san andreas -- the review
where to start in a game so huge.. ? maybe with just that how giant the map is this time around, its fucking huge, seriously! i played it for hours tonight and i havent been all around even whats available immediately (i dont think i have anyways) which is really refreshing after the cramped lackluster surroundings in vice city.
the vehicle selection is zoned, and by that i mean you can jack a vette a lot easier out by the rich areas (vinewood) and you can get tractors, riding mowers, and jacked up trucks out in the sticks, along with dirtbikes and two-toned junk cars and the ever popular pickup. theres motor homes this time as well
the enemy AI has been trough some tweeking in the last couple games. in liberty the cops and the rival gangs were pretty easy to ditch. in vice city the cops were just brutal especially for as small as the map was in that game. in san andreas we have cops that dont give up on you when you get a block away (even if you do only have one star) and they are agressive in this game as well but i dont see them as brutal and to be feared like i did in vice city. i do have a complaint about the friendly AI's. i almost got beat to death with a bat before my buddy jumped in. kinda frustraiting.
i kinda like the new RPG features. the skill points, reputation and other forms of any kind of real charcter development were not included in the previous games, and until now i didnt mind... but having a guy i can tattoo and bulk up us pretty fuckin sweet. however the workout system is sadly like the punching bag in dead to rights and gets old quick. but you can build up any skill by doing it often, or well, this includes the new skill of swimming.. yes that means no more "oh shit hairpin in an ambukance! FUCK!! WATER!" **splash** WASTED
the world desin and characters look great this time out. (anyone else think that guy in the shades looks like easy-E?) i dont like the shading on some of the cars though. some of them just dont seem to fit the GTA look, if you know what i mean. and you can take down streetlights like they are picket fencing, and you cant drive an oldsmobile through a hedge. annoying.
you can jump fences now which is kinda handy for fleeing from the cops on foot (or gang members)
i dislike the radio stations this time and not really because i dislike rap. some of the rap i used to listen to is there and thats cool. but they're just kind of bland, in my opinion.
i havent figured out how to break into houses (as promised by rockstar) but maybe its a skill you pick up later (i hope) cuz that would just rock.
all in all, its a great game and it fits in very well with the series. and if you were into either of the other two, and whether you wanted more out of the orignial, or a bigger map in vice city. then your set here. and if you dont have a PS2 dont frett. the xbox version will be out next year.
on a side note: now you dont pay the hooker for her time. just for the sex.
www.triplebeard.com
http://darkroomreview.blogspot.com
“...There are so many ways of being despicable it quite makes one's head spin. But the way to be really despicable is to be contemptuous of other people's pain. You ought to have some apprehension that the man you see before you was once even younger than you are now and arrived at his present wretchedness by imperceptible degrees.”
-James Baldwin
Wow. Some damn good reviews there! What to say...
-I think that the RPG elements are really great and will add some replay value to the game. You can be skinny CJ on one file and fat CJ on the other!
- There weren't too many negative changes.
Is it just me or is the radar/radar icons really small! Kind of makes it hard to navigate and this city is HUGE! I didn't like how they changed the health/armor counts to little bars now (like in figthing games) but I can get over it. One change that really bothered me is how weapons and items that lie around the map are no longer surronded by a colored aura. That makes them tough to spot and this is the best way to stock up on weapons early on! Oh and I haven't found one hidden package yet! I think they are gone and been replaced by the graffitti tagging thing. I loved hidden packages!
- The AI is a bit tougher and I think the cops can actually climb stairs now! :eek:
- The story seems kind of bland but you don't play these games for the story.
Just like the last reviewer said I will probably be playing this game for the rest of my life since it is so massive and I have other responsibilities (sadly)
Didn't want to come off as too negative. This game is great! 9.99 out of 10! I just didn't want to repeat myself! Peace and good gaming!
