Grand Theft Auto: San
Andreas (PS2)
From Rockstar/Take Two
For those of
us who have become addicted to Rockstar's brand of violent
entertainment, this game has been a long coming dream. Grand
Theft Auto: San Andreas has been revealed in small details
since March, with each bit of information making the game seem
more and more the reality that we have all been waiting for; a
GTA game that keeps up the good old play style we have come to
love since GTA3, but with the much needed improvements needed
and not properly handled with GTA:VC, and with enough new
features to make it it's own game and not just another
expansion to GTA3 like VC gave us. Did it live up to the hype?
Is it the second coming of GTA that we have been waiting for?
Were the bad flaws (like the skittish controls of 3 and VC and
the always flawed aiming) corrected?
Plot
In GTA3, we
were given a small dose of plot. It was only enough to make
you feel like there was a reason that certain missions were
unlocked only after meeting certain mission requirements (do
mission A to unlock mission B). Beyond that, the plot was
vague, and more or less, an after-thought to the GTA3
process.
In VC, we
were finally given a set of characters that were more than
either loud or quiet (in 3, in the end, each character was
either loud or quiet, and there was no real depth to the
personality). Personality was given to the key players, and
even the protagonist. However, the plot still felt pretty
tacked-on. There was no real explanation for half of what you
were doing in the game (you bought property during the last
half of the game only because you broke some glass in a mall
and then a Texan, a lawyer, and a really clingy
"friend" told you to...that was about the
explanation of it all), but at least the characters had just
that; character.
GTA:SA takes
it the next step, and then some, in the plot area. Each
personal has a completely unique personality, that seems to
match the voice acting and their physical look far better than
ever before (and the voice acting worked well in VC). You can
see the rivalries, the friendships, the emotions, the reasons,
etc, behind each and every word and action in SA.
To take a
step back, the plot of SA can be summarized pretty easily. You
play a former gang member named Carl Johnson. You were born
and raised in Los Santos (think LA), along with you two
brothers, a sister, and your mother. Your oldest brother Sweet
rose to a high level in a local gang; the Grove Street Boys.
After a certain incident happened (play to find out since some
people would call this a spoiler), you split town and went to
live in Liberty City (the land of GTA3). In Liberty, CJ goes
legit and lives a nice and undetailed life. Eventually you
learn that someone killed your mother, so CJ returns to Los
Santos. Once he gets there, he is quickly taken in by a group
of police officers who are on the gang control beat (including
one played with utmost skill by Samuel L. Jackson). They take
your money and leave you in Baller (the rival gang of Grove
Street) turf.
Once you get
back to your old neighborhood on Grove Street, you soon catch
up with your brother, Sweet, and some of your old gang
friends, Big Smoke and Ryder. Sweet keeps telling you that
since you left the gang, you should have stayed away, but
eventually CJ gets pulled back into the life of a gang-banger.
From this point, you slowly must work your way back up the
ladder and win back Sweet's trust and respect.
Also, there
are the important alliances and powers in the world of SA (SA
is a state, not a city, that is made up three main cities). In
Los Santos, there are the police gang forces (headed by
Tenpenny, aka Samuel L. Jackson), the Grove Street Boys (led
by Sweet, and currently in a state of decline), the Ballers (a
faceless rival gang that is gaining power and turf with each
new day), and the most unimportant gang in the scope of the
plot (a mainly Latino gang that is relatively neutral, but is
more likely to help out the Groves than the Ballers...they
have a name, but since they have so little to do with the
game, I decided to make a statement or something by not naming
them). There are also the minor powers, like the more
influential entertainers (Los Santos includes Vinewood, the
Hollywood equivalent of this world). However, beyond Los
Santos, there are countless other powers, like the Vietnamese
gangs, the Triads, and the pimps of San Fierro (San
Francisco), etc. So, like with each previous GTA game, every
new area in the game will ultimately leave you facing off with
a half dozen new allies and enemies that you will be doing
missions for or against.
