This game is so freakin huge...I mean three cities and a ton of rural land to explore and play with. And the transition is subtle. There are no jarring load screens...play just flows from one place to the next. In fact it's so smooth you might find yourself way out in the boonies before you even realize it. And then you realize how far you've actually driven and it takes forever to get back, cause like I said the game is huge...but you'll get so caught up in the changing scenery you might not realize it at first...and keep driving...and driving...and driving...fortunately you can fly from and to any of the three airports for quick movement later in the game. Man this is big. And we aren't just talking about the size of the land area either....this game has so many sub games in it, it's like buying a whole collection of games. For instance many of the places you can enter have video games...all of which are actually playable mini games...and they aren't all the same...video games aside, there are other games like basketball and pool...while not all out replicas of the games they represent they have enough aspects to throw a challenge your way...and ofcourse you still have many of the sub missions that you had in Vice City, i.e. what with the Taxi's, Police Cars, and Ambulances...but there are so many other things added...anyone care to dance? Bet on Horse races? Want to swim? Work out? Box? Ride a bicycle? Yep...you can do all those things. And it all affects your character. Character stats are greatly expanded in this game...stamina, strength, weight, skill with firearms, skill at driving, sex appeal, respect, ect. All of these can be improved by doing various activities. Some get better and stay better (Skills), and others need maintaining (Strength). But the maintenance is not to demanding...just hit the gym every so often and you'll be fine. As your skills improve, your abilities get better...i.e. you handle the car better, you fire more accurately....you start out pretty good at most of the things...and you regular activities will improve most skills...so most of this is pretty transparent...it's there but it doesn't hold you back or detract from the playing of the game...it just adds even more detail to a highly detailed game. Speaking of details...the cars...all of the cars are more detailed than they were in Vice City.... and there's a whole lot more variety too. Cement Trucks, TV Vans, Dump Trucks, Hot Rods, Low Riders... and you can mod the cars too. Add body kits, rims, paint jobs, nitro (yes it works), and last but definitely not least.... Hydraulics!!! Yes, you can hop your car...of course it costs cash, so you definitely don't use the cars you've supped up on missions unless the mission requires it (illegal street racing...yes!) but you start out with a two car garage, so even in the beginning you have a place to store your rides. Cash...at first is more difficult to come by than in Vice City, mostly due to the fact that many of your missions don't pay in currency. They pay in respect, which is just as important in San Andreas cause respect opens doors for you. But to compensate you can gamble on things like pool games, and horse races...or you can just rob people...and after a certain mission early on.... you can break into peoples houses at night...so even though the missions don't pay out like they used too...there are plenty of other ways to get cash...and weapons...Ammunation isn't open for business when you start the game so the best way to get weapons early on is to run over rival gang members and then snatch their guns after their dead. This game is really well paced, and not everything is accessible at first. Other than being cut off from the other cities due to roadblocks on the bridges, you don't have access to places like Ammunation, or the Mod shop up front; you gain access via completing missions and earning respect. One negative thing about this game is that the mini-map can be hard to read at times.... mostly due to the fact that the streets aren't all on the same level...you have streets running over top of one another...freeway cloverleaves, tunnels, railroad tracks, aqueducts...this game was built to have three dimensions...all of which can be explored...oh an you can climb up and over fences and walls to get to some hard to reach areas. So while the mini-map can be hard to read...it's totally understandable...and can't really be held against it. The only other negative that I have is that the radio isn't as polished as it was in Vice City. The song selection isn't as good and the humor that was so prevalent in Vice City radio stations seems toned down a bit. Still it does bring back memories of the early 90's and the stations do have a few gems from artists like Dr. Dre, Cypress Hill, Ice Cube, Kiss, Lynard Skynyrd, Boyz II Men, Bell Biv Devoe, Guns n' Roses, Alice in Chains, Danzig...and many, many, more. This game also has quite a few celebrity voices in it like Ice T, Samuel L. Jackson, Peter Fonda, W. Axl Rose, George Clinton, Chuck D and others. Many of them are DJ voices, though some are actual characters...like Jackson's crooked cop Tenpenny. Over all this game presents a very nice, highly polished atmosphere reminiscent of the early 90's and done in the style of movies like Boyz n the Hood. I can't recommend this game enough. There is so much here that it'll just blow you away...you definitely want to add this to your collection.
Other Helpful Reviews for Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
I consider this game to be a masterpiece - everything involved; the gameplay, the weapons, the vehicles, everything. From the motorcycles to the Rustler airplane; from the jetpacks to the reference to Grand Theft Auto 3 ... Read Full Review
I've never played all the way through GTA3 or Vice City. I found that, in both games, the characters and missions did not hold nearly enough substance for me to care what happened next. Before San Andreas, GTA was only... Read Full Review
