Rockstar Announces GTA San Andreas 522
Tickenest writes "According to a Yahoo-reprinted press-release, Rockstar Games has officially announced Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, the latest in the GTA series. The press release continues: 'Developed by world-class designers Rockstar North, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas will be available exclusively for the PlayStation(R)2 computer entertainment system and is expected to be in stores in North America on October 19, 2004 and in Europe on October 22, 2004.'" This confirms earlier rumors of (initial?) PS2 exclusivity and possible name for this much-awaited game.
Re:I can't wait for GTA: Boise (Score:5, Informative)
If you download your free copy of GTA 1 from the Rockstar web site ( here [rockstargames.com] ) , you'll find that "Liberty City", "Vice City" and "San Andreas" are the names of the three playable cities from that game.
Re:San Andreas? (Score:2, Informative)
Re:exclusivity (Score:5, Informative)
If any previous game with PS2 exclusivity (including Rockstar's games) is any indicator, this announcement has no impact on any possible PC release. That being said, it's doubtful it will be released for the PC for a while.
They've been vauge in the past and having just released 3 & 4 for the xbox I expect that cash will speak the loudest words
Just a note, GTA:Vice City isn't GTA4, and neither is San Andreas. VC and SA are simply continuations of GTA3 (given that Liberty City, Vice City, and San Andreas are the playable areas in GTA, and that Rockstar was very explicit about this before and during the launch of Vice City). GTA4 has been hovering around for quite some time, but it doesn't really appear that they've done much on that, given the amount of work they've put into the GTA3 titles.
Regarding other platforms (Score:5, Informative)
Earthquakes in games. (Score:5, Informative)
One of the objectives in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3's LA level is "start the earthquake" [planettonyhawk.com]. Later on the same level you have to deal with a car teetering over the top of the broken freeway.
The PS2 title Disaster Report [justadventure.com] places you in an earthquake ravaged city.
Quake, on the other hand, doesn't seem to be earthquake related.
Re:I can't wait for GTA: Boise (Score:5, Informative)
Yes, rumors are that the real sequel to GTA3 (e.g. not just an "expansion pack" like vice city/san andreas) will be developed for next-gen consoles (xbox2, ps3). Always remember to take your grain of salt.
Wow! Can't wait. (Score:3, Informative)
Libery City = New York City (Modern Day)
Vice City = Miami (1986-87 there or about)
San Andreas = (I Imagine that is Los Angeles, but when?)
Re:San Andreas? (Score:1, Informative)
Liberty City is like New York. Get it? Statue of Liberty?
Vice City is like Miami. Get it? Miami Vice?
San Andreas is like LA. Get it? The fault?
Re:Too bad... (Score:5, Informative)
Well, you may not have to wait too long. The exclusivity deal with Sony ends this year [gamespot.com]. So you could see an xbox version as early as Jan 1, 2005, just a few months after the ps2 release.
Re:San Andreas? (Score:5, Informative)
Liberty City = New York City. Big chunks of the roads in the game remind me of similar streets in Manhattan and Brooklyn.
Vice City = Perhaps you're too young to remember Miami Vice???
the website (Score:5, Informative)
Re:exclusivity (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Flame me if you want... (Score:3, Informative)
A few? Oh, come on! I love that game, and have spent absurd amounts of time rampaging around bouncing people off my bumpers [fenders], but be serious. GTA:VC's AI makes yer average brick look like Einstein.
Anyways.. my wishlist for the next installment of GTA -
Proper vehicle damage, ala Viper Racing (remember that?) or better yet, Carmageddon 2 (Remember THAT!)
Guardian-reader-horrifying dismemberment - think Soldier of Fortune 2.. Yes, I am still 13 at heart..
Much expanded property buying - imagine some kind of RTS like element, where gangs can own parts of the city, and there's an ongoing battle of trying to take over the most turf... Now turn that into an online mode!
Ability to use weapons other than the machinegun from cars/bikes. Chainsaw driveby at 120 Mph.. Wheee
Oh, yeah, and AI that doesn't suck, please.. but really, I'm not -that- fussed about that one. It's kinda fun mowing down dumb tards en masse.
Re:I can't wait for GTA: Boise (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Earthquakes in games. (Score:4, Informative)
Re:exclusivity (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Exclusives dont mean what they used to... (Score:3, Informative)
Re:My wishlist for GTA: San Andreas (Score:3, Informative)
Death Row is made easier if you take the Trashmaster that's in the middle of the junkyard (although one time it wasn't there). Like Nf1nk said, the other cars just bounce right off. The helicopter is another option, although not by any means necessary.
I think The Driver isn't all that challenging... if you're a pretty good driver. Stay as close to Hilary as you can, and eventually he'll make a mistake. There's no secret, you just need to have a good feel for the physics of the game.
Re:San Andreas? (Score:1, Informative)
Golden Gate Bridge on the GTA1 map of San Andreas - Get it?
