Tarantino - the game! (Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (PS2))

Member Name: shaneo632

Product:	Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (PS2)
Date:	24/06/09 (15 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Superb cast, great story, amazing missions...

Disadvantages: Maybe too much content? Attributes get tiring...

Just when you thought it couldn't get any more amazingly, crazily addictive, Rockstar do it again, with GTA: San Andreas. If you're a fan of the previous titles in the series, this is an absolute must-buy, for it gives you both a hefty money's worth, and a whole lot of fun!

Visually, much like its follow-up, GTA4, do take a slight hit because of the sheer amount of material that's been packed into the game. There are plenty of jagged edges and texture issues, and whilst the game doesn't really look a whole lot better than Vice City, you'll be too distracted by the fun and exciting missions to really care! On the other side of the presentation coin, the audio department is once again very well taken care of. As this GTA is set in the '90s, the likes of Billie Jean are substituted for Welcome to the Jungle by Guns 'N Roses, and with the Rap resurgence of the '90s, there's plenty of that too. The voice acting is also absolutely fantastic, with the likes of Samuel L Jackson, Chris Penn, William Fichtner, and Danny Dyer all lending their voices for some superb characters.

Much of the criticism for San Andreas came in the control department - whilst generally CJ handles very well, the aiming system is a tad clunky and not always as accurate or as easy to use as it should be (something that was thankfully remedied in the fourth game). Some vehicles that should handle well (such as the jet pack) are also a pain to control.

Just as the previous games shined here, the storyline for SA is fantastic. A crack epidemic is sweeping San Andreas, a city with a curious similarity to Los Angeles. Other cities that resemble San Francisco and Las Vegas are later unlocked also. You play a gangster called CJ, and the story revolves around him and his friends as they try to make it during the milieu of this epidemic. The characters are all wonderfully, richly drawn (thanks in large part to the voice actors), and there are plenty of times where this feels like the video game version of something like Pulp Fiction.

The depth of the gameplay is simply mind-blowing - Rockstar are to be patted on the back for such an astounding job. Finally, you are now able to swim, and there are plenty of new vehicles and weapons for you to toy about with. There are other attributes such as a stamina meter, which, when it runs out, will give you stomach cramps and mean that you have to eat. Your character can also get fat or emaciated depending on his diet and whether he works out. These attributes, whilst seemingly cool, do get a bit tired after a while, and I was pleased that they were removed from the fourth game.

San Andreas is certainly not only one of the best PS2 games ever made, but one of the best games of all time, full stop. It may be even a tad overstuffed, if such a thing is possible, because most people, unless they plough hundreds of hours into the game, will only barely break the surface of the sheer volume of things to do. Nevertheless, this is an important and influential gaming hallmark.

Summary: One of the greatest games of all time