Overall, the
plot is told a lot more like a complex and long movie rather
than a cookie-cutter plot tacked on after the fact. In other
words, you will actually see some character development, some
purpose, and definitely some further sense of realism (in the
plot, at least) than you saw with the prior GTA games. Also,
for those who don't really care for the whole story being set
to a gang life type of context, I have good news...that's only
the first part of the game.
Game
Play
There are
many ways I can do this, but the best one is this; I'm going
to assume you already have a good idea of what GTA3 and VC are
like before you read this. When a game becomes so influential
and popular, like the GTA series has become, it is a waste of
time to go into the details that are merely continued from a
previous version. So, if you haven't played GTA3 or VC, then
go out and play those first, just because they are such good
games...
So, the
first thing you experience in the game, and where I'll begin
is the new vehicles. In GTA:3, we saw the standard 4 wheel
vehicles (cars, trucks, blah, blah) and clipped wing planes
(basically cars that can glide for about 5 seconds...10 if
you're good), along with radio controlled cars, tanks,
emergency vehicles, and boats. In VC, the same mix of vehicles
were kept, but then motorcycles, helicopters, radio controlled
aircraft, real airplanes, and golf carts. Well, SA keeps all
of the earlier vehicles, but also throws in a few nifty new
innovations. You now have aircraft that are bigger than a
truck with wings (including jets), larger helicopters, and
even bicycles. In fact, the first vehicle you are shown to in
SA is the bike.
The bike is,
in itself, a whole new mode of transportation that blends some
abilities of walking, some of riding a motorcycle, and some
all new abilities. In fact, the bike, like with other
vehicles, will either become something you'll like or
something you'll hate. The bike allows one to control much
like a motorcycle in most instances, but you can burn through
some of your stamina (the stuff that lets you run for a long
time) and wear down your thumb by pounding the "go"
button to put some extra effort into you pedaling. You can
also use the L1 button to bunny-hop. As you begin the game,
you can make some small hops, but as you practice your biking
skills, and become more proficient, you can start to make some
mighty big jumps to clear gaps, jump over an oncoming car
(that's car, not big ass truck, etc), or to try to pull off
some stunts for the hell of it.
Most of the
other new vehicles will not enter your life until you've
gotten quite far into the game. You won't be able to touch any
of the aircraft until you've unlocked most of the game and
have earned a pilot's license (yes...they require a license
despite how you steal the planes and helicopters...yup, that's
stupid). The helicopters control almost identical to those in
VC, while the planes still control awkward (as they have done
since the clipped wing Dodo of GTA3) and will lead to more
frustration than enjoyment for most gamers.
Also, on the
note of transportation, there is a new ability in SA than will
surprise fans of the previous titles. CJ, unlike nameless GTA3
protagonist and Tommy Vercetti of VC, can swim. In fact,
falling in the water is not an instant death situation any
more. In fact, not only can CJ swim, but he can swim with a
good deal of speed (controlled like the harder pedaling of
bike riding) and even dive. The only limitation now is how
long you hold your breath...which is not a real concern in
SA.
Beyond the
transportation, there are the weapons. I mean, in the end, GTA
games come down (mainly) to two features; shooting and getting
the hell out of the way when the cops come. Well, the weapons
are a lot like they were in VC. You still have several classes
of weapons in which you can carry one weapon from each class
at a time. These classes include; pistol (like a pistol), SMG
(like an SMG...damn, this is complex), shotgun (like a...say
it with me...shotgun), rifle (hunting, sniping, etc), assault
weapon (AK47...when you absolutely positively...), melee
weapon (knife, bat, sword, shovel), thrown (grenades, remote
grenades, Molotov's), and heavy arms (flame thrower, rocket
launcher, etc...you know, the fun weapons). Also, like with
VC, the system is still bugged. You may find, depending on
what weapon you currently have, that if you are forced to
temporarily hold a certain other weapon in the same class (or
ever the same weapon), when that instance ends, you may have
no weapon left in that class. For example, in the shooting
test (you can practice your shooting at certain gun shops by
challenging two computer controlled people to a contest), I
,often times, will find my shotgun gone after the test ends.
At least it's not as bad as VC (in which you would lose your
weapon every time you thought about picking up a new
weapon...).
