Offers some improvements over the other GTA3 games, but feels oversaturated.

User Rating: 7.5 | Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas PS2
I have a formula when it comes to playing GTA-like games. If the sandbox is too big or too small, things get stilfing. In GTA3:II (aka Vice City) I felt everything was just right, like Goldilocks third bowl of porridge. The maps were big enough to make you feel free, while small enough to remember like the back of your hand. All the missions tied together very nicely without losing characterisation or an overall point. Tommy Vercetti was the kind of badass you'd want to be if you became a criminal. While GTA3 was too small, Vice City was perfect.

San Andreas pushed things the other way. It got too hot, too big, too bloated. The maps became huge. Distance between towns and missions often gave you the feeling you were sitting in traffic and waiting impatiently, just like the real life many of us play video games to escape. The missions, while incredibly varied and balanced in terms of difficulty, started to lose cohesion and the script/voice acting was weak compared to the high quality of Vice City. And unlike Vice City, although there were plenty of different areas, all of them felt drab and inspired, with dull vechicles and pedestrians in stark contrast to the neon brilliance of fictionalised Miami. When it came down to brass tacks, San Andreas gave too much, spreading a successful formula too thin.

That's not to say GTA:SA is a bad game - far from it. Who can forget the feeling of power you get when working for corrupt agent Mike Toreno, stealing a Harrier-style jump jet and using it to nuke the US military. How about owing a stake in your own casino, and the fact you can gamble the winnings from your missions to turn CJ into a multi-millionaire. And lovable hippy Truth, who inspires CJ to steal a $60m black project jetpack in the name of conspiracy? Yes, San Andreas isn't without classic moments. But to me, these often felt few and far between. This applies equally to the soundtrack, which has several 90s classics nestled beside mediocre minor hits, unlike the blockbuster 80s affair given previously.

I have completed both PS2 and PC versions. Although the PS2 version is practically glitch free, there are many times when the frame rate dips considerably, especially during parachute jumps and the like. I'd rather have seen less clouds and more stable gameplay, because some of the missions have slow enough pacing as it is. The PC version has a bizarre kind of soundtrack glitch which often disables all kinds of sound effects, often replacing them with bursts of static and white noise. Not things I'd expect from Rockstar Games.

San Andreas is undoubtedly a very good game. But the balance between realism and arcade stylings was lost at this point. Who wants to spend hours training CJ to swim underwater, weight lift and other mundane things, when you can jump right in with Tommy Vercetti who can't swim but owns CJ at practically everything else? If Vice City steals from Scarface (a classic), then SA steals from Boyz N The Hood (potential classic not without flaws). And I know which one I'd rather get down with.