Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

The Good
San Andreas is the logical next step in the growth of a series that continued to expand in size and variety. Suffice to say that this game absolutely dwarfs its already very impressive predecessor in size and content.

Like the previous games, San Andreas has a huge, open-ended world that you can explore to your heart's content. Unlike them, San Andreas has three large cities instead of one, and a lot of wilderness between them. The presence of countryside makes the open world seem more coherent and immersive, adding a sense of breadth and scope and re-defining the very concept: indeed, the playground here feels more like a real world than ever before in the series.

Everything in the world of San Andreas is detailed and created with love and attention. There are diverse neighborhoods bustling with activity, memorable landmarks and little atmospheric spots you'll be seeking out. One of the most fulfilling experiences for me was climbing up Mount Chilad, standing on the top, gazing at the beautiful world beneath, and then jumping down on a motorcycle.

The game's many story missions are an absolute triumph of inventive design - which is particularly remarkable considering the fact that the earlier games weren't exactly repetitive themselves. San Andreas has plenty of ridiculously fun missions ranging from simple races and chases to challenging, hardcore shooting levels and often hilarious arcade-like scripted events of all sorts. The amount of vehicles you can commandeer in this game is truly mind-boggling: from simple bicycles to war planes, from monster trucks to tractors, trains, and everything you can think of that has wheels or can fly. And don't forget fun equipment such as a jetpack on top of that.

The gameplay is generally more fleshed out and even more varied than in the two previous games. First of all, the interaction with the world was significantly expanded. You can finally swim. You can also dive and hunt for oysters. Another important addition is climbing. Don't see a way into the house? Climb over the fence. Climb onto the roof, maybe there is some weapon there. Or just go and jump on the roofs for fun.

Another interesting addition is the new RPG-like system. Run around a lot and your stamina will increase. Ride a bike and you'll gain better bike skill. It's a simple, effective mechanic, and it works quite well. People who disliked it may have not grasped the meaning of this system. Don't you think it was annoying to fail a mission in the previous GTAs, ending up in a hospital without your weapons? Most people just reloaded, to spare themselves the trouble of getting new weapons and going back to the starting point of the mission. In San Andreas, this feature finally has a meaning. You can fail a mission several times, but you can always gain something from it. You might gain muscle, maximum HP, weapon or driving skill, which are all saved. It's like leveling-up in an RPG - you can return and redo a hard mission, having more of an edge in it each time you try.

But there is a lot more. You can customize your protagonist's appearance, changing his clothes and haircut. You can also eat to gain health. If you eat too much, you'll become fat. You can exercise or simply run around to lose weight. But if you become too thin, you'll be exhausted. And no, you don't have to eat regularly to keep your character alive, as some people say. It is just attention to detail and design generosity.

As always, there are plenty of things to do outside of the main missions. You can be a taxi driver, get an ambulance and care for sick people, become a vigilante cop, break into people's houses, gain territory by starting gang wars, participate in races, and more. Some of those minigames return from the previous GTAs, some are exclusive to San Andreas. The best of those exclusive ones is probably the dating. You'll be able to have girlfriends in the game. You can take them to dinner, drive them around, give them presents, and build up your relationship. Finally, if you do everything right, the girl will invite you to "have coffee". As everyone knows, the official version of San Andreas was censored; the developers already programmed a whole explicit sexual minigame, but removed it from the final version. Luckily, you can download the "hot coffee mod" from many places. I don't quite see why game developers have to remove fairly meaningful sexual content from a game that focuses on killing other human beings - which, apparently, is quite alright to present in a digitized form.

The ability to download the mod is not the main reason why you should get the PC version. First, the graphics are much better than in the console version. Second, the controls are way more fitting. The console version has idiotic "auto-aiming" that makes shooting sequences a total mess. Every enemy takes several shots to kill, and more often than not you won't be able to target the enemy you want to kill first. In the PC version, it's very simple: just target with the mouse and practice headshots.

