An immensely satisfying game
GAMEPLAY - The gameplay of GTA games has always been a double-edged sword, but the good always outweighs the bad. Because it is such an enormous game with so many minigames and side missions (and no load times unless you enter a building), one cannot expect perfection. My complaints are mostly directed at the still-faulty targeting system, which will likely kill you several times before you finish the game. Though I'm not quite sure how it could be improved, it hasn't improved at all since Vice City. Hand-to-hand combat is fairly weak, but more involved than in previous chapters. And some minigames feel a bit clunky.
On the good side, which far outweighs the bad, you can now climb, gamble (in many different ways including blackjack, poker, roulette, and horseracing), attend a school to brushen up your skills, work out in a gym to build muscle and stamina and lose the fat, eat to replenish energy or grow obese, date girls (probably the clunkiest minigame, though it is a nice bonus), and so much more...San Andreas allows you to live out the virtual day-to-day life of its protagonist. My only complaint is that you HAVE to do things that are illegal, like steal cars. Not that I wouldn't anyway, but I wish there were at least a dealership around to give you the option. I recently played this game trying to be a good citizen, stealing and killing only when I needed to. Although this complaint is insignificant compared to the amount of features we are already given, I do wish that I could have had the option.
To end this on a good note, the missions are usually stellar and infinitely more fun than going on a random killing spree, and your protagonist, CJ, is customizable from haircuts and clothing to weight, lung capacity, weapon skills (when you max out a weapon skill, you get a special bonus, like the ability to wield two uzis instead of one), and even his notoriety and sex appeal. And thank god, we finally have a GTA protagonist who can swim!
GRAPHICS - The graphics are standard for PS2. They certainly aren't as beautifully detailed as most other games rated as highly, and there are tons of graphical glitches that should have been fixed. Worse yet, the game runs on the same engine as its predecessors. But it's a trade-off. Instead of perfectly detailed characters and environments, we are given a more cartoonish world to explore (and it actually works for the game, given its absurdist nature). The game is so vast it would take days on end to explore all of its regions. Best of all is the amount of variety. Los Santos feels like Los Angeles, San Fierro feels like San Francisco, and Las Venturas feels like Las Vegas. The countryside consists of farms, hick towns, vast fields, smoldering deserts, and so much more. For what the game gives you to work with, the sub-par graphics are almost unnoticable.
SOUND - The voice acting is stellar. With Samuel L. Jackson, Chris Penn, and Peter Fonda at the helm, you can't really go wrong. The actor who plays CJ delivers well and conveys great character (and makes for the first likable GTA protagonist yet). The music is lifted from the early 90's, my personal favorite era of music. In most vehicles, you can tune in to your favorite radio station of the nineties. Some of the great music you hear includes Stone Temple Pilots, NWA, Harlem Underground Band, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, Rage Against the Machine, and more. But the best radio station is the talk radio, which now includes several different programs (one of which is hosted by Andy Dick, and another that is hosted by the GTA fan favorite, Lazlow). The news radio is such a riot that it stands alone as a brilliant piece of satire.
VALUE - Although no aspect of San Andreas is perfect, the story, the characters, the cultural references, and the satisfaction of making your way through this game makes it an instant classic. You don't play an evil character in this game--in fact, Carl is very likable, and I feel weird and way out of character just going around killing people--and you actually care what happens to him, his family, and his friends. Samuel L. Jackson plays Officer Tenpenny, a crooked cop that makes for one of the slimiest and meanest villains in videogame history. The game drags a little from time to time, but the pacing is generally very good, and you'll keep coming back to find out what happens next, even if you already know. I've played through this game all the way to the end several times, and I can do it again, over and over. This one will last years before it gets old.
OVERALL - It's more of a work of art than a technical masterpiece. The game has a bundle of technical flaws, but all in all, the masterful artistry is what makes this game shine--it's compelling, emotive, and ridiculously fun.