Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

"GTA rumbles on to the xbox. Does it live up to expectations?"

Where to start. Most people playing this game have owned it for the ps2 and so they tend to be a little harsh with it because they have unbelievably high standards for the game. The last time I played a GTA game was Vice City on the Xbox and this is a BIG improvement on it.

Better get the bad out of the way first. Xbox gamers will not be happy with the graphics of this game. However, the graphics are only low in quality because of the incredible amount of things in the game. Although I would have preferred better graphics it certainly hasn't detracted from my game play in any way. The draw distance is much improved on the GTAs of old and there is a higher polygon count. The blurring effect when moving fast is excellently done, brings back memories of Burnout 3.

The sound of this game is simply amazing. Right from the start when I heard officer Tenpenny's, voiced by no other than Samuel L. Jackson I knew he was your typical despicable corrupt cop. The voice acting in the game makes you feel as if your actually CJ in 1990's Los Angeles.

The sound effects in the game are spot on. Guns sound just like you would expect them to and the cars all have different engine sounds. This is especially noticeable in some of the faster cars where the deep engine sound lets you know how powerful the car is. I cant fault the audio in the game.

This is what makes or breaks a game and it is most definitely where GTA San Andreas sets itself out from all its other imitations out there. The scale of the game is awe inspiring. I'm well into the game and I still find myself referring back to the game a great deal, something that never happened with Vice City. The size of the game has to be seen to be believed.

The things that can be done in this game are amazing. I never thought I could have so much fun just going round and fighting gang members. I have also managed to stop in a club for a night out where the mini games alone could keep you entertained for lover an hour. The new things added to the game, such as being able to scale fences are extremely fun. Its very exciting to get the cops on your tail, scale a fence and shoot them from the other side.

Basically the game play in San Andreas is amazing and unlike in such games like Morrowind pretty much every square inch is filled with fun things to do. This game will keep you entertained for hours on end. Just make sure you get a good nights rest before you start playing, cause once you start you just cant stop.

I've heard a lot of complaints about the control, but having experienced them for myself I cant find much with them. They take some getting use to, but within an hour of starting the game they were already second nature to me. The only little gripe is that drive bys though not hard can feel a little unnatural. Otherwise the controls seem very smooth and handle well.

Replay. Ha. I doubt I'll ever stop playing, even after finishing the story, in order to do a replay. The possible variations in this game make it very easy to start a new game once your done with the your original. This is a game that 6 months from now your still gonna be playing.

Buy this game, because there is absolutely no way to enjoy this game by just renting it. This game is excellent and fully deserves the 10/10 I'm giving it.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 06/13/05