Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas ( DVD-ROM )

Lots of reviews before this & 4 the console versions too. However I think it fair 2 say that GTA: San Andreas is the best PC game I have ever played. Within the GTA series it is better than both Vice City (which now has a few issues running on modern hardware) & its console successor GTA4, which really had a hard act 2 follow.

The scale & scope of the game is immense, combining elements of FPS, RPG, driving, strategy, puzzle solving & a huge virtual sandbox 2 explore. It's also very much a rite de passage as you control the main character Carl "CJ" Johnson on a journey which starts with him left penniless after arriving in Los Santos 2 a triumphant denouement. This is not a game you will play through in a few evenings - in addition 2 something like 100 main story missions, there are numerous side tasks 2 attempt. Although these are optional, a fair number contribute towards the elusive 100% completion achievement, while others help in developing skills or utilities that come in handy later on. (Note, although I've played through SA three times now the best I've managed so far is around 88% completion). One slight niggle is that a few of these side games only become available quite late on, by which time you have been going solid 4 a couple of months & just want 2 see the end game. And like many other games that combine the campaign with free play once you reach the end, the desire 2 go back & finish up the odds & ends tends 2 diminish.

The difficulty level varies - there are a couple of missions where you can very nearly get stuck. Often it is just a case of taking a different approach or perhaps going into the side missions & levelling up a required skill (e.g. driving ability). The very first mission can catch you out if not prepared, whereas some missions later on are relative no brainers. Of course, once you've played a few times, read the FAQ's, studied the guide & maps things do get easier. The missions are quite linear & always play out the same way & there are no sidesteps or alternative paths 2 victory - you must pass all the main story missions 2 see the end game.

As stated in other reviews, the "gangsta", "rappa" culture can be a bit off-putting but once the game hooks you it falls into the context of the overall story. It's role play, after all. Parents be warned - even without the infamous "Hot Coffee" mod, the 18 rating on this title means what it says. The swearing, violence & adult references are relentless throughout the game. Even if you avoid un-necessary slaughter, just 2 finish the story you will have killed several hundred people including police/FBI officers, soldiers & ordinary citizens in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Although SA struggled a bit on lower end PC's when first released, three years on the average PC eats it 4 breakfast. The beauty & depth of the game can really be appreciated on a machine with Dual Core CPU & 8800GT graphics card. There are a few little glitches - when it rains all other sounds are masked - but I have never encountered any serious crashes or issues with the titles.

In crafting GTA: San Andreas, developers Rockstar created something close 2 a work of genius 4 the gaming hobby. Even their own studio couldn't better it with the next instalment in the series, the rather mundane GTA4 It has a few issues, has courted considerable controversy but it's not so much a game as an immersive experience.

Buy it, play it & love it!

Grand Theft Auto San Andreas is one of my favorite games, but this page clearly states they are selling the 1st edition(the mod-able one), but I received the 2nd edition.

I bought this 4 my laptop so I can take the game with me on the road, since I am a GTA addict.
With the money 2 be able 2 play in hotel rooms & airplanes!

Quite frankly, this game sucks. The graphics are ugly, the controls horrible, the characters unsympathetic, the cities labyrinthine, the story repetitive, the language foul & the workmanship lacking. It's obviously a cashcow & as such an epitome of mediocrity. The only good thing is the huge size of the landscape. The food is bad, but such big portions...

This game is just not user-friendly. Just about every irritating mistake that could have been made was made, especially in the controls. This game is *slow*, all the controls are constantly lagging. That's what got 2 me the most in the end. And my machine is capable enough, it runs Doom 3 & F.E.A.R. without problems.

A pity, because this game could have been so much better. Rockstar, please, don't use braindead programmers & uninspired designers next time.

This is the version you should be playing,Hot Coffe,it was made 4 the Big Boys,i just love it

Five years ago Carl Johnson escaped from the pressures of life in Los Santos, San Andreas... a city tearing itself apart with gang trouble, drugs & corruption. Where filmstars & millionaires do their best 2 avoid the dealers & gangbangers.

Now, it's the early 90s. Carl's got 2 go home. His mother has been murdered, his family has fallen apart & his childhood friends are all heading towards disaster.