The game's story is long and deals with a wider variety of themes than just the rise to power among greedy gangsters. The presence of family and friends make the protagonist seem more humane, though some missions do everything they can to overturn that assumption. The more down-to-earth atmosphere allows introduction of more believable characters joining the ranks of totally grotesque figures that surpass the wacky madmen of the previous games. The main villain is appropriately repulsive, and there are interesting moments in the story when the issues of trust and betrayal are brought forth.

Much of the dialogue is marked by careless, profane humor that distinguished the series - but it is also quite well-written. Voice acting is top-notch as well. There are weird characters with totally crazy lines, and sometimes the whole thing almost feels surreal. The game's script goes absolutely over the top, making mean fun of everyone and everything. Of course, there are also very funny pop culture references, And some of the stuff they say on the radio is absolutely hilarious.

The Bad
There are some problems with the pacing. The game is very long, and the story is just "smeared" over dozens of missions, most of which don't advance it at all. Which brings me to the next flaw: all the so-called "story missions" of the game must be completed. All of them. If you miss one, you won't trigger another one, and so on. You can often choose the order in which you want to complete the missions, but that's it.

Problem is, many of those story missions have nothing to do with the story, and the inclusion of some of them into the canvas of the narrative feels forced. Much of the material here turns the main character into a schizophrenic with mutually contradicting values and more than a vague personality. For example, during one of the missions CJ rescues a girl he has never met before from a house he himself set on fire. On another mission he has to drown two people he barely knows. You can do those two missions in a row if you so wish. This kind of jarring ambiguity could have been avoided if the game let you choose the missions you actually want to do.

Obviously, GTA games can't afford being too squeamish because of their very concept, but San Andreas can cross the line between understandable gangster violence and pure murder. There is a mission that forces you to kill an innocent valet, even though knocking him unconscious would have been a more plausible solution. In another mission you must bury a somewhat hostile worker alive in cement. I find this kind of black humor unnecessary in a game where violence is already easily glorified.

Again, the ability to choose your own missions among those often gratuitously violent escapades, the right to skip any or all of them and just stick with the gangster wars for the mandatory story missions would be welcome. The plot suffers from that as well, being actually involving only in the beginning and in the end, with the largest chunk of the game dedicated to absolutely disjointed activities in a deranged theme park.

The Bottom Line
San Andreas is more than just its series taken to the most radical heights: it is a massive sandbox adorned with incredible gameplay variety, a giant that throws fun at us with royal magnanimity and from a seemingly inexhaustible source. It may not be the deepest and most thought-provoking experience, but it is one of the most purely entertaining games I have ever played.

The Good
Immense scope and open-world gameplay Engaging storyline with memorable characters Impressive level of player freedom and exploration Diverse range of missions and activities Soundtrack that enhances the atmosphere

The Bad
Outdated graphics and visuals Clunky controls and mechanics compared to modern games Occasional technical glitches and bugs Controversial and mature themes may not appeal to all players Limited character customization options

The Bottom Line
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is an aged game that left a lasting impression on me as a kid. Its vastness and endless possibilities ignited my imagination and provided countless hours of fun. However, looking at it now, the game clearly shows its age, and my expectations have shifted. By today's standards, it falls short in various aspects. Nonetheless, playing San Andreas today still evokes a strong sense of nostalgia. While it may not live up to modern standards, it remains a cherished part of gaming history that takes me back to a time when its vast open world captivated my young mind.

The Good
In this installment you play CJ, a Los Santos native returning to his home town for his mother's funeral, who quickly re-acquaints himself with his brother, sister and other members of his old 'hood. As with the other GTA games, you find yourself quickly drawn into a world of crime, both organized and not-so-organized. The story has real depth and the various plots and sub-plots are well developed and quite immersive. Some of the missions can be a little tricky to crack, which adds to the challenge, but some are just pure unadulterated fun. Imbed yourself deep enough in the character and you can get really wound-up by the various twist and turns that CJ experiences.

Now for how it looks and plays...

Graphically superb. With a decent system it looks simply stunning. Night and day are handled very well as are the various weather effects. The cars, bikes, planes, boats, etc., all look great and the buildings are very nicely drawn. Up close, the people look a little odd due to the less-than-stellar polygon count, but it's easy to forgive given the scale and depth of the game.