Also, with
weapons, you will now have some new abilities to keep in mind
as you play. The most important new feature is the
ability to manual aim any weapon. Instead of the old style of
GTA3/VC in which you can auto aim most weapons and only manual
aim the large guns, you can now use your own skills in aiming
for anything from a pistol on up. This plays a good role in
the actual strategy of SA. Not only do you have the better
chance, now, of blowing out a tire without blowing up a
vehicle, or sniping a driver with a less costly bullet, but
you can also take advantage of one of the features Rockstar
used from True Crime. That would be the ability to aim at a
gas tank on a vehicle and blow it sky-high with a single
bullet.
Also, the
number of less conventional weapons has greatly increased. You
now have spray paint (which is mainly used for tagging, but
can be used as a weak weapon), silenced pistols (for stealth
action), stealth kills with knives (for...stealth action,
again), shovels, and even fire extinguishers (not exactly
weapons, for the most part, but useful when you've gone a bit
crazy with the flame thrower).
Another new
feature is the skill system. In previous GTA titles, the
amount of time you could run depended on how much training you
got running in the game. Well, SA goes a bit further with that
and several other skills. You now can train (and lose, if you
neglect them) to get better stamina (running), lung capacity
(time you can spend underwater), skills with each major weapon
(which makes your auto-aim far more to the point), muscle (how
much you can deal, damage-wise, with a punch or kick), fat
(how fat and sloth you get), driving skills, biking skills,
etc. Most of these can be trained just by performing the
associated action (shoot a pistol to get better with it), but
some can be trained in a more professional manner. For
example, if you go to driving school you can boost your
driving skill, a shooting range can help a weapon skill, the
gyms around town can boost muscle and stamina while dropping
fat, etc.
Another new
feature, which is long over-due in the GTA series, is how well
you jump. In the past, if you tried to jump a fence that was
barely low enough to jump, you may take several attempts of
bouncing off the damned thing before you actually got over it.
Also, some barricades were just barely too high to clear, but
in reality they should have been climbed over by GTA3-guy or
Tommy Vercetti. Well, CJ has solved this whole problem with
the ability to climb. Some jumps may still see you bouncing
off the walls, but most of the barely too high to clear jumps
will see CJ grabbing the top and pulling himself up/over the
barrier. This move is incredibly simple and to the point, but
it just may be the single most important innovation to the GTA
series.
Also, there
are a series of new mini-games to liven up the action when
you've gotten too bogged down with missions. These mini-games
include low-rider and dance competitions (which play a lot
like a Parappa game), arcade games (including a space
side-view shooter and a simple item collection game), pool,
shooting baskets, target practice/competitions, and the
standard races, to name a few.
The last
major innovation, which you may not even notice in actual game
play (it's almost optional), is the ability to form a gang. If
you see some gang members of your posse, you can (depending on
your respect rating, which is a skill that goes up with
mission completion) ask a few of them to follow you and obey
your commands. These command, however, have to be either to
follow or to stay still, but it's better than watching Lance
Vance in VC jump in front of traffic like a dumb-ass. Also,
while people are in your group, or even friendly people not in
said group, you cannot auto-aim onto them until they've turned
aggressive (like if you manual aimed towards them and shot).
This means you will not end up wasting your time and effort
shooting a friendly target when you're being jumped by a dozen
Ballers (unless one of your group jumps in the line of
fire...).
Most of the
rest of the game is a lot like the previous 2 GTA titles. The
controls are almost identical, the cars are quite similar, the
missions are designed the same. So, it's basically an upgraded
engine of GTA:VC, but with a new location and a new set of
missions.
However,
there is one place that shows a lack of improvement; car
handling. Now, unlike previous GTA games, each car type
handles completely different than all other models of
vehicles. So, a station wagon will no longer handle like a
slower version of a sports car. In fact, every single vehicle
will take some time to get used to. This is pretty cool, at
first. Then it becomes a nightmare when you realize that the
programmers forgot to properly program some vehicles and
you're stuck with something that only has the ability to spin
out (some vehicles, literally, handle like a car with 4 shot
out tires from VC). So, while some vehicles are now unique and
fun, you will be forced (there are some mission required
crap-mobiles) to deal with quite a few when you first start
the game. The innovations for each car design was a good idea
in theory, but in practice it falls short of how it should
have been.
