Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

"GTA:SA is the best GTA yet and the worst(a.k.a. AO rating)."

Story: Carl Johnson has finally been released from jail and he is returning home to bury is dead mother and reunite with his family. On his way a group of dirty cops pick him up and say that he killed a man. They set him up so he could help them out. He has to agree...for now and continues on his way home to bury his mother. That's the basic plot you'll have to play the game to see what happens

Audio: Now one of the great things about the Xbox version is that you can use custom soundtracks so if you don't like what's on the radio simply change it to what music you have on your Xbox. That being said the radio stations are once again very unique and feature everything from normal music stations to radio talk stations(which are hilarious). The music is all from the 90's(since this game is based in the 90's) and the music in the game really takes you back. They did a very good job making sure it was authentic 90's music ranging from rock to rap and everything in between too. The sound effects in the game are also well done from the rocket laucher to the pistol to the shotgun they all sound like they do in real life....well for the most part anyways. The blaring horns of NPC cars and the sound of police and ambulance sirens sound like the real thing. Even the screech of tires sounds like it should as does the screams and yelps from NPCs when they see you with a chainsaw in hand. For the most part GTA games have had good voice acting and San Andreas is no different. You can really hear the emotion of the characters as they speak and they all bring something different to the game even the NPCs voices are done well. You can really enjoy the voice acting if you can get past the "F Bombs" that are dropped in every single cutscene it seems.

Graphics: Once again the Xbox version of the game is prettiest and smoothest looking version out of any of the other versions. You can read most every sign and see the detail in the characters faces. The weapons are also nicely detailed as well are the cars in the game they look exactly like the cars most people were driving back in the 90's. The houses and buildings are just a tad bland in some cities but overall they don't look too bad. The night and day effect is once again without flaw it seems and the only weather effect that doesn't look really good is rain. When it rains it looks awful like you're playing the game on an old tv with scratches which is sad because it's one of the few down sides to the graphics. A few other complaints are that the graphics aren't very different from GTA 3's and Vice City's graphics they still look very similar and that's not good for a 2005 game to look like a 2003 game. For the most part the game runs at a smooth frame rate but sometimes when theres alot going on or alot of vehicles at once the game tends to chug a little but it won't keep you from enjoying the game as it's only a little bit of a problem and doesn't do it very often. The exsplosins in the game aren't really anything special but they're not ugly either the same goes for the shotgun blasts and other weapons too. The bodies still dissappear too which isn't really a bad thing but it would be nice if they didn't. The lighting effects are also pretty good but nothing out of the ordinary or something that you haven't seen before.

Gameplay: Well as you might have guessed the gameplay is very similar to that of 3 and Vice City. You steal cars, kill cops, run where you want, do what you want, kill anyone anytime, steal weapons, ect. But what they have added is some really neat additions to the series such as you now can form your own gang and recuit new members. With this new gang you can do driveby's and start gang wars to gain more territory for you and your gang. Another thing they added is a stat system that is in most Action RPG's such as Fable. So if you want more energy then you should walk, run, and ride your bike often, if you want to become stronger go to the gym and work out alot if you want to be able to breathe underwater for a longer period of time then go swimming under water alot, I think you get the drift. Even though you've seen this system before it adds more depth to an already lenghty game. There are quite alot of stats you can even choose if you want to be fat or skinny big or small and stuff like that. They also have added alot more customization options than in previous GTA's. You can choose your hair style, clothes, as I mentioned before being skinny and fast or fat and slow, you can have hats if you want them too even choose if you want facial hair or no facial hair. There are a huge amount of options but don't feel bogged down by all this because it is really easy to understand and is explained in the game. As in previous games in the series you have missions that you can choose to do at any time and there are also mini games and sub-missions to try out as well but if you want to advance story wise you should stick with the main missions and then go backlater and finish the others. Sadly there are no hidden packages this time...they are however replaced with other gangs graphitti that you can spray over with your gangs symbols. Again like in other GTA's there's just so much to do that this game is easily 40-55 hours in length. The only other really new thing that was added is the ability to perform driveby's now. There are some missions that require you to use it and other it's optional but you don't have to do it just in missions you can do it anytime. Since this is actually a major thing in the game they should've focused on the controls for the Xbox version sadly the controls for driveby's are really hard and it makes you hate doing them so that is a downside to such a nice new feature. Everything else gameplay wise most of you know even if you haven't played previous GTA's so you should feel right at home with this game.

Features: The only real features are the custom soundtrack(Xbox only) and this time you can have a girlfriend which isn't anything too special. Of course as usual you can return to anywhere anytime as in other GTA's.

Overall: Once again Rock Star has proven they know how to make a really good game. San Andreas is quite the ride taking you from a small town all the way to the top along the way you'll meet intresting people jack vehicles make a name for you and your gang get a girl earn money and do whatever you feel like. San Andreas does an amazing job of letting you do what you want when you want in it's free roaming world. This game is so huge you'll be playing it long after you've bought it and even when you beat the game why stop playing it? There are so many secrets and missions to do that this will last you at the very least 'till the 360 comes out. San Andreas is a wild ride that is very enjoyable if you own an Xbox and don't have this game then you need to rush over to any store that carries it and buy it right now. I highly suggest this game as long as you don't mind non-stop F words tons of violence and some sexual content. It's no wonder Rock Star has so many fans.

Score: Grand Theft Auto:San Andreas gets a 9.2/10 just barely missing a Ryku's Choice Award.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 10/31/05