Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Its already a record breaker, but how good is it really?
Ever wake up, open your eyes and find yourself feeling a little, well, pointless? That's more or less how I feel at this precise moment. Look, the chances are that you love Grand Theft Auto and if you don't then nowt I'm going to say here will change your mind. If you do love it, then you're probably already playing the game and would have bought it no matter what the reviews said.
Nonetheless, let me persevere under the pretence that for some reason you're actually interested in what I'm going to say. So, San Andreas, the third of the three dimensional outings for the phenomenally successful GTA series. Hmmm... is it any good? I think possibly the best way to put it is like this: San Andreas is best described as an old mate from school. Not a close mate necessarily. I'm thinking more along the lines of the kind of kid that you consider yourself mates with simply because you've known them forever. In some ways this mate annoys the hell out of you, he can be a real tool. He has annoying quirks and is often rather frustrating. But you've known him for so long that you can look beyond these things and see the inner beauty. In many ways it's a bit unfair. You've met folk since that are much the same, maybe even better in some ways. But you don't like them because you don't know them in the same way, and more to the point, you can't be bothered to get to know them. Why should you? You've got this other mate who you know perfectly well. Okay, sometimes he might refuse to target the nearest approaching enemy or get stuck in passing scenery but you know he's like that, you just accommodate automatically. You remember the first time you mugged a prostitute and grenaded a police officer together, that evening you ramped over a passing lorry on a motorbike whilst listening to Billie Jean with one another. Those sorts of memories bring people close.
Having trouble grasping my admittedly somewhat agitated ramblings? Let's put it in plainer terms. San Andreas has faults, quite severe faults in many ways, and that really shouldn't be a surprise. Anyone who played GTA3 or Vice City will be very aware that in many ways the GTA games are untidy affairs. The vastness of Rockstar North's ambition has meant that the games have consistently pushed boundaries as to how much power current programming techniques could squeeze out of the PS2. Of course, over time the amount that they've squeezed out of Sony's hardware has continued to increase and GTA has expanded along with it. But the price paid for such vision is a certain lack of finesse. Whilst the driving is excellent other elements of control have not been quite so accomplished. Combat of any description has always been a particular issue, not to mention the camera that has never truly delivered, at least not on foot. Glitches were in abundance and any GTA player will have memories of the time they got stuck in a part of the scenery, much in the same way (though I fear saying it) that they might find in Driv3r. The thing about GTA, however, is that unlike Driv3r the game offers up such a rich and succulent world you can all but forgive any misgivings you might have. This can be construed as "fanboyism" (no, NO, ban them, feed them all to the undead!) though in reality it's far from it. No game will ever be perfect, not even Pro Evolution Soccer. Luckily, a game doesn't have to be perfect to be utterly brilliant.
In fairness, it took me a little while to get into San Andreas, longer than with previous GTA games, though of course I admit that now I adore it. In truth though, the thing which struck me first about the game was how rough it actually looked. Perhaps this is due in part to the programming, but it's more likely to be simply a price needing to be paid for the vast, apparently seamless world that exists on that little plastic disc. I'm sure you know, San Andreas is huge and you'll have to work to see it all. The vastness of the map is only unlocked by progressing through the game and the game itself is equally as expansive as the landscape. Nonetheless, in recent months where we've seen titles released that prove the PS2 still has further to go when it comes to performance (Burnout 3 anyone?) and in comparison San Andreas is certainly not a looker. Not only are the character models rough to say the least and the draw distance quite poor, but the interiors still look woefully under realised, even if some offer an improvement on Vice City.
But to focus on such things, even if they are strikingly true, is to definitely miss the point. San Andreas isn't even really an action game in my humble opinion (though that's not to say that there isn't plenty of action in the game - there's lots). It's more of a world simulator. Though of course they are ultimately restricted in what they can offer, the GTA games succeed because they offer the chance to play games in a huge, breathing, seemingly living gaming universe. What Rockstar have achieved in San Andreas is to further deepen the ways in which the player is able live out their times within this world. In many ways things are much the same as always. Missions to progress the plot and unlock the map still appear on the map and you're still free to roam about in between causing all manner of havoc and generally being socially irresponsible. There are lots of new mission types, some inventive, some familiar but it's the padding in between that really enthuses.
