Grand Theft Auto - San Andreas - Reviews
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10.7.2007
he release of Grand Theft Auto 3 was a defining moment in the evolution of videogames. A 3D adaptation of a previously little-known 2D series, it began getting incredible reviews from the moment it hit critics' hands. Word of mouth spread like wildfire, and soon everyone, both in and out of the videogame industry, was talking about it. Within months of its release, it sold more than a million copies, but it would not stop there; GTA3 ended up as the best selling console game ever released, with well over 24 million units sold internationally.GTA3 did more than just break sales records, though; it changed the landscape of videogames. Its adult-oriented subject matter utterly shattered whatever notion remained that videogames were still `kids'stuff,' and the controversy it brought actually led to stricter laws regarding the sales of videogames to minors. Its violent travails became a target for politicians and a magnet for publicity, and in the process, it achieved cultural icon status. Within the games industry itself, it brought change to the methods behind videogame creation, as its success with a completely open-ended game world and play style led to more developers trying to give gamers freedom in how they experience their titles. Most importantly of all, though, is that it solidified the fact that videogames had developed into a powerful form of entertainment - one that could alter the course of society through its existence.Rockstar Games released a quick follow-up, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, a year later, and that game garnered similar critical praise and brisk sales. It brought Hollywood-level talent into the fold, as well as an all-star licensed soundtrack. Most importantly, though, it practically reinvented hype, as gamers around the world awaited its release. Millions of fans gobbled up every bit of information available on the game as soon as it came out, and the expectations were unbelievable.Enter Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Rockstar had now had two years to build the third (and potentially final) PlayStation 2 Grand Theft Auto title. The hype began very early, when a keen-eyed member of the media discovered Rockstar's patent application for what would become the title of the game. The more information that became available to the public, the more the hype grew: new setting, cast, and story; more big-name voice actors and another high-quality soundtrack; much more involved gameplay; more content in the game than in the previous two games combined; even more customization possibilities for players; tons and tons of new features. The excitement built up over the year and a half of down time, from the simple murmur of the initial leak of the game's title, to its eventual deafening pre-release state. Gamers waited and watched for the title. Finally, the game's stage was set, and it was time to put up or shut up: on October 26, 2004, the game hit store shelves, and millions scrambled to obtain their copy. Now only one question remained: would the game live up to the hype?Visuals:In-game menus are simple, as the GTA series on PS2 has typically eschewed the main-menu used by most games. The pause screen allows you to access options for the audio/visual components of the game, your saved games, a history of all the briefings you've received, a long list of your gameplay statistics, and a map. The menu fits with the style of both previous PS2 GTA titles and the current one, and is very easy to work with. Since the in-game map is so large, it is impossible to zoom in very far. You will, though, be perfectly able to determine what you need from it with no problems.The graphics in the game make the absolute most that they can out of the now-dated PS2 hardware. The entire game plays out in-engine, so the cutscenes use the same graphics as the gameplay. These graphics are some of the most superb yet created on a videogame console. Everything about the areas in the game drips realism. The weather effects are unbelievable - you'll see heat shimmers on the horizon, smog and fog causing the sun to reflect in odd directions and colors, and extensive use of filters for rainy or excessively smoggy days, in addition to the already-present rain engine in the game. The environments themselves are spectacular as well. The cities are modeled so well after their parodied cities that anyone who has been to one of them would recognize several landmarks and hallmarks instantly. The countryside in between is done just as well, with numerous small towns and ghost cities dotting the landscape. Even the underbrush in the rolling hills surrounding the cities looks excellent. Another impressive visual effect is a motion-blur effect that occurs when you reach precariously high speeds in a vehicle; this effect does an extremely effective job of conveying your relative speed, and enhances the driving aspect of the game as a result.Character and vehicle animation is done with the same convincing manner as the landscape. There are, literally, hundreds of models of vehicles and people present in the game, and every last one of them looks appropriate. The animation is always smooth, with nary a pause between movements. The models themselves are done with tremendous care, with great attention to detail. Cars now become battered even more realistically, and will even get dirty as time wears on in the game. Other vehicles, such as planes, helicopters, trains, boats, bicycles, and motorbikes all showcase a high visual standard, and look smooth no matter what they go through. People look very good as well, as their mouths now move when they banter back and forth on the streets, among other upgrades. The people still look a little blocky overall (especially their seemingly fingerless hands), but this is only really noticeable in the game's cutscenes, and isn't enough of a problem to take anything away from the game.The frame rate, through all of the chaos and mayhem, stays remarkably stable. There will be occasional slowdown during scenes of massive action, but for the vast majority of the time, the game will cruise along with no interruption to the rendering. There is somewhat more of a problem, however, with draw-in in San Andreas. It takes slightly longer for textures to be rendered this time around, simply because there are so many of them and they all are so detailed. This never becomes a problem, though, and won't detract from the gameplay one bit.The GTA series set a high bar for itself when it moved to 3D in 2001. In 2004, it has set an even higher bar for itself, as the visual experience in San Andreas is quite likely the best to be seen on PlayStation 2 yet.Score: 10/10Sound:A game of the magnitude of this one is obviously going to have a ton of sounds going on in it, and thus sound effects become vital to the player's immersion and interaction with the game world. Without a doubt, the effects in San Andreas live up to this lofty goal, and the result is a level of quality that borders on realism. Everything in the game world, from footsteps to vehicles to weapons fire, sounds utterly true-to-life. Gunfire sounds much louder when you're close to it, and if it occurs right next to your character, it will actually sound just like a firecracker exploding next to your ears. Different car models all sound different from one another and entirely appropriate, and other vehicles (even down to the different planes you can fly) meet the same standard. The effects are so good that you will be instantly able to recognize them, without even seeing what caused them to be heard.Voiceover work in the GTA series on PS2 has been nothing short of remarkable. From the relative unknowns cast as most of the characters in GTA3, to the star-studded cast of Vice City, the voice acting has been on the same level as high-budget movies throughout. San Andreas features a mix of the styles of GTA3 and Vice City when it comes to the voice work. There are several big-name celebrities who contributed their voices to the game, most notable among them Samuel L. Jackson, Ice-T, Peter Fonda, and James Woods; also of note are the musicians Chuck D, George Clinton, and Axl Rose, whom all lent their non-singing voices to the in-game radio stations as the DJs of their chosen genre of music's corresponding station. The majority of the players in the cast, though, are all voiced by people whose main claim to fame previously was as unknown rap artists. This choice for the actors was a risky one, given the potential that these `rookies' might not have what it took to do believable voice work in such a high-profile venue; in the end, though, it turned out to be quite likely the best decision the developers made during the course of the game's development. These rappers bring an unprecedented level of realism to the voiceovers, and they do a tremendous job acting out their character's lines. None perform better than the main character, whose line delivery is always impeccable (and this is no easy feat, given the huge number of them he has). The combination of the professional actors and the new ones brings the game's voiceovers to life, and in the end the work is spectacular.The same level of quality is manifested in the pedestrian dialogue. This area of the game's sound had been one of the best aspects of GTA3 and Vice City, and in San Andreas it hits a new echelon of excellence. In addition to the random things the infinite denizens of this new game will spout off at will, the developers have added two new types of interaction for them. You will often see two pedestrians actually engage in a conversation on the sidewalks; these conversations, while somewhat disjointed, make sense, and can actually lead to such displays as the two holding hands and walking off this way. In addition to this, pedestrians will also make remarks directly to your character. These statements are a reflection of your physical appearance, and change with the way your avatar looks. Gain weight, and you'll be called fat in the NPCs; gain muscle, and passers-by will woo over your chiseled look. The same goes for your clothes, vehicle, and even your character's purported body odor. Your character will even respond to these statements with a positive or negative retort when you prompt him to. These two new supplementary methods of NPC interaction go a long way towards giving the impression that they are of their own mind, separate from the rest of the game.The music in the GTA series, even dating back to its days on PlayStation, has always been one of its most remarkable areas. GTA3 brought separate radio stations into the fray, each complete with genre-specific songs, tongue-in-cheek commercials, and a humorous mock-up of a DJ. Vice City brought a huge licensed soundtrack to the table, and delivered the highest-quality collection of period-specific music yet seen in an entertainment medium, and ended up capturing mid-80s radio nearly perfectly. San Andreas, with its early 90s setting and ghetto-themed style, takes a `bigger means better' attitude to its radio offerings, choosing to add songs rather than stations. It accomplishes several things with this, and although in the end it feels slightly inferior to the previous realizations of the series, it is still a genuinely outstanding effort.There are 11 stations on the San Andreas dial, running the gamut from alternative to West Coast rap to country to trance, and there is, of course, a talk radio station to round off the list. Each of the music stations features an impressive array of songs (at least 15 per station), alongside the usual commercials and DJ banter. The stations sound clear, and they all play without a hitch; they