Review by Sam on Sunday 01st of July 2007
How do you top the success of GTA III and GTA: Vice City? You release a game with much more action, intensity, humor and plenty more. When San Andreas was first talked about month's before it's release we all knew it was going to be a big hit and I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. On the 29th of October I did just that.
So we begin...
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, the follow up of GTA III and GTA: Vice City, is set in the west-coast themed state, San Andreas.You play Carl Johnson, a full-of-life set tripper who grew up in Los Santos and spent most of his life there. CJ, returning from Liberty City, his runaway home for the past 5 years has come back to his home town to attend the funeral of his late mother who was killed. While GTA III and Vice City were based on gangster films such as The Godfather and Scarface, San Andreas is clearly influenced by the early ghetto films of the 90's such as Boyz N the Hood, Menace II Society and Juice. We all knew GTA needed a quick u-turn and this is exactly what happened.
The game opens and it isn't long before to crooked cops, Frank Tenpenny and Eddie Pulaski have your face to the ground and are throwing you in the back of their cruiser. Soon after a stern talkin you a dumped in an alley, in the heart of the type of hood's you fled from over 5 years ago. Eventually, after a short BMX ride, you end up back in your own hood and at your house in Grove Street where you were brought up. You meet up with Big Smoke - your over-weight homie - at your house. He takes you to the graveyard where your moms is berried. At the grave yard you meet up with your sister Kendl, homie Ryder and get a stubborn welcome from your brother Sweet. Sweet starts an argument and its not long till it gets out of hand. After it dies down you drive back to the hood and it's time to start your mission.
SA couldn't have been set out better, although the graphics weren't anything like Next Gen it was still pleasant and at the time - when only PS2 was out - the graphics were next to best. Los Santos resembles many parts of the California ghetto and was perfect for the style of the game, the hoods, alley ways, graffiti sprayed walls and cars that traveled round LS were all perfect for the ghetto scene trying to be created.
Your first line of action is to put your old gang, Grove Street Families back on the map, after a 5 year downfall for the Grove their influence has hit rock bottom and they are no longer a feared gang. So you, along with the other 3 leaders of the gang, Big Smoke, Ryder and Sweet hop into sweets ride and go for a little drive. You set out on a series of different missions - to get used to the game - starting with spray painting over other gangs tags (a new addition to the game), you eventually move onto drive-by's and cause gangster havoc around LS. You soon find out there is plenty more to this new addition to GTA than just set trippin' around LS.
Like the other games in the series, San Andreas consists of a long story line that takes you back and forth through certain areas of San Andreas numerous times, but this game is far from boring. You start off restricted in Los Santos, due to the usual closure of bridges and roads that link each city. The missions in SA are a lot more exciting and crazier than you have ever seen in a GTA game and it isn't long till you realise what the game really has to offer. You realise the key feature of all missions almost straight away, during and at the beginning of each mission you start, text appears at the bottom of your screen telling you where to go and what to do, key-words are pin-pointed with color to make this aspect of missions so much easier.
A new addition...
Another new addition to the game is discovered when Tenpenny and Pulaski leave you in the alley-way at the start of the game, a BMX is standing near by which you can hop on and ride around on. Whilst on the BMX tapping X makes you peddle much faster causing CJ to speed up, you will go much faster and it's a pleasure to see CJ cruising through the hoods on a BMX at some crazy speeds! CJ is much more athletic than previous GTA protagonist's and you soon realise it when you jump into the water with him, he is able to swim both on surface and underwater, a breath meter comes up and if you stay under the water and the meter runs out, your 'wasted'. CJ also sprints and jumps high walls. In order to keep CJ in shape you have to take him to the gym. Yeah thats right, I said gym. San Andreas has introduced a whole new range of interiors to explore such as clothes shops, fast food restaurant's, bar's, gym's and grocery stores which are all decked out and functional.
New interiors..
When you take CJ to the gym there is a variety of different equipment you can make him use. There is the running machine, rowing machine, weights, press-ups and sit-ups. All the exercise enhance certain parts of CJ's body which allows him to build the perfect shape. You can't create the perfect body in just one session though, taking him back once a day will do it but you have to eat and re-visit the gym regular to keep in shape. Eating a little to much can make you fat and eventually, yes, obese. Cool eh? The other new addition to the game and probably the most anticipated one yet is the clothing chains. You can dress CJ up in a whole range of different attire and accessories that are available all over San Andreas in numerous clothes stores. Jeans, tops, shoes, watches, socks, glasses and much more is available and there is enough of it! If you work the money cheat well you can most likely afford anything and deck yourself out in the coolest gear.
