Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

"You want a piece of this!? Okay then, I just hope you don't get too bored."

Let's face it, the world loves the Grand Theft Auto. There have been many ripoffs of the series, but none have yet surpassed it. In previous games, you were able to kill civilians, rob stores, hijack cars, and a lot more. Rockstar has delivered all of this mindless, yet fun, violence, and molded it into a fun franchise known as the GTA series. The GTA series is known for it's ability to deliver action-packed games where you could choose to be either a good or bad guy. Although your character acts like a good guy in this game, you can still turn him into a hard criminal. Although it's not like previous GTA games. Even so, this game delivers a LOT of action into your PS2's hardware. So, what are you sitting around there for? It's time to conquer San Andreas!

Plot
In previous Grand Theft Auto games, you get to play as your typical bad-boy. One who wants control of the city under his belt. Does the story in San Andreas deliver? No. Way. I LOVED the GTA series, but the plot in this game is by far one of the weakest I've seen. In short, you basically have a filler sandwich. You have your main goal, all of this stuff in between, and your main goal again in the end.

You start off as CJ, a man who has lost his mother. While attending the funeral for her, you find out that the once prosperous and highly dangerous gang you left behind has dwindled in shape and moral. It's now up to YOU to save your gang from near-inevitable destruction. Your headquarters for rebuilding? None other than your former home in Grove Street.

Missions in the beginning of the game are actually pretty fun. You roam and conquer the streets of your starting area, Los Santos. Block by block, small town to small town, the city is gradually becoming yours. There are a lot of fun things to do at this point in the game. Even old school GTA veterans will like this part. I hope you enjoyed your time in Los Santos, because things are about to be shed in a whole new light, and a very boring plot is about to unveil it's nasty self.

After one heck of a plot twist, everything you worked for is down the drain. EVERYTHING. You've now been kicked out into the country. You now have to work for a pair of harsh (yet, highly smart) pair of cops. After that, it all goes downhill. You then have to work for some freak drug dealer who goes by "The Truth". Getting tired? I hope not, because then you have to assist a cousin of one of your friends named Catalina. Of all the characters in the game thus far, she really brightens it up for you. That's a good thing, since you'll need all the happiness you could get.

After leaving that dull dust bowl of a country, we move onto San Fierro, for, you guessed it, more plain and pointless missions! Hurrah! Honestly, almost nothing related to your original goal is found here. There's a small investigation near the beginning of this area, and then there's the mission called "Pier 69", where you take out some people who have been deterring you from your intended goal. Is your path clear, yet? Sadly, my friend, it isn't.

There's a small section in the plot where you work in the desert for a man who promises to help CJ out if he does some tasks for him. Does he go through with it? Not quite, but I've gotta admit, he's one awesome cookie.

Our next stop on sight-seeing in San Andreas is Las Venturas. If you've lost all hope in this game, then this is the place for you! It's just like a little Las Vegas! Awesome place? You betcha! Awesome missions? No way! Almost everything is as plain and boring as ever. You have to settle some casino feud before you can move on.

If you're still playing this game by now, we're back to where it all began, Los Santos! It's time for payback! The missions here are highly acute in relativeness to the main story. Not only that, but you're working towards you're same main goal as before! After going through all of that hard work, you're rewarded with? A plain ending with nothing to shock you with. Now you know why this game has disappointed many. The plot is very weak if you haven't figured it out.

Gameplay
This is always a high point for the GTA series. In previous games, whenever even one foot of you touches the water, it's game over for you. A major aspect of this game is the fact that, you guessed it, are able to swim! Just like sprinting, you can constantly tap the "X" button to swim fast. You can also dive underwater, but be wary, you have a limited amount of breath and it's very hard to find your way out if you go too deep.

Other than swimming you can also bike, drive, motorcycle, or simple run your way to being the top gangster in Sand Andreas. Driving cars and motorcycles hasn't changed much. I feel the system for driving those vehicles has been polished.

Making another appearance to the entourage of vehicles you can drive is the jet. Available after a certain mission or by using a code, it's one of the best ways to get around Sand Andreas. At first the controls are a little awkward and can lead to some "WTF DID I DO WRONG!?!?" moments, but after training yourself for a bit, you'll looked like a polished aviator, at least in the game.

As I stated before, swimming is a new addition where you tap the "X" button multiple times, like sprinting. Also new to the entourage is the bicycle. With the bicycle you can make it across streets in semi-style. Just continuously press "X" and CJ will start pedaling his way into the top gangsters. You can also bunny hop on the bike.

Music/Voice/Sounds

-Music
There were many early complaints about the game having too many rap songs. For the few that loved this fact, everyone else was against them. Rockstar gave a perfect balance of rock, country, rap, and many other brands of music that would blow your mind. Although you a can't choose which song the station you like should play, you can still enjoy what they ARE playing.

-Voice Acting
A very high point in the game. They say one bad voice actor can ruin an entire game. San Andreas doesn't have one voice acting problem that I can point out without any proof. It's honestly one of the best games I've ever played, vocal-wise.

-Sounds
Guns being fired. Bazooka blasts being launched. Police cars going up in flames and exploding. Everything in the sounds category makes you scream like the fanboy/girl you are. You'll know what sounds you'll like and the ones you won't like the instant you hear. In short, the sound effects in this game are very clear.

Graphics
Just like the plot in this game, the graphics aren't one of the high points in this game. But unlike the plot, it has several features which allows it to make up for lost joys.

In previous GTA games, you could change your outfit simply by walking over a glowing area. The outfits you put on were pre-selected. In this game, you can fully, I repeat, FULLY customize your character. (Save for skin color that is...) From the hair design you wear, to the shirts that you put on yourself, there's not much to keep you from customizing your character's look the way you want.

You don't only get to customize the LOOK of your character, you can also customize what character's physique is like. You can be a fit and strong man who can take down most cops in a pinch, or you could be a flabby dude who can't outrun the ice cream man for his own good. You decide what you want your character to look like.

The cars in this game are pretty moderate looking. While there ARE cars that'll make a fancy European car maker's head spin, there are also cars that are just there to be there. It's very hard to find a car that doesn't look like it took a couple of hours to think of and paint up.

Replay Value
You know a game has a high replay value if it's a GTA game. Even if you're still in the beginning of the game, you could just wander around San Andreas killing people, hijacking cars among other things. You can also play with one of your friends in the brand new "Co-op" mode. In this mode, as I stated before, you can play with one of your friends. Your friend chooses from 5 preset game models, 4 being male, and 1 being female. Then you can roam around San Andreas until one of you die. (In the virtual world of course!)

But even without your buddy playing with you, there's still a LOT for you to conquer out there in San Andreas. There are plenty of people to cut down, many casinos to gamble at, and many ladies to love. It's a lot of stuff, and it's all here in San Andreas.

Overall~8/10
As I stated before, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is highly replayable with excellent sounds and music. The graphics were pretty good as well. The major reason I'm giving this game an 8/10 is due to all the random missions and areas this game has. The map is 4 times as large as Vice City's. While that may sounds good, it's actually a bad thing. Around 20% of the map is fun to play around in. The other 80% feels like it was just forced in there to make the game longer. The huge map, aimless missions, and boring areas really kill it for many past GTA fans. It's the most I could give this game, unfortunately.

But don't let THAT make you put the game down. It's still a fun game despite the horrible plot! As I've previously stated, there's several places and areas where you could go and waste some time. From DDR-like mini-games to just driving around the area, there's a lot to do in this game. What are sitting there for? Go out and conquer San Andreas!

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 07/31/08, Updated 08/04/08

Game Release: Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (US, 10/26/04)