You'd be hard-pressed to find a game more eagerly anticipated than Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. From the information on the game that's trickled out so far, it seems that San Andreas will continue to evolve the simple but ultimately revolutionary free-roaming mission-based system that was introduced in GTA III. But Rockstar North is aiming to do more than simply offer the same kind of experience we've played before in the upcoming San Andreas. The game will take a dramatic departure from the previous entries in the series and will borrow liberally from both traditional Japanese dating sims and turn-based strategy games to create a new gameplay hybrid that--OK, no. Rockstar North is savvy enough to know that it can't rest on its laurels, but the team isn't insane either.

Oh God, my dignity! My precious, precious dignity!

San Andreas is being crafted to be an ambitious entry in the franchise, even by Grand Theft Auto's own revolutionary standards. While the core experience will stick close to Rockstar's winning formula of gritty criminal mayhem, San Andreas will also feature a host of new gameplay features that will make the world you'll explore even more interactive. Over the next few months, we'll be taking a look at these new features, and we'll be sharing new information and assets with you as well.

The first feature we'll be looking at is San Andreas' food mechanic, which will require you to keep your virtual alter ego, CJ, in good physical condition by tracking down some choice grub. The basics of the mechanic are simple: When CJ is hungry, a message will appear onscreen alerting you to his need for some chow. If you choose to ignore this missive, his energy level will start to decrease, and a host of other bad things will begin to happen. Superficially, your boy will get skinny and look generally emaciated, resulting in the ill-fitting of his clothes, which is hardly the look you want to have when trying to earn respect on the streets.

As if this wasn't bad enough, you won't just look weak. Your skinny butt will be unable to lift boxes or punch with any kind of force, thus ensuring many a beat-down in hand-to-hand fights. Along the same lines, you can say goodbye to speed and stamina, which will affect your performance as you swim, cycle, or run through the game.

To keep yourself from looking like Snoop Dogg's sickly cousin, you'll have to seek out places to chow down. We've been hipped to a few of the locales in Los Santos, the LA-inspired city in the state of San Andreas, where CJ will be able to get his food on. As with the previous GTA games, you can expect the food service establishments in San Andreas to mirror real-life locales--but with satirical twists.

Even supermodels have to work.

To wit, three of the franchise restaurants in the game are Cluckin' Bell, Well Stacked Pizza, and Burger Shot. Cluckin' Bell is the obligatory chicken shack that you'd find in most any civilized town. The Bell's menu is all about chicken, and it features such specialties as the Cluckin' Big Filet Burger and the Cluckin' Huge Double Filet. There's also a wings-pieces bucket and a "fowl wrap" burrito. Well Stacked Pizza is a pizzeria whose menu includes such pie variations as The Buster, The D-luxe, and The Double D-luxe. Finally, Burger Shot will offer delicacies such as the Double Barreled Burger, for those craving a regular dose of ground beef.

The restaurants are given an extra touch of realism, and it's a touch that's no doubt unpleasant for some. The employee uniforms for Cluckin' Bell and Burger Shot are of the fantastically demoralizing variety that anyone who's worked in fast food knows and loathes. However, if you're on the go (as any good gangsta should be, since sit-down meals beg for assassination attempts) and you don't want to hit up one of the above establishments, you can always stop by one of the vending carts that you'll find peppered throughout the city. An added bonus is that, based on our screenshot, it appears said carts are manned by moonlighting supermodels--which is never a bad thing.