Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

[Nomad]

The more I hear about the next GTA, the more I can't freaking wait! GTA5, also known as San Andreas, is going to be BIGGER and better than ever. Emphasis on "BIGGER," because it is literally going to be HUGE. THREE cities crammed into one game!

Here's some stuff from some interviews with RockStar developers:

Originally Posted by Rock*

"Probably the most interesting thing you [need to] think about for a second is that we are not setting the game in a version of Los Angeles or San Francisco or Las Vegas, but in all three - and with the countryside in between," said Dan Houser.

He went on to talk about how "we take this GTA stuff really seriously and we work like f*** on it, and we don't just try to churn out a game. We think we've got some clever ideas and clever angles on things."

"Los Santos" is the game name for Los Angeles, "San Fierro" for San Francisco, and "Las Venturra" for Las Vegas. Each city is about the same size as Vice City. As in other GTA games, not all of it will be open at the beginning of the game.

Houser said that he estimates that "the entire game area is approximately four to six times as large as the entirety of either of the previous entries in the series."

In San Fierro, things are more driving-based due to the hills. Houser mentioned that "one of the things we missed in Vice City was hills. The idea that you will be able to drive from LA, through the countryside, up a mountain (yes, a mountain! into San Francisco and on to Vegas is just freakish, and it feels amazing!"

The article goes on to say that they have done more to the graphics engine to tweak it, so don't worry. Also mentioned was that the desert isn't just an empty place with a cactus here and dirt there...but "there's still some weird s*** to see and the map feels very vibrant and alive."

Smog will be present to give LA the right feel. Expect "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," said Game Informer. They also mentioned that everything in the game now has independent models for day and night to give better lighting and shadowing.

Expect a lot more buildings with open interiors. But here is a bigger thing: "In Las Ventura, you'll be able to run a casino there, which you will have bought and built," said Houser.

m now able to give out the rest of the info. First off, expect some pimped-out lowriders. The game is more serious than previous GTA games, but the satire remains. The article also talked of research where the whole team went to Calfornia with "hundreds of digital cameras," " hundreds of movies" and talked to people around the area.

Houser went on to say that, for the radio stations, "there will probably be some rap music in there, but GTA music has always been about variety and we're not going to deviate from that at all."

He mentioned that some characters from the past will return, but didn't mention who. I would put my money on Phil returning definitely.

You will be able to recruit gang members to go with you wherever you want and do four-person drive-by's (as seen in the screenshot released at the official website).

Also, house robberies can now happen, but "Houser warns that these jobs wil require real skill and planning," said Game Informer.

You now have to eat in order to stay in a good physical state. This is reflected in a new stamina meter. If you eat too much, you get fat. If you eat enough at a regular rate, you are ok. There are also gyms to exercise in.

Also, expect ragdoll physics. It is called "impact animation" by Rockstar North. Also, dual weapons (dual pistols confirmed) have been implemented.

Each and every character you see onscreen now has a "brain," and will react to your actions and other events in a much more intelligent fashion. Rest assured, the sometime dimwitted reactions of pedestrians in past editions of GTA is a thing of the past. NPC intelligence behavior has now become so varied that voiceover recording sessions for an average pedestrian characters dialogue have gone from ten minutes to an hour in length. The AI is not limited to the behavior of NPC's, either, as San Andreas will implement dynamic difficulty based on your performance, sometimes easing the challenge to allow players to advance past troublesome objectives - a move that Rockstar hopes will allow more fans to play San Andreas through to completion.

There's a couple screenies up at The Official Website.

This is going to be AWESOME.

[FATAL]

I've played and completed every gta game that is out there, and one thing really bugs me: The fact that they're all made for consoles in the first place.

It made up many limitations to the game. I DO hope that they make a better conversion this time, with a BUILD IN multiplayer, so that we don't have to play these ultra laggy fan made multiplayer mods.
I'm looking forward to san andreas.

[XDelusion]

I wish they would make a game that not only had good vehicle control, but out of vehicle (FPS) controlls as well.
Also I'm not much into that Latino culture, or Mob Boss thing, so I'd need something Starwars, H.P. Lovecraft, Zombies, or Monty Pythonish in nature, to get into it.

I can say that GTA 3 and Vice had VERY good voice acting and were put together very well, aside of the CRAPPY out of car controls. Definatly trend setters for sure, I just can't wait for 10 years to pass, and see the fruits of that trend truely blossom.

[iori]

Well there should be a PC version of GTA:SA. I mean continuing the trend: Gta3 was ported, but badly. VC was ported very well, and SA will probably be the same. The sales for the GTA games went up with the PC ports. Also, the PC versions controls were better.

[FATAL]

I agree mostly with you Iori, but there was some space to imporvements with vice city porting. Sure the graphics looked better and ran faster than in GTA 3 (yes, what kind of strange philosophy. That's what you get for good optimizing.) but it could've had a multiplayer in it. If the fans could do it, why rockstart couldn't?

[The Undertaker]

To AO, thanks to a minigame that only be unlocked after downloading a mod off the internet (which has plenty of easy to get porn). Now I'll have to buy just so I can have the soon to be rare M rated copy.

[General Greivous]

Eh, I find the GTA series to be overrated. I don't care for Hip-Hop stuff and the whole "black gangster" lifestyle which GTA5 is portraying ontop of that.

[HyperFlash]

I'll have to look up this porn mini-game sometime.

[hawkwind2]

Originally Posted by HyperFlash

I'll have to look up this porn mini-game sometime.

That's the reason that is has just been banned in Australia.

[HyperFlash]

Oh, really??? I didn't know that...

[XDelusion]

Read this, it's related. Good stuff, as I would expect from this guy.

http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse....ticket_to_hell

[FATAL]

Hahahaha! Great!

[+Acyclitor+]

only in america, where the judo-christian value system is transformed into a raging zealot of a cause.

[XDelusion]

I think our influence is becoming global by the looks of it. :/

[RoMaNDaMaSTeR]

i dont lik this game cause i think it will make ppl want to be in a gang. im sure as hell not going to be in a gang. im not gonna die in a gang but whoever is in a gang will die by a bullet. everyone does cause of a gang war.

[Nomad]

...Hasn't made me want to be in a gang.

I'm pretty sure that most "gangstas" are actually more likely to die from a knife wound. Gangs tend to be glorified with gigantic arsenals. They tend to live in poverty--thus, they generally don't have the money for guns. Seems pretty obvious to me.

Originally Posted by +Acyclitor+

only in america, where the judo-christian value system is transformed into a raging zealot of a cause.

Uh. No. We were one of the later countries to adopt some sort of rating system. Countries like Germany, New Zealand, Australia, etc. just flat out ban games like that. Consider yourself lucky.