Action, racing, fighting, shooting, role playing best games for those who looking to find something, not just to waste a time playing tiny flash games.
Monday, April 22, 2013
Grand Theft Auto San Andreas
One of the most celebrated series of recent times has to be Rockstar
North's Grand Theft Auto games. From the original top-down versions
through to the huge-selling 3D incarnations of III and Vice City, not
many games can match the popularity (or sales figures) of the GTA games.
The two years that players have had to endure waiting for their next
dose of street crime-related shenanigans has seen a couple of pretenders
to the throne - notably True Crime: Streets of L.A. and the horrible,
horrible (horrible) DRIV3R - but neither could possibly hold a torch to
what Rockstar achieved with their games. Now the wait is over and the
Daddies have returned to show the pretenders how it's done. And then
some.
If you haven't already, go and buy San Andreas. It is a stunning,
stunning game. With that out of the way we can get into the nitty-gritty
- why is it stunning exactly? Well that is impossible to answer in one
review alone, as it would need more space than most novels take up to
explain the intricacies and nuances contained within. The player takes
control of one Carl 'CJ' Johnson, who is returning to San Andreas, after
spending five years in GTA III's Liberty City, in order to attend his
mother's funeral. No sooner has our protagonist landed at Los Santos
International Airport when he is picked up by a couple of crooked
coppers, who welcome CJ home by leaving him in enemy gang territory. To
go on would spoil the story, but it picks up from there and doesn't stop
for quite a while.
The core GTA experience is more or less the
same as it has ever been - visit marked points on the map to trigger
more than a hundred different missions, each opening with surprisingly
well choreographed cut-scenes. The physical 'acting' of the characters
is of a very high standard, with movements fluid and natural, but the
experience is really lifted by the vocal talent on offer - Samuel L
Jackson, Ice-T, Axl Rose, Chris Penn, Shaun Ryder, Peter Fonda, James
Woods and a great deal more adding their voices to the interesting and
funny characters CJ meets on his travels. As with previous incarnations,
no-one is scared to use every word in the English language available to
them, with San Andreas delivering more curse words than the last two
offerings - and yes, as the game is set in the early nineties West Coast
gangsta scene, you will hear constant use of the dreaded 'N' word. One
more reason for the Daily Mail to go ballistic.
Another constant of the GTA series is the radio service, and the
soundtrack offered up by Andreas is the expected early nineties fare -
NWA, Public Enemy, Pearl Jam, Guns 'N' Roses, Rage Against the Machine
are all included (though there is a notable exception of Nirvana). For
some reason the songs offered up don't have the instant appeal that the
eighties hits of Vice City did, and the radio can get a little tiresome
as a result, especially if West Coast rap/hip-hop is not to ones taste.
The in-between links, adverts and news reports are all of the expected
high quality humour-wise and don't fail to raise a smile, even on
repeated listens, with a definite air of Britishness in their comedy.
The high-quality sound is once again partnered with the same GTA looks
as the last two games, and whilst they aren't amazing, they do a job and
clearly push the PS2 to its limit. If one thing needs to be improved
upon for the next incarnation, it's the graphical performance - but
seeing as the next game will more than likely be for the next generation
consoles, that's pretty much a given.
The much vaunted character customization offers up an opportunity new to
the GTA world - CJ can look how the player wants him to; tattoo's,
haircuts and clothing are all changeable as the player sees fit, simply
by visiting the appropriate shop. Want to be a fat gangsta with a huge
blonde afro? Eat lots of fast food, don't exercise and visit the
barbers. Voila! One fat, unfit, blonde gangbanger. Exercise? Why yes - a
number of gyms are located through the state which can be visited as
and when the player wishes, enabling a number of methods to improve CJ's
physique, increase stamina and get rid of unwanted fat; weightlifting,
exercise bikes and treadmills all being available for use. The
much-talked about system whereby food must be consumed for the upkeep of
the player is far more subtle than most would expect, with the practice
not encroaching on gameplay in any major way - in more than thirty
hours of play we managed to get by on less than ten meals, with health
naturally returning at save points and through the old style collectable
heart icons. These more in-depth character elements are a welcome
addition - they could have very easily overwhelmed the core of the game,
but instead they are implemented in such a fashion that they fun to
take part in and almost totally voluntary in participation.
Amongst the ridiculous number of additions to the game are stealth
kills and stealth missions - obviously something coming from Rockstar's
foray into the world of Manhunt. This is another element in the game
that is not overused and helps to break up the constant run and gun
style that GTA has a reputation for. Along with stealth there is finally
the ability to swim, so no more slipping off a cliff at high speeds to
fail a mission, as CJ can simply get out of the car and swim to shore.
This ability is another thing that isn't simply 'tacked on' as some may
have expected, with a number of missions centred on water-based action
and secret collectables being available underwater. Arcade games,
breaking into houses, jet aircraft, car customisation, girlfriends,
gambling and playing pool - these are just a few of the little touches
that have been added to make San Andreas a much fuller experience.
If
you can go somewhere, nine times out of ten, there will be something
for the player to do in the area - something that doesn't affect the
main story of the game, something that may well give the player little
or no reward, but something that is undeniably cool and fun to take part
in. The little secrets here and there have always been a triumph of the
GTA series, and Andreas has them in abundance - the hidden packages of
old being replaced by graffiti tags, horseshoes, oysters and secret
photographs, along with many, many other elements. Trucking, quarry work
and driving freight trains are all included as little earners on the
side, and each have many fun and highly addictive qualities in them.
Dancing in clubs to a Dance Dance Revolution/Parappa the Rapper style
rhythm-action section isn't something that people would likely expect in
a GTA game, but it is there.
There is just so much to do in the game it's a mini-miracle, and we
haven't even mentioned one of the more core elements, statistic upgrades
- CJ has a stat for just about everything he does; driving, flying,
boating, swimming, shooting (with a different stat assigned to each
different weapon), motor biking, cycling and respect, all having bars
representing how skilful CJ is at the action in question, and each can
be worked on by simply doing the activity - shoot a pistol, get better
with the pistol. Drive a car, get better at driving. Help a friend out,
gain respect. Simple, non-intrusive and welcome. Drivers react to the
player crashing into them, the police chase other criminals, CJ can
recruit a crew to follow him wherever and gun down any opposing gangs,
gang turf is taken and lost throughout the game, BMX parks can be
visited and there is even a two-player mode available at certain parts
in the game. So, so much has been crammed in that players will be hard
pressed to find they have nothing to do - even more so than in previous
incarnations, and that's saying quite a lot.
San Andreas is
worthy of nearly all the hype it received, and is definitely worth your
attention. The nay-sayers have been coming out of the woodwork for this
one, but they are wrong. This is one of the most fun and well-realised
games that has ever been released. Everyone should enjoy San Andreas.
Everyone over the age of 18 anyway.
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