Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Review (no fat)

Game Description

The ESRB Rating says it all, it’s an animated mafia fantasy full of violence! Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is a veritable concoction of chaos, mayhem and a whole lot of carnage. Yet, it's not all about breaking the law, indulging in mindless orgies of destruction and insane car capers - you have to use your gray matter to piece it all together.

The story is set in 1992, in the state of San Andreas. The three cities Los Santos, San Fierro and Las Venturas (sounds familiar?) serve as the perfect backdrop for all the action. Though the earlier editions of Grand Theft Auto all featured similar plots that dealt with gang warfare, San Andreas also weaves in an emotional angle. GTA: San Andreas tells the story of Carl Johnson who returns to the city of Los Santos after an exile of 5 years, only to discover that his mother had been murdered and corrupt cops are out to get him. Finding himself on the wrong end of the law once again, he takes to the streets which sets the pace for the game.

The three cities are modeled on the cities that inspired them - Los Angeles, San Francisco and Las Vegas. Rockstar Games has taken the GTA series to an all new level with San Andreas. Gone are the days where you just drove around mindlessly, ran over cops and pedestrians, beat up everyone, stole cars and avoided getting caught between the mobsters. Instead now, you have a more realistic representation of life with tasks like working out and getting haircuts and tattoos thrown in.

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Gameplay

The game scores a perfect 10 when it comes to gameplay. It does require several hours to find your way and accomplish missions but its all time well spent. There are plots and sub-plots to uncover, missions to complete and hell to be raised. Plus the action is fast paced, maps have plenty of activity and areas to explore, loads of characters are around to interact with and there's plenty of hardware to wield.

In spite of the vast lands and complexities of the game, the approach is pretty straightforward. C.J is assigned missions by characters that he encounters on his way. Complete a mission and you progress to the next. Not as easy as it sounds as the unique nature of each mission makes this a challenging game to play.

A good practice would be to save games after completing a mission as the game doesn't allow you to save while you are on a mission…quite in line with what GTA: Vice City offered.

Grant Theft Auto: San Andreas Controls

Game controls are pretty decent. Barring a few minor glitches in car handling, they are responsive. However, owing to the sheer amount of actions that the central character can perform, players have to master a whole lot of sequences in order to achieve tasks. The learning curve is pretty steep on the whole.

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Graphics

Although the graphics are not the strong point of the game, there's plenty of elements to work with. For starters, there are loads of cars. In addition to the wide range of cars that you get to drive and wreck, GTA: San Andreas throws in a whole lot of bicycles, boats and even lets you fly an aircraft or two early on in the game if you're adventurous enough.

The sheer number of elements, the vastness of the maps and the complex nature of the game doesn't put graphics on the top of the Rockstar Games priority list although they may be better than those of the other recent GTAs. There are occasional glitches but the game play more than makes up for lack of graphics detailing.

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Sound

Forget any graphical flaws that you might ever encounter in this game - the sound is brilliant. Featuring the voices of stars like Samuel L. Jackson, Ice T and Peter Fonda and soundtrack by Sound garden, the late 2Pac and Willie Nelson, this one's a true classic.

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Summing Up

The game has that uncanny knack of bringing out the recklessness that most people hold within. It defies logic and normal behaviors and yet still breaks every single rule and throwing morals out of the window to survive and rule the streets. At every nook and corner, you'll find the vices of society at play.

And therein lies the game's beauty. Rather than a sugar-coated account of life, it opts to portray the more sinister side of it. Honesty at its brutal best.

The game is for people who are mature enough to understand the underlying truths that are depicted. Its not one for people who are squeamish when it comes to pixilated carnage. It's designed for those who would like to grab controls of a tormented soul and take a walk down the darker side of life.

Look beyond the racism, the sexist aspects, the politically incorrect statements and the sheer volume of violence and you get a gaming experience that's well worth the efforts you put into it. Overall the brilliant plot and engaging game play make this a great game…not a game to play around kids though.

GTA: San Andreas - Cost

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas retails at $39.95.