For starters, the locations and towns themselves (and let's not forget that San Andreas comprises several different towns this time round) are more alive then ever. The gang-led social focus of the early 90's US black ghetto culture brings with it an intrinsic link to social tension, and Rockstar have successfully recreated this, even if only to a shallow extent. It's rare that you'll stand by for a few seconds without rival gangs opening fire on one anther or a police chase screeching by. In fact, claiming gang territory plays a part in some sections of the game. Areas are divided by colour on the map and it's up to you to roll in there, pop a cap in some rival gang members and claim their turf as your own. The reward for this is not only safe passage through parts of the map but also another save point and some income. The streets of San Andreas are more alive than even those of Vice City and whilst traffic can still be admittedly light there's still a huge feeling of otherworldliness.
In line with this, your protagonist, a young man named CJ who's returned home from the East Coast upon hearing news of his mothers death, is himself in turn more alive. Now you restore health by buying food from a fast food outlet. Eat too much and you'll put on weight. Of course, you're also free to head down the gym to burn it away and build up some muscle. Why not work out and increase your stamina whilst you're there? This in turn will allow you to run and swim further (yes, I said swim!). It's also possible to go shopping for clothes in one of several themed fashion stores. You're free to cut your hair at any time or maybe even get a tattoo. Further more, it's now possible to take the neighbourhood hoe's out on dates and even, should you play your cards right, strike gold, so to speak. When you see it on paper it could almost seem as if Rockstar are trying to make GTA into a quasi-RPG or Sims clone, but that is quite inaccurate. The beauty is that you're perfectly free to ignore these things should they bore you, as I did at first. But as your time in San Andreas passes you find yourself dabbling. Before long you the compulsion to immerse yourself prevails and the game benefits from it.
Of course, there are other improvements too. Everything is bigger, better and more plentiful than before. The characterisation of the main characters is also notably better than anything we've seen before in GTA. Clichés are in abundance, of course, but they're delivered well by a pleasing cast (Samuel L Jackson, Chris Penn, Ice T, George Clinton et al) and are normally a pleasure to watch, the first time at least. CJ himself is also refreshingly different from the Tommy Vercetti's or Tanner's of this world. Rather than the typical mindless, joyless thug he instead he presents a more thoughtful character, who although still a criminal is one for more than simply the want of it. There are more weapons and whilst the targeting is still quite unsatisfactory it is at least partly improved from Vice City. You're now free to manually aim with a locked on weapon, increasing the scope for accuracy and switching between enemies is slightly better thanks to an engine very similar to that found in Manhunt. The soundtrack too is once again really quite superb. There are fewer pleasures than fleeing from a rival gang or police car and hearing Ice Cube's "It Was A Good Day" pipe up on the radio. Hip hop is of course a prevalent theme and expect all to appear from Doctor Dre to Easy E or Da Lench Mob, amongst others. Alternative tastes are also catered for and expect tracks from the likes of David Bowie, Primal Scream, James Brown, Buju Banton and Rage Against the Machine.
As free as the gameplay might be though, there are still annoyances that do persist in ever so slightly limiting your enjoyment. Some missions are simply very tough and replaying them will often require long stints across the map. Sometimes you'll be offered the chance to skip earlier parts of the mission that simply require you to drive around, but you still have to get there in the first place as save points are only found in safe houses. Still though, there's a good assortment of new missions that offer up some surprises, such as the Dance Dance Revolution style rhythm action sections. God forbid I even stumbled across the odd stealth mission, much to my alarm and disgust, though even they are handled quite well. Whilst there may be no loading times whilst traversing the map activities like buying food and getting dressed are long, drawn out affairs that really test your patience. And already I have five clear memories of times when I had to load up a previous save because of a glitch, such as when my car has got stuck in a ditch and my "homies" wouldn't get out, thus scuppering the mission. The camera too now seems if anything more erratic than in previous games and can often struggle to offer a satisfactory view even when driving about. As well, certain vehicles, most notably the BMX, are often a real struggle to get to grips with.
