Chris Stead (the kind man who wrote that fantastic San Andreas’ article in the latest issue of GamePro) was kind enough to answer questions about his experience, at our very own GTAForums.
Chris also mentioned that CJ sounded a little bit like Snoop Dog, although it probably wasnt, and/or it was a substitute voice.
Q: Are skateboarding and train jacking confirmed?
A: It came up in the conversation, but was not confirmed nor denied by the developers when specifically questioned.
Q: Did you get to play the game yourself? If so how does it play? And if you’ve seen the streets could you tell me if there is more (and more varied) traffic on the street than in 3 and VC? Did you notice any shortcomings?
A: Tthe streets are far more active and cluttered than anything seen in previous versions – a testament to the improved power of the GTA engine and RockStar’s dedication to make each of San Andreas� regions distinct. The car makes and models are updated to 90�s standards, of course. and in Los Santos there were quite a few dubbed-up rides too. As for more traffic…sure it gets busy in Los Santos but head out into the countryside and you can, at times, see no other vehicle.
As for shortcomings � there�s nothing worth commenting on at this stage. The game I saw was not complete for starters, plus, RockStar would not have actively shown me any flaws, if there are any…
Q: Will there be children in San Andreas?
A: I have seen a lot of talk on this thread regarding the possibility of kids in San Andreas. I hope I wasn’t too misleading. San Andreas is a living, breathing world and there is the illusion that children do exist and play within it. But at no time do I recall seeing a kid out in the streets where it could fall into harms way.
I highly doubt that even the controversy-happy lads at RockStar would allow kids to become an interactive part of the San Andreas gameplay.
Q: Did you see any interactions with normal street people? If so, what did it look like? Did you see the rag-doll physics or anyone losing limbs?
A: I did see some basic NPC to NPC interactions. For example, in L.S we saw two groups of gang member bump into each other. They gave each other hugs and elaborate hand shakes. Just like real life….. Sorry, I didn’t see anyone’s limb fly off…
Q: how would you get lost in sa if there are (assuming there are) maps and blips (and the map in the pause menu)? and by hinting towards skateboards what do you mean? did the pr guys mention something, or d’you see something resembling a skateboard lying around (or someone riding one!!!)? skateboards would kick ass…. – from Rocafella@gtaforums
A: When you’re on the roads you�re usually ok. There are street signs and the like when you come to intersections, directing you to civilized centres. Barney off over a fence and into farmland and things are not as easy. However, when we ventured off into this region, we received a phone-call. It was not answered but it was going to be a prompt on where we should head next.
Since you can also use the rivers to move around, if you were to say, jump off your boat in the middle of nowhere and continue and foot, you may also have similar location issues. Remember that the on-screen map only shows a few blocks worth of space – and there are not even blocks out in the wilderness � plus the pause game map is bloody huge.
To put the skateboard issue to rest – it came up in conversation, the question was asked, can you jack and ride skateboards in the game? No answer (yes or no) was given, just a ‘wait and see’ silence…
Feel free to submit your own questions, however, post them at the GamePro forum, and not our own. Remember that Chris can’t answer every question. He’s only witnessed a limited section of the game, most of which was covered in the GamePro article. And please ask sensibly, he’s a busy man!