Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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37 of 38 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
San Amazing!, 21 Mar 2006
They've done it again. I would have thought that Vice City was as far as they could push the series under its current form, but Rockstar have done the impossible and made not only a few improvements, but drastic ones.
The setting is the ninteen-nineties, which means radio stations pump out tunes from that era (not as downright cheesy as the eighties music, but good nonetheless). Your character, Carl Johnson (CJ) is out of prison and back in his 'hood'.
What starts as simple gang warfare becomes much, much bigger -- and that is a massive understatement. San Andreas's map is the biggest game environment I have ever seen, let alone driven across. The size of Vice City would be approximately the size of one of the three districts in San Andreas, and those are connected by countryside roads and highways which spread them apart by more space than their own area. But outwards isn't the only way it goes; you can now travel thousands of feet into the air, in planes, helicopters and whatever else you can steal. If you jump from an aircraft, you can parachute to the ground. You can also now ride pedal bikes and jets and trucks and tractors and speed boats and... well, anything you can think of, actually. You can also buy properties and live in them, buy businesses and accept missions from them, make money in more ways than I can count. You can customise CJ's appearance by going to clothes shops, hairdressers and tattoo parlors. You can... well, "you can" seems to be the important phrase here; you can essentially do whatever you want.
The missions themselves are some of the most downright fun to grace the series, and there is always something new to discover and play around with. Every nook and cranny of the map is overflowing with opportunities.
My only complaint is the game's slightly more serious tone compared to Vice City's silliness (evidenced by the shocking amount of swearing and adult references), but it is handled in a way that isn't unrealistic (like a certain 'Getaway' game I might mention), and the comic undertones are still most certainly there, helped by the tight acting and the well-written script.
It's difficult to say where the series is heading from here, but one thing's for sure: improving upon this game is going to be a massive challenge.
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14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Ghetto Chic, 13 April 2007
Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars
I have recently started playing this again from scratch, and wow. This game never ever gets boring and it will always find an opportunity to turn around and make you go "woah!" out loud! There is so much you can do in this game it should be illegal.
I know some people who were put off by the slow start of the game, and the relatively boring environment of the "ghetto". My only advice to them is play through it. Just get on with it and complete the missions to unlock the other areas of the game, because once you start to explore the other 2 major cities, things just get cooler. A note on the cities as well, if you have played GTA3/Vice City, then you know that the different cities need to load when you enter them. Not anymore, you can now drive seamlessly from A to B with no loading pauses whatsoever. Alright, framerate might drop a touch when it is loading terrain as you drive through it, but basically this game can be treated as one HUGE map/city. To get all the way around the extreme edge of the city/world, start to finish will take you (in real time minutes without stopping) about 5 minutes by jet, 15 minutes by fast car and probably (never tried!) hours by foot! It is truly massive beyond belief and has to be seen to be believed.
Ok, the graphics are ropey now and look extremely dated when compared to games like Saints Row, but it really isnt important. GTA: SA is a tongue in cheek game and if anything, the poor graphics help to reinforce this. If you are a parent and wondering whether to buy this for child, consider this:
It is a violent game, but this is very cartoony and the poor/overly colourful graphics give the violence a comic feel, but it is none the less an ever present factor. The main problem for children I feel would be the language/attitude of the characters in the game. I think the script is fantastic & the voice roles spot on (big names too), but it is very very sweary. I love this and find it funny, but it is extremely prevalent and I wouldnt be surprised if a kid playing it would pick up on it. No C-word, but an oil tanker full of f's, drug references, disregard to human life/women/other races.
I recently discovered an area I'd never seen before were there was an old bi-plane cropsprayer sitting there which I promptly took off in and flew to the top of mount chilliad. Landed, grabbed the parachute up there, got back in the plane, flew to San Andreas airport, landed on the runway, grabbed a Learjet, flew at the highest altitude back to San Fierro, baled out, sky-dived down, and parachuted down onto my save-game location. Not one person was killed but it was so much fun! And that's what this game is about, there's a lot more to it than mindless killing (although that's fun too). For instance, you're not allowed into an airport until you have a pilot's licence, but if you park a tall truck next to the airport fence, you can hop over and grab a plane and fly off!
Absolute genius, and I'm sure GTA 4 will be even better!
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16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of the Best ever, 1 Aug 2006
Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars
I got this game for my Birthday two years ago and i could not stop playing it. However this is not a game for the little ones as it contains strong language , sex , drugs and other adult themes. It is now being sold for a absolute bargain so if you want a long lasting game lokk no further the gta sna andreas.
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