But all of these complaints come a very stiff second to the joy offered by simply exploring the game and allowing yourself to have fun. The Police are noticeably more lenient in this version. Even if you should "accidentally" run down an officer in your travels, if you're really not out for trouble then it can normally be easily evaded via a hasty retreat. Some may see this as making the title easier but to me it felt more of an open invitation to play about and explore the streets to the fullest. Granted, the huge map can often feel a little too big, especially when you're required to traverse vast sections of countryside repeatedly when having to repeat a mission. GTA may be looking its age and some of its more favoured structural ideas are beginning to feel a little dated, but Rockstar continue to revel in the mastery of presenting a consuming environment to the player and inviting them to do within it what they wish. Very few other games can even claim to offer that.
91%
Comments
i have got this game, its twice as good as vice city, simply the best game ever.
it deserves 10 out of 10.
just finished the game awhile back,great game.better then halo2
WAY BETTER THEN HALO 2
I didnt get to play the game yet, but I'm going to be borrowing it from Colby tomorrow. YEY!
Well its a good game and it does deserve 10 out of 10 because the graphics and how u can do lots of stuff :D
is dis game 2 player SANANDREAS
I have to disagree with you MJ A. San Andreas isn't better than Halo 2.
finally! thanks Ben for that review and for doing something not many reviewers have done - mention gta sa's faults.
Thanks Nexus.
As for the old 10/10 debate, the as brilliant as the game is I personally felt 9/10 (or 91%, as the case may be) to be a more accurate score. But as has been argued on many forums in the last week, 91% is still a fantastic score and I really don't think it's worth getting upset about.
At the end of the day it's a superb game, no question.
Though a review mostly focused on the game's faults, while barely touching at all on it's many, many (many) strong points...it is much appreciated.
Thanks for reviewing it for us.
Trust me, it was my pleasure. Did I focus on the negative? Mmm... I thought I painted a good picture. I guess in the face of such intense hype it was maybe a subconscious response to point out that the game isn't without fault.
no, no Ben, you weren't too heavy on the negative....ppl say so because you did some negative focusing.
I guess it's called trying to be balanced!
I've read many reviews of GTA:SA from sites and mags, the faults in this game get mentioned more often than not. There were a million faults in Pro soccer 4 and I don't meen the official licence, but the faults aren't mentioned that much. What I'm saying is GTA:SA is so brilliant, its all pros and no cons, so lets talk about the fault. camera is bad in every 3D game, so why mention it in a review when the camera is expected to be bad. A review score should be judged on gameplay, graphics, sound, lastability and replay value. The gameplay is the best there is on PS2, you won't get any more so thats 10/10. PS2 is pushing the graphics to its limit, theres another 10/10. Acting is top notch and music is exactly how it should be 10/10. 100+ hrs of gaming 10/10. you'll always come back for more even a year later you'll want to play it again, 10/10. So the overall score is 10/10 a perfect game
A million faults in PES4? Can't see that, myself. I see your argument for a 10/10 score, but as I stressed before I don't think whether the game gets a 9 or a 10 matters one bit. They're both very high scores. For my money, however, San Andreas is not perfect. Brilliant without doubt, but not perfect. For me that's a straight 9.
hey Ben, you are probably right. i brought san andreas and the game is great but i HATE the graphics. the game deserves 9 and as you said, 9 is good.
oh and is the IQ level of readers declining here??!!
I don't own it, but I'm saving up, because Rockstar has once again made such a fantastic, true-to-life yet surrealistic, mind exploding game, it'd be a crime to not own this wholly awesome and groundbreaking game. Oh, it's got pretty good 90's music, too.
