For years and years, people have been bickering over what the Grand Theft Auto series is, what genre it slides neatly into. Is it shooting, racing, action, what? San Andreas takes these genres even further. Is it an RPG, a party game, a horror game, a sci-fi game, a flying game or even a Sims-like experience? I can tell you, that like no other game before, that it is an adventure of the most epic caliber that can be achieved in a single player console game. If you've ever wanted to do something in a game, there's a damn fine chance you'll be able to do it here. There's something for everyone, and then there is a little more. Take for example my latest adventure: After acquiring a motorcycle, I headed to the airport with the 5-0 on my tail. To ensure a proper take-off, I was forced to blow him apart with a quick blast from my sawed off shotgun. I entered the cockpit of my WWII fighter jet, and then took to the skies, doing several barrel rolls, just because I could. I climbed as high as I could, watching the wilderness spread out before me. But the wilderness gave way to gritty Los Santos, where a rival gang was trying to steal my turf. So I bailed out of the plane thousands of feet in the air, opening the parachute just in time to avoid a grim death. My chose my AK, and unloaded on a group of gang members huddled on the street corner smoking weed. My sudden attack brought forth another wave, at the same time two police cruisers barreled down the road. So I throw molotov cocktails to give myself some space, and soon, fire is everywhere, and I am in the middle, trigger finger a bit heavy. Sound like fun? That's barely a tenth of what this game has to offer.
I suppose I should start with the story, since that has to be the most radical departure for the series. Set in an early 90's mock-up of California, San Andreas follows the exploits of Carl Johnson, a young man from the hood who grew up with gang violence a part of his life. After his brother was killed, he left Los Santos (Los Angeles) for a better life in Liberty City. 5 years later, his mother is gun downed by a rival gang in a drive-by shooting. He comes back, and learns that everything is falling apart in Los Santos. His brother, Sweet, is losing control of the Grove Street OG's, and his homies are becoming drug addicts. He only as Sweet, Big Smoke, Ryder and his sister Kendl to rely upon. Grove Street is losing territory fast, and no one seems to be doing anything about it. To make matters worse, Carl is blackmailed by the corrupt LSPD officers Tenpenny and Polaski into staying, and carrying out their wishes. Carl has been pulled back into gang warfare, but now he has a reason to fight: to find out who killed his mom and put a bullet in their head. His adventure will take him all over the state of San Andreas, to the hilly bayside city of San Fierro (San Francisco) and the glitzy strip of Las Venturas (Las Vegas), and all the countryside in between. Revenge is a bitch, especially when it's delivered from an Uzi. Grove 4 life.
Where to begin. There will be no surprises to long time GTA fans. If this is your first GTA game, prepare to have your mind blown. Basically, the game drops you in the middle of a huge city, or in the case of San Andreas, a huge state. You are then free to explore it by whatever means you like: you can run, ride a bike, steal a car, motorcycle, airplane, boat, tractors, whatever suits your preference. Each vehicle has its own set of physics, so if you stomp the gas on a sports car while trying to turn, you're in for a 360 or two. For the first time in the GTA universe, there are freeways, which can lead to terrifyingly fast speeds, which is accompanied by a blur effect that warps the screen. This is awesome, especially when weaving through rush hour traffic on a motorcycle. On foot control remains largely the same, with two notable exceptions. One, the jump button finally has a use. CJ can actually pull himself over ledges, fences and small buildings with this button. It may seem like a small feature, but it makes the cities much more interactive, and can aid you when escaping from the law or gangs. The second is a hugely improved targeting system. By pressing R1, a targeting icon is brought up, and can be moved around with the right analog stick. This allows to CJ to run and gun, using both analog sticks, much like the way most FPS games are. Now you can target tires, parts of the body, and even gas tanks, which can bring a chase to a conclusion before it even gets started.
You'll have a lot to explore, especially since there are many towns and villages scattered throughout the countryside. No matter where you are, and no matter what you're doing, you can always have a good time in San Andreas. You can stop into fast food joints and eat, go to bars and play pool, stop in casinos for some high-rolling action or go work out. This is where the customization of your character comes into the play, and the surprisingly realistic system it uses to shape CJ. If you work out a lot, he'll get huge, but he'll run slower and he won't be able to sprint for as long. You'll be able to end fist fights very quickly, however. Eat constantly, and you'll become fat, and unable to get away quicker. If you don't eat at all, however, running and fighting will burn off all that muscle, instead of the fat. Just like real life. You can stop in barber shops for haircuts, tattoo parlors for some cool inks, and there are several clothing stores throughout the state that allow you to mix and match tons of clothing types. Now that you've got CJ looking the way you want, it's time to take him out. You can go to clubs and dance in a DDR-fashion, play basketball, target practice at a gun store, if you want to do something, chances are you can do it. All the classic R3 missions return in full force, with a few new ones. My favorite would have to be the burglary missions, where you must take a van around and break into houses using stealth. You can then steal tv's, stereo's game systems, whatever is there. That means that practically every house in the state of San Andreas can be entered. You can also do a train mission, and even... get ready for this... a pimping mission. Oh yeah, they went there. You can easily lose yourself in this game for hours upon hours without completing a single mission.