are even played through filters that make them sound appropriate when they are heard through a motorcycle radio or a boombox. Why would they be disappointing, then? Aside from the fact that some of the genres chosen make little sense (classic rap, for instance, doesn't even exist on the radio today), the main problem is the lack of progress. These stations are essentially the same as the ones that appeared in Vice City. Every station, when you consider it individually, sounds as good as those of that game; however, when you look at them as a whole, they represent only minimal improvement over those of the previous game, and when the rest of the game has taken such a quantum leap forward, the one high-profile part that has lagged behind stands out like a sore thumb.All in all, San Andreas delivers an incredible acoustic score that plays a vital role in the player's engrossment in the game. While it nearly achieves perfection, what it has achieved should stand for years as a model that future games may strive to meet.Score: 9/10Gameplay:GTA games pioneered a wide-open manner of gameplay that has caught fire within the game development community. San Andreas represents an evolution of this gameplay style that is both extraordinarily enjoyable and so expansive that it borders on excessive.The controls in the GTA series on PS2 have been very smooth and intuitive, and San Andreas they have been fitted for maximum performance. You are no longer able to use the D-pad to control your character's (or his vehicle's) movement; this function is now solely reserved for the left analog stick. The D-pad now controls character interaction when you are on foot, giving you the means to interact with NPCs. The other controls have remained virtually unchanged, except for some additions to the uses of the L1 button. Within 15 minutes of starting to play the game, you should have the controls down pat and be using them effectively. When the game starts up, you are given a quick tutorial on what the controls do, and any time a new function is made available, it is explained through an on-screen prompt. This minimizes the learning curve, while at the same time never taking the player out of the game. When you're actually playing, the controls will always perform admirably, and you should never have a problem with them.The GTA series utilizes a wide-open, mission-based style of gameplay that allows the player to progress through the storyline at their own pace, or even not at all. This gameplay focuses on your character's interaction with the virtual world of San Andreas, in which he must kill, steal, and cause mayhem to make a name for himself. The virtual world of San Andreas is so big as to actually be more than twice the size of GTA3 and Vice City combined, which is nothing short of astounding to see, given those games' amount of real estate. This amount of landmass means that there are a lot more opportunities for gameplay, and the developers have taken full advantage of this.The name of the series comes from the fact that you can steal just about any vehicle you see by simply walking up to it, removing the current owner, and taking off with it. You can also pilot your character around on foot through the massive environment, engaging in all manner of criminal activity with random passers-by, or just taking in the sights. You will start out by performing the first mission, and then be let loose within the city of Los Santos and its surrounding countryside. You are confined to this area at the beginning of the game, but you will eventually be able to explore the rest of the state, once you've beaten enough storyline missions. You begin these missions by going to specific points (which are marked on your in-game map, and displayed in the HUD map) to trigger the introductory video. Once you start a mission, you will be given instructions on what to do, and then you will go and actually do it. The missions in San Andreas show an incredible amount of variety, and end up using most of the new features added to the game in one way or another. They are designed intelligently, and never feel out-of-place or incomplete. As you complete more missions, you will open up different areas of the state, as well as new people to do missions for. The rewards for passing missions are not just money this time around, though; in most of the beginning missions, you will end up earning nothing more than respect, which is part of the new stats system that appears for the first time in the series.The stats system works much like that of any RPG. You have ratings for almost everything that you can do and be. You have a rating on how well you use each gun, how well you use each vehicle, and for personal things like the respect you command from your peers, your stamina, amount of body muscle, and your amount of body fat. Each of these stats plays a role in how your character interacts with the world, and can be built up by doing certain things often. For example, the more often you use a pistol, the higher your pistol stat will go, and thus the more accurate you'll get with it. The same improvement goes for every other firearm and vehicle available for your use. Eventually, you'll be able to earn special abilities by maxing out certain stats, such as the ability to wield two pistols at once, or the ability to stop on a dime in a vehicle. Your personal stats go up via similar methods. Do lots of missions for your gang, and you'll easily command their respect. Run around often, and your stamina will improve dramatically, enabling you to sprint, swim, and bicycle much longer. You can work out in a gym to gain muscle and eventually become buff, making yourself stronger and able to hit harder with your melee attacks, as well as to jump farther and higher. Your fat will decrease as you exercise more, but will also increase if you eat too many fattening foods.The food system (which has your character needing to eat occasionally to keep up his strength), and the whole stats system, brought skepticism from the gaming public when they were first announced, but in the end they integrate well with the gameplay without becoming a distraction. You are proficient enough in all of the stats to be able to do most of the missions right off the bat, so you don't need to spend a lot of time improving them; in fact, if you invest a few in-game days into weight training at the beginning of the game, all it will take is an occasional trip back and eating when you are prompted to maintain your physical shape throughout the game. Since most of the stats go up with use, all you have to worry about is the game itself for the majority of the time you're playing, and when you do need to take care of your stats it doesn't feel like it's forced at all. This new wrinkle adds a lot more depth to the game, and even a level of personalization, without sacrificing any of the freedom you so thoroughly enjoy with it.That freedom is manifested in no better way than in the multitude of things available to do. Besides storyline missions, you can engage in so many other side missions and minigames that you will probably be overwhelmed when you first realize just how much there really is. GTA on PS2 stalwarts such as Vigilante (essentially cops vs. robbers, with you as the cops), Firefighter, Paramedic, and Taxi missions all return for a third installment. They are joined by new pastimes like Home Invasion, Low-rider contests, casino gambling, and many more. The sheer amount of side missions you can do is so staggering that to list them here would be a waste of time; instead, you should know that you can go anywhere in the game and still probably find something new to do. An example of this is right in your home at the beginning of the game. When you walk through your home, you will notice a TV with a game console sitting in front of it. Pressing the triangle button next to it will launch a minigame that simulates an early-90s videogame. This is virtually an entire game in and of itself, and it's included here as a minor diversion! YAs you play more of the game, you'll constantly be running into new things that have some sort of interactive portion, and almost all of them are fun to try out.The developers have even integrated a bit a two-player gameplay into San Andreas. The rampages which have appeared in previous GTA games are now two-players-only affairs. In these, your must walk your character over a rampage icon (many of which are hidden throughout the state), and then have a player on a controller in port 2 of the PS2 press a button. You are then given a time limit to murder a certain number of people using a weapon that you are given with infinite ammo. There are also some minigames, such as pool, that can be played with one human player going against another. Both of these examples of multiplayer in the GTA world are a nice touch, and although they are not so fun as to force you to play the game with a friend, they are another example of the creativity of the developers behind this title.In the end, the gameplay in San Andreas is undoubtedly its main draw, and it delivers on the hype in every conceivable way. It offers high-quality fun whether you're doing storyline missions, side missions, running around on a rampage, or just existing in the massive landscape of the game world.Score: 10/10Story:The GTA games have always been sold on the gameplay, and as such the developers might have been able to attach a second-rate story to the game and get away with it. Luckily for gamers, they have chosen to have the storyline match the standards of the rest of the game, and as a result they have made the experience of following it as rewarding as the gameplay itself.The storyline, which sees your character, Carl `CJ' Johnson, returning home from the East Coast after five years away from home and dealing with the problems he is presented with, is intriguing, and will likely keep you interested in the missions you have to do even if for some reason you don't like them. The combination of great voice acting and the incredible atmosphere of the game will certainly keep you engrossed in it until it reaches its explosive conclusion.With a script on the level of a high-quality movie, and a cast and setting that perform to their absolute best, the storyline in San Andreas will give you a satisfying reward for all the work you will do to get there.Score: 10/10Features/Modes:The GTA series has never featured any modes other than the actual game itself. There is no difficulty level to increase, no multiplayer to access, and no special minigames to play separate from the actual body of the game. In most titles, this would be a sure death knell; why in the world would you buy a game that offers you no extras to enjoy? As is the case with only titles of this level of quality, though, the lack of extras makes absolutely no difference to the player's enjoyment of the game. This game has so much packed into it, and it is all so well crafted and genuinely fun, that you will never get tired of playing it. Even if you do everything there is to do - every last mission, every last job, every last robbery, carjacking, or driveby - absolutely everything, there is still enough game here that you will, without a doubt, want to play it again. It is just that good.So, San Andreas comes with no extra goodies in the features/modes department. Programmers who do this same thing with future games, beware: San Andreas has the quality to back its lack of extras up, and back it up in droves. If your game isn't as good as San Andreas, then you'd better come up with another few difficulty levels, at least.Score: N/ATotal Score:Ever since hitting the PlayStation 2 for the first time in 2001, the Grand Theft Auto series has brought nothing but quality to Sony's sophomore system. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas lives up to, and on nearly every count trumps, the legacy left by its predecessors. Indeed, the high production values, loads of content, and exquisite immersion in early 90's culture create a game that is fun to take part in on every level. It is, without question, one of, and arguably even the, best game to ever be published for PS2.So what will San Andreas ultimately be remembered for - its status as the latest installment of the most recognizable console game franchise in the world today? Its incredibly violent and morally deficient gameplay? The enormous hype that built up to its release? While all of these will certainly have a piece of San Andreas' legacy, none of them truly capture the game. All three GTA games to grace the PS2, as successful as they were, made it to the level they did as a result of one thing: great gameplay. The developers at Rockstar Games took a risk when they created a game that was so vastly different from what was already on the market in 2001 when they released the ground-breaking GTA3 onto the market. It became a success for the same reason that San Andreas will be: that risk that these developers took, choosing to build a game not on precedent, but on innovative - and still tremendously fun - gameplay. This is the legacy of the Grand Theft Auto series, and that of San Andreas.If you own a PlayStation 2, and are neither too immature to handle the content of the game nor offended by that content, you need to purchase this game. The pure fun it will bring to you will make it worth your time and money, unquestionably.Score: 9/10 (not an average)
