This game pushes the boundary of what we thought was possible in a game.
User Rating: 9.6 | Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas PS2
Alright I know the game has been out for a long time, but when I played it recently I realized I never wrote a review for it. Let me just say that this game pushes the limits and creates a huge, seamless world that is an amazing thing to see. Throughout the game you play as Carl Johnson (CJ) who came back to Los Santos 5 years after he left. When he came back for his mother's funeral he was set up by two crooked cops for the murder of an officer. You are quickly put into helping your gang, the Grove Street Boys, and gaining respect. During the game you will explore the entire state of San Andreas including Los Santos, San Fierro, and Las Venturas. Plus all the countryside in between. You will also encounter many vehicles from bicycles to airplanes. There are normal cars, fast cars, bikes, mountain motorcycles, highway motorcycles, boats, airplanes, and the Rhino tank. You will need all of these vehicles to make your way across the huge San Andreas. The weapons are the same types for the most part. You have your 9mm, Silenced 9mm, Desert Eagle, Tec9, Micro SMG, SMG, AK47, MP4, Shotgun, Rifle, Sniper Rifle, Rocket Launcher, Flame Thrower, and many other sweet unlockables. You can gain skill with any of these weapons by using them often. The levels of skill are poor, gangster, and hitman. There are also many melee weapons that include knives, bats, shovels, nightsticks, etc. Another huge part of the game is the star system. In San Andreas there are many more cops than in the previous games. You normally can't kill someone or jack a vehicle without getting at least one star, but don't worry 1 star means nothing and easily goes away. The system goes up to six stars at which point Rhino tanks come after you. As long as your below three stars they will fade away over time. If you are at level 3 or higher you will need to find stars scattered around the map that will reduce your wanted level by 1 star, or you can save your game which is the easiest method. A new thing you have to watch out for is that the cops are very aggressive even if you are at 1 star they will shoot you down. Another thing added in this game is your fitness and eating. You can go to the gym to build up your muscle and stamina, which makes you very buff, or stuff your face which makes you really fat. All of these change your skills in the game. Now to the gameplay. There are so many things to do in this game that the gameplay is matched by no other game. Missions range from beating up drug dealers to robbing military bases. You get your missions by visiting various people throughout the entire state during the game. The one thing that can be really annoying is the fact that there is no restart feature, so you have to go from the hospital to an Ammu-Nation for guns, then drive back to the mission area to start from the beginning. The only mercy here is the skip trip, which allows you to skip cross country drives that you have already done. Another thing that makes this gameplay great is the side missions. You can steal special types of cars that activate missions from pimping missions to rescue missions. These side missions include valet, vigilante, pimp, taxi, and firefighter missions. You have to love all this freedom to choose what to do. The graphics of the game aren't that great, but it is forgiven by how big the world is. Also improved is the draw distance which allows you to see miles ahead in an airplane. The biggest problem is the frame rate which changes a little to often. The sound in this game is also superb. The gun sounds are average, but the different engine sounds and the radio stations make it excellent. The value in this game is incredible. It is long, has many side missions and you just want ot play over and over. Please, do yourself a favor and pick this up if you haven't yet. You are really missing out.