But if you want to complete it, you'll have to take missions, given out by characters Their locations are indicated by their initials on your map. My oh my how the missions have evolved since GTA3, and even VC. Now they are long and complex, you won't find many drive person A to location B with no time limit. No, no, my friends, you'll find yourself swimming (yes, you can swim now) onto a cargo ship, picking off guards with stealth kills and then dueling a katana-wielding psychopath. The earlier missions simply show off the games new features, such as four person drive-bys, which is quite a sight to see. But when the action really heats up, you'll feel it. Most missions will give you a run for your money. There are times when I would get frustrated and come close to quitting, but I could never bring myself to turn off the PS2. I was having fun getting my ass handed to me. The missions have evolved to a point where it is almost necessary for a mid-level checkpoint, but that would ruin the feel of the game. The variety in missions is downright astounding, you'll rarely find yourself doing the same thing twice. There's a fresh challenge to each mission, even to something so simple as a race. It's packed with so many incredible moments that it would be a shame to spoil it for you. Suffice to say, you'll find quite often that you'll be staring at the screen in giddy disbelief about what the game has just asked you to do. This is definitely the most challenging GTA, but it's also the most fun.
Stats are important in this game, and boy, are there a lot of them. Most of them are basic, like Muscle, Fat, Stamina and Lung Capacity, but some are very specific. You can upgrade your skill with each weapon in the game, and how well you handle it. By the time you reach the highest level with a pistol, you'll be able to dual wield them. This is the same for most other small-arms, which includes the sawed-off shotgun. Larger weapons like the AK-47 allow you to move around while firing and increasing the distance at which you can lock on. You'll also have a skill bar, for car driving, bike driving, bicycling, flying and boating. Perhaps one of the most important skills is your respect. You can gain respect the slow way by completing missions, but if you need some in a hurry, you'll have to go about the coolest new feature of this game: gang wars. After a certain event in the story, the city of Los Santos is color-coded, and each color represents a different gang. From here, you are free to take these territories whenever you want to. Once you start killing some of the gangsta's, you'll be attacked in waves, and if you prevail, you'll claim that territory for Grove Street. These wars are so very fun, and will give you tons of respect, which allows you to recruit Grove Street gangsta's to go around with you. They'll fight along with you, and seeing the ferocity of a four person drive-by is obscenely cool.
The graphics, while not anything groundbreaking, do a great job of creating a state that resembles California. The 'hood' in Los Santos is gritty, choked by weeds and cluttered houses, while the downtown area is clean and filled with high-rise areas. San Fierro is full of hills, making for some of the best jumps in a GTA game, and the buildings are very tall. Of course, this city is supposed to be San Francisco, so expect lots of fog and rain. Las Venturas has to be the prettiest of all the cities, with the Strip being a great showcase for what this engine can handle. I had some doubts about whether or not GTA could pull a Vegas-feel off, but this game does it perfectly. The countryside is beautiful as well, from deep woods, parched deserts and the towering mountains. The map is downright huge, in every respect. The great part of this is that there is absolutely no loading times between areas, with the exception of going inside and outside. The characters all cool as well, though limited by the GTA engine. CJ definitely stands out in a crowd due to the way you can customize him.
The voice acting is some of the best in recent years, and is better than Vice City in many ways. There aren't as many Hollywood actors in this one, but it doesn't matter, since the cast is excellent in every regard. Pedestrians have tons of lines of dialogue, in fact it seems like I hear something new every time I play the game. The guns sound kind of strange, but it doesn't really hinder the game in any way. As always with the GTA series, the soundtrack is top notch. There is something for just about anyone, from rap to alternative to funk. You've got the '90's staples like Rage Against the Machine, Dr. Dre, Alice in Chains, Stone Temple Pilots, NWA, Cyrpess Hill and Soundgarden, but there is plenty for those who don't like those kinds of music. The game has stuff by Hank Williams, Willie Nelson, The Who, Lynyrd Skynryd, Boyz II Men and James Brown. If that isn't diversity, I'm not sure what is. Anyway, until you've gotten into a high-speed chase with the police while listening to 'Killing in the Name', you haven't experienced San Andreas to it's full extent. But that's just me.
I shouldn't have to tell you that the replay in this game is simply phenomenal. Even if you only do the story missions, you're missing out on approximately 57 % of the game. Getting 100% will get you some cool rewards, and even after that, there is plenty you can do. Words really can't do justice to a game this grand and far-reaching. You may think that all those genre's mixed together may sound like an odd match, but Rockstar has integrated them all perfectly to create what can only be called the best game in years and years and years. I've never been so amazed by the scope of a game like this. You won't be able to believe you're doing something until you're actually doing. San Andreas manages to keep this pace for the entire game. It may not be my favorite game, but I can tell you, with and unbiased opinion, that it is the best game I have ever played. Hands down. In a videogaming industry dominated by juggernauts like EA, Square-Enix and Konami, Rockstar is king. And so is Grand Theft Auto.