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8.11.2012
This game - it changed me forever. Somehow, I found out about it on the internet; all the things you could do - steal and drive cars, walk around and shoot things, you gotta bear in mind here I was 11 or 12 years old and the freedom and realness this game offered - wow, just wow. I mean, I would sneak down the stairs and go into my father's game cabinet (when he was out) and pick out Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas - I bought it for him a few years earlier thinking it was a car game... not realizing what beauty I was holding in my hands - I would take it up to my room and put it on. Wow. I thought, just wow. I'm playing an 18 rated game,that allows you essential to live and breath in a virtual world and do genuinely just about anything that I can think of (well, within the constraints of the game). The games I had played prior to this were just either flimsy boring racing games or strategy games that would leave me in fury at not being able to complete it or whatever. I did, however, have The Simpsons Hit & Run - now that was a game I loved. Little did I know, it's core game play was literally based off Vice City. Anyways back to what I was saying; As I put the game on I promised myself I wouldn't do the missions... but of course you kind of have to do the first one, to get going. So I thought, `OK, I'll do this one, but that is it!'. Of course, that wasn't it.But after the first mission, I explored this game. And dear God, what I had read and seen on numerous YouTube videos - it was true. You could do virtually anything you wanted. And it had been sitting downstairs, for 4 or 5 years right under my nose and I had no idea about it - can you imagine how annoyed I felt? In my first session of the game I felt alive; driving around Los Santos listening to the classic 90's heavy metal - and gradually I began to love all the other stations (Through this game alone I have now collected over 20 hip-hop albums, 10 alt. metal albums and 16 other classic albums on CD because the music chosen here is incredible) - and seeing all the amazing sights. It was amazing, I mean honest to God - when I accidently somehow drove into the countryside, I thought I was dreaming, literally. But I wasn't, and I bet many of you had the same experience as to thinking it was a dream. It was real, alright and it was and still is to this day the best video game I ever played.This is because of it's simple complexity. By that I mean - I found it incredible how there was all this stuff to do, driving, walking, flying, sailing, cycling, getting fit, eating, in-game arcade games, gambling, buying houses, modding cars, dancing, killing people (no, I'm not a sadist), weaponry - all this, could be done with touch of a few buttons. Incredible, don't you think? And it wouldn't rub it in your face or make you over-use everything. It would let you decide what, when and how you would like to do something.The plot of this game you ask? Is simple. A long-time, well known crook-gangsta comes back from Liberty City (Rockstar's New York) to bury and avenge his recently deceased Mum, but in the process discovers the corrupted police and the Ballas gang have taken over Grove Street. And you can kind of guess what happens from there - I mean if you've played this game or any other GTA game for that matter, than you will definitely know what I am talking about.The free-roam factor was what appealed to me the most and since then I've come across numerous GTA-'clones' (more like rip-offs) and they just don't do what this games does. This game does anything and everything you could potentially imagine within a criminally active, living and breathing world. Now of course, if this game was just free-roaming and all the above mentioned - the world would have to be pretty big, vast, believable and detailed in order for it to succeed, right? Well that's what it is - what I just said. San Andreas - isn't a city, it's a state. This game is HUGE and by huge, I don't mean the size of a games' interpretation of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway - I mean the size that can't even be put into context - it really is that big. And you'd think with such a big world - that there'd be very little detail. Wrong. Very wrong. Infact, I love the complex detail and little features you see around the state - every time I play it, I always see something new - whether that be a horse-betting station or just a hot-dog stand on the side of the road in the middle of the country side somewhere. The game is never the same twice - if you were to re-load it and take the same actions you did before, everything would be different! Several occasions I've had police cars ram me in the back of my car due to them being terrible drivers and letting their culprits go. I've also been in a mission when an actual plane came crashing down right next to me... infact I kind of drove into it and blew up myself... not a good move, I guess. But hey - that's San Andreas. And that's what makes this so good - take all of what I just said, add THE BEST game soundtrack ever made (ranging from hip-hop, alternative rock/metal, classic rock, soul, funk, dance, chat stations) and the funniest dialogue you will ever hear within a video game - you've got yourself one hell of a game.Not everything is amazing though, I mean there are definitely pop-in issues when driving at tremendous speeds, and there are LOTS of glitches, and other strange things that happen (I shot a man in the head 19 times before he decided to stop getting up off the floor and getting shot at again). Sometimes, yes - this can be a nasty little pain that happens say sometimes in a mission but it is so rare and so miniscule - that you'll hardly notice it. I will tell you also there are some missions within this game - that are SO hard that you actually convince yourself that you will never complete it, but eventually with time, strenuous patience and a stress ball - you will.Speaking of the missions, they are good. But you never really buy a GTA game for the missions, let's face it - you buy it for the free-roam. Now that's not to say that the missions are completely dull and boring because they are FAR from it. They are vast, energetic, sometimes furiously aggravating, but all the time exciting - so much can go on at one point, you actually wonder if you will get out alive. You never know with this game. You're usually given an objective, sometimes within a time limit (my worst enemy) but most of the time you just get the objective and take as long as you want. In fact, you could explore the entire game and then complete the task at hand. This adds to the sense of freedom I spoke of earlier. Without some time limit constantly and slowly driving you mad or a strict route or routine you have to take in order to get there and do the task at hand - it really is so much more enjoyable. The game does have it's own clock and weather system - and some missions do rely on the time of day (or night, for the brilliant burglary missions) as to whether or not you can actually start the mission or complete it within the hour or something. Always different, like I said before. The weather system by the way - is incredible... always changing and never the same routine.The voice cast is superb, infact you have tons of people who you would NEVER expect in a game like this - including; Samuel L. Jackson, james Woods, Peter Fonda, Frank Vincent, Chris Penn, MC Eiht, Chuck D, Axl Rose, Phil Collins, Ice-T, Shaun Ryder - to name a few - and the weird thing is, you wouldn't even know this unless you watched the end credits (I did as it was THE first PS2 game I ever completed, believe it or not) and it's not as obvious unless you know their voices well. Each of the names I just mentioned, gets their fair appearance, Jackson the most.The graphics are superb, well for 2004. I mean I'm not saying, `they are the best graphics you will ever see!' - because believe me, their not. But they are great. They look and feel very different from it's predecessors (III, Vice City). They are quite bold and everything is quite clear until you get up really close when it can become pixelated and a little blurry... but you're not really going to be walking head-first into a building the entire time you're in the game, are you? Pop-in is there, yes - but generally only at fast speeds and sometimes when you move the camera too quickly (this happens 1/10 times roughly per game session) - it's not really a distraction from what you're doing within the game.The presentation is nice, your weapon `wheel' is nicely located at the top right of the screen in a little round-edged square with your life underneath in a red bar. Also is the wanted system, 1 being the lowest and easy to escape and 6 being the hardest and about as easy to escape as it is from Alcatraz... if you don't count the film.As for the box and packaging it comes in; well of course - this is Rockstar so it's going to be top notch. You get a basic guide - however this isn't done like your average (press x to run, etc, etc) - it's done like 'a guide to the state of San Andreas'. It is geniusly crafted and looks lovely. Behind this, in the box - you get a map. An entire map of the whole game. This is really handy when it comes to wanting to find something in particular within SA. The disc has a picture of a artist-drawn-sexy-woman on it and it really gives you the sense that this game is going to be something very unique indeed.Overall, this game is sensational, spite of what I said earlier, it actually is revolutionary as it did inspire Saints Row (that tot) and other game designers to go out and make a gangsta-style game with as much freedom as this - but let's face it, no one will beat Rockstar at their game. They invented, it and they will dominate it for as long as they are around. The game is my favourite of any console, any franchise and overall just an amazing game. If you haven't got it or played it before, then I suggest you do now - otherwise you will miss out on the greatest gaming experience you may ever have.
