Following up on Sunday's "San Andreas PC Exclusively on DVD?" news, I made some calls and it turns out San Andreas PC will indeed by shipping on a DVD. A kind bloke at Take 2 tech support with a UK accent confirmed that because the game is so large, it will be shipped on either a dual layer DVD disc (DVD-9) or perhaps a single layer DVD disc (DVD-5). He also let me know that the system requirements will be released closer to release date.

So while on Sunday there was still a possiblity that those without DVD readers will be able to play San Andreas on PC, that hope has been lost and come June you will have to cash out for a DVD reader.

This new information has been mirrored at the San Andreas PC and Xbox information page.

Our walkthrough has been updated to include the Las Venturas missions, with (as normal) tips, strategies and a whole bunch of screenshots.

There are just 9 missions to go, aswell as a few extra's from the San Fierro category. The walkthrough should be completed within the next few weeks, so stay tuned for updates.

From what I've just read, that seems to be the case. We've all seen the official PC boxart which looks like it's got a DVD graphic in the bottom corner indicating the game will be shipping on a DVD disc, but it seems there's more to the DVD theory..

A fan on our San Andreas PC & Xbox forums contacted Rockstar about his pre-order through Rockstar Warehouse, and asked about the format of the game. The correspondence goes as follows:

Don't take this as 100% sure information yet, I will send some emails around and try to get confirmation.

We now have two unknown cheats. Email me if you find out what any of them do, or, you can sign up at our forum and discuss it with other GTA fans, in this topic.

Bones from GTAForums discovered that unknown cheat #2 makes prostitutes pay you (rather than take your money). edisoncarter confirmed that unknown cheat #1 does infact do nothing at all.

Nothing:

Prostitutes pay you:

Related Links: edisoncarter's site, GTAForums

edisoncarter has just informed me of a new cheat he has found. Check it out:

Infinite Health Makes you mostly bulletproof, and fire, punches and melee attacks don't hurt you anymore. You can still be hurt by explosions, falling, getting run over, and drowning.

Related Links: edison's site, GTAForums

It seems we have another unknown cheat from edisoncarter. If you manage to find out what it does, mail me.

Unknown Cheat:

Related Links: GTAForums, edison's site

German gaming magazine GameStar has secured a world exclusive first look at the PC version of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas by travelling to Rockstar's offices in NYC to preview the game. Their cover page preview consists of 8 pages and 12 screenshots of the never-before seen PC version. Having read through the preview, here is a summary.

• The draw distance is considerably higher in the PC version.
• Real reflections on buildings can be seen in a screenshot. Real reflections will also be visible on cars and shiny floors.
• The German version will be censored of blood, you also won't be able to mug people for money.
• You can forget washed out textures from the PlayStation 2 version. The PC version will not be a 1:1 copy of the PS2 version, but a whole new graphical experience.
• It is not yet confirmed how the 2-player mode will work on the PC.
• The PC version will allow you to import your own MP3 for listening on the radio. You can even specify an MP3 folder on your hard disk, which the radio will play songs from between advertisements and DJ commentary.
• As of writing the preview, the game is 90% complete and ready to be released in June.

The preview is in the May issue of GameStar magazine and will be available on the 23rd of March in newsstands all over Germany. Pick up the magazine if you live in Germany and keep an eye on our San Andreas PC & Xbox forums. Thanks to our good friends at the german GTA fansite GTA Reactor.

Just a quick update regarding the walkthrough - the desert missions are now complete, and I've also added a guide for flying school with screenshots, tips, videos and such. Enjoy, and stay tuned for more updates soon.

Today I decided to take a look around my news sources, and alas I found that news containing "Grand Theft Auto" was posted almost every hour. I was rather surprised by what I found. Here is a selection of snippets from various articles.

No he doesn't. The person playing GTA can choose to move CJ and chooses what CJ does, using the controller. CJ himself does not do anything. CJ can be a very civil citizen if the controller is in the hands of a person who wants CJ to be a civil citizen. Now in movies, which are completely different, a person cannot choose anything, and there a character named CJ might indeed go "on a barrage of shootings, heists and dalliances with prostitutes." In a video game however, CJ cannot do that unless the player wants to.

