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!)

This early screenshot of GTA: San Andreas implied that home invasion would be a part of the game. Now we know the whole truth.

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.

CJ's all dressed up for the occasion, so no worthless chain-link fence is going to keep him from his unwitting target's valuables.

Well, actually, maybe not quite. You don't want any eyewitnesses, one way or another, if you intend to bust down some rich snob's back door. So, to prep yourself for a heist, you'd better change out of those shorts and T-shirt and try on something like a ski mask or a balaclava. Naturally, both are available for a fair price from the local sporting goods shop. A baseball bat might not be a bad impulse purchase while you're there, though a visit to the local Ammu-Nation would probably be best for safety's sake.

Then it's time to pick your target. We pointed out last week that rich neighborhoods like Los Santos' Vinewood and Rodeo will be readily apparent from their fancy-pants residents and overpowered sports cars. These may be appropriate locations for you to strike. Alternatively, some quaint, little out-of-the-way homes may offer fewer rewards, but there's much less risk as well. Gotta start small, right?

Read on and we'll tell you all about the fine art of breaking and entering.