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21.11.2004
How do you follow up a runaway success like 2001's Grand Theft Auto III? Rockstar North responded a year later with GTA: Vice City, a game that took the gameplay of its predecessor and expanded it considerably. At the same time, Vice City gave the series an extensive and amazing stylistic makeover, drenching the experience in the sights, sounds, and attitude of Miami, Florida from the mid '80s. So where do you go from there? You take it statewide. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas expands the series' concept to encompass three entire cities, as well as the countryside between them. The gameplay similarly expands, packing in some explosive set pieces and amazing action-movie-like thrills while maintaining that same remarkably fun,freefom GTA feel. In short, Rockstar has done it again. San Andreas definitely lives up to the Grand Theft Auto name. In fact, it's arguably the best game in the series.This latest installment takes place in 1992 in the West Coast-themed state of San Andreas. San Andreas is an island containing three cities. You'll begin the game in the city of Los Santos, which is based roughly on Los Angeles and consists of a mixture of ritzy downtown areas and the gangland ghettos of South Central. San Fierro is based on San Francisco, reproducing the real city's hilly terrain and ever-present fog. The game's third city is Las Venturas, which is a great take on early-'90s Las Vegas, complete with a strip full of casinos and the surrounding desert. While one-to-one measurements against previous games in the series are difficult in practice, San Andreas definitely feels like a much, much larger place than Vice City ever did, but at the same time, the growth is handled intelligently. There are plenty of things to do both in and out of the cities, which makes all this real estate matter.While Grand Theft Auto III was inspired by movies like The Godfather and Vice City took several pages from the Scarface playbook, San Andreas draws its inspiration from the ghetto and gangsta struggle films of the early '90s. Movies like Menace II Society and Boyz N the Hood are the clear influences here. In San Andreas, you play the role of Carl "CJ" Johnson. The game opens with Carl returning to Los Santos after spending the last five years in GTA III's Liberty City. But his homecoming isn't a happy one--he's returning home because his mother has been killed. Carl isn't on the ground for more than an hour before he's picked up by a pair of crooked cops and thrown right back into the middle of the street life he left Los Santos to avoid.Your first order of business in Los Santos is to put your set back on the map. Your gang, the Grove Street Families, has fallen into disarray over the last five years, and their influence is minimal at best. So you, along with the three other leaders of the gang--the long-winded Big Smoke, the dust-smoking Ryder, and your stubborn brother, Sweet--set out to take back the streets from your rivals, the Ballas, who have turned to dealing crack to earn money and gain influence in the hood. You set out on a series of missions to take back your territory, starting small with things like spray-painting over other gangs' tags (which is one of the many new types of actions that replace previous GTA games' more-generic hidden package collecting here), but quickly moving up to drive-bys and other acts of extreme gangsterism. But there's a whole lot more to San Andreas than just set tripping.Just when you think you're getting used to gang warfare, everything goes sour. We're certainly not interested in spoiling the game's many interesting plot twists, so we'll leave out the details, but it should suffice to say that you'll eventually need to get the heck out of Los Santos. You wind up in the country outside the city, where you'll encounter many more great characters and officially embark on your quest to put right what's gone wrong. Once you get out of Los Santos, you won't really have to worry about gang warfare for a while, and the game settles down into a more GTA-like feel.This latest installment takes place in 1992 in the West Coast-themed state of San Andreas. San Andreas is an island containing three cities. You'll begin the game in the city of Los Santos, which is based roughly on Los Angeles and consists of a mixture of ritzy downtown areas and the gangland ghettos of South Central. San Fierro is based on San Francisco, reproducing the real city's hilly terrain and ever-present fog. The game's third city is Las Venturas, which is a great take on early-'90s Las Vegas, complete with a strip full of casinos and the surrounding desert. While one-to-one measurements against previous games in the series are difficult in practice, San Andreas definitely feels like a much, much larger place than Vice City ever did, but at the same time, the growth is handled intelligently. There are plenty of things to do both in and out of the cities, which makes all this real estate matter.While Grand Theft Auto III was inspired by movies like The Godfather and Vice City took several pages from the Scarface playbook, San Andreas draws its inspiration from the ghetto and gangsta struggle films of the early '90s. Movies like Menace II Society and Boyz N the Hood are the clear influences here. In San Andreas, you play the role of Carl "CJ" Johnson. The game opens with Carl returning to Los Santos after spending the last five years in GTA III's Liberty City. But his homecoming isn't a happy one--he's returning home because his mother has been killed. Carl isn't on the ground for more than an hour before he's picked up by a pair of crooked cops and thrown right back into the middle of the street life he left Los Santos to avoid.Your first order of business in Los Santos is to put your set back on the map. Your gang, the Grove Street Families, has fallen into disarray over the last five years, and their influence is minimal at best. So you, along with the three other leaders of the gang--the long-winded Big Smoke, the dust-smoking Ryder, and your stubborn brother, Sweet--set out to take back the streets from your rivals, the Ballas, who have turned to dealing crack to earn money and gain influence in the hood. You set out on a series of missions to take back your territory, starting small with things like spray-painting over other gangs' tags (which is one of the many new types of actions that replace previous GTA games' more-generic hidden package collecting here), but quickly moving up to drive-bys and other acts of extreme gangsterism. But there's a whole lot more to San Andreas than just set tripping.Just when you think you're getting used to gang warfare, everything goes sour. We're certainly not interested in spoiling the game's many interesting plot twists, so we'll leave out the details, but it should suffice to say that you'll eventually need to get the heck out of Los Santos. You wind up in the country outside the city, where you'll encounter many more great characters and officially embark on your quest to put right what's gone wrong. Once you get out of Los Santos, you won't really have to worry about gang warfare for a while, and the game settles down into a more GTA-like feel.The best game ever on ps2 so far!!!!!!
