Grand Theft Auto : San Andreas (OUT in Oct)
It's well known already that Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas will be by far the biggest in Rockstar's blockbuster series of open-ended criminal action games when
the game ships this October. Question is, what kinds of activities will you be filling your time with as you explore a state-sized chunk of land that features three huge urban sprawls? In recent weeks, GameSpot was the first to bring you details on a number of key, new features and details in GTA: San Andreas, such as the food system, bike tricks, and gym workouts. In addition, we provided an intimate look at the streets of Los Santos, San Andreas' LA-style capital city. This week, though, we've got perhaps the most intriguing update yet, and suffice it to say we can't come up with any euphemisms for it. So let's cut to the chase and tell you all about breaking into people's homes and robbing them blind. And after that, be sure to stick around for details on how to swim in San Andreas. (Say goodbye to treacherous instant death-by-water!)
Latter-day GTA games have allowed you to take on story missions as well as some optional side missions, such as ferrying folks around Crazy Taxi-style in taxicabs, fighting fires in fire trucks, or requisitioning cop cars for some vigilante justice. Vice City added pizza delivery missions, which were good for a chuckle but maybe didn't seem like an appropriate use of ambitious gangster Tommy Vercetti's time. In turn, San Andreas will feature what sounds like the most intense, deepest, and most lucrative side mission-type in the series to date: robbery.
Robbery will be a means to an end in GTA: San Andreas. That's because money will be very important in the game, since you'll need it not just to equip yourself with the hardware you'll need to survive but also because it'll be the key to main character CJ's influence and ability to move freely about the state. Unfortunately for you and CJ, you won't automatically rake in dough each time you complete a story mission like you did in previous GTA games. After all, CJ's not some hired goon. He'll end up doing much of his dirty work on account of his friends and family. Still, he'll need cash. And to earn it, he'll be able to break into people's homes, steal their valuables, and then sell these items to a fence.
One of the very first images released for GTA: San Andreas--the one seen above--showed a gang of armed hoods sneaking up on a residence in the dead of night, shotguns drawn. This image turns out to be highly reflective of the new robbery missions in the game, which represent a new type of "R3" mission. This means that, just like with the taxi or vigilante jobs, you'll initiate them at will simply by pressing down on the right analog stick when behind the wheel of the appropriate vehicle. What's an appropriate vehicle for a robbery? A moving truck, of course. Find one, switch places with its driver, hit R3, and you're good to go.
List will be updated
, which included a 72-page, full-color booklet, a premium disc, and a Solid Snake action figure.
