Take a tour of San Andreas, and go for a dip

Rockstar has released a few more Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas screenshots and details as part of its carefully orchestrated publicity campaign for the game everybody expects to clean up this October. The latest shots focus on specific areas in Los Santos - one of the three cities that make up the state of San Andreas, in this case modelled on Los Angeles - and also show off main character CJ's new swimming ability.

Head here and scroll down a little for the shots, and check out the Grove, where CJ grew up and now returns to take control of his old crew, running things out of his childhood home; Vinewood, including the Cathay Theatre, Vinewood walk of fame, the historical Vinewood sign (you get the idea); the Rodeo shopping district; Downtown, featuring the financial district's businesses and officer workers, and the conference centre; and of course the Beach, where CJ can go swimming.

According to Rockstar, the beach is definitely a good place to work off some of those pounds. As we told you back in May, San Andreas will force players to think about what they eat and the exercise they do in order to stay in shape, and the beach is a good place to go running, biking, or swimming. Swimming sounds very easy, too - CJ treads water automatically, uses breaststroke when you push the left analogue stick and front crawl when you hold or rapidly tap X (the latter for a speed increase, dependent on your stamina), and can even head underwater when you press circle, to evade people on the surface and hunt down any underwater surprises. You can even jack boats from within the water, we're told, and if you happen to drive into the water, you'll be given a small amount of time to get out before your car sinks. Rockstar North is apparently touching up the wave physics right now, so look forward to getting caught in swells this time too.

Finally, there are some shots of Doc G Records, inspired by the Capitol Records building, and the Brown Streak railroad, which offers another means of transportation that fans of the original GTA - and by that we mean the first, top-down PC title - will be pleased to see again. Imagine the crashes. You'll also have fun imagining the sorts of pile-ups you can achieve on the various freeways connecting Los Santos to San Fierro and Las Venturas. And you shouldn't have any trouble finding your way around them either thanks to the effort the developer is putting into getting the correct street signs in place.

In the meantime, all the signs are good for San Andreas. It's ridiculously ambitious, but with so much money behind it and indeed in front of it, we have a feeling it can afford to be...