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14.7.2011
Pros: Huge game space, better targeting, intricate plot, fantastic scenery and ability photograph it, to name a few.Cons: Not many. The addition of two necessary flying missions can drive you crazy.Summary: I thought Vice City was fantastic...and it is...but San Andreas FAR surpassed my wildest dreams. When I first hopped on a motorcycle and rode out into "Red County", I was flabbergasted at the enormous and detailed countryside. Little did I know what was in store, as CJ made it to San Fierro (a terrific condensation of San Francisco!) and then out to the desert and Las Venturas (Vegas).Some of the missions are absurdly easy, while others (Toreno, a bizarre government agent,hilariously voiced by James Woods, forces CJ, not only to learn to fly, but then navigate the entire game space and BACK, in a touchy, WWI plane! You see the "WASTED" screen a LOT in this mission).Another great feature is the believable relationships, which, like real ones, grow and deteriorate. Some people CJ suspects, like Cesar (his sister's boyfriend) and Wu Zi Mu (aka "Woozie"), a Triad boss, become stalwart friends. In a tragi-comic side plot, CJ also befriends famous, but drug-addicted rapper "Madd Dogg", again, wonderfully voiced by Ice-T, along with an aging hippie, "The Truth" (Peter Fonda!).Still other characters CJ has known for years and trusts, betray him and even try to kill him. This, plus the necessary gang wars, give "non-gangsta's" a fairly good idea of the rush of battle and the near-despair of constant death and harassment by police and rival gangs. Even CJ's own brother, Sweet, eventually gives up and begins trying crack.The missions are so diverse, they barely need any augmentation, yet you still have it. There are side missions galore, including a cute, yet EXTREMELY difficult one involving a Geek war with remote airplanes and helicopters!Dating seems like an easy thing, but it is NOT! Most of the girls are hard to please, if not outright homicidal (Cesar's cousin, Catalina). Not to worry; after a "disastrous" date, CJ can still pick up one of the many hookers for some satisfaction. If he completes the Pimp mission, they pay HIM!Sex not your bag? Try gambling in Las Venturas, or OTB shops and pool halls around San Andreas. Enter triathlons races with "Bloodring" cars, lowriders, high-performance autos, motocycles, mountain bikes, airplane & helicopter or try stunt-bike challenges (VERY difficult!).The list of non-story missions is so long it'd take me an hour to list them all! Suffice it to say, if this game bores you, then you should just move in with Ned Flanders!The interactions between various gangs is now larger and have "back stories"...an explanation of sorts, unlike the Cubans and others in Vice city who simply milled around, waiting to jump you.Here, you may be on your way to a date or mission, yet suddenly attacked by rival "Ballas" from the old hood (often a drive-by), or in San Fierro, strolling near the docks when Vietnamese "Da Nang Boys" just open fire! Keeps you on your toes. You DO get your revenge on these guys, both by fighting back AND through missions. Even the pedestrians, and not just the hookers, often carry guns, knives and other weapons, and you don't have to car-jack them for them to attack you!Your friend Cesar's gang, Varrios los Aztecas, help you, but if you hang round them long enough, they'll shoot you just because you're not one of them. Eventually, he enlists you to help "clean up HIS hood", just as he has helped you through the game.The weapons here are FANTASTIC! Many forums have posts about which ones are peoples favorites. Though it's tough to say, the "Desert (one shot!) Eagle" is one of my first picks, but in this game, you can even kill somebody with the flower bouquet you were bringing to your girlfriend!Furthermore, after a few trials and errors, you get to pilot the equivalent of a Harrier jet and engage a fighter pilot with SAM's! Targeting is much improved over previous GTA's, at least on the PS2, so it's entirely possible to take out a warehouse full of Mafiosi with Tec 9's if you're good enough (if not, go practice at Ammunation!).Another fun addition is the use of parachutes. Though you need to use them in at least three missions, they are fun for all occasions. You can base-jump off of skyscrapers in all three cities, but after you get to 100% with your required dates, and are sick of their whining, take one out in a helicopter....when she starts in, YOU can jump out, and often watch her plunge, sometimes to her death, sometimes just to taking points away for "abandoning" her! Great fun.One thing about this game that I did NOT experience much in Vice City, was the desire to re-visit cool locations, like the desert, or even to start new games over and over, after finishing the main mission. This is the mark of a truly great game: when you just want it to go on and on! They could easily make this game twice the size and twice as long...and people would wait years to get their hands on it!
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6.1.2005
Grand Theft Auto originally surfaced on the PSOne. Warmly received it became a breath of fresh air in a stale games market, the original crime simulator. That was until Driver came in to spoil the party. Real world locations, full glorious 3D graphics danced around in front of GTAs retro top down 2D look, enticing gamers away. Driver 2 soon popped up and with the revelation that YOU COULD GET OUT OF THE CAR MAN! in a style similar to GTAs car jacking japes, poor old GTA 1 & 2 rapidly became the forgotten classic. How times change. Years later, I scanned through Game to find GTA3 sitting on the racks. Taking a risk on a game I remembered was alright once, the joy was instant once I started playing it.Massive interactive cityscape, lovely changes from day to night, sun to rain. The perfect gameplay. The longevity of it all, a game where you decide what you're going to do ... be it pootle about the city looking for nifty places to drive down, looking for the best car to nick, finding a high population of people and tossing a molotov into the mix, annoying the authorities until they sent the tanks out or just heading straight for the game missions. To be honest, Driver was dull. Ropey gameplay, surprisingly restrictive structure and so much time spent on the realism that the fun factor was forgotton.So it comes to the time when the latest GTA is to come out and Driv3r tries to get in on the act once again. Could it topple the big one where The Getaway and True Crime had failed? Well no. It ended up being a large, expensive farce. £45 for you to buy for a game engine that the Rockstar boys would generally do a variety of nasty things on from a great height. Nothing compound their status more than the latest in the series.The state (not city!) of San Andreas is teeming with little joys for you to get to grips with. Cities, redneck towns, mountains, deserts, 3 airports ... the works. All a huge playground for you to burn round in your own custom car, churn up trail on a mountain bike or even nick a train (!) to drive round between the three cities ... oh and keep an eye out for bits where you can base jump off skyscrapers! Shops are there to be visited, and not just cosmetically, certain missions require you to be in certain clothes. Lead character Carl gets hungry, so you'll need to keep him well fed or he loses strength and health. Get him too fat and you'll need to take him down the gym to work out or he won't be able to jump or run very far! Gang wars take place over the state with you constantly having to win and defend ground. Girls are there to win the affection of, each with a type of man that she likes to go for. This is all on top of the usual story based mission sections which can range from driving alongside a train on a bike as a mate shoots a rival gang off from the top of the carriages to street races for cash to, bizarrely, rhythm based button bashing as your guy dances to impress a local DJ.There are detractors, anyone who deems this the perfect game is lying. The shameful pop-up and draw of graphics, the improved but STILL fiddly shooting system, the soundtrack is a little too biased towards the hip hop side of things and very little else ... but to be frank, thats bog all in the grand scheme of things. Its an immense game with so much right about it. Everything from the past 2 outings has been tweaked perfectly, no more loading times, greater interactivity, a well developed story/mission structure and the sheer size of it all!The game presents you with a wonderful amount of freedom. Cruising around the backwater mountain regions on a bike looking for stuff to jump off is a pleasure for me, as is nabbing a taxi to do some breakneck taxi runs for cash. I've completed the main story but I haven't even got as far as irritating the police enough to a nasty 5 or 6 star level yet! I set my own wants and objectives as far as the game goes, and the wonderful thing is ... GTA always lets you do what you want. You'll always get the most pleasure out of it since you're the one making the choices.Everyone is hooked on this, a BT guy came round to install a phone at my flat ... we ended up discussing where to find a decen sniper rifle in certain districts of the game, I've heard stories of many a disgruntled girlfriend due to their bloke bringing the map to bed at night to study. Now it is your turn to be hooked. Grab this, San Andreas is waiting for you.
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13.11.2004
Having completed the storyline missions and a significant portion of the side missions - I feel I can state with authority:- That the character building is completely non-intrusive and has not once interrupted a mission, or anything else, for that matter. Building muscle to the maximum level takes two gym visits, and the muscle will stay for the rest of the game unless you starve yourself. Also, hunger and/or starving is not a problem because eating has almost entirlely replaced health pickups - now to replenish your health you simply buy a meal and the fat it provides stops you from getting hungry for more than long enough.- The missions are absolutely breathtaking - each one is a memorable event,each one introduces some new vehicle, skill or set-piece, and they almost never require simply one task. The missions are multi-layered and involving, not to mention very hard in places. There are also so many missions that the story of the character's life starts to take on some real significance, something which was sadly lacking in VC and GTA3.- The game is Many times bigger than previous installments - if you remove the large stretches of water, and the huge flat beach from vice city, I'd say San Andreas is literally four times bigger. In other words, you can bomb down a freeway on a PCJ superbike for 10 minutes before having to change direction, and a round tour of the three city centres takes well over half an hour.- The graphics are significantly better than vice city, particularly in the much more realistic car reflections, and the excellent use of particle effects. This does take its toll on the poor old PS2, however, and slowdown is noticeable in the more frenetic pile-ups or high-speed shootouts. That said, it has never hindered me during a mission, the game runs smoothly enough at all times for me to move and shoot quickly.- The vehicle physics has been subtly but skilfully reworked and the result is a much more satisfying feel to all cars and planes, and a much better damage-modelling system.- There are still issues with the targeting system, and i have to admit that one or two missions were harder than they should have been simply because the auto-aim kept going for the furniture instead of the mafia guy shooting me in the face. However, this is not a serious problem. It only shows up very rarely, in all other circumstances the problem is that you are not familiar with it.- The city design is fantastic. I can not believe that a small team has produced this in less than three years; the level of detail, the realism, and the atmosphere are spot-on every time. Whether you like driving in the cities, or tearing around the countryside on a fast bike, there are hours and hours of fun and genuine exploration to be had. Even after God knows how many hours playing, there are still large areas of countryside I haven't got round to, but i know are packed with interest and careful design. In San Andreas, no space is wasted.- The radio stations are decidedly inferior to Vice City - I don't know why, but the humour just isn't as sharp. The music initially put me off altogether, but I am now warming to certain stations like KDST and Master Sounds, as well as K-Jah which is not as tedious as in previous installments.- Anyone who went through hell to get 100% in vice city will be pleased to know that its going to take a lot more time for this one. I don't even know where to begin on this, because there are so many side quests I have stumbled upon but 'put off till tomorrow' that I don't know if I will ever be able to complete them all. Put it this way, in terms of freedom of activity, San Andreas makes Vice City look like Crash Bandicoot. Actually, thats putting it mildly.In conclusion, San Andreas has flaws. However, they are all superficial. A person who plays this game and comes away blabbing about the mediocre graphics, or the targetting, or how much better it would have been on the xbox (because _I_ have bought an xbox and How could my choice not be the only sane one??), or how you occasionally need to go on dates (even though this is completely optional and there is no penalty for simply killing your girlfriend), or any one of these trivial problems, is a profoundly foolish person. This is the most expansive, most immersive and most detailed game world ever created, and I would recommend that you buy it as soon as possible.