My sincere gratitude to poster who can make themselves out to be cogent people. To all the rest of you with the rambling incoherent posts, please try harder next time. If you post something that makes sense and knows what capital letters are for you stand a far better chance of not being thought of as an idiot.
And good job on getting the review down so quick Ben. Who knows, maybe we will get sent review code before the release date one day:-)
/shakes fist at slow PR companies
I second that Mr Sam
100% (classic)
how do you unlock 2 player on gta san andreas???
Is 2 player real?
Yhis game has alot of detail and I play it every day.
does anybody know when GTA San Andreas is coming out for PC?
does anybody know when the PS3 is coming out?
@motorcade
th3 game IS better than halo2, i have halo2 and it is just the same all crap as the first one. even other game sites have rater SA better than Halo2.
I wanted to ask when Andreas GTA San on PC comes out
We've just bought it and i thick it's the best game ever made. But it's a bit hard at the start cos u hardly get any money even if u do missions but we got all r money from delivering cars to the docks in san ferrio.
this is better than i mean way better than HALO II
Debating whether GTA SA is better than Halo 2 is such a pointless activity. They're two totally different games and pretty much uncomparable. They're both brilliant - I hope you can all see that.
i agree Ben. the reasons that they cannot be debated upon: -
1. GTA SA is not sony's flagship
2. two different genre's
3. GTA SA and HALO 2 are aimed at 2 diff. crowds.
well, i cant think of anymore :P
i have not played it yet but i have heard sooooooo much
about it and if it is that good it is better than halo2
Thanks again for the support Nexus. As for the rest of you GTA vs Halo-ers.... meh!
so, who's doing the Halo 2 review? you or Sam?
all ya'll stupid and little kids the game sucks sike its the best game in ages
I dispair... :-(
Halo 2 - I'm working on that at the moment, though Sam may well be chipping in with something as well.
I know mate, especially if I decide to give Halo 2 a better score :-0
Good review , and you have given me a good piece of
info. I Definety buy it now . In previous games Ive had
giltch"s and even though its got that , ITS BRILLIANT !
zarombista gierka 100000000000000000000000 razy lepsza od gta vice city
is it true on grand theft auto that you can go to liberty city after completing the whole game.
is it true on grand theft auto that you can go to liberty city after completing the whole game.
best game ever no arguments, if you disagree you have AIDS.
i like the game alot but you can't put gas into the cars or motorbikes and that the only thing i dont like about it
this game is da bomb
Halo 2 has got 1.5 million pre in the U.S. alone sanAndreas can't compare to Halo 2 imagine how many people bought it outside the U.S.
Screw SanAndreas
Not only is your argument poor, but the point you're trying to make is utterly worthless. Grow up mate!
I couldn't of said it better myself. Even though I haven't got the game I can't wait to take some "homies" down to some rival turf and shoot the crap out of some rival gang members. I've got this site as my home page and I have to say that this site is the best for info about San Andreas.
Hi its me again. I was just wondering if you use cheats does it damage the disc? also do you have to aim at people for your "homies" to shoot them?
what the hell Master chief, Halo 2 is crap ,and so what San Andreas is gonna sell the roof off!
mj a I support you man!!! Actaully I'm just going to go and have a crap on Halo 2.
by the way this game has completely ruined my social life, thanks!!!
this game is awesome
the cars and guns are better than any grand theft auto
if you havent played thisgame you have to!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
were is the icon for 2 players ?????????? for san andreas
if you got this game you will die in 7 days
GTA Rico City is the next game out, it will be for the PS3 tho
Is ps3 like Eye toy or just better graphics. who thinks San Andreas is better than Halo 2.
ME!!!!!!!!!
How can I get multiplayer on GrandTheftAutoSanandreas
How can I get multiplayer on GrandTheftAutoSanandreas
This game is like a 9.5/10. It cant be a 10/10 cuz it would be a perfect game. The graphics aren't that much of improvement even though they are good considering the length of the game(pretty big).
Nice review btw!
You better respect San andreas, cuz that's where we grew up and where all our homies are at.
San andreas is a actual place in america, in california.