Past Grand Theft Auto games have had a killer soundtrack and the radio stations have become a major component in the games. The radio stations in San Andreas are terrific, surely better than ever, in my opinion. There are 11 stations, each having its own unique style. The most outstanding station would be Radio Los Santos that is basically the soundtrack to the game as it is set with a ghetto theme.
Respect is a new aspect in the game and works well. The more respect you receive, the more gang members you can allow to roll with you, which is another new addition. San Andreas is insanely fun to play. The missions are a little less frustrating in this new installment although that was just my opinion. The game never really feels like it's to easy but also never really feels to hard. Experienced players should be able to make their way through the game's unique storyline in 30 to 40 hours which is quite a lengthy and satisfying prediction. There is a lot more to San Andreas than the storyline though as most GTA fan's would usually expect. Full story line completion would only move the completion percentage to somewhere around 55%, meaning there are plenty more side missions to complete and cool things to find, so you never have nothing to do whilst playing.
Graphics...
San Andreas' graphics are not at all exceptional. Although it looks good when your cruising down the street or up high in a plane, the frame rate in the game is rather unstable and is often easy to realise. You'll see an object looking rather rough, this will be whilst the 'good textures' are loading in. It often takes a second or two before the object is looking its best. This is a fall back but something which we cannot help. San Andreas is so huge and to put it on a console like the PS2, which at the time was coming to an end, the graphics situation was always expected. The good thing was, despite the odd one or two, there were never any blunt complaints about the graphics.
Conclusion
San Andreas this time round, exceeded all possibilities and pulled it off. Although there a some flaws we can point out, we were able to play alongside them and not really bother about them. Rockstar pulled a real rabbit out of the hat this time and San Andreas has become a huge hit for them. The overall game play is excellent and story line is action-packed, tense and at most times, funny. It's highly entertaining humor, varied game play and it's excellent voice cast make this game a must-buy. It certainly took the PS2 to its highest possible level. Playing San Andreas will take you on an amazing journey that you must not miss.
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
How do you top the success of GTA III and GTA: Vice City? You release a game with much more action, intensity, humor and plenty more. When San Andreas was first talked about month's before it's release we all knew it was going to be a big hit and I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. On the 29th of October I did just that.
So we begin...
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, the follow up of GTA III and GTA: Vice City, is set in the west-coast themed state, San Andreas.You play Carl Johnson, a full-of-life set tripper who grew up in Los Santos and spent most of his life there. CJ, returning from Liberty City, his runaway home for the past 5 years has come back to his home town to attend the funeral of his late mother who was killed. While GTA III and Vice City were based on gangster films such as The Godfather and Scarface, San Andreas is clearly influenced by the early ghetto films of the 90's such as Boyz N the Hood, Menace II Society and Juice. We all knew GTA needed a quick u-turn and this is exactly what happened.
The game opens and it isn't long before to crooked cops, Frank Tenpenny and Eddie Pulaski have your face to the ground and are throwing you in the back of their cruiser. Soon after a stern talkin you a dumped in an alley, in the heart of the type of hood's you fled from over 5 years ago. Eventually, after a short BMX ride, you end up back in your own hood and at your house in Grove Street where you were brought up. You meet up with Big Smoke - your over-weight homie - at your house. He takes you to the graveyard where your moms is berried. At the grave yard you meet up with your sister Kendl, homie Ryder and get a stubborn welcome from your brother Sweet. Sweet starts an argument and its not long till it gets out of hand. After it dies down you drive back to the hood and it's time to start your mission.
SA couldn't have been set out better, although the graphics weren't anything like Next Gen it was still pleasant and at the time - when only PS2 was out - the graphics were next to best. Los Santos resembles many parts of the California ghetto and was perfect for the style of the game, the hoods, alley ways, graffiti sprayed walls and cars that traveled round LS were all perfect for the ghetto scene trying to be created.
Your first line of action is to put your old gang, Grove Street Families back on the map, after a 5 year downfall for the Grove their influence has hit rock bottom and they are no longer a feared gang. So you, along with the other 3 leaders of the gang, Big Smoke, Ryder and Sweet hop into sweets ride and go for a little drive. You set out on a series of different missions - to get used to the game - starting with spray painting over other gangs tags (a new addition to the game), you eventually move onto drive-by's and cause gangster havoc around LS. You soon find out there is plenty more to this new addition to GTA than just set trippin' around LS.
