Rockstar North is facing its stiffest competition yet as it prepares the latest installment in the GTA series with Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. While the years since Grand Theft Auto III's release have profoundly affected game development--in fact, everyone and his or her mother has since busted out one game or another that is best summed up as, "It's like GTA but with [insert concept here]"--to date, the only developer to top Rockstar's efforts has been Rockstar itself.

San Andreas will be five times the size of GTA: Vice City, and it's coming Monday, October 18, 2004.

This brings us to San Andreas. How do you go about keeping pace with two of the top-selling, most popular games of all time? To a certain degree, it's almost impossible for a game as highly anticipated as GTA: San Andreas to fail. The appearance of a single screenshot, detail, or even the smallest rumor engenders a feeding frenzy you don't often see outside of a school of starved piranha.

The game already appears to be headed down the path to creative success, based on what's already been revealed. So far, it's known that the game will feature an early '90s urban setting that's spread across an entire state. Additionally, it's public knowledge that the game will include a customizable main character who can change his hairstyle, gain or lose weight based on diet and exercise, drive new vehicles (like BMX bikes and monster trucks), and so forth. But the real question is, "Will everything come together to create the ultimate end cap for GTA on the PlayStation 2?" Or is that sound you hear Fonzie getting ready to jump the shark? Read on.

The State of San Andreas
GTA: San Andreas will feature a quantum improvement in terms of its scope, essentially giving players the run of an entire state--not just a single city like in Vice City or GTAIII. The state of San Andreas will feature three main cities, each inspired by real-life locales. The city of Los Santos is based on Los Angeles, San Fierro is derived from San Francisco, and Las Venturas will mirror the glitz of Las Vegas. Each city will feature its fair share of distinct landmarks to ensure that you know its source material. You'll see palm trees, Compton-inspired urban sprawls, and a fair share of seedy locales in Los Santos. San Fierro will have its own Golden Gate-style centerpiece, as well as its fair share of hills. Finally, Las Venturas will undoubtedly have a neon tube or two popping away amid the casinos that will line its streets.

Getting to and from each town will (initially, at least) require you to travel the highways and byways of the state. Rather than just send you driving through miles of open road, you'll find that the fast lanes of San Andreas will feature their own locales to stop by and their own folks to interact with. Rockstar promises that the badlands between each of the cities will be anything but the boring, desolate places you might expect them to be. Furthermore, Rockstar promises that GTA: San Andreas will include no discernible loading times whatsoever for when you're traveling around, so you'll theoretically be able to cruise cross-state without any interruptions. Brief loading times will only be present when entering and exiting all the different buildings in the game.

The Story So Far
While Rockstar intends to keep the bulk of the story under wraps--so as to not ruin the experience for players--what has been revealed certainly feels like a natural evolution for the GTA series. The game has moved up in time from the gaudy '80s to the harsh, early '90s. It will focus on the fertile narrative-and-gameplay ground of West Coast gang life. You'll play as Carl Johnson (aka CJ), a refugee of Los Santos who returns home after having left the twisted city--which is rife with corruption, drugs, and gang violence--to seek a more stable existence in Liberty City.

You'll play as CJ throughout San Andreas, and you'll quickly get swept up in a world of crime.

When the reality of gang violence performs a fierce pruning of his family tree, Carl finds himself back in his old 'hood reconnecting with his older brother, Sweet, who's still a card-carrying member of the local gang. Together they try to find out what happened to their relative. Unfortunately for him, CJ is framed by corrupt local cops for homicide and finds himself undergoing the full thug-life experience as he embarks on a bloody journey through the state of San Andreas to clear his name, protect what's left of his family and friends, and retake the streets.

CJ will accomplish all of this by using a variety of means, some of which will be familiar to GTA veterans and some of which will be entirely new to them. Read on for never-before-heard details about San Andreas' ambitious gameplay.