Viewing news posted in April 2005

New Community Stunt Video

01
May
2005
By Chris | 1st May 2005 at 14:39 GMT in Vice City | 4 Comments

The guys over at GTAStunting have just released an excellent stunt video. Various community videos have been released over the years, but this one has to be the best. I can safely say it's the best stunt video I have ever seen.

Dedicated, released by it's editor NightKnight, is 5 minutes long and is over 80MB. Don't let the size put you off though, it's great quality, full off amazing stunts.

Download it Here.

On this note I'd like to say we are planning our own community stunt video, however I need to know that enough people are interested, and that you will have the PC version of the game, which judging by the previous poll a lot of you will.

Please be sure to vote in the newest poll and reply to this topic if you have any questions.

Official PC and Xbox Site Sections

30
Apr
2005
By Chris | 30th Apr 2005 at 09:20 GMT in San Andreas | 7 Comments

Rockstar have let us know about the official sites for the PC and Xbox versions of San Andreas.

To coincide with the launch Rockstar have released some brand new screenshots for the PC version, plus the very first screens of the Xbox version. In addition to this, we also received a new fansite exclusive screenshot.

CJ_in_GlenPark.jpg

To see all the screenshots, head over to the PC Screenshots and Xbox Screenshots pages.

IGN have also posted a small preview on the Xbox version along with a couple of screens.

Update: PC System Requirements

23
Apr
2005
By Chris | 23rd Apr 2005 at 01:19 GMT in San Andreas | 15 Comments

I just received an email a few minutes ago from Chris Faylor from Gaming-Age, we reported about their article in an earlier news post.

They listed the minimum system requirements in the article, and I also mentioned in my post that they got the release date wrong... tut tut.

Well Chris emailed me with this:

Hey Chris,

Just wanted to let you know that the minimum specs posted alongside

our preview came straight from Rockstar. They also sent along some

recommended specs, in case you're interested. And yea, looks like we

goofed on the release date, I'll work on getting that fixed.

Minimum:

1GHz Intel Pentium III or AMD Athlon Processor

256 MB of RAM

8 speed DVD-ROM Drive

3.6 GB of free Hard Disk space for a minimal install

64 MB Video Card with DirectX 9 compatible drivers ("GeForce3" or better)

DirectX 9 compatible Stereo Sound Card

Keyboard

Mouse

Recommended:

Intel Pentium 4 or AMD Athlon XP processor (or better)

384(+) MB of RAM

16 speed DVD-ROM drive

4.7 GB of free Hard Disk space for a full install

128(+) MB Video Card with DirectX 9 compatible drivers ("GeForce4" or better)

DirectX 9 compatible Surround Sound Card

Game pad with twin axis analog controls (USB or Joystick Port)

Keyboard

Mouse

-Chris

--

Gaming Age Online

So we're the first fansite to have these specs, and they look a pretty logical increase in technology from Vice City so I'm quite sure these are real. I've put them on the System Requirements page for easier viewing.

If you haven't got the recommended hardware then I recommend you get it in order to heighten your gaming experience!

Screenshot Assets

22
Apr
2005
By Chris | 22nd Apr 2005 at 18:09 GMT in San Andreas | 0 Comments

Rockstar Games' Webmaster has kindly sent us the assets that the gaming sites received earlier this week.

The good thing is these are incredibly high quality, unwatermarked version. And when I say incredibly high quality I do mean that.

The images are up to 1920x1200 and weigh in at over 1.5MB a piece, so these aren't for those of you still on dialup.

Chech out our San Andreas PC Screenshots page to see them all.

Magazine Previews

22
Apr
2005
By Chris | 22nd Apr 2005 at 10:35 GMT in San Andreas | 2 Comments

Various European magazines have now been published which contain previews for San Andreas on PC/Xbox. First of all there is the Dutch Xbox Magazine which contains 19 screenshots. Here is some of the new info translated by Jelmer:

*  Like the upcoming PC version and even the PS2 version, the Xbox version has almost no loading times other than the beginning after you load a game.

* The framerate was noticably more stable than the PS2 version when the Dutch Xbox Magazine guys saw the game.

* The Xbox version will feature sharper textures than the PS2. Whether or not it will have the highest resolution textures that the PC will have it yet to be seen.

* The Xbox will feature a reworked lighting system rather than keep the PS2's version.

* It's no surprise that custom soundtracks are back, so you can put in your own music CD's and play them in-game on your own radio station.

* The Xbox version will feature a replay mode just like previous PC versions.

* The magazine mentioned that the two player cooperative mode will return in the Xbox version.

Thanks to this GTAForums topic for the info.

Secondly we have Italian magazine GMC - Giochi per il mio computer with a PC preview, no new information although they mention something about widescreen being available, GTA3 and VC had this so no suprise there. There are also some screens in the magazine.

Thanks to GTA-Series and this GTAForums topic for info/scans.

Finally German magazine Offizielles XBox Magazin has information and screenshots on the Xbox version. The Xbox version will apparently be more of a port of the PC version, rather than the PS2 version as GTA3 and VC were. Information from the magazine includes:

* A replay mode will exist, just like in the PC version, allowing you to replay the last 30 seconds of your game, save the replay, and play it later.