The sound effects and speech are excellent and help develop the fully immersive nature of this game. Music was well presented, as always. Usually I turn off in-game music, but I kept it on for ages in this game. While the music is not to my particular tastes, it does fit the game very well.

The cars, bikes, planes and boats all handle convincingly for the most part. The motion blur at high speeds can be a little disorientating, but I enjoy it. It helps you realize that you're not travelling as fast as you would like to. The layout of the cities and countryside is excellent. Take a long drive to San Fiero and you feel like you're actually going somewhere, although if you grab a bike or a 4WD and go cross country you notice how small the world actually is.

There are plenty of little sub missions which don't advance the story in any way, they just add to the depth. You've got the stadium races, the road races, the flying courses, delivering various 'packages', and so on. They all have a reward which makes them worth doing, but they're not essential - just fun!

I love the open nature of this game. Just as it's predecessors, you can go anywhere and do almost anything. You can spend ages just wandering around and admiring the beauty of the scenery. And there's a lot of fun to just messing around - go for a cruise in a cool car, try some insane stunts on a motorbike, low flying a jet under bridges, checking out your neighbourhood on a BMX, or base-jumping off skyscrapers.

The Bad
This game, as with the previous GTA titles, was developed for the PS2 and ported to the PC. As a result, some of the control concepts and systems are console-inspired which can be a little frustrating to long-term PC gamers, like myself. For example, the flight controls are non-intuitive for someone brought up on classic Microprose flight sims. And if you change your keys so you can fly easily, you'll find other actions like running and driving completely messed up.

Some of the missions annoy me, not because they were hard or stupid, but because they just didn't seem to fit well in the game. I won't spoil anything for anyone who hasn't played it yet, but it's a personal thing - everyone will probably have missions that bug them.

Then there are a few minor niggles that always seem to crop up in these games. The talk radio station lacks the humour of the previous GTA titles, the need to eat to keep your strength up (actually I don't mind this, but I know a lot of people do), the whole dating sub-plot (easily ignored unless you crave that 100% completion). On the whole these do little to detract from the overall game experience.

The Bottom Line
When the original Carmageddon came out almost a decade ago, I was blown away by the ability to drive anywhere I liked. At the time I thought: "All we need now is the ability to get out and wander around, and it'd be perfect." The GTA series was the first games that really brought that out. GTA3 and GTA4 were awesome, but it always bugged me that I couldn't swim. Now you can. In fact you can walk, run, swim, fly, cycle, drive, ride and even jump in the back of someone's pickup truck and be driven around to explore this world. In fact, there's practically nothing this game won't let you do.

The Good
What more can I say about San Andreas that you didn't read anywhere else?

The Game is as good as it gets, GTA 3 blow me away when it came out and I thought that Rockstar couldn't do much better than that but I was dead wrong first with Vice City and now with San Andreas.

San Andreas is everything it's predecessors were plus more, The level of interaction is equal to none, you get plenty more of side missions, the state of San Andreas is huge and very well designed, the missions are more scripted and there are so many different aspects in this game that probably you'll come back and replay it just to see what you missed.

The voice acting is great to a degree were you believe you are watching a movie more than playing a game, the radio stations are always a plus in GTA games and this time they are interactive to what happens in the game.

The plot is good and with some nice touches that keep you playing to see how things work out.

Unlike most new games it doesn't rely on graphics only to keep you playing.

The Bad
There are (in my humble opinion) a few things that Rockstar should improve for the next game of the series :

The food system is rather useless, I finished the game having only 3 or 5 meals and never because the game told me to.

Some missions seemed weird and forced into the plot, I don't want to put any spoilers here but there are times when you are doing things that don't have any logic or sense and make CJ look more like James Bond than himself.

The Bottom Line
If you liked GTA3 and Vice City you probably own this game already, if you didn't play the other games I suggest you play them in order since the plot in San Andreas has characters from the previous games.

GTA San Andreas is a game you must have at least to be able to cruise around the most amazing virtual city to date.