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5.1.2006
Here we are yet again. Another year, another release of the epic episode of Grand Theft Auto. GTA: San Andreas. This game needs no introduction for all ps2 and game lovers. We all thought that nothing could be improved from the much loved Vice City. How wrong we were.Grand Theft Auto:SA is simply a masterpiece. The finest example of its genre easily.Anyway. enough praise.. for now. The story starts off on a grim note, with the main character (CJ), returning home to bury his mother, a victim of a drive-by shooting, but soon after that, the depressing note is ended due to a frantic bike chase away from a rival gang, introducing the welcomed bicycle as a new addition to the vast amounts of vehicles in the GTA game,which also include quad bikes, tractors, monster trucks and even combine harvesters.Drive, eat, shoot, recruit are some of the things you can do, and will have to do, in the world of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. New features that are included in this game, which make it compete with the most popular of RPG games, are things such as the ability to get tattoos, get fat with the amount of food you eat, as well as slimming with the exercise in the local gym. There are also a variety of haircuts available to you. The general opinion though of the best added feature must be Carl's ability to swim in the sea. We've all had time when we were just cruisin' down in a car and careered off into the sea forcing us to explode in the previous GTA's. This problem is no more. If you crash now, simply slide out of the window and swim to shore.A fun extra is being able to modify vehicles, unfortunately these are unable to be brought back to shore, should you decide to test the cars "amphibious abilities."The length of the missions in this game have been vastly improved, with an average mission consisting of one or two parts. The missions basic outline are the same, but its the way that rockstar have built on this and made the gamplay a whole lot more realistic that is phenomenal. The average game lastability for the average player would definetely be in the region of one month, making the game alot longer than its predecessors. Aside from the main storyline are side quests, games and, of course, brawls in the street. Along with many unlockable vehicles, features and a whole other wide variety of goods scattered across the state of San Andreas.San Andreas state consists of three counties: Los Santos, Las Venturas and San Fierro. All which are of about the same size as Liberty City from GTA:III and are fully explorable by any means that you so wish, and there are many.Once you pass your flying lessons, then feel free to pick yourself a private jet up from the airport and take a flight to any spot on the map.The music in GTA: SA is brilliant. Critics said before its release thought that all the music in the game would be rap to suit the games ‘ghetto’ mood. This isn't the case. There are quite a few other radio stations ranging from country music to rock, and there are also some very interesting chat conversations and radio phone-ins that you can hear as you are driving. All in all, GTA: SA has a rather good soundtrack, but I think its fair to say that Vice City's was superior.Graphically, there is not much improvement from Vice City, but with all the other features, how can we complain? What the game lacks in graphics, it more than definetely makes up for in gameplay and lastability, in what probably will be the longest game you will ever play for a while. The graphics department for Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas gets a 9/10 from me due to a few minor but still noticeable flaws.In Conclusion, calling GTA: SA and excellent is an understatement. If you are a fan of the GTA series, even if you have never played before, go out and buy this game…it will be the best gaming purchase you have ever made! GTA is easily one of the best games in recent years and easily compares to the xbox hit of Halo2. San Andreas offers the most complete gaming package ever made on consoles in the present day and age and to not buy this game would be a crime. Surely...?Graphics: 9/10Storyline: 10/10Music: 10/10Lastability: 10/10Overall : 10/10!
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27.7.2012
October, 2004 - my birthday - my mam rushed down to my local game store at 7.30 am to purchase this for me: Grand Theft Auto San Andreas, the game that was supposed to "take over our lives", apparently! Well, the thing is, for a while, it did! I mean, I completed the main Story in about 6 weeks, but found myself coming back and coming back again, due to the 'wealth' of possibilities in-game.The plot. You control Carl 'CJ' Johnson, a young ghetto man who has returned to San Andreas to bury his mother. However, upon his return, it isn't long before CJ and his crew are ambushed and Carl realises that things have truly changed (for the worse) since he left 5 years ago. CJ makes his decision and stays in San Andreas,deciding that it is time for things to be put right. Little does he know that the journey he commences will take him across the entire State of San Andreas - from Los Santos, his hometown, to San Fierro and Las Venturas.Quite frankly, the gameplay IS better than that of Vice City, but that is only simply because there's plenty more to do! For example, CJ can join a Gym and master either Boxing, Karate and Kick Boxing if he (I should really say You) so pleases. You can go to nightclubs and hit the dancefloor (which is actually rather difficult, I feel). You can learn how to fly aircraft and obtain a Pilot's License. You can burgle houses at night. You can ride bicycles... really, the list seems endless!The missions are also very good, some of the best in the franchise, in fact. The only problem, I felt, was the game's story does not 'drag you into' the character's world as effectively as Vice City did. Just my two cents! Also, I don't believe that glorifying Hood rats is the best way to make a point!!Graphics wise, the game is a slight letdown, when compared with those of Vice City. See, Vice City was all glitz and glamour, meaning that everything was bright, so to speak. With San Andreas though, your playing environment(s) seemed much darker to me and, due to that, the graphics were actually worse than those of Vice City.Still, despite that, the game has a 'huge' memory to maintain, which could well have affected the final graphics. I mean, you literally have an entire State to get around - 3 cities in Los Santos (Los Angeles), San Fierro (San Francisco), and Las Venturas (Las Vegas). These 3 cities are surrounded by countryside and small towns and one, huge mountain!! Also, in the case of Las Venturas, you have a little desert to navigate (Area 69, based on 51, included!!!), too! The 3 cities, and their surroundings, make for one heck of an exploration... one that will keep you going and guessing for a while anyway!The authenticy of this game was unmatched, too, you feel! Within the 3 cities are landmarks that reflect the 'real' city, so to speak. For example, in Los Santos, you have a street that resembles Hollywood Boulevard (complete with the Walk of Fame and all!) and also a representation of Rodeo Drive. In San Fierro, you have Pier 69, just like in San Francisco; you have the Gant Bridge, instead of the Golden Gate. Then, in Las Venturas, you have representations of the various Las Vegas Casinos on The Strip, most notable Caligula's Casino, which is based on Caesar's Palace, no doubt! Yes, the authenticy is so great, it is unrivaled to anything I've played.Overall, I feel that this game is very, very good... a definite must-buy, anyhow! It was well worthy of the wait and hype back in 2004 and a very respectable sequel to Vice City at that. Still, in my view, something has yet to dethrone The Ultimate (Vice City) and, in the heel of the hunt, this was not to be it!Buy it.Thanks for reading this. I hope it helps.
