santos, and real-time reflections on cars, windows, and mirrors, as well as new techniques like radial lighting, which allows for more realistic shadowing, and soft-shadow lighting for interior levels will be present.

Everything in the game now has independent models for day and night to give better lighting and shadowing.

Shadows can be used to hide yourself, to help pick off unsuspecting enemies.

Real sunlight is simulated, and shadows are placed where they would really be.

There are different sets of lighting for day and night which helps create a more realistic feel.

Weather effects have been added to.

There are various things to do and places to see in the countryside, such as farms which keeps the game feeling alive.

Vehicles will accumulate dirt and rust as you play through the game.

The HUD will be similar to that of GTA3 and Vice City.

There will not be as many 'pop-up' items while the player is moving throughout the game.

Trees will be rendered as a group from distance, but rendered separately as the player gets closer. This allows a much bigger draw distance.

The Draw Distance in the countryside is 4 times better than that in Vice City.

You will start to see clouds when you reach a certain altitude on Mt. Chiliad.

The foliage in the countryside is only drawn when the player can see it which keeps the game feeling vibrant and alive, but also maintains a steady framerate.

Game Play

The game will have rag-doll physics, or “Impact Animation” in Rockstars words.

In the Las Venturas city, you will be able to buy and build a casino and then run it you can then gamble your money in the casino.

You need to eat to retain your stamina. If you eat too much fast food, you become fat and pedestrians mock you for being fat. You also run slower and vehicles move slower. Beating certain missions is almost impossible unless you're in the right physical shape. To remedy this, you can go to a gym to exercise.

You can now rob homes. The robberies will require skill and planning, however.

You can recruit gang members and use them to do four person drive-by’s.

Being a Gang Member only makes up about 15% of the total game.

Carl Johnson can visit Old Reece (The Barber) and get his hair cut into numerous different styles which the player can decide. Pedestrians and characters will make remarks on your hair, depending if it looks cool or un-cool.

Carl and the Orange Grove Families can take over areas and generate money from them. This is just one of the many things which can add to the replay value even after the game has been 'completed'.

Swimming is now a part of the game, if you drive a vehicle into the water, you have two choices, climb out of the window and swim to shore, or stay in the car and sink, where you will have a certain amount of underwater stamina. Swimming will also be involved in some missions.

There are parts of the game where you will work as a gang, and parts where you will work alone.

The game is now very non-linear, and depending what choices are made, it will be rare for 2 players to have the same type of game. The missions will be the same, but so much can change depending on choices you make.

There will be In-Breds and Degenerates in the Countryside and some missions will reflect the contrast between the towny and the country people.

Characters have more bones which results in numerous different facial expressions.

There are now many more ways to complete missions. You could run straight in shooting, or sneak through the shadows and pick off the enemies one by one.

When the player only has one wanted star, hiding in the shadows should be enough to throw police off your trail.

The player must tap the X button on the bike in order to pedal faster.

The camera will automatically zoom behind the player at the touch of a button and the player then has the ability to freely target using the analogue stick. The auto-target will still be a part of the game though.

The game will take at least three times longer to complete than Vice City.

The longer the player holds down the R1 button, the more chance there is of getting a headshot on an enemy.

Unlike previous GTA Games, the players stats actually change the way 'their Carl' will behave. If a player drives around on a bike a lot, they will be a good bike driver in the game, but won't be as good at driving a car.

The player may have the possibility to change clothes or get tattoos in the game.

Three confirmed hairstyles include "dripping Jheri curls, a fashionable Afro and a towering flattop."

Weapons

Your character can [Dual Wield] pistols, sub machine guns and potentially other weapons.

The choice of weapons will match the weapons of the early 90's.

So far we have seen:

[Colt. 45]

[Ingram Mac 10]

[Uzi 9mm]

[Spas 12 Gauge Shotgun]

[Chrome Shotgun]

[M-16 Assault Rifle]

[AK-47]

You will have an accuracy meter at the top left of the screen, and the more enemies you hit, the better your accuracy will become.

The crosshairs which are aimed at people will change colour depending on how much health the enemy has. Green will symbolise almost full health, yellow represents half health, and red shows the character is almost dead.

Vehicles

There will be 90’s versions of some GTA3 / VC cars.

The following vehicles will most likely be in the game (probably under different names):

[BMX Bicycle]

[Greenwood]

[Bobcat]

[Gang Truck]

[Lowrider]

[Manana]

[Pick Up Truck]

[Police Helicopter]

[Police Motorbike]

[LSPD Cop Car]

[Sentinel]

[Sports Car]

[Sabre]

[Sanchez]

[Virgo]

[Walton]

[Hatchback]

[Monster Truck]

[Combine Harvester]

[Gas Tanker]

[4 x 4 Jeep]

[Linerunner]

[Quad Bike]

Some vehicles are made specifically for the countryside, while others are for the streets of the city.

It is possible to attach and detach the trailer on the back of large trucks.

The Monster Truck does not have a hand brake, but rather the ability to switch to 4x4 steering mode, which gives the vehicle an extremely small turning circle which is great for navigating through the trees in the country side.

Players will have to be very careful when driving the Gas Tanker as it will Jack-Knife very easily.

Artificial Intelligence

Enemy / pedestrian AI will be greatly revamped and they will think more logically. You can't beat someone to death in broad daylight and not have people notice and react.

Your enemies will be smarter, which will make robbing houses take a lot of skill.

Music

There will be a rap station, but there will be a variety of other stations as always.

There will be three times the amount of licensed music than in Vice City.

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--Character List--

Carl Johnson:
The protagonist of GTA: San Andreas. CJ needs to cross the entire state of San Andreas looking for a way to clear his name, save his gang, and make it out alive -- all by any means necessary.

Brian Johnson:
Dead sibling of CJ. His death was the main reason CJ went to Los Santos in the first place. Some things are best forgotten about. However, some things return to bite you on the ass.

Sweet Johnson:
Older sibling of CJ and assumed member (and, maybe even leader) of the Orange Grove Families Gang. There appears to be some beef between CJ and Sweet, as Sweet looks like he's blaming CJ for the death of their brother, Brian.

Kendall Johnson:
Sister of CJ and Sweet Johnson. Emotions are riding high after her mother's murder, and she's constantly warring with older brother Sweet.

Smoke:
Longtime member of the Orange Grove Families Gang and bud of Sweet Johnson. Now experiencing a severe loss of street respect among the local gangs of Los Santos.

Ryder:
Another key member of the Orange Grove Families, and close friend to Sweet. Together with Smoke, he's desperate to survive the ongoing unrest that comes with the turf of gang warfare.

Frank Tenpenny:
One of two down-and-dirty bent policemen that are putting the squeeze on CJ's old gang. Most likely, it's these two coppers that frame CJ for the homicide he's accused of.

Eddie Polaski:
The other half of the corrupt cop duo. Together with his scheming partner, Eddie is happily gunning for the Orange Grove Families as they fight for the gang's existence in Los Santos.

Don Salvatore Leone:
Making a reprise appearance from GTA III, actor Frank Vincent is one again to lend his voice talent to the role of the digital mobster. It's unknown as this time as to what capacity Don will take in SA, but he's in there!

The Ballas:
A local gang that manage to get right up the collective noses of our gang, the Orange Grove Families. Expect bullets to fly and blood to flow on the streets of Los Santos.

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--Weapons--