There's
also, still, the bad difficulty range of this game (like in
the last two GTA titles). Some missions will be very easy and
quite fun, but then you'll be stuck with one required mission
(and no new missions will unlock until you do this specific
mission) that is beyond insane in challenge. For example, when
you are still near the start of the game, there is a low-rider
race ("Low Ride, High Stakes" is the mission)
mission that has you controlling one of those spin-out cars I
mentioned above in a race in which the computer has perfect
steering and you deal with a few dozen 90 degree turns. This
mission, sadly, is only the first in the game that drives the
challenge beyond what should be expected from you, as a
player.
So, in a
nut-shell; most of the game is played like a greatly improved
version of GTA3 or VC, with the same basic play-style, but
many minor improvements, which can make a major impact (like
climbing and swimming). However, the bad control on certain
cars and the roller-coaster ride of challenge level can both
bring down a good gaming experience in a hurry. Also, there is
the ability to buy new clothes, hair-cuts, and tattoos, plus
the chance to mod a car with hydraulics, nitro's, custom
paint, etc. These, however, only add to the short term
enjoyment, since they don't actually effect the actual game
play (it won't affect how people see your character). Also,
there is two-player, which can add some fun to the game, but
it feels more like an after-thought than an actual feature (it
doesn't add to the game all that much beyond letting you play
some free-roaming two-player rampages, with a limited camera
and range of movement...you can't move too far out of the path
of the other player). So, the game is still fun, and is
probably more enjoyable, in game play, as a whole than VC was.
However, it still has some obvious flaws that bring down the
game from time to time.
Visuals
Just like
with the game play, the majority of the visuals in SA are the
same as what we've seen in the prior GTA titles, only evolved.
In short, the visuals are astounding. If one looks at GTA3 and
then at VC, there is a noticeable improvement to the
visuals...well, that same size of a visual quality increase is
seen from VC to SA.
The in game
details are sharper than ever before. Each character has minor
details, each car shows far better shine when undamaged and
minor to giant flaws when damaged, the buildings are far more
unique in design than the previous GTA games had, the weapons
are more distinct when held in a person's hands...everything
is just prettier and cleaner in detail.
The
cut-scenes are handled the same way as they were in previous
GTA games; A close-up of the involved people and environment
are shown with some slightly more detailed visuals than are
found in the normal game. The improvement in visuals is also
seen equally well in this feature.
Sadly, one
visual feature that was not helped out in the newest GTA was
one of the most annoying flaws of 3 and VC; the draw distance.
For the most part, you will see buildings and roads far off in
the distance, assuming you're not driving a high speed
vehicle. Sadly, if you're going faster than your average
freeway traffic goes, you may find a road turns into a
building with only about a second of warning time before you
plow into a wall. This is even worse with vehicles. If you're
driving at an average to high speed, you may expect a car to
spawn only a second away from you...however, if you going at
break-neck speeds, you can expect to see a vehicle or two
appear almost on top of you, with far too little warning to
compensate. However, I must say that the game is usually good
about the draw distance not leading to an
accident...usually.
Overall, the
visuals are top-notch, and far outshine all previous game in
this series, or even this genre. The draw distance does cause
a few headaches, but not enough to shun this game. Also, the
added details of individual fingers that can all move is a
nice touch.
Audio
Here's where
this game shines compared to prior GTA games...and almost anything
else on the market. To begin with, the game's audio effects
are great. They are not much different than you'd find in the
last couple of GTA games (explosions, gun shots, more
explosions, car engines, crashing metal, dull thud of bat on
person violence, a lot more explosions, sirens...you know the
drill). Also, the addition of the silenced pistols in the
audio realm sound great. The only differences from previous
GTA games, in terms of audio effects, are minor, but then
again, the last two GTAs had awesome sounds as it was.
