Game Review: GTA San Andreas: Part 1

I originally started writing a review for Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas with the intention of it being a total review. I wanted to hit all the stuff that was important and really do some nice journalism and hopefully, the journalism faeries would grant me three wishes and my first would be for Bob Dobbs to give me a golden pass to the Pleasure Saucer of the Sex Goddesses if it was good enough.

I hadn't yet even completed the first island when I began and my review was constantly growing and getting bigger just because the longer I played, the more stuff I saw. I decided I'd break the review down by island and into three parts. Since I completed the first Island, This is my first review on GTASA. So, here are the in's and outs of GTA: SA fresh from Rockstar Games. To break it down I'm going to rate the game on game play, graphics, audio, depth, and overall fun.

The story takes place in San Andreas, California in the 90's. You play Carl Johnson, a tough guy from Liberty City back in town for his mother's funeral. As soon as he enters town, the local crooked authoritys give him the business and to make a long story short sets the stage for the plot.

Game Play: Much of the basic mechanics are the same but there are some differences. While poor Tommy Vercetti would flounder and parish in knee deep water, Ole CJ can swim, dive, and flurish beneath the waves. CJ also has the new ability of Jumping up and automatically grabbing onto a ledge and pulling himself up. Sadly however the first person "look around" view was replaced with a third person camera, unless I just couldn't find it. You now can also hide from cops and use stealth skills. Also included now are stats. I haven't even come close to finding them all, but the ones I have are.. Respect, Muscle, Stamina, Max Health, Bike Skill, Cycle Skill, Driving Skill, Flying Skill, Pistol Skill, Machine Pistol Skill, Fat, Sex Appeal, & Lung Capacity. Basically now your character improves as the game progresses. All of these are good except "Fat" which decreses your ability to interact with NPC's.

Graphics: It's comparable to the last game. They've kept the tradition of 90's fashion and have broadened a bit. They've done well to keep interesting signs and things like the gift shop at the beach. "Son of a Beach: Gifts 'n Shit"

Audio: The radio is still a feature showing off several hits of the 90's. The AG favorite would likely be Radio X since it sports 2 Faith no More hits, as well as STP, GnR, and several others. In GTA3, the lead character never spoke. In Vice City, Tommy Vercetti would get angry and bitch. Carl Johnson and his homies like to say "Fuck." They say fuck alot. Never in any other game I currently own or have ever played did the characters say fuck as much as they do in GTA: SA. (If at all) Fuck fuck, fuckity fucked, fuck fuck fuck.

Depth: Holy Jesus. This is where GTASA really shows off. The game is HUGE. Each city has an airport because you need air travel to get from end to end in any reasonable amount of time. If Vice City was a City, San Andreas would be a state. The game sports a few new side missions including "pimp" and "burglar" There are a barrage of new vehicles. CJ is customisable himself. You can dress him in different clothing and give him different haircuts. I had CJ riding around in the projects on a bicycle in nothing but boxer shorts. Some passerby said, "Must be laundry day, huh buddy?" Also, you can give him Tatoos. Cars are customizable too. You can have your own pimped out car for special missions. So far, I haven't found "assets" like in Vice City to make money for me, however, there is a gang turf element that makes you money in the same fashion. You have to defend turf once it becomes yours and have to go blast the bad guys to gain it. Also is the girlfriend element. I can't see much of a point in that from a meta-gaming standpoint yet, it seems somehow empty of purpose. There are two collection elements I've encountered so far one is a "spray paint over the other gangs signs" and the other is a "collect the oysters from the ocean." (I can hear Tommy Vercetti gagging now) And this is only on the first island. I'm sure it's only going to get deeper.

Overall Fun: The game has all the charm of the original games plus added side quests to keep me happy. I'm looking forward to my next chapter.