Yup, I think this is probably one of the first reviews for San Andreas on the web. I played the game for quite a bit, and heres how I felt about it.
Game: Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Platform: PlayStation 2
Producer: Rockstar North
Graphics: 8/10
The graphics in San Andreas are a huge improvement from that of Vice City on the PS2. Cars have real-time realistic reflections now. Character animations are much better. When cars explode, it looks much more real. There are only two reasons I gave the graphics on San Andreas an 8. First, the rain does look good.. but the style it was made with looks like it should be in a Tony Hawk game, not a Grand Theft Auto game. Second, the game at times puts so much pressure on the PlayStation 2, that there are some framerate issues. This happens rarely, but it does happen.
Gameplay: 10/10
The gameplay factor in San Andreas meets up to its expectations. There are so many improvements over Vice City that San Andreas is almost a new game.
Firstly, objects in the world are now more interactive than ever. You can destroy fences by punching them, running them over, etc. You can climb fences too.
Secondly, there are now RPG factors to your character. You can customize what he wears from his top to his shoes. You can get him one of about 15 hairstyles. You can also work on your sex appeal, muscle strength, and how fat you are. You can make your character a human fatass if you wanted. Muscle strength influences how powerful your hits are, etc. There are also weapon skills and certain driving skills, like cycling.
Thirdly, the new fighting system worked out great. Its kind of the like the fighting system from the previous games, but now you can block and you have special moves.
Fourthly, there is so much to do now that you'll actually WANT to stop playing the missions and just have fun. You can go clubbing and play a dance mini-game with a girl, you can go to the grocery store and play on the arcade games, you can go to the pizza place and kill the manager (or eat pizza and get fat).
A lot of people were worried you would constantly have to eat everyday and work out all the time. This is not true. You can go WEEKS without eating and it will only take about 10% off of your health bar. As for working out, you'll probably want to be doing that in your spare time.
Sound - 6/10
The sound in this game is really impressive. The cars sound real, the arcades have realistic sounds, etc etc. However, I was a little disappointed at some of the lengths that Rockstar took on the voices. You literally cannot go through a single sentance, even when not on missions, without hearing profanity. I'm not talking about shit and hell, Rockstar for the first time in GTA history has used fuck in the game. More than once, too. It gets very annoying when you hear crackheads running around screaming "Ah, fuck ya nigga'! Get teh fuck outta meh hood!"
Overall Rating - 10/10
Regardless of the excessive profanity issues, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is a very impressive game. No one whom owns a PS2 should be without this game. It is better than every Grand Theft Auto game made combined. It has so many improvements and it is such a large game that they used the entire state of California. The game ups the limits of what we believed the PlayStation 2's maximum capabilities were.
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Originally Posted by Griffin_Heart
