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Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas arrives on the PC, fashionably late of course. The PC version fares very well – it is technically the best version of the game if you have the proper hardware. The controls hold up well, and the addition of mouselook is appreciated. Custom soundtrack support and a 30-second replay feature round up the package. One thing to note, though, is the PC version’s packaging. The game comes in a small hardcover book that houses the manual, San Andreas poster and DVD-ROM. It is extremely slick, and undoubtedly Rockstar Games-esque.
Before I get further into the review, I’ll admit: I’m a huge Grand Theft Auto fan. Well, while the original Grand Theft Auto games were pretty interesting, I didn’t really get into the series until Grand Theft Auto III. That game could arguably be considered the most influential game of this generation, the new Super Mario 64. After GTA III’s enormous success, publishers relished the opportunity for the press to call their game “Grand Theft Auto meets…”
Somehow, in less than a year, Rockstar North followed up GTA III with vice City, which added some wrinkles to the gameplay and made it a lot prettier. Naturally, I was anxiously anticipating San Andreas, and devoured the original screenshots and story Rockstar Games released just prior to E3 this year. The more and more I learned about the game though, my enthusiasm started to get mixed with caution since these guys were adding so much to the game that I was worried that some of it would be rushed and affect the overall gameplay negatively. Thankfully, my concerns were unfounded since Rockstar North has done it again. They have created the game will take up many hours from my days for months to come.
As you know, GTA: San Andreas takes place in the fiction state of San Andreas which consists of three main cities – the Los Angeles-based Los Santos, the San Francisco-based San Fierro, and the Las Vegas-based Last Venturas – in addition to a large amount of a lot of countryside, which enables San Andreas to eclipse the size of the already-massive Vice City. Each of the three cities pretty accurately reflect their source, so you’ll find many hills in San Fierro and the signature fog and gang violence in Los Santos while Las Venturas has a never-ending glow of neon.
While GTA III was clearly inspired by The Godfather, and Vice City was pretty much a play-by-play for Scarface, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is clearly inspired by hip-hop films like Menace II Society. In it, you control Carl Johnson, as he learns that his mother has been killed and goes back to Los Santos after spending a few years in GTA III’s Liberty City. You begin in Los Santos, and most of the gang gameplay found in trailers will take place here but sooner or later, CJ will need to bail from Los Santos due to an unfortunate incident.
As always, it is entirely possible to get through San Andreas by simply completing the story missions which are received from points in the map. The missions range from completing simple drive-bys and getting your gang back on the map when you enter Los Santos, to much more complex and interesting ones later in the game. The game makes it a little easier to perform these missions as you’ll know exactly what to do and when to do it. The story mode should take something like 35 hours to get through for most gamers, although if you play solely the story and don’t take all of San Andreas in you could drop around 5 hours from that number. But, you will only complete about half of the game. Additionally, this number could spill into the hundreds if you take your time and cause mayhem in the many cities. The number of time also extends if you partake in the vigilante missions, optional races, robbery missions (all you need to do is hop in a van at night), dating missions (which typically require you to take a girl out to eat without upsetting her), dance missions (DDR-like rhythm games), and even a fully-functional game of pool complete with its own physics.
The PS2 and Xbox versions of San Andreas included two-player co-op missions, but these are not found in the PC version of the game.
A main update to the series is the new RPG-like leveling up that CJ goes through. As CJ, you need to eat to stay alive (but not too much that you’ll become obese), work out to become more athletic and stronger (which will make you more powerful in combat, and nimbler and more enduring while running) and give you abilities like being able to climb fences. Additionally, CJ can get better at driving cars, motorcycles, and bicycles and controlling airplanes (you can also parachute off them!). Getting better gives you more control over the vehicle. Another transportation method in the game is the swimming, which is new to the series.
While San Andreas boasted an improved targeting system, which happened to be very reminiscent of Manhunt, the addition of mouselook to the PC version makes this unnoticeable. In place, you have a fully functional aiming system, one that makes gunfights surprisingly easy.
Provided you have a decent gaming PC, San Andreas of PC will be far prettier than the other versions. The game still boasts excellent and reasonably accurate versions of the three cities and all of the countryside in between them. Every area of the game is populated with people and buildings, including landmarks for the cities. The character models are decent, a bit better than before but nothing all that great. If you have the proper hardware you can totally eliminate frame rate stutters, draw-in, and view textures of considerably higher resolution. Best of all, load times are nearly nonexistent. That said the Grand Theft Auto series has never been known for visual excellence.
The game’s audio component is excellent. The soundtrack is extremely varied and full of great tracks from artists like Dr. Dre and Tupac but it is varied enough to include a country station, a rock station and talk-radio, among others. These stations are hosted by notable personalities like Andy Dick, Axle Rose, among others. The voice acting in the game is just as strong and includes personalities like Samuel L. Jackson, Charlie Murphy, Ice-T. Young Maylay voices CJ in the game. The sound effects in the game are all believable and sound pretty good. Additionally, the PC and Xbox versions include custom soundtrack support.
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas will be many different things to different people. Despite the technical flaws here and there, the game is incredibly fun. It will surely take up hundreds of hours to even the most casual of gamers. If you liked GTA III and Vice City, this is a must buy. If you are simply looking for a game that wraps up gaming in this generation, San Andreas is perfect. Everything from the gameplay to the superb presentation merges into an excellent game. So why the same score as the PS2 version if the game is better? Well, the PC is a more capable platform so those changes are expected. -- Jose Liz, PGNx Media
---- Jun 8, 2005
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