Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, temporarily exclusive to the PlayStation 2 for the last 8 months, is now available on PC (and Xbox).

At heart, the newer versions offer the same unfathomably deep game of PS2 fame, where you're given free run of a exceedingly huge, fictional game world with a marked resemblance to California and Nevada cities and countryside. Within are rewarding missions and objectives both nefarious and occasionally benign. Though often slammed by the mainstream and glorified by enthusiasts for it's seeming lack of a moral compass, San Andreas is actually waxing satirical on 90's-flavored crime and fashion, giving you the ability to do just about anything as a reluctant gangbanger--beat up or gun down anybody, instigate a gang war or run away from one, chat with anybody or nobody, jack a car or motorcycle or BMX, go "Easy Rider" through the desert or drive to a casino, hang out and gamble or case the joint then rob it, hit the gym and buff up or don't (hint: you should. And avoid junk food while you're at it. Or don't…), visit the barber or tattoo parlor--all designed to improved your status and skill sets to help you finish the game with a bang. Or not. It's up to you.

To make a comparatively old game feel fresh for its new platforms, the developers rebuilt the enter game using the high resolution graphics the game was originally designed with. Though stripped down to fit the middling power of the PS2, the appropriately powerful Xbox and/or decent PC pumps out the rich and detailed resolution with ease, allowing the already sumptuously sprawling world of San Andreas actually shine a little brighter. Not cutting edge, mind you, as a fully-playable world this big has got to look a little dated if it's going to cram in all that go-anywhere hugeness. Still, the new versions add more realism to the surrealism of it all.

Other tweaks include the ability to rip your own music tracks and have them play on in-game car radios on their own station, complete with commercial breaks, and a 30 second "replay" feature to capture your favorite moments/rampages/car crashes, etc.

Remember, though, this game is so not for kids it isn't funny. Nor many conscientious adults, for that matter. Read the ESRB rating and descriptors and take them seriously.

[TIP: To get infinite health (not to be confused with invincibility) in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (Xbox), press Down, A, Right, Left, Right, R1, Right, Down, Up, Y while playing. For the PC version simply type BAGUVIX during gameplay. For the PS2 version, press Down, X, Right, Left, Right, R1, Right, Down, Up, Triangle while playing.

To lower your "wanted" level, press R1, R1, B, Black, Up, Down, Up, Down, Up, Down (Xbox), type ASNAEB (PC), or press R1, R1, Circle, R2, Up, Down, Up, Down, Up, Down (PS2).]