[COLOR=DarkGreen]"Those who fear the dark have never seen what the light can do."[/COLOR]
yea the packahes in this one seem to be the graffiti. but thats cool. means you really have to look now.
you're right the tiny little health bar is kind of out of place. especially considering the star counter is still huge. speaking of, i have yet to gind one of those "bribe icons" that makes your stars go down.
and actually i kind of like the non-color-coded weapons. but thats just me.
something i didnt touch on last night is your ability to (sort of) interact wit the population. this is a nice idea but i think it could have been done better. but its still pretty sweet that you can flash gang signs and tell people to fuck off.
there are some things missing that were promised, sadly among them is the "ragdoll" physics model. oh how i was looking forward to that one. but the playstation may not have the power to push that kind of processing and render at (?) frames per second (and not lag, for you non-gamers out there) so perhaps in the xbox, eh?
has anyone else noticed the burnout style motion blur when your at top speeds in a fast car, or on a streetbike? nice touch, in my opinion, makes the game feel even faster.
www.triplebeard.com
http://darkroomreview.blogspot.com
“...There are so many ways of being despicable it quite makes one's head spin. But the way to be really despicable is to be contemptuous of other people's pain. You ought to have some apprehension that the man you see before you was once even younger than you are now and arrived at his present wretchedness by imperceptible degrees.”
-James Baldwin
You can weild a double ended dildo as a weapon apparently. That in itself is enough to sway me.
[QUOTE=Earthbound]You can weild a double ended dildo as a weapon apparently. That in itself is enough to sway me.[/QUOTE]
dude, no way!!
www.triplebeard.com
http://darkroomreview.blogspot.com
“...There are so many ways of being despicable it quite makes one's head spin. But the way to be really despicable is to be contemptuous of other people's pain. You ought to have some apprehension that the man you see before you was once even younger than you are now and arrived at his present wretchedness by imperceptible degrees.”
-James Baldwin
Yep. Its in a Police Station locker room.
GTA:SA isn't out in the UK yet, and even when it comes out i'll STILL have to wait until they port it to the Xbox.
you poor bastard LOL
www.triplebeard.com
http://darkroomreview.blogspot.com
“...There are so many ways of being despicable it quite makes one's head spin. But the way to be really despicable is to be contemptuous of other people's pain. You ought to have some apprehension that the man you see before you was once even younger than you are now and arrived at his present wretchedness by imperceptible degrees.”
-James Baldwin
you forgot to mention car customization, shooting down passenger planes, a forklift, rival gangs shooting the shit out of you, the ability to tell a hooker 'no', and that badass mission where you have to chase the train with your buddy on the back of your bike and shoot those 4 guys while avoiding passing trains and exploding cars. oh yeah, and bmx's.
and you forgot that yo can blow up the gas tanks in the cars now. and as i found out more frustratingly.. entire gas stations
www.triplebeard.com
http://darkroomreview.blogspot.com
“...There are so many ways of being despicable it quite makes one's head spin. But the way to be really despicable is to be contemptuous of other people's pain. You ought to have some apprehension that the man you see before you was once even younger than you are now and arrived at his present wretchedness by imperceptible degrees.”
-James Baldwin
I'm overwelmed by how fucking huge this game is. Not including free play and just messing around, the story mode and all the hidden extras is probably going to take 150+ hours. New cool improved feature is the manual targeting of any weapon, and the stealth attacks. And the bikes are pretty cool, hell everything is pretty cool. Not to mention Samuel Jackson is in the game which is just badass. The only gripe I'm having is I'm making no money with the first few missions but I'm sure that's bound to change once I get more in depth into the game. The RPG elements are welcomed and not mundane or redundant. You can pretty much do anything in this game, customize anything and the AI adds to the realism and still keeps the game fun tenfold. I can't wait for the X Box Port so there won't be such harsh load times and custom tracks, but the PS2 versions blew my fucking mind. Yay for San Andreas.
what's this i hear about a 2 player mode?
i know there are mods and patches for the PC ones to play online with people. on the playstation however there is not
www.triplebeard.com
http://darkroomreview.blogspot.com
“...There are so many ways of being despicable it quite makes one's head spin. But the way to be really despicable is to be contemptuous of other people's pain. You ought to have some apprehension that the man you see before you was once even younger than you are now and arrived at his present wretchedness by imperceptible degrees.”
-James Baldwin
Actually I had no idea there was a two player game in San Andrea. Turns out once you start dating in the game if you go to your gf's house there is an option to hook up another controller so two plays can do drive by's and etc.
I've already blown about 1G on tattoo's...kinda like real life. The size of what you have to explore and play in, the level of detail and customization of just about everything, and Manhunt style stealth kills!
I'm in love with this game.
Does anyone know where you can get a pilots license? I'm on the second island already and it's pissing me off that I can't fly yet. In the Los Santos area you can park a car next to the building and hop over the fence and get into the airport and do it that way, but I was flying over the casinos and I got shot down by the military, I think. Anyone know?