The music
selection is far better than you'd find in VC, and a good deal
better than GTA3. You have a nice blend of hip-hop, rap, soul,
country (yup...there are red-necks in this game, and they need
music too), alternative, classic rock, and even a return of K-JAH
(reggae station from GTA3, but the west coast affiliate).
Plus, you still have all the humor of the talk radio station,
and a good few dozen commercials to fill in time between
songs. In short, there are enough genres of music to keep
almost anyone entertained, and the selection of sings within
each station is great (for example, the alternative station
includes; Jane's Addiction, Alice in Chains, Rage Against the
Machine, Guns N Roses, and about a dozen more artists).
Now for the
part that usually annoys me to no end in the audio department;
Voice Acting. For once, however, I have nothing but
props for the voice acting in a game. While VC had decent
voice acting (some voices did get on my nerves), GTA:SA is
nothing short of voice acting gold. I mean as soon as the game
starts you are treated to the likes of Samuel L. Jackson,
James Woods, Charlie Murphy (of Chapelle Show fame), Ice T,
and Peter Fonda . The voice work is about as good as one would
expect from the actual acting in a serious minded movie. There
is none of the cheesy voice acting one would expect from a
purely voice role. Not only is there quality in the
performances, but even the voice script is brilliant. GTA:SA
presents some dialogue that is nothing short of witty and
fresh, and not the usual stale crap that made up most of VC
(let's face it, VC's script had been said and done a thousands
times before in everything from The Godfather to Training
Day).
In summary,
the audio portion of GTA:SA is nothing short of perfection. To
be honest, audio is usually the weakest portion of a video
game (usually from voice acting and music selection), yet SA
goes the extra distance and comes out with an ideal soundtrack
(far better than the previous GTA games), good acting in the
voices, and typically good sound effects.
Conclusion
In short,
the plot is great, the visuals are awe-inspiring, and the
audio is done with the utmost in professionalism. So, on three
out of four areas, this game is definitely as good as the
other reviews say. However, when it comes down to game play,
the game starts to lose it's momentum. The controls are still
awkward, the missions are still (for the most part) the same
missions we've been doing for the last two games, the controls
on the radio controlled vehicles are still clumsy, some of the
missions are way too difficult, while others are way too easy,
and weapons can still vanish from your inventory without any
reason. In the end, the plot, visuals, and audio are only so
important to what really matters; how fun a game is. In the
end, however, the game play plays a for more important role.
So, after these flaws in game play have been considered
(despite the great new features, like climbing and swimming)
and how some of them have existed since VC and even some are
as old as GTA 3, I have no choice but to give GTA:SA a 9.25/10
(still a damned good score for a damned good game...just not
the perfection that everyone else seems to be seeing).
Malik
Update:
11/8/04
I hate to go
back and update one of my reviews, since it usually means I
did a half-assed job to begin with. However, the case this
time is that Rockstar did a half-assed job that only shows
after half of the game is over with.
Once you receive
the freedom to move beyond San Fierro, you will soon encounter
flight school. This should be a fun chance to earn your
license (if you did not do so earlier...which is entirely
possible). However, it soon turns into a nightmarish
experience that made me feel the need to destroy a controller
or two.
As I said
before, the flight controls for an airplane are nothing short
of overly sensitive and shoddy. However, with flight school,
you must try to use these half-assed controls to become
nothing short of a true professional pilot. Saldy, the amount
of time required for each test is incredibly long (about 2
minutes per test with a total of 10 tests), and the chance of
making an error that will have wasted the last 2 minutes is
incredibly high. In the end, this spells a frustrating
adventure in futility that should not be required for the
completion of the game (but it is required).
This alone
makes GTA:SA an incredibly frustrating game that is almost impossible
for anyone without a total Zen style of internal control to
complete the game. For this reason, and since there are no
other missions you can do while working through this chore, I
have to re-think my original score for GTA:SA. I have no
choice but to drop this great game (great, other than the
flight school bullshit) down
to a 8.25/10.
If not for the flight school requirements, I could easily give
it the original 9.25...sigh...way to mess up, Rockstar.
Malik
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