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| Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas |
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| Written by Si Holmes |
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Saturday, 12 February 2005
I am going to court controversy.
Not just in the endorsement of a game that allows you to kill police and pedestrians, or that lets you become a pimp and sell girls into sex. Not just an endorsement of the fact that it flouts racial stereotypes (in fact, having a black lead could be seen as a good thing). Nor the fact that it is not an evolutionary leap from previous GTA III based games. The controversy will be the first time I have felt a need to award full marks in a review. It throws up questions about perfection in games (Halo wasn’t, and it’d get a ten), but I don’t care. Playing through GTA San Andreas has been an immensely emotive experience that is rarely touched by its peers.
The game follows the successful ploy of previous game Vice City, which basically stuck to the GTA III engine and made it even better by setting it in the eighties and letting the game drip with nostalgia and comedy based around the period. This time it is set in an entire state in the early nineties and closely follows the life and progression of small-time gangster CJ, who must find a way to re-establish himself following the fading influence of his gang. On the way he will contend with bent cops (one voiced brilliantly by Samuel L. Jackson), mafia, rival gangs, and backstabbing friends. He might also try to woo a girl, cruise the highways, or just hang out in the gym getting ripped. The choice is down to the player. This is a classic ‘sand box’ style of game we have come to expect from the GTA series.
As per usual each game on the way has refined features and controls and this is no different. A lot of criticism of Vice City was in the aiming and such in shootouts. This is still a slight worry, but it has been vastly improved, with much of the credit thanks to the success of the system used in Manhunt. Also, like in Manhunt, it is possible for CJ to perform stealth kills, but without the visceral close-ups, sadly. On top of this the cars handle more realistically and conversation is less one dimensional with the introduction of positive and negative responses via the dpad.
But there is oh so much more besides. First the game is HUGE. Vice City may well have been a whole city, but this is a whole state. Ok, it’s not literally as big as the state it so obviously copies (hint: two cities are blatantly to LA and San Francisco, with a Vegas tribute thrown in too for good measure), but it is still huge. Take the fact that rail and air travel is available for starters; driving between two of the cities is quite a road trip and along the way there are tons of satellite towns to run into, from red-neck Hicksvilles to spooky deserted ghost towns and military facilities. There’s even the equivalent of the Hoover Dam to throw a penny off (or more likely yourself in a quad bike) should you so desire.
Missions are now often done with gang members for company; this adds a nice touch as they chatter amongst themselves and occasionally aim an Uzi out of the window to shoot someone they don’t like the look of. It is possible to take over rival gang territory to earn money and respect. The more respect you have means you can recruit people to follow you around and help you in various parts of the game. The amount of stats in the game and the effect they have is a really nice touch. If you over eat, you get fat. Conversely, spend time down the gym pumping iron and you bulk up.
You can go clothes shopping, get a tattoo or a hair cut. Most of these are cosmetic appearances but they add to immersion. Also, the more you use certain vehicles and weapons the better you will get. So for instance if you stick to using 9mm pistols, eventually your aim will improve and you will be able to wield two at once. It’s a nice touch, which, like in Fable, tries to change the way skills are gained in RPG-lite games. But, the open ended nature of the plot in San Andreas, the variety of the missions and the large number of routes to freely explore makes Fable look like a joke in comparison. There’s even dance mat style rhythm action, for goodness sake.
A lot of the joy comes from the soundtrack. Like Vice City, it is a well measured collection of some of the popular songs from the relevant period. In way sit is perfectly timed with the resurgence of hip hop, offering a look back at the genre at a time when some of the famous names were just emerging. Of course the songs vary each go, but the way they seem to fit the mission at times is just amazing: I was chased down a storm drain by a giant truck to the sound of ‘Welcome to the jungle,’ found myself trail biking up a winding mountain through the cloud cover on an assassination mission to the sound of ‘Hey good looking’ by Hank Williams, which evoked a true feeling of the kookiness of Kill Bill. And best of all, in one of the most hilarious moments I have ever experienced in a game, CJ had just finished moaning about his new feminist companion when he switched on the engine and ‘Crazy’ by Willie Nelson drifted out of the speakers. The fact that the game gives experiences like this, which will be different every time, is a true demonstration of its genius. I’ve lost count of the number of times I have yelped in delight or hilarity at one of the cut-scenes or just my own inept driving skills.
There is no better feeling than cruising down the open road on a trucking mission to a bit of country music, or maybe blazing through the suburbs with bass boost fitted low-rider.
There is no better feeling than when a crash of Stone Temple Pilots guitar coincides with a cop car slamming into an oncoming train, or when one of the hilarious adverts plays.
“Hey remember me, the girl from the party?”
“Wow Michelle? I haven’t seen you in like-“
“Nine months?”
And so on.
All this is even better in the company of friends. In the past this had to be done by taking turns to try missions, and offering each other hints while sharing the thrills and spills. But now the game features several two player co-op sections. This is something gamers have been after for a long time. In something of a surprise, perhaps, these sections are not split screen, the camera angle changes so you can both be in shot. Stray too far and the mission ends, but by working together you can have a lot of fun, e.g. in a car with one player driving and the other shooting. In reality this may well be a litmus test for plans being drawn up for a possible GTA 4, because the sections are not perfect, but they are certainly good enough to be fun.
Graphics have been boosted, but probably don’t quite match Xbox Vice City’s extra little effects. The game can slow down when there’s a lot going on, and occasionally struggles to keep up loading the textures, but these do not detract too badly. The Xbox incarnation (should it appear) will be interesting. There is also the age old problem of buildings ‘popping’ out of thin air in the distance, but it is not intrusive enough to niggle. The cut scenes are very well written, funny, and imaginative, and a stellar list of voice talent adds to the quality.
This game brings so many genres together so well it is hard to criticise. It is ambitious and succeeds beautifully. Sure, Rockstar have a very solid base to build on, but this should not take credit away. The morals of the game might cause some offence, but really it is just parody and should not cause any lasting effect on its target age group. It’s as easy to lose yourself in this game as it is driving inter state. Take a large measure of GTA III; add a sprinkle of Vice City, freshly sliced sprigs of nineties gang culture; stir in dashes of Manhunt, Fable, and Dance-Dance Revolution to taste, then mix in a nitro-powered-blender from hell. Result? Ten out of ten.
10 |
| Last Updated ( Saturday, 12 February 2005 ) |
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