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30.10.2004
The first thing that struck me with this game was the voice acting. I sat there wondering - "Is that Snoop Dogg?" - "Is that Samuel Jackson?" - yes it is. So, on the acting front, the character voices are really tops, Rockstar having pulled out all the stops to make their characters sound good.But what about looks? Well, I bought this game along with my first PS2 console on its release date, and being a veteran of Xbox and Gamecube, the graphics were initially very underwhelming on my big TV. However, it is clear when you venture further into the game, that this game has a certain sheen that graphically gives it the advantage over the previous two installments.There is less popup,which means that the massive (and I mean MASSIVE) environment looks all the more beautiful than that of its two older brothers. San Andreas is not a city, but a *state*, containing three entire cities. I found myself driving around having fun for over an hour, only to check the map and realise that what I had seen was but a quarter of one city, and that I had yet to see not only the other three quarters of it, but ALL of the other two cities, and ALL of the massive expanse of lush countryside that connects them all together.Luckily, the mission stucture is intuitive and leads you gradually into the game, which has been a strength of the entire PS2 series so far, so you never feel lost, even when you drive out into the country and lose your car. The same "bridge under construction" mechanic has also been used to stop the player from getting lost miles and miles away from his initial set of missions.The three cities follow the same routine as Vice City and Liberty City, whereby Rockstar have based them upon real cities, namely Los Angeles (Los Santos), San Francisco (San Fierro), and Las Vegas (Las Venturas). The three cities stick loyally to the cities that they are based upon, which makes them fun to explore. However, being fictional cities, Rockstar have taken advantage of their artistic license to make the environments feel homely and huge, without being too much of a labyrinth to navigate.This game is also very customisable, taking similar character mechanics as Fable, one of Xbox's most anticipated titles, which seems to almost mock Microsoft's big game that has been brewing for around twelve years, by simply chucking in things like new haircuts, tattoos, food to make you fat, exercise to make you strong and bulgy with muscles. This also doesn't feel like a gimmick. It gives the game certain RPG qualities, encouraging you to go on your own adventures to boost your statistics and improve your experience.This game is packed with special features. You can now burgle peoples' houses at night, get yourself a pilot's license, play basketball, go dancing in a nightclub (and, quite bizarrely, in a "Lowrider" car with manual suspension). Play a game of boxing if you like, or perhaps go and get yourself kitted up with bling at the Binco clothes emporium - or maybe if you want, go around with a Desert Eagle robbing shops.Of course, Rockstar wouldn't dream of taking out the things that made its first two PS2 GTA games so great, to expect to see the return of the Dodo, the taxi, paramedic, fire service, and vigilante missions, and a great selection of music from the early nineties - along with a hilarious selection of radio stations.So, the verdict.Should you get this game? Yes. It's an essential.Should you buy a PS2 to get this game? If you have an Xbox, it might be worth waiting for - otherwise, yes.Is it a revolution? No. But was it really meant to be? It's more of the same, only bigger, badder, and better.Game of the Year? Maybe... but my vote's with Halo 2...
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22.11.2004
The rockstar method of saving money. Follow these simple steps... Buy San Andreas.Let me explain.By buying this game you are opening up a huge world. Bigger than big and certainly bigger than gta games before it. This game is just not one game but many many games merged into one.Save money on* crazi taxi - you have taxi missions right here* 18 wheeler - we have juggernauts with very realistic handling* Big mutha truckers - as above trucking sub-missions included* Courier crisis or BMX games - included* Crashed / Demolition Derby - stock car racing featured* Deus Ex upgradable weaponary skills - revamped for san andreas* Driver - many cars/vehicles /missions in an awesome storyline* Splinter cell - stealth is possible and required for some missions* true crime - L.A is recreated uber convincingly* getaway - gangsta action is rife* dance off / dance mat games - there are dancing competitions within* that game where you drive the train (I cant imagine anyone buying) - but you can hijack one accordingly for a sub-mission* online pool games - you can do it* online blackjack games - we have it* old school space invaders + more master system-esque games - available in your save house / bars* Midnight club(s) - upgrade your car and race accordingly* sims - alter your appearance / interact all throughout.. have girlfriends* online betting shops - you can do it in san andreas* shoot the hoop and other mundane games - all here.* There is even a rumour of Bigfoot somewhere in the mountains south of san fierro. - your monster shoot em ups are even possible!* Any First person shooter / driving game / stealth game / strategy game can literally be recreated with this amazing game.So for an initial investment - look at the cost savings you can save (what a way to justify to yr other half!) and the above list just scratches the surface as to what is in this ground breaking sequel. As a flavour you can expect new vehicles, multiple motorbikes (i.e. more that 3 from vice city) agricultural machinery, bicycles, planes, boats, hovercraft, helicopters - again more than vice city. Parachutes (!) jet packs! approx 150 storyline missions including low riding, racing, piloting, partying, shooting, chasing, dealing, rioting, stealthing The emergency services missions - police, ambulance, fire, taxi, pimping (classed as an emergency service?). You have to find oysters underwater, take individual photo opportunities, collect lucky horseshoes, buy multiple properties, spray over 100 rival 'tags', rob houses, hold up stores, start, survive and uphold gang wars. This game just goes on and on. Aside of cost savings - the value for money is incomparable - i will be playing this game for years to come (until the next one comes out!) and still fall short of 100% completion.Your appearance is upgradeable in so many ways - tattooing, haircuts, clothing (full attire - including headwear, chains, watches, sunglasses). But aside of that you can build your muscle, stamina, fat (if you so choose), sex appeal, fighting style, respect, lung capacity, driving, biking, cycling, weaponry skills. Pedestrians interact - if you work out too much without washing- the will tell you how bad you smell.All in all this is as close to real life as we have in a computer game. Aside of the fact that you can do all those things you cant / don't do in life - you are unrestricted and that's what makes it so great. Vice City move over - we have a new 'Best Game In The World' status.
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18.12.2004
Having owned every previous GTA title across the PlayStation and PS2, I was looking forward immensely to San Andreas whilst at the same time being slightly scared. After all, developers Rockstar had made a few changes to the gameplay in order to get the ultimate experience but had they been successful?First off, if you're worried about the departure of the mafia lifestyle in favour of gang warfare it really doesn't make a great deal of difference. The missions are similar to the ones in Vice City (seek target, deal with target, escape police), just with more swearing. Although it's quite slow to start, once you get into the plot it's very well constructed and challenging with a good few twists.As with other GTAs,you will get attached to your character only this time he is literally yours. You can choose a hairstyle, get tattoos, even choose when he eats (thus how fat he is) and when he goes to the gym (and how toned he becomes). Whilst the level this is taken to is extreme and unrealistic - you only have to eat once every four days, and you'll go from skinny gangsta wannabe to huge musclebound hunk in the same amount of time if you choose to - it's still a very welcome addition. It sets an additional task - do you eat before a mission and risk not being able to run or jump as well, or do you risk running out of energy halfway through a mission? Similarly, Rockstar have added other touches: replacing the "hidden package" with different forms of hidden items to collect, the ability to get better with weapons and increase your lung capacity, the ability to modify your vehicle if you feel like being a boy racer and even the ability to take over rival gang's territories and be thus be the biggest gang in San Andreas.As well as additions, there have been several enlargements to the game itself. GTA: SA is based across a whole state featuring three cities, each the size of Vice City. This is ENORMOUS and if you reckon you can memorise every shortcut, bribe and back road like in Vice City then your job just got a whole lot tougher. As well as the standard emergency services missions you can now also be a pimp and a burglar, there are also now 70 unique jumps (which are practically impossible with anything other than the new fastest bike which, in turn, is practically impossible to get hold of) and your opponent's AI has been given a well needed raise. Don't expect to overtake a fast car with a slow one these days, if you're on the highway expect to see cars flashing by you at three times the speed of previous versions. Similarly, if you jump out of a bush onto a busy stretch of road causing the oncoming traffic to screech to a halt don't expect them to all stop dead - there are now frequent CPU car accidents. It's tempting just to park a car across the highway and sit on a hill with your camera (yes, you can now take pictures too).There is far too much in this game to be covered in a review this long so I won't even bother, but I think I've covered the basics. Whilst it's quite frankly an incredible game, don't think GTA couldn't be improved upon.. there are still some issues with camera angles in annoying places and stuff like that, but this is a small gripe in an otherwise great challenging game. So, GTA: San Andreas is the best game of the series by a country mile. No need to worry.