Hilarious Hillary. At this point I would like to quote my friend and fellow webmaster here at GTANet: "You know I've played through that game twice now, and I've never ONCE picked up a hooker! Nobody does. It's just one of those small things that some people do when they're bored." Don't they just love to go on about the prostitutes? For heavens sake! I've played all three games in the franchise and I can safely say that the game is NOT about encouraging players to have sex with prostitutes and then murder them. A game encouraging such a thing does not exist.

ARE YOU KIDDING ME??

Have a nice day.

The more observant of you might have noticed that in the February issue of PC Gamer magazine, an upcoming preview of GTA San Andreas PC was advertised. Back during the release of GTA Vice City for PC back in spring of 2002, PC Gamer was the first magazine on the block with details. It seems Rockstar is continuing to support PC Gamer, as this time around PC Gamer has been appointed the first magazine with information on GTA San Andreas PC.

Our partner-site PlanetGTA has spoken to an editor at PC Gamer, and it turns out the preview will be in their June issue, as opposed to the May issue date that was advertised. PC Gamer will be receiving a pre-release build of the game next week for their internal review, and preview preparation.

The June issue of PC Gamer will be available for subscribers in late April or early May. It will be available in stores shortly thereafter. Remember, GTA San Andreas is coming to Xbox and PC second week of June!

None of the 4 categories that San Andreas was nominated for at the Game Developers Choice Awards won Rockstar an award. GTA San Andreas was nominated for best game, audio, game design and writing.

The GDC awards are unique in the industry because game developers get the opportunity to award each others' work, instead of consumers voting for their favourite. Big winner of the night was Half-Life 2 with 4 awards.

Related link: GDC Award Winners

Yet more cheats from edisoncarter:

Always Midnight Clock stopped at 00:00. Weird sudden weather changes. If you kill yourself, it stays at 12:00. Recruit Anyone (Rockets) Recruits get rocket launchers if they don't already have weapons.

Related Links: edisoncarter's site, GTAForums Topic

It seems that a South African online retailer with a curious resemblance to the name of the publisher of San Andreas has put up system requirements for San Andreas PC. It is not known whether these were provided by a source affiliated with Rockstar Games or the retailer in question, Take2.co.za, pulled the requirements out of the sky. Regardless, the requirements do look somewhat relevant.

Unlike some german sites might lead you to believe, Take2.co.za is a retailer independent from the publisher of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Take 2 Games. Keep in mind that these system requirements have not come directly from Rockstar Games and are therefore prone to change at any time.

Edit: Smoke from GTA Injection phoned the people at Take2.co.za up and it turns out the requirements are the assumptions of the retailer. So while they are not the final requirements, they are rather likely. Keep in mind that San Andreas might be shipping on a DVD disc, as is clued by the official boxart.

We finally managed to put a name on the unknown cheat:

Never Get Hungry

Related Links: edisoncarter's site, GTAForums Topic

Due to popular demand, a videos page has been created. There are 10 videos available for download, but more will be added as time progresses. All videos were created by the wonderful community at GTAForums.com

Be sure to check out the San Andreas gameplay videos.

Brand new cheat from edisoncarter:

Slut Magnet Attract sluts with sex toys, get gimp suit.

Note: We've had reports of PS2's freezing upon activation. It is recommended that you start a new game before activating this cheat.

Related Links: GTAForums Topic, edisoncarter's site

Lawmakers across the country continue to propose legislation that protects youths from the harmful effects of violent games, or that are rated "M" (for Mature content) by the Entertainment Software Ratings Board.

This week, State senator of Arkansas, Shawn Womack, authored a bill that would require shops that rent or sell M-rated games to display them at a height of at least five feet from the floor. The bill, introduced March 3, would allow the Arkansas Department of Public Health to fine vendors up to $500 each time they violate the law.

Checkout the full story at GameSpot.

Thanks to CoplandVictim for the heads up.

Adverts for GTA San Andreas have been banned from being shown before the watershed on UK television, after 8 complaints from concerned parents.

Parents say the adverts were shown before 2100 GMT, when children could have been watching. Some adverts contained scenes of violence and the use of guns, whilst another showed the spraying of graffiti and use of guns in a drive-by shooting. One claim said the advert was shown at 1830 GMT whilst their children watched Scrapheap Challenge on Channel 4.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) were asked to investigate, and on Wednesday announced that the adverts had been banned until after the watershed (9PM), because it was concerned about their "threatening violence".

Rockstar Games said its policy was not to advertise a product around programmes where less than half the audience was below the age required to buy it.

Source: BBC News