Grand Theft Auto San Andreas (2004)

Genre: Sandbox | Players: Mostly 1 player but with some co-op  | Developer: Rockstar North

Gamelay:

This game is basically a Massively Single Player Offline Role Playing Game.

Practically every single vehicle can be driven and they all control differently. While the missions drive the story that’s only a small part of what’s available for you to do in this expansive world which includes such things as gang warfare, paramedic, taxi cab driver, shooting pool, low rider DDR, and even micro games in the arcade cabinets scattered throughout the world. Hell you can even earn a little money by pulling off crazy stunts just by tooling around and jumping stuff.

The customization is pretty darn high too with options for haircuts, tattoos, a huge wardrobe of clothes, and even auto tuning and custom paint & parts for cars.    

I haven’t gotten a 2^nd controller nor have I anyone to play with so I have no idea what the co-op is like. :foreveralone:

Controls:

Walking around, riding bikes, driving cars and trucks, swimming, flying planes, scoring a headshot with a 9mm form a block away all control solid only thing it does take quite a bit of getting used to. Here’s why:

The 1^st R-trigger is for auto aim but you also have to hold it down for manual as well so you’ll most likely target and shot innocence and police when you’re trying to shot an enemy and end up making things worse. Now the 1^st L-trigger brings up your stats but it’s the fire button when you hold down the R-trigger. It’s also the fire button in vehicle mode, but it’s the jump button when you’re on a bicycle, but when you’re in a hydraulic vehicle the left click stick is for jumping.

As you can see every button does something and there are tons of options for you but you’ll need to remember what does what when and where.  The jetpack would be a great start for a good Gundam control setup.

Graphics:

With a massive world packed with tons of people & vehicles the PS2 is pushed to its limits to render everything. There are times when buildings and roads won’t fully render or are completely transparent which can lead to slamming into a building or tossing yourself off a bridge into the river. Other times you’ll have to wait a few minutes for people and cars to spawn in areas and others they’ll just all suddenly pop out of hyperspace right behind you. The sketchy drawing of graphics can be troublesome but for the most part everything runs with no slowdown and looks decent for the most part.

Sound:

Great voice work by not only professional voice actors but also some high level Hollywood stars coupled with a script filled with witty and humorous dialogue gives the characters and world they live in some genuine personality.    The music soundtrack is jam packed with jams that spans everything from the obvious rap and hip hop to rock, reggae, & country with modern (by 1990’s) hits to classical ones.  

Story:

After years in another city you return home to bury your mother only to be swept up in your old life of crime. Do what you can to survive.

Buyer’s Guide:

Avalible on:  PlayStation 2, Xbox, Xbox 360, PC and Mac.  There have been tons of ports and reprintings of GTA:SA including a few “greatest hits” bundles with other GTA titles. I don’t believe there’s too much difference between them.  You can get it for under $10 easy.

5 Popes shitting in the woods out of 5