I have been there and it is nothing like the game, it is not as violent, i am very dissapointed by this.
We love listening to SF-UR, but our homeboy CJ loves K-ROSE, does that mean he's a batty boy?
P.S. Big Smoke, you need to lose a few pounds, you dig.
jxksjxkmmcksv;smpfjbkx.bdl.,./.[';';lp[l[plpll[pl.';.l;p
john is right best ever i hope they make even a better one
Dustin, all you got to do is to keep trying to beat that mission and after a while you will complete it. thats how I got through gta3 and gta vice city.
GOOD LUCK!
you are a loser aying this game isnt good you just dont know
it is the best game ever i have got it i cant get off it
it sucks
when is the new barbie game out?
how do you put it on two player
This is an 8/10 game, simply because GTA 3 was a 9/10 game and this version simply isnt as good or as origional.
Sorry to hurt your feelings Alex* but San Andreas is a 9.9/10 game.
HALO 2 SUCKS BIG ONES!
how do i get gangs after i leave the town area. all the green bandanas dissapeared
is there such thing as big foot on the game
gsetsrtnerydlgfjghel;
when you pick up hookers/chicks on the street.... what next? where all can you take them, what will they do, etc.
I pick them up and they just ride around with me, i go to a 'private' spot and no car-bouncing like on Vice City. Im confused, everyone talks about how funny it is to pick up hookers, yet its no chuckle to me.
Help....
do cheats actually ruin this game???!!!
im going to tell you people about san andreas so far what herd it was the bomb any way im getting it for cristmas and thanks rockstar games from jr
dustin, on San Andreas your gang drives cars that look like Voodos, whenever you sea these cars your gang is near. I even saw these cars on the beach, how strange is that!
I have a comment to make.
I do not have the game but i no allot about it and i want it.
Why is there un-child friendly material in there i have got the original and it is clean why have they put this in here???
From anonymous
san andres is the best
Yes DeathSpiral It is two players
Here i'm going to tell you how to get your muscles to full strength or Max power first you go in the nearest gym and work out intil it says ( YOU work out enough today come back tomorrow ) after it says that get out of there and go save the game after you save the game it will be the next day go back to the gym and work out again keep doing that intil it full keep eating food so your muscle meter wont go down.
I have this game its the best game ever.Every morning
I play this game because I have no other cool games
I've got some new cheats everyone, and guess what, they work!
to get a hydra jet do triangle(2) square circle x L1 L1 down up. when you get in the hydra jet press x to make it hover up then push the right analog stick forward go fast. for missiles press L1 to lock on to things press R1and L2 and R2 to control the rudder. I will submit some more amazing cheats Tommorow. Good luck!
so when are you all coming out with another GTA game,and where will it be. I have EVERY GTA game that you have came out with.
ps. write back please
#1 GTA gamer Derrick lewis
How to you work two player on san andreas
Some 1 anwser please
The game is the bomb...
great graphics get it now or you will be sorry...
this game sucks because we cant find the strip club
hey stupid a#$ guest you plug both contr. in and find the red icon witch is located in all the cities and go up to it and have the 2 contr. press x while your over the icon thats how you play two player
yo our homeboy,ryrder was knocked off by actetec leader,cesar vailpando so we put a cap in his head kendl went to ryder + cesars funerals with famous rapper - madd dogg we listen to k-dst but cj listens to radio los csantos
how do you get people in your gang to join you when your going to fight another gang?
i think that san andreas is the best game ever made for playstation 2 and i think in time it will be worth money
The game is awesome, the cheats are amazing if u want 2 have some fun in 2 player but glitches r many.
jon i agree with u, the 2 player on san andreas is not the best but the 2 player on halo 2 does not compare and the actual games graphics on halo 2 r not the best
Guest to get 2 player, u simply have to find an i con with little red stick men on it
a more simple way is to go to ur girlfrends house if u have got that far in the game and there shood b 1 there but not always
i think grand theft auto sanandreas is the best game and the cheat are realy good too