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5.12.2004
It's the 6th game in the Grand Theft Auto series and undoubtedly the best. Vice City was huge. You had a whole city to play around with. And now you have a state. The game is about 5 or 6 times bigger than Vice City with three major cities (Los Santos, San Fierro and Las Venturas) and small country towns (Dillimore, Blueberry, Palomino Creek, Angel Pine, Fort Carson and El Quebrados). As in VC, the more you progress in the game, the more land you unlock. You probably know by now that you play as Carl Johnson who has returned to Los Santos after his mother has been killed. The missions then start, getting more and more difficult as the game goes on. CJ's two main enemies are Officers Tenpenny and Pulaski.They make CJ's life miserable at any opportunity. But, you shall have revenge....Here is a list of some of the things you can do in San Andreas that you couldn't do in Vice City:- Gain and lose weight depending on how often you eat.- Change your hairstyle.- Get a tatoo.- Choose what sort of clothes CJ wears (torso, legs, watches, hats, chains etc.)- Modify cars (eg. add hydraulics, new paint job, new wheels)- Gamble (roulette, blackjack, wheel of fortune)- Take photos and save them on your memory card.- Go to the gym and get fitter.- Take over gang territory until you have the whole of Los Santos.- Do a parachute jump.- SWIM! Your character is finally able to swim (on the surface and underwater.). The more you swim, the greater your lung capacity becomes.- Burgle houses at night.- Start fires or put them out with fire extinguishers.- Hold two of the same weapon at once.- Learn different fighting moves.- Drive trains.- Fly planes.- Use stealth instead of going in all guns blazing.- Play pool in bars.- Use arcade machines.- Ride bikes.So, quite a lot then.Another clever feature of the game (as if there wasn't enough already) is that according to what's happening in the game, the news reports on the radio will match it.Speaking of radio, San Andreas has 11 different radio stations (Vice City had nine) all with their own style of music, except for WCTR, the San Andreas version of VCPR (sort of).As San Andreas is so big, you don't have to drive to the other side of the state: you can now take a plane or the Brown Streak Railroad which stops at five stations throughout the state (Unity Station and Market Station in Los Santos, Cranberry Station in San Fierro and Linden Station and Yellow Bell Station in Las Venturas).All the voices are excellently done, especially Officer Tenpenny who is voiced by Samuel L. Jackson. The pedestrians comment on your appearance and you can reply back in a positive or negative way. Recruit gang members to follow you around. Tell drug dealers to get out of your 'hood. San Andreas has it all.Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is a brilliant game, and I recommended it to anybody (over 18 of course....). It will take you a long time to complete, but hey, that's the point isn't it? Hope this has helped.See you later. Officer.
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6.11.2004
So this is it, the final bow for the Grand Theft Auto series on the current generation of consoles, but what a finish.The improvements to this game are mostly peripheral in context but when incorporated into play make a big difference. The biggest difference is the new system of gangs where you can run gangs and claim territory as your own. This makes your life a lot easier (try taking over a rival gangs hood without some other guns and you'll see what i mean). As well as gangs though you must also watch your weight (eat too much and get fat!), your muscle (work out to stay strong), your love life (keep up your sex appeal and hold onto your girlfriend), not to mention the usual myriad selection of missions.This game is truly one the most vast, sprawling gaming experineces in history, with a massive (3-4 times that of Vice City) area to play in and more than one way to make it big. The game now not only includes missions (and often you can choose between around 4 at any one time) but also allows you to break into houses at night, claim territory, purchase a large variety of properties, the list goes on. This is really a game that is going to take more than one playing to fully experience.As with the previous games, what story there is revolves mostly around the gangs. You play CJ, a street thug who comes back to San Andreas when his mother dies and rejoins his brother in the Grove Street gang. As with the previous game, this GTA features a stellar voice cast of established actors, musicians and up and coming young stars. Particularly joyous are Samuel L Jackson and Chris Penn as a couple of corrupt cops, and Ice T as rapper Madd Dogg. Not to mention the amazing soundtrack which has just about everything you could ever want, rock (guns'n'roses), rap (2pac), even country (willie nelson)The in game mechanics of your character also now need a lot more attention. Besides your fat/muscle ratio you also have to improve your skills with different weapons and vehicles (increased use leads to better accuracy/easier control), and this allows you to mould your character to your preferences (although you will want a selection of skills, just in case!). On top of this there is a huge amount of control in your characters appearence courtesy of a wide selection of clothing, oh, and some truly hilarious haircuts!Overall this is easily the most thorough GTA yet and should keep committed players hooked for many months. For those new to the series this is as good as it gets in games, fast paced action, frenetic shoot-outs, insane driving, stealth, and just about every criminal activity under the sun. This is the game your parents never wanted you to play. Indulge yourself. Whatever your pleasure, this game will cater for it! Fans of the series will no doubt own this already, and for those of you who don't, what are you waiting for? There has never been a better time to indulge your criminal side, and hey, at least it keeps it off the streets right?!
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28.7.2006
Why are there so many bad reviews for this game? This, in my opinion is the best GTA game there is! It's the only GTA game that has a proper storyline. In GTA 3 you're just a criminal running around doing missions for money. In Vice City you're a guy who just wants to take over the city. But in San Andreas you're Carl Johnson, a guy who wants to regain respect from his brother, as they fell out when their mother was killed. This involves Carl's family, his brother Sweet and his sister Kendall, and of course the rest of Carl's friends who are part of their hood. Yes lots of it is about gangs, but the main plot is to do with Carl's family.After being released from prison,CJ returns to Los Santos to bury his dead mother. He gets a pretty unpleasant welcome from Sweet, and after the funeral Carl decides to stay in Los Santos and help his brother out, as he has a lot of problems; the Grove Street Hood are failing and losing lots of territory to the Ballas (their worst enemies) and Kendall is dating Caeser, a white man with a gang of his own which Sweet is strongly against. CJ has his own problems to deal with as well, with Officer Tenpenny trying to find ways to arrest CJ again, and enjoying himself whilst he does so.The great thing about San Andreas is that it uses a lot of ideas from GTA 3, and you instantly recognise little things that have been re-used and improved in San Andreas. For example, Catalina, the crazy woman from GTA 3 works with Carl in a couple of missions. Also Laslow from Chatterbox in GTA 3 is now on a different radio station in San Andreas.Another feature in San Andreas, one I had been waiting for before it came out is the ability to swim. Not only that, but you can also dive underwater (which is needed for a couple of missions). The graphics are brilliant, and now with the ability to swim you can do crazy stunts and not have to worry about hitting the water and instantly dying. The water looks far more realistic in San Andreas, in comparison to the solid blue coloured stuff in Vice City.San Andreas also supplies you with a map, which is brilliant for missions or even just simply trying to find a place. This map is also far easier to read than the Vice City map, and it shows you what direction you're facing as well.You can fly planes or helicopters much easier in San Andreas than in Vice City and GTA 3, and you can also fly really high and leap out whenever you like, so that you can parachute down to the ground again.This is the best GTA game there is. Yes, there have been complaints about it but if you're mature enough to handle it then you'll have no problems. If bad language offends you then don't buy it, but I'm not a fan of foul language and I just don't notice it after a while. So by all means, BUY IT! You won't regret it. The comments about the graphics certainly aren't true - they're brilliant on my PS2, so why should they be any different on anyone else's?
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1.11.2004
Two days after getting GTA: San Andreas, and the first signs of addiction have started to appear. San Andreas looks and plays very much like it's distinguished prequel, Vice City, but there are some key differences that lend the game an even greater depth and realism. The first, and most obvious difference, is the setting and the sheer scale of the game. Set in the 90's, you are plunged into the world of the 'gangsta' in L.A, straight out of 'Boyz In The Hood'. Also, it is more than three times bigger than Vice City, but despite the size, the attention to detail is absolutely breathtaking. That's not to say that the graphics have become overly elaborate or fiddly...the dynamic lighting and ambient sounds of the city create an atmospheric world that is not too dissimilar to Vice City. Another major difference is the music... although set in the 90's, the music is more of a mix bag than in Vice City, with some truly original touches... there is everything from Rage Against The Machine and N.W.A., to Patsy Cline and Ozzy Osbourne.The other major difference is the almost 'Sims' like nature of the game... you have to do alot more 'role-playing' in this game. Exercising, feeding, dressing, and learning a variety of wholesome skills, like cycling, driving and pistol shooting - you need to assume the part of your character to do well in San Andreas, rather than merely follow the script. There are countless missions (and side-missions) that can be played in a non-linear way, as well as loads of mini-games, like arcade machines, dancing competitions (?!), you can even play 2-player pool... or if that doesn't grab you, you can just steal a car and go for a spin, and explore the vast San Andreas County...Another small, but significant, difference is that you are now able to swim... how frustrating it was to die every time you came across even the smallest patch of water. Now, you can swim above or below the surface of the water. As your fitness improves, so your ability to stay underwater improves...Like Vice City, the storyline contains some pretty heavy themes, and is pretty intense from the outset. From 'Cleaning The Hood', where you beat up some local crack dealers with baseball bats, to 'Drive-By', where you and your homies 'ice' a local rival gang, with the help of some semi-automatic weaponry. In other words, this game deserves it's 18 certificate, so don't say you haven't been warned. The central themes reflect the sometimes brutal and harsh realities of life in the ghettos of L.A. in the early 90's, and explores the shady underworld of guns, drugs and prostitution. However, it is still 'just a game', but it is a heady and totally absorbing form of escapism that no other game series can match. For those who think that this game is a sad indictment of the state of today's youth, spare a thought for the people who really do live like this and say to yourself, thank goodness it's only a game!
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