Official Site (Score:4, Informative)
An official site is up (but no content yet):
http://www.rockstargames.com/sanandreas/ [rockstargames.com]
One thing worthy of note: the script in the logo for the words "San Andreas" is in that faux-English "newspaper-title" font that is popular among Latinos who put it on the back of their pickup trucks (often along with a decal of the virgin Mary - I don't get it either) and what not. Dunno if that means anything...
Rockstar Production Values (Score:5, Informative)
Manhunt - Excellent twist on the stealth genre, great game play, killer sounds. Hollywood stars rounding out the voice casts. "..the most important game in the last 5 years..." -The Chicago Tribune
Max Payne 2 - Love it or hate it, this game on Xbox/PC is gorgeous. The textures and level designs are top notch. Story is on par with most movies being churned out by any major hollywood studio. Artistic storyboards, full mo-capped character models, and again, excellent voice acting round out this game. Several PC GOTY and Action GOTY nods.
GTA:VC - Dozens of authentic tracks from the time perioud. Amazing radio stations and voice acting. Full hollywood cast. Beautiful cut scenes. Immersive, large locale. Game of the year almost everwhere, including an Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences award.
Midnight Club 2 - 9.1 out of 10 IGN. 91 out of 100 Gamerankings. Killer music, awesome graphics and killer gameplay including online component. Set a new standard for environment freedom in a racing game.
What makes Rockstar great is not just their awesome games, but their attention to production and detail which blur the lines between games and other traditional forms of entertainment, such as movies. I have a feeling GTA:San Andreas will be no different.
Re:San Andreas? (Score:1, Informative)
Re:I can't wait for GTA: Boise (Score:5, Informative)
not the greatest thing but it does work and is pretty fun to boot!
Re:Game developer #1 and #2 (Score:4, Informative)
Team Fortress Classic is something that TFS had been working on for a while before Half Life ever came out (TF2 was originally going to be a Quake 2 mod, then development shifted to making it a mod for Half Life and eventually Robin Walker and the rest of TFS got hired by Valve). Essentially it's still a community mod that just got a little bigger.
Counter-Strike and Day of Defeat are both mods as well. Valve just decided to box them up and try to make some cash off of them.
If you wanted to get this right you're thinking of Gunman Chronicles. The pretty damned terrible TC that ended up getting backed and released by Valve as a stand-alone game. Otherwise you really only have one game there.
Re:I can't wait for GTA: Boise (Score:2, Informative)
I think we'd be lucky if it was the GTA engine with minimal improvements in a new locale :) we'd be guaranteed a great game.
I think GTA3 had some of the best game ingredients in terms of playability, but it was made for a game console. So, when it was ported to PC, it's graphics engine was notably dated. The same was true with GTA3: Vice City.
I always hope that a new game will introduce more substance and playability, and better graphics and sound.
Using the old engine "with minimal improvements" definitely doesn't guarantee a "great game." Game developers don't need another excuse to coast on the success of a prior game. Always wish for more innovation.
Re:Earthquakes in games. (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Exclusives dont mean what they used to... (Score:2, Informative)
By my count, the majority of FF titles were released by Nintendo.
Also, I believe that the 7,8 and 9 were all released for the PS1, correct?
Re:Draw distance? (Score:2, Informative)
Of course -- but my point was that Vice City on the PC suffered from the same ridiculously close draw distances (or, more correctly, culling of 'moveable entities') as the first one, and it was unnecessary even then.
There is absolutely no excuse for this on the PC version -- I mean, there isn't even the option to 'up' the distances that vehicles and pedestrians are removed from the scene -- and I'm hoping that by slagging early we can avoid this problem when San Andreas eventually hits the PC.
Re:Non-PC games (Score:3, Informative)
Yes, it does, and that's why almost no one releases PC-exclusive games anymore.
Someone else posted the figure I was going to quote, which is that the console market is literally ten times more profitable than PC (~US$10 billion versus a little over US$1 billion last year).
Factor in the difficulty of PC support versus console support, and the ease of which PC games are pirated compared to consoles, and the reasons are obvious.
Re:I can't wait for GTA: Boise (Score:2, Informative)
tell me where it says no PC version (Score:2, Informative)
Re:San Andreas? (Score:4, Informative)
San Andreas==Los Angeles
Actually San Andreas==San Francisco.
It's laid out like San Francisco and many of the neighborhoods are plays on San Francisco neighborhoods.
my computer sucks (Score:4, Informative)
Meanwhile my roommate who has a 1.4ghz Athlon and Geforce3(?) also had terrible framerates.
You may think that GTA3 has dated graphics, but there's not much sense in releasing a game that people won't be able to run on $3k PCs for another 3-5 years...
But yes, the innovation part is a good point to think about. Even though I loved GTA3, it spent a LOT of time playing it, and don't intend to get Vice City if it's the same routine in a new city.
Re:Awesome! (Score:1, Informative)