General

It's only available on the Playstation2 console
The release dates are explained here
The game's storyline is explained here
No loading times in the game except when entering buildings
The art team has hidden many goodies for fans to find (stuff that you see on the Tricks page for Vice City, those types of things) *NEW*
It takes place in the early 90s

Cities and Maps

The game takes place in the fictional state of San Andreas
This state has three cities explained here
Each city is the size of Vice City, meaning the entire game will be four to six times larger than Vice City
San Fierro will have many hills, and be driving based
You can drive from Los Santos, through the countryside, up a mountain and into San Fierro, then onto Las Ventura
Driving through the desert will be alive with weird things to see
There will be more buildings you can enter
Los Santos is a small part of the main map, and in the bottom-right corner
Los Santos takes up 1/5th of the entire map *NEW*
San Andreas has its own version of Hollywood called Vinewood *NEW*

Graphics

The graphics engine has been tweaked, not changed
There will be smog effects in Los Santos
Real-time reflections on cars, mirrors, and windows
Radial lighting which gives realistic shadowing
Soft-shadow lighting for interiors
Unique models for objects for night and day to add more realism
Able to say four times further into the distance than in Vice City

Gameplay

There is no online multiplayer mode *NEW*
There is 'rag-doll' phsyics, or 'impact animation' (adds realism)
In Las Ventura (Las Vegas), you can buy casinos and run them
You can gamble your money in casinos
You need to eat to keep up your stamina
Eat too much and you will become fat and be made fun of
Work off the fat by going to the gym to exercise
You can rob homes with careful planning
More new mini jobs such as taxi driving, etc
Anything done outside of a mission can change your abilities, appearance, and progress
Hundreds of different skills to learn
'Dynamic Difficulty' changes the difficulty of the gameplay to match your skill
You can recruit gang members, and use them to do four person drive-by shootings
Ability to swim
Recruit your own gang members to use in missions *NEW*
Use your gang to take over parts of the city
The police will do ANYTHING to take you down, including grabbing on to your rear bumper!

Characters

The main character's name is Carl Johnson
He can chew gum
Characters from the old game will return
You can change your clothes *NEW*
References to old characters from past GTA games will be in the game, only recognizable by hardcore fans
You can get haircuts which changes your appearance
Your looks will change how people interact with you
You can customize your character by changing his hairstyle, physique, weight, driving skills, clothes, possesions, weapons skills, relationships, and gang *NEW*
At least once every few days you will have to eat *NEW*

Weapons

Carl can use dual pistols, and other weapons
Improved gun targeting system
More hand to hand fighting techniques available
Weapons match those available in the early '90s
Weapons all feel unique
New improved targeting system includes targets with full health have a green bar, if slightly injured have yellow health, and enemies that are almost dead will have a red health bar

Vehicles

90's versions of GTA3 and VC vehicles will be in the game
Many more new vehicles
Improved driving physics
The police have motorcycles they use
Specialty vehicles can be unlocked
There are bicycles, and to make them go faster you'll have to hit X faster
You can perform wheelies on bikes (to clarify, this is wheelies on the bicycles, we all know you can do wheelies on the motorcycles!)
Police helicopters are back
More ways to steal cars
Vehicles have corrosion effects, such as getting rusty, as well as getting dirty *NEW*

Artificial Intelligence

Pedestrians are a lot smarter now, and react if you start beating someone in the streets
Peds have over 1 hour's worth of various comments, compared to 10 mins from Vice City

Music

There is a confirmed rap station
There are other stations yet not yet confirmed
There is music from the '90s as well as a classic station
Confirmed GameInformer information from gta-sanandreas.com, our affiliate. Any of this information might be changed, as no one knows 100% what will be in the final version except Rockstar.

http://gtadomain.gtagaming.com/confirmationlist.html