[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v507/niceguyjoe/thiscop.bmp[/IMG]
Who else despises this stupid racing shit? Carl Johnson, stone cole gangta, and he's out in the middle of no where racing the main character from GTA3 through checkpoints. I can't stand this shit. I'd rather blow shit up.
[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v507/niceguyjoe/thiscop.bmp[/IMG]
[QUOTE=niceguyjoe]Does anyone know where you can get a pilots license? I'm on the second island already and it's pissing me off that I can't fly yet. In the Los Santos area you can park a car next to the building and hop over the fence and get into the airport and do it that way, but I was flying over the casinos and I got shot down by the military, I think. Anyone know?[/QUOTE]
the army comes after you if you manage to make it somewhere you havent unlocked yet
www.triplebeard.com
http://darkroomreview.blogspot.com
“...There are so many ways of being despicable it quite makes one's head spin. But the way to be really despicable is to be contemptuous of other people's pain. You ought to have some apprehension that the man you see before you was once even younger than you are now and arrived at his present wretchedness by imperceptible degrees.”
-James Baldwin
What about the pilot's license though? Where to get one?
[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v507/niceguyjoe/thiscop.bmp[/IMG]
[QUOTE=ThisLucky7]I'm overwelmed by how fucking huge this game is. Not including free play and just messing around, the story mode and all the hidden extras is probably going to take 150+ hours. New cool improved feature is the manual targeting of any weapon, and the stealth attacks. And the bikes are pretty cool, hell everything is pretty cool. Not to mention Samuel Jackson is in the game which is just badass. The only gripe I'm having is I'm making no money with the first few missions but I'm sure that's bound to change once I get more in depth into the game. The RPG elements are welcomed and not mundane or redundant. You can pretty much do anything in this game, customize anything and the AI adds to the realism and still keeps the game fun tenfold. I can't wait for the X Box Port so there won't be such harsh load times and custom tracks, but the PS2 versions blew my fucking mind. Yay for San Andreas.[/QUOTE]
Money is hard to come by early on. It is fucking disheartening to play this tough mission and waste tons of ammo to just get on little itty-bitty respect point! My suggestion to make some cash early on is the taxi! I don't know about everyone else but I love the taxi missions and picking up five peeps in a row can net you about 700 bucks! Great way to get on your feet and start buying safe houses!
[COLOR=DarkGreen]"Those who fear the dark have never seen what the light can do."[/COLOR]
[QUOTE=Gaeasoldier]Money is hard to come by early on. It is fucking disheartening to play this tough mission and waste tons of ammo to just get on little itty-bitty respect point! My suggestion to make some cash early on is the taxi! I don't know about everyone else but I love the taxi missions and picking up five peeps in a row can net you about 700 bucks! Great way to get on your feet and start buying safe houses![/QUOTE]
or u could go in and massacre the pizza place slowly so u dont get more than one star at a time
www.triplebeard.com
http://darkroomreview.blogspot.com
“...There are so many ways of being despicable it quite makes one's head spin. But the way to be really despicable is to be contemptuous of other people's pain. You ought to have some apprehension that the man you see before you was once even younger than you are now and arrived at his present wretchedness by imperceptible degrees.”
-James Baldwin
Good review. I'm only about an hour into the plot. I wasted a lot of time just driving around trying to learn the map around CJ's house. So far I think this is a huge improvement over Vice City, which was crippled by it's boring-as-hell terrain and over-the-top cornball plot.
This time the plot starts out with a lot fewer fireworks but the premise is much more interesting. The gangstas-with-good-intentions schtick gets old after a few cutscenes, but it's still better than listening to Ray Liotta try to voice-act. I was a little suprised to find that the dialog completely uncensored this time around, which also starts out cool but gets beat to death pretty fast.
Game mechanics, so far, so good. The bicycle/motorcycle mechanics feel much more solid this time around. Vice City was loaded with mechanical errors in its processing, and a lot of that seems to have been very well patched up in this outing. So far I've only seen one real bad screwup, I mowed a few pedestrians down with a sedan, and one of them got stuck in mid-air, arms still flailing about. It was pretty hilarious, unfortunately I didn't have the in-game camera at the time.
The biggest improvement is the terrain. This is everything that Vice City was missing, and I'm only in the area around the start. The alleyways, bridges, ditches, train tracks, and so on are all woven together into very complex ways that beg you to explore and find the most daring shortcuts.
This will probably take me about a year to get through. I only play sporadically these days. I won't need to buy any more Playstation games for quite awhile.
Cheers,