gib_slater's Full Review: Grand Theft Autoâ„¢: San Andreas 2.0 for Windows
One sentence review - "GTA: SA is among, if not the greatest video game of all time...in my humble opinion."
I first played GTA: SA on the PS2. I had never played a GTA game prior to it. My cousin brought it over one summer day when he came to use our backyard pool. I intended to join him but first sat down in front of the TV to take a look at this game that was causing so much controversy.
I never saw the pool, my cousin or sunlight for that matter.
I played it for Months. Since then my PS2 broke (I wonder if I killed it playing too much GTA: SA?) Anyway I returned to playing PC games when I came across GTA: SA 2.0 for PC for only $15 at a local game shop. I bought it without hesitation and nearly wrecked my car on the way home drooling over the cellophane wrapped bundle of limitless joy.
GTA: SA ingeniously incorporates all the very best elements of the very best gaming genres into one not so little game. Driving, FPS, strong elements of RPG, (upgradeable character stats and abilities, etc) flight, stunts, exploration, table and card games, not to mention OTB, billiards, arcade style side games and more, much much more.
GTA: SA centers around young Carl Johnson who just returned home to the great fictional state of San Andreas to bury his "Moms". Carl, his brother Sweet and his small gang of "Boys in the hood" style friends seek revenge for her death and Carl immediately returns to his gang-land life style.
Thus the stage is set for drive by shootings, armed robberies, territory gang wars, spraying graffiti, dressing in colors and oh...grand theft auto galore. And thats just act one of four.
What makes GTA: SA so awesome is its immense size. Approximately 3 times the map size of the entire GTA 3 game. Also is the incredible number of things to see and do in this virtual world.
The map is composed of three major cities and the countryside that includes many small towns and farming communities that connects them. The variation in the terrain is remarkable. From ocean front strips of sandy palm tree ridden beaches to dense mountainous forests to sprawling country side.
The state of San Andreas is loosely based on the states of California and Nevada combined. The three major cities are fashioned after three real-world cities of Los Angeles (Los Santos), San Fransisco (San Fierro) and Las Vegas (Las Venturas).
Primarily a driving game, GTA: SA excels. You are not limited to just cars. This game introduces the ability to jack just about anything with wheels. From bicycles to thundering giant dump trucks with wheels the size of a small house!
Of course there is a heavy police presence and performing any illegal acts, such as grand theft auto, will irritate them immensely. (They hate having their doughnut breaks interrupted.) Not only do you have to keep your eye out for the five-o, but rival gang members prowl the streets as well.
Another first for the GTA series is the ability to truly fly. After earning a pilots license at one of the many "schools" in the game, you can take to the skies and see the spectacular world of GTA: SA from high above. I must say the rendering and detail of the objects below, including the sky scrapers is jaw-dropping amazing.
You can fly simple one propeller Cessna-like planes all the way to a full-blown jumbo-jet commercial airliner! And I'll just say, can you say Harrier Jump-Jet? :)
The RPG elements is another first for the series in this awe-inspiring game. Carl "CJ" Johnson isn't just another cardboard cookie-cutter main character. He is yours to shape and mold in hundreds of different ways. By working out in gyms you can make him super-buff, or you can slam junk food down his gullet from one of the many fast-food restaurants in the game and make him look like Fat Albert. You can change his hair style at barber shops. He can choose sleek cuts all the way to massive Afros.
You can decorate CJ's body with numerous tattoos, and you choose which ones and wear on his body they go. Clothing is another way you can personalize your CJ. There are dozens of clothing stores with hundreds of articles of clothing to make thousands of possible outfits. You can select his footwear, shirts and jackets, pants and shorts, hats, necklaces, wrist watches and sunglasses! All of these personalizations available in game must make for literally hundreds of thousands of combinations of CJ appearances!
The overall plot of the game is a little repetitive and a bit far-fetched at times, but the many variations of missions and the tremendously fun game-play more than makes up for it.
I am having difficulty thinking of any real cons or downfalls for this game. There really aren't any to speak of. And to top it off I have only mentioned a fraction of the game-play experiences in this game. There are sub-missions and small nuances that I haven't even touched on. This game is deep and immense! It is certainly a Must Own and a candidate for best video game of all time.
Buy it, you will not regret it. Now excuse me, I have a hankering to land a Harrier Jump-Jet on a busy Los Angeles freeway and cause some trouble. ;)
Drive through the largest GTA environment ever -- The game has three cities players can explore, for a gaming area 5 times larger than Vice City Recru...More at Amazon Marketplace
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