On his return 2 the neighborhood, a couple of corrupt cops frame him 4 homicide. CJ is forced on a journey that takes him across the entire state of San Andreas, 2 save his family & 2 take control of the streets.

Liberty City. Vice City. Now San Andreas, a new chapter in the legendary series.

It may not be a splashy leap forward, but Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas in its own deep, dark way does just as much 2 move & revolutionize video games as its two predecessors, Grand Theft Auto III & Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. As in previous installments, here you play as a thug with problems you must steal & shoot your way out of, but the problems this time are disconcertingly more realistic. You play as Carl Johnson, known on the street as CJ, a likeable criminal type who has just returned 2 his hometown, Los Santos (a fictionalized Los Angeles), 2 find that his mother has been murdered & that the police have framed him 4 another murder. Reunions with his friends & a troubled relationship with his brother set off a sprawling, complex plot line, taking place at first in the immediate Los Santos area but eventually spilling into San Fierro (based on San Francisco) & Las Venturas (Las Vegas).

You play as Carl Johnson, known on the street as CJ.

This is an honest effort 2 create an engaging story about sympathetic characters caught up in a brutal environment that is on par with a movie or novel.

Gaming Gangsters

Where Vice City took its cues, with tongue firmly in cheek, from the 1980s television series Miami Vice, San Andreas is a sincere homage 2 early 1990s innercity gangster films like Menace 2 Society & Boyz ‘N the Hood. This is an honest effort 2 create an engaging story about sympathetic characters caught up in a brutal environment that is on par with a movie or novel. If that effort hits a few flat notes (you would have 2 be totally desensitized not 2 wonder if it's OK 2 make entertainment out of driveby shootings), it may also mark the first step toward video games growing up. The first thing that fans of earlier GTA games will notice is the range of action is much wider now: Along with shooting, running, & driving, there's now swimming, eating, working out, shopping, and, yes, getting a haircut. All this means the game has a fairly steep learning curve. But, though the pick-up-and-play appeal of Grand Theft Auto III may be long gone, your access 2 the action becomes fairly transparent after a little practice. My only serious complaint is that, with the controller now crowded with such previously unheard-of functions like "Gang Active" & "Talk Positive," you can drive only with the left analog stick. A minor point, but it makes cars a lot more difficult 2 handle.

Bicycles take on a surprisingly central role.

Vehicular Variety

It would be hard 2 surpass the variety of automobiles available in earlier games, & San Andreas wisely does not 4 the most part try 2 compete on that score. Instead, it's bicycles of all things that steal the show. The bikes' speed & flexibility are perfect 4 many of the missions, & there is something about cruising through the streets & basketball courts on a BMX that just feels right. If you play far enough into the game, you will also be rewarded with the chance 2 fly a number of aircraft, & flying is something Rockstar makes a greater effort 2 get right this time (welcome news 4 anyone who struggled with the planes & ‘copters of the earlier games).

Lackluster Graphics--but a Real Feel

Graphics--never a huge priority 4 Rockstar--actually take a step backward from the luscious, tropical look of Vice City. Textures are rendered with only a cursory attention 2 detail, & contours are often blocky. It scarcely matters, though, because no matter how San Andreas looks, it feels real. This is due in no small part 2 voice work by an all-star cast including Samuel L. Jackson, Ice T, James Woods, Peter Fonda, & Outkast's Big Boy & a stellar soundtrack with tunes by Soundgarden, 2Pac, Public Enemy, & even a few country classics from the likes of Willie Nelson. But it's not just realistic, San Andreas is also vast, encompassing three big urban centers & huge swaths of rural land (complete with shotgun-toting farmers) between them. This vastness does mean, however, that there can be a lot of tedious driving 2 get 2 the missions, which, along with some awkward sequencing of the cut scenes (they are in places stacked one on top of the other), means that there is a bit too much downtime. But never mind the quibbles. Ladies & gentlemen, we have another classic on our hands. --David Stoesz

Pros:

• Astonishingly vast game space
• Vivid character development
• Complex, engaging plot
• Enormous range of available actions

Cons:

• Occasionally awkward game design
• You can no longer steer cars with the directional buttons
• Steep learning curve

What's Your Strategy?
Get mission strategies & detailed maps 2 achieve every objective with the Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Official Strategy Guide.