* The two player mode will exist for the Xbox. (not for the PC however)

* The textures will be of higher quality.

* The number of polygons objects are composed of has been greatly increased.

* With the right ministick you will be able to spin the camera around your character or vehicle.

* It will be possible to have an MP3 radio station in the Xbox version, similarly to the PC version.

Thanks to GTASanAndreas.net and GTA-SanAndreas.de for the info, this GTAForums topic contains scans

PC System Requirements

22
Apr
2005
By Chris | 22nd Apr 2005 at 09:59 GMT in San Andreas | 0 Comments

We told you yesterday about various websites with previews expected to be put up soon. Gaming-Age have now placed their article online with some interesting stuff. While it gives us no new informaton on the game in particular, they do manage to get the release date wrong, stating June 17th, 10 days after as stated by Rockstar. This is probably a simple typo, however, they also tell us the PC system requrements.

1 GHz processor, 256 MB of RAM, 8x DVD-ROM, 3.6 GB of free hard disk space, a 64 MB video card with Direct X 9 compatible drivers, a Direct X 9 compatible stereo sound card, keyboard, mouse, and Windows 2000 or higher.

Rockstar still haven't released these specs so we are taking these as predicted rather than the actual ones. It is possible though that the editor got a look at the box and may have noted down all the requirements.

Links to websites we told you about yesterday that have now published their article: Worth Playing

New San Andreas PC Previews

21
Apr
2005
By Chris | 21st Apr 2005 at 12:53 GMT in San Andreas | 3 Comments

Rockstar have given us a heads up with a list of smaller gaming sites who are putting up San Andreas PC previews in the coming days, some of those websites already have. Rockstar seem to have invited representitives from all the gaming sites and treated to them to the same preview, as they all talk about much the same things.

Game Revolution's Article has nothing that differ's from previous articles. They mention they can't wait for the mod community to get their hands on it, and they do make a nice bulleted list of the PC enhancements which I shall echo here:

* Polished Graphics and New Visual Effects take full advantage of more powerful hardware, offering even more impressive visuals.

* An MP3 Radio Station and Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound deliver an immersive aural experience and allow the player to customize the radio of San Andreas.

* Relive incredible action sequences, an Instant Replay feature repeats the last 30 seconds of gameplay complete with cinematic camera effects.

* The customizable PC version supports Player Modifications, giving players the opportunity to create their own world within San Andreas.

GameZone's and Adrenaline Vault's articles are also similar to others, with the same screenshots you've no doubt already seen, although AVault did put up the high resolution ones which we will be able to show you later this week. AVault also suggest that the replay mode has had a few revisions mde to it. They say:

It is now possible to replay your insane trick jumps, killing sprees, or showdowns with the fuzz with 4 stars via a camera control

We can also see the return of being able to save your stats to an html file.

Other sites we are told to expect previews from are Gaming-Age, Worth Playing, Game Daily and Games Domain

Three San Andreas PC Updates

20
Apr
2005
By Chris | 20th Apr 2005 at 08:13 GMT in San Andreas | 0 Comments

That's right we've got 3 updates for you on the PC version of San Andreas. One each from Gamespy, Gamespot and IGN. Whilst all articles pretty much divulge the same information, it's worth checking out all three.

GameSpy: This article mentions the game's story for the benefit of those who've been living under a rock the past year, but also makes known the differences and upgraded features San Andreas will receive on the PC version, such as improved draw distance, and mp3 radio. There are also a few more screens for you to cast your eyes over.

GameSpot: This article is much the same in that it doesn't contain any new information. It does however, focus a lot on the new features such as the replay mode and the MP3 radio station which can now fetch random intro's and outro's from the standard radio stations. IIt also talks about the keyboard controls and the improved graphical qualities.

IGN: A few screens here to look at, other than that the article concentrate's on the improvements made to textures and draw distance etc. plus how stunningly quick loading times are.

We'll have all the nice, unwatermarked screenshots for you soon, thanks to Rockstar for the heads up.

Elvis Cheat

16
Apr
2005
By Chris | 16th Apr 2005 at 16:50 GMT in San Andreas | 4 Comments

For once we have a new cheat not discovered by edisoncarter, this one was released by Rockstar Games themselves.

Elvis Is Alive:

Hundreds of Elvis impersonators roam the streets.

l1.gifcircle.giftriangle.gifl1.gifl1.gifsquare.gifl2.gifup.gifdown.gifleft.gif

Enjoy it!

Splinter Cell

06
Apr
2005
By Chris | 6th Apr 2005 at 18:52 GMT in General | 6 Comments

There seems to be a lack of news on anything pertaining to GTA at the moment, so I'm taking this oppurtunity to post about the latest ad you have probably seen us running; the Splinter Cell campaign.

The game has recently been released and is already proving pretty popular among gamers. If you are interested in the game then check out the following links:

Screenshots

The Highly-anticipated Co-op Trailer

NSA Training Video #5

The aforementioned links will take you to the relevant pages of interest, the NSA training video is quite interesting, they are a series of videos produced by the development team using real in-game character models and a healthy dose of comedic tactics. #5 highlights moves found in the PS2 version of Chaos Theory.

Enjoy!