It’s been a while since I played San Andreas on PS2 or even the double pack on Xbox, yet once again the ever so popular franchise that is Grand Theft Auto (GTA) appears again on Xbox. I still remember the first GTA game on the PSone and how controversial it all was; what with politicians trying to ban the game due to its questionable content and no doubt Jehovah’s witnesses not taking it too well as the game allowed players the chance to run them all down in cold blood. Well those days seem like ages ago and since then times and attitudes have changed. Of course there are still some conservative groups that would like to see violent and perhaps unethical content in games removed but this is 2005 and games have become more acceptable to the masses regardless of the content. GTA: San Andreas was released on PS2 at the end of 2004 so as an Xbox owner you’ve had to wait 6 months or so to get your hands on what is essentially a PS2 cast off. Rather than go for the multi-format release so that everyone is happy all at once; Rockstar (the developers) have decided to favour the PS2 and let owners of the Japanese console have the game first. Well as they say, it’s no use crying over spilt milk. So what is GTA: San Andreas about? Well basically you the player fill the shoes or should I say sneakers of young black American Carl Johnson or CJ. After a stint in Liberty City he returns to his home (hood) after the death of his mother. Things have changed since he’s been away and after being bribed and mugged by the local cops on his arrival CJ enters a whole new world of street life and hurt, where gangs and criminal activity is rife. Despite CJ’s claims that he’s gone straight inevitably he becomes drawn into the gangster lifestyle the moment he arrives.

Gameplay:

Where does one start? Well anyone familiar with past GTA games will be fully aware of the kind of things on offer in this 3rd person free roaming game. Basically as a player you have a full living breathing city for you to simply do as you please. As the title suggests you can steal vehicles of all kinds, you can kill people with a number of melee and ranged weapons like guns and knives. You can explore to your hearts content and even take on certain roles such as taxi driver, pimp or vigilante cop to name a few. What is more, you can follow a predetermined storyline by undertaking various missions from people you meet along the way and in this case it’s your “homies” (gang friends) to begin with.

Well all of this has been seen and done before in previous GTA games and really is the basic bread and butter of the game, however Rockstar have decided to attempt to go one better and offer a level of interaction that was not present in previous GTA titles. For the first time there seems to be a whole heap of customisation options available to make the game more personalised. For starters players can shape the look of CJ to their own specifications by visiting a gym (or not) to get some muscles. Players can also indulge in lots of eating to perhaps make their character fat, this also replenishes health but what is interesting is that when you visit a fast food joint there is always a healthy option available as well- now that is choice!

The customisation does not stop there either as players can buy clothes from a number of shops so that CJ is looking streetwise or merely “pimpin” with the wide number of clothes available. Hairstyles can be changed; tattoos can be added the possibilities are quite vast. These options are not only for show they actually have some impact on the game world for example if you are muscular then you will dish out more damage in melee combat. If you are overweight then running around might prove a little tiring.

It seems every thing you do in the game is monitored and perhaps upgradeable from continued use. So, if you spend a lot of time driving through traffic then your driving skills increase. Alternatively if you do a lot of shooting with a pistol then your shooting skill will increase with that weapon.

The missions themselves are still as engrossing as they have always been, with a wide variety of situations to get in and out of including some stealth, all out shootouts, burglary and even some street racing and hydraulics showing off at a car meet and much more. There’s so much more variety here than in the previous GTA games that it’s a remarkable achievement to improve on what was already considered a highly entertaining game.

The gang element is handled as you would expect and is similar to previous GTA titles however at certain stages in the game you are able to fight for turf and even take other gang members out on the road with you to cause carnage and murder the opposing gangs. This is actually real good fun and an excellent mini game within the game. In fact talking of mini games, there are several including playing games on a console within the game world or even a game of pool at a bar. If you don’t fancy that then maybe you could head off to a nightclub and dance the night away with some rhythm action type game play and oh boy does CJ have some killer moves! There are loads of things to do and quite frankly you will need to invest the time playing to discover all of these.

Sex features in the game once more and yes you can take a hooker, have sex and then kill her to get your cash back. Although this time round the game offers a different spin whereby if you become “pimp” enough the hookers will actually pay you to have sex with them! Also CJ can now have a number of girlfriends to take out on dates and whatnot; and then eventually have sex if he treats them nicely. I could go on and on about what features San Andreas has to offer because there is so much to discover once you start playing, so I’m going to stop here and if you wish to find out more then I suggest you buy the game and see for yourself.

Graphics:

When I think of Xbox I automatically think of nice looking graphics, which is my right I guess to have this opinion of the console. Well GTA: San Andreas and graphics are a little bit of a sore point in my opinion as the game looks pretty much the same as the PS2 version. Well I suppose this wouldn’t be the first time this has happened to a game as there are many multi format releases that look identical. To Rockstar’s credit they have added some minor amounts of polish here and there with perhaps some slight sheen on vehicles and more noticeable shadows on occasion but nothing that is truly noticeable enough to say wow that’s pushing the hardware. So it’s basically a no expense spared port of a PS2 title.

Wel enough moaning as the graphics are not the best but due to the scale of the game, one shouldn’t expect mind blowing graphics. GTA games have never really been about graphics and have a shifted focus on game play. Either way they do the job and are adequate even though we could all have hoped for graphics that actually push the hardware in this version.

Sound:

Well the soundtrack is once again filled with a variety of styles from real artists and is mostly from the 90’s era as you can tune in to several themed radio stations. I actually love the soundtrack provided as I can remember a lot of the tunes featured. For those of you not so keen then once again you are able to use custom soundtracks to spice things up a little.

The voice acting in the game is of a very high standard even though the portrayal of gangster life in the hood is a little cliché which results in some equally cliché dialogue at times. However amongst the adult language there are some real funny moments which are worth the price of admission. It’s also good to see that CJ can respond to pedestrians both positively and negatively when they address him directly on the streets. Either way the combination of music, dialogue, ambience and of course the usual sound effects makes the sound quality excellent overall.

Longevity:

GTA: San Andreas is a long title and because of its sandbox, free roaming nature means you can spend as little or as long as you wish playing. The story will take some time to complete as well but as I said you are left with a city to explore with loads of things that you could quite easily miss. There are no Xbox Live options here and rightly so as this is purely offline single player territory although at some points a 2nd player can join in the action for a while which is a first for GTA games.

Overall:

I guess once you can get over the fact that this is a PS2 port which is 6 months overdue and if you are a graphics junkie then you might be a little disappointed with the overall look of the game, then there is a masterful gaming experience to be had here. Yes Rockstar could be a little more supportive of Xbox but at least Xbox owners get the game in the first place so in that respect should be grateful. With tons of new features added to the overall experience that immerse the player further into the game world than previous GTA titles, San Andreas is a step in the right direction and very much worthy of praise. I’m not sure if all players will warm to the CJ character but then again you could say that about any gaming character that has some personality. Playing the game is very easy to get into, even though the story portion of the game takes a while to start getting really interesting. Some of the controls and cameras might take a little getting used to as well such as doing drive by shootings effectively, but overall should be nothing too taxing for the average gamer. There are some moments of high frustration, but as a gamer you should be used to these moments by now.

I like San Andreas as it offers so much to mess around with on an unprecedented level. Now I could lower my final score for it being a PS2 looking game or that its 6 months late but then that would be unfairly robbing the game of its deserved score which if you look at it objectively you can clearly see that the good outweighs the bad. If you have played or own the PS2 version then I would recommend that you stay clear unless you want custom soundtracks or more memory for pictures and replays.