The open world, free-roaming sandbox has been with us since GTA 1, but yet has no game been as huge nor as much fun as GTA: San Andreas.
Story
You play as Carl Johnson (CJ), living in Liberty City. Your brother Sweet calls and breaks you the news on your mother’s death and You return to Los Santos to yattend her funeral. It turns out she’s been murdered by the Ballas gang, and within a short period of time you’re going on a revenge rampage across the whole state of San Andreas…with lots of distractions along the way.
Graphics
If you’ve played GTA 3 or Vice City, you already know the graphical style of GTA. In San Andreas there isn’t much difference. The almost cell-shaded look on the world and characters is intact, and the visual style overall is very similar. Of course, you can’t release a new game without improving the graphics at least a little bit, so this time there’s a very cool heat haze effects, improved explosions and generally more particles flying around. In general, all the effects have been bumped up a notch.
I have experienced some wierd shadows in places, especially in very narrow alleys, but those issues are very minor. Also, the cutscenes that are completely rendered in-game (without starting a separate movie) can look a bit awkward, most notably when the characters are in a car. This won’t bother you much though, as most of the cutscenes are obviously prepared for rendering with smooth and natural motions.
If you haven’t played GTA 3 or Vice City, just watch some trailers for either of the three games, as I won’t go about describing graphics that everyone should know.
Sound
As always, the sound design is excellent. Every radio station is well thought out, the voice acting is top-notch and the sfx are good. There isn’t much more to say here that’s negative.
The game starts off with a cutscene with some of the most killer voice acting I’ve ever heard. You get dragged into the mood of the game in an instant. This quality sticks with you until the very end of the game, and even after that. Personally, I have to say I haven’t played many games that have managed this.
After the voice acting comes the second reason for the impressive immersion the game displays, the soundtrack. The radio stations sound very realistic, as they now are dynamic. As you progress through the game, the news and shows change contents on the talk radio, and the DJs push out different phrases at different times of day and in different weather. Combined with an awesome soundtrack that fits the time period (the ’90s) perfectly this makes for some pleasant trips through the game world.
As far as sound effects go, they’re nothing special. They’re good, they do what they have to, but nothing more.
I experienced quite some problems with sound disappearing or sprackling noises in the past. I don’t know the cause for those problems, but they still appear eventually. It might have something to do with my sound drivers, but if you should experience similar problems you can rest assured that you’re not the only one.
Controls & gameplay
Controlling CJ is very simple and straight-forward, exactly as it should be. There are no big differences from the previous games, so the transition from Vice City to San Andreas goes without a hitch. Driving is pretty much like arcade, but with a little more simulation, as always. Flying planes are nothing like real life, as they’re easy to control. Still, they are your best means of travelling fast back and forth quickly and safely.
The gameplay has been improved 10x since the last incarnation of the series. The huge world around is far from empty, and contains side mission after side mission, providing lots of play time way after you’ve completed the main story. Also, there are various achievements and stats increases you can get by exploring and just fool around. The stats are new to the series. Now you can play the game more like an RPG, bumping up your vehicle and weapon skills and getting buff or fat. The way you play now actually has something to say for ow you have to complete your missions. If you’re nothing but a heap of muscles with high stamina you can kill people with a few punches and run the hell out there afterwards, but if you’re a sack of fat that drives everywhere you’ll have to rely on heavy weaponry and vehicles to survive.
Indoor locations have now become a very important part of the game. Almost 1/4 of the missions have something to do with an indoor location. It’s very nice to see the game world come to life with shops, restaurants and other places you can enter and actually make use of. Other than robbing them, I mean. Buying new clothes can, in addition to giving CJ a new, more personal style, increase your sex appeal, thus increasing your chance of getting the six girls that are scattered all over the state.
One of my favorite past time activities in GTA:SA is to just drive around the countryside and listen to the excellent country channel on the radio. It’s almost impossible to grow tired of the world of San Andreas. It’s so huge and varied that it takes at least a month of intense exploring to see it all, and three to six months to grow tired of it. And that’s only if you play it compulsively. The world features the three cities of Los Santos (Los Angeles), San Fierro (San Francisco) and Las Venturas (Las Vegas) and their respective countrysides. The terrain covered by countryside is actually a bit larger than that of the cities, and the cities are absolutely huge and stuffed with content. The countryside does not seem as filled with content at first glance, but there are lots of side missions, secrets and funny signs just waiting to be found all over the place, as well as opportunities to take a lovely cross country road trip.
Conclusion
I don’t think I’ve ever played a game bigger (with the same content ratio) and more immersive than GTA:SA, as it’s perfect in almost every way. A long story line with plenty of twists and distractions and more free-form missions than you could ask for makes this a ride you’ll want to take again and again, on a different path each time. The value you get for your money here is stunning, and if you’re so slow that you haven’t played this game yet, you should do so at once, for your own sake. Please…
I have been reviewing the PC version of the game.
Score
9.8/10
