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It was a real agonising eight months before Xbox and PC owners got their hands on Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, but boy was it worth the wait. Already a classic title on the PlayStation 2, surely the Xbox and PC versions could only be better? Well they are, for the most part, come with us now as we venture deep into the heart of San Andreas.
In this latest incarnation of the Grand Theft Auto series, the game takes place in the early 90s, and the story follows our would-be hero, Carl Johnson, when he returns home to find his mother has been murdered, his family has fallen apart and his childhood friends are all heading towards disaster. Worse still, a couple of corrupt cops frame him for homicide. So Carl is forced on a journey that takes him across the entire state of San Andreas, to save his family and to take control of the streets.
If you have played any of the Grand Theft Auto titles before, you will not be disappointed with San Andreas. Everything that made GTA III and Vice City good and great is back - even better than before, but this time Rockstar have tweaked the gameplay to all-new heights, and San Andreas at times feels as epic as any great role-playing title. In this world, San Andreas features three huge cities and countryside and desert for Carl to explore. This is his playground of destruction. The game includes many different types of vehicles for CJ to 'use', including cars, bikes, trucks, boats, aircraft and a few surprise vehicles as you progress through the game. And when you start flying, the world of GTA: San Andreas opens up to the player in a way that really has to be seen to be believed.
The game stars out in Los Santos, a city much like say - Los Angeles. As Carl has just returned home the early missions are relatively simple matter of going from 'A' to 'B', taking out 'B' by any means necessary then coming back home to 'A'. But to describe any mission in this way simply does not do the game justice - as they all drip with style, originality and a charm all of their very own. Before each mission a real time cut-scene is shown, which is scripted, and acted far better than most Hollywood movies. Each of the characters in the game are literally oozing with personality, making this Grand Theft Auto title come alive in a way the series has never before.
The way that Rocktar has approached San Andreas is to allow the player so much more freedom in what he can do. CJ can eat at fast food restaurants that mock a few of the 'top' chains, shop at stores for clothes, get a tattoo or even have his hair cut in various styles - all the many different thing that you do, as in life itself, are just not trivial, they all effect his respect, sex appeal and the way people react to him. So if you eat at Cluckin' Bell all day Carl will put on weight, but if you exercise in one of the many gyms in the game you will loose it and build up muscles. If you decide to buy some nice clothes from stores like Sub-Urban or Didier Sachs then CJ will get on better with the ladies in his life. CJ can date, take various girlfriends out - and yes, in the end - do what a guy has to do, albeit edited slightly.
The missions in San Andreas start simply, but as you progress through the game the state opens up and CJ will make his way out of Los Santos and into the countryside, know as the Badlands. Here the game world looks very different from city life, pedestrians and even the vehicles that drive in the Badlands are much different to the urban settings that we've all been used to. In the Badlands there are huge open fields, isolated farms and even a huge mountain, Mount Chiliad, which you can climb to the very top to take a look at the view or even parachute off. The other places to visit in the huge state of San Andreas are San Fierrio, looking very much like San Francisco, a huge desert that lies just outside of Las Venturas, a true representation of Las Vegas. Without spoiling the game too much for you, once you embark on this epic quest it will take over your life, there is so much to see and do and that's not even counting the eighty-plus missions in this game. You can learn to drive - a car, plane, helicopter, bike or a boat, buy property, date, fight rival gangs, or even look for many of the hidden weapons, oysters or horseshoes that Rockstar have secreted around the huge state of San Andreas.
So what's different from the PlayStation 2 version? Well on the Xbox the graphics are cleaner and crisper, the framerate is higher, but not perfect, and the game has draw distance improvements and higher textures, but sadly the lighting does not seem to be as dynamic as was seen on the PlayStation 2. The Xbox version also features a 16:9 widescreen support and Xbox owners will be able to use their custom soundtracks, although I have played little else for the best part of a month now, and I'm nowhere near bored with the almost overwhelming amounts of music, and talk, on the various radio stations.
The Xbox version also has the inclusion of a 30 second replay, which means that if you have pulled off a mean stunt and want to show off to your mates - you can watch the last thirty seconds of stunning San Andreas action with full camera control. Unfortunately you do not get any sound and cannot save the replays, which makes this option appear more like an unfinished afterthought. Controls in the game work fine for the most part with the Xbox controller, but drive-by shootings - of which you will have to perform many, can take some time to get used to.
As this is a joint review of both the Xbox and PC I'm going to hand you over to our revered PC reviewer, Chris Snook, who has looked at the PC version.
In the PC version of San Andreas, there is quite a bit going for it. The voice work is superb, with an easy acceptance of the times and patterns of speech. With big names such as Samuel L. Jackson, Axl Rose and more for the way he is used, Wil Weaton as one of the Talk Show Jocks on the Radio. Indeed the radio stations themselves prove to be a highlight, with a vast selection to choose from and the option to create a personalised play list from your own songs, there is something for everyone.
The graphics for the most part are good, animation is smooth and it al hangs together, which you would expect after all. The weather and day/night events are handled fine as are just generally cruising about, you leave bloodied footprints after stepping in the blood of a hooker you have just killed and so on. There are problems. When very busy there is frame stutter, which can be anywhere from mild to it slows to a crawl. The camera sometimes picks awkward angles to show the action, which becomes more pronounced when in a vehicle.
The control system at times is baffling, there are so many keys or mouse clicks to do things and using a hoystick or pad can despite being an improvement be an exercise in memorising just where everything is, loosing crucial seconds as you do it. This is most evident when trying to shoot someone, it can take a seeming age as you are under fire to locate aim and then return fire, this can get frustrating quickly.
Overall the main gripe is the early difficulty levels, they seem out of proportion slightly, and it seems to be channelling your experience one way. Rockstar have given us a wonderful, free roaming world, with elements that include the gym and that you get hungry, make it seem that in order to have the freedom to roam and do missions, you have to earn the right to be any good. A feeling that many may object to, but in the end Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas may well be a flawed masterpiece, but a masterpiece it defiantly is.
John Grothier
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| Rockstar's latest incarnation of the Grand Theft Auto series gives players a whole state to play with, with over eighty main missions and numerous side quests and other pastimes to while away all of your spare time. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas will put players into the shoes of Carl Johnson, who escaped from the pressures of life in Los Santos, San Andreas...a city tearing itself apart with gang trouble, drugs and corruption. Where film stars and millionaires do their best to avoid the dealers and gangbangers. This title arrives fully optimised both graphically and sonically - invigorated for the Xbox and PC. |
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