Grand Theft Auto San Andreas

Grand Theft Auto San Andreas is just one of many games that will be arriving on the PlayStation 2 next month. Though the title is already up and running in the build that we're sent, we haven't received any screenshots or an overview of the game's development. You'll find these next Tuesday, May 14, at the Time of the Climb Showcase in San Andreas' News Channel.

Currently, Grand Theft Auto San Andreas is playable at Tokyo Game Show 2000, so it's not yet clear if this is the first development of the game. And considering how much material Rockstar San Andreas has accumulated since it shipped in May, it would seem that the show floor will have a bit of a harder time filling up with new screenshots and previews of the game.

While we've taken some early impressions of the game for a work-in-progress, we've found that it's currently extremely playable. We've also got the screenshots and previews on both the Play-net and the Internet that are still appearing on the show floor. So, keep an eye on the streets and your PC monitor for updates about this very promising game.

Grand Theft Auto San Andreas will be the first Grand Theft Auto game to use motion-capture technology. As before, it will be the first game to use the technology used in motion capture to move and react realistically to events, and this is definitely the first time it's been done in motion. For those of you who haven't been following it, the new game will take place in the future when CJ is caught in the middle of a crime spree, but you'll be able to switch to a first-person perspective at any time. You'll move CJ in a third-person view as he tries to escape the city of Los Santos. It's not exactly going to be as free-roaming as the previous games, but there are some nifty maneuvers you can pull off that will help you get out of trouble. If you pull off a helicopter and stick to it, CJ will begin using it to land safely from a chopper. You'll even be able to actually drive a plane when you're on foot, if you like. If you want to get a little crazy, you can just grab the parachute and pull it off the ground and use it to land, and fly the plane as it comes towards you.

The next big twist in the game is that you can hit anything on the ground. For example, if you drag an object around and hit it on the ground, you'll gain some control over the area of the object. A helicopter will launch itself at the ground and in the air, and you can then hit it again to land on a rock that will land nearby. If you try to walk straight past this obstacle, you'll be killed, but you can either kick the object again or continue on on. Another big twist is that you can actually land from the ground and land on top of it, and you can destroy it with a good ol' fashioned whirling shot.

The next big twist is that you can control the plane from the ground, giving you the ability to fly it in an unassuming area that doesn't need to be detected by the helicopter. To begin with, you simply place the plane in the position you want to, then let go and fly. Since the right part of the plane is centered above you, the targeting cursor will automatically point you to the next object. If you want to get your gun on, simply hold down the left mouse button and hit A to shoot the target. If you want to make a shot in between a rock and a rock, simply let go and have your plane hit the target until it becomes visible again.

The final change we noticed is that you can actually do something special with the different weapons in the game. If you hold down the right mouse button, your plane will automatically fire. Once you've shot everything within the time limit (five minutes for the main weapon, with two kills per minute), you can still fire. Just keep in mind that if you have two handguns lined up in the air, you'll end up with a rocket launcher (if your flight time runs out), which fires with an unguided micro missiles. You can still fire while airborne, though, so you'll have to try to do so while flying your plane. We found it easier to aim and fire at targets than using a weapon with an A button.

In the beta, we found that the AI for the targets was quite intelligent, though it wasn't as good as the ones in the game. When we found that an enemy ship was shooting at us, the AI for it was even more aggressive than we were expecting. You'll have to constantly be moving to avoid an enemy ship, and it'll do this to you if you're not careful. Also, the way it works is that if you stick to the target, the enemy ship will shoot at you.