Like the other games in the series, San Andreas consists of a long story line that takes you back and forth through certain areas of San Andreas numerous times, but this game is far from boring. You start off restricted in Los Santos, due to the usual closure of bridges and roads that link each city. The missions in SA are a lot more exciting and crazier than you have ever seen in a GTA game and it isn't long till you realise what the game really has to offer. You realise the key feature of all missions almost straight away, during and at the beginning of each mission you start, text appears at the bottom of your screen telling you where to go and what to do, key-words are pin-pointed with color to make this aspect of missions so much easier.
A new addition...
Another new addition to the game is discovered when Tenpenny and Pulaski leave you in the alley-way at the start of the game, a BMX is standing near by which you can hop on and ride around on. Whilst on the BMX tapping X makes you peddle much faster causing CJ to speed up, you will go much faster and it's a pleasure to see CJ cruising through the hoods on a BMX at some crazy speeds! CJ is much more athletic than previous GTA protagonist's and you soon realise it when you jump into the water with him, he is able to swim both on surface and underwater, a breath meter comes up and if you stay under the water and the meter runs out, your 'wasted'. CJ also sprints and jumps high walls. In order to keep CJ in shape you have to take him to the gym. Yeah thats right, I said gym. San Andreas has introduced a whole new range of interiors to explore such as clothes shops, fast food restaurant's, bar's, gym's and grocery stores which are all decked out and functional.
New interiors..
When you take CJ to the gym there is a variety of different equipment you can make him use. There is the running machine, rowing machine, weights, press-ups and sit-ups. All the exercise enhance certain parts of CJ's body which allows him to build the perfect shape. You can't create the perfect body in just one session though, taking him back once a day will do it but you have to eat and re-visit the gym regular to keep in shape. Eating a little to much can make you fat and eventually, yes, obese. Cool eh? The other new addition to the game and probably the most anticipated one yet is the clothing chains. You can dress CJ up in a whole range of different attire and accessories that are available all over San Andreas in numerous clothes stores. Jeans, tops, shoes, watches, socks, glasses and much more is available and there is enough of it! If you work the money cheat well you can most likely afford anything and deck yourself out in the coolest gear.
Past Grand Theft Auto games have had a killer soundtrack and the radio stations have become a major component in the games. The radio stations in San Andreas are terrific, surely better than ever, in my opinion. There are 11 stations, each having its own unique style. The most outstanding station would be Radio Los Santos that is basically the soundtrack to the game as it is set with a ghetto theme.
Respect is a new aspect in the game and works well. The more respect you receive, the more gang members you can allow to roll with you, which is another new addition. San Andreas is insanely fun to play. The missions are a little less frustrating in this new installment although that was just my opinion. The game never really feels like it's to easy but also never really feels to hard. Experienced players should be able to make their way through the game's unique storyline in 30 to 40 hours which is quite a lengthy and satisfying prediction. There is a lot more to San Andreas than the storyline though as most GTA fan's would usually expect. Full story line completion would only move the completion percentage to somewhere around 55%, meaning there are plenty more side missions to complete and cool things to find, so you never have nothing to do whilst playing.
Graphics...
San Andreas' graphics are not at all exceptional. Although it looks good when your cruising down the street or up high in a plane, the frame rate in the game is rather unstable and is often easy to realise. You'll see an object looking rather rough, this will be whilst the 'good textures' are loading in. It often takes a second or two before the object is looking its best. This is a fall back but something which we cannot help. San Andreas is so huge and to put it on a console like the PS2, which at the time was coming to an end, the graphics situation was always expected. The good thing was, despite the odd one or two, there were never any blunt complaints about the graphics.
Conclusion
San Andreas this time round, exceeded all possibilities and pulled it off. Although there a some flaws we can point out, we were able to play alongside them and not really bother about them. Rockstar pulled a real rabbit out of the hat this time and San Andreas has become a huge hit for them. The overall game play is excellent and story line is action-packed, tense and at most times, funny. It's highly entertaining humor, varied game play and it's excellent voice cast make this game a must-buy. It certainly took the PS2 to its highest possible level. Playing San Andreas will take you on an amazing journey that you must not miss.
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Name: Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Publisher: Rockstar Games Developer: Rockstar North |
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Audio: 90% Gameplay: 90% Graphics: 80% Lifespan: 95% Overall: 92% |
