10 / 10
03 Oct 2005 at 22:10
Review by: idioticgenius
One word could sum up this review: WOW!
Imagine having a PS1 that you played games on regularly, including GTA2, knowing that VC and GTA3 were already out and that I was getting a PS2 very soon I intended to go for the best! (I got Vice City also to my surprise but thats different story)
The game had a huge impact on me, making me chuck my PS1 an all its games away in the hidden depths of my room and start a search for similar games! What a progression this was from 2D GTA2 to San Andreas! This game is simply the very best, taking me and a million others over a year to get bored of because of the huge amount of freedom and fun on offer, GTA3 and Vice City are nothing compared to this (trust me I completed them all. At least twice...) and even now I have not yet found a game better than San Andreas.
Graphics 10/10
Stunning, every inch of the huge game world has top quality graphics and not a part has been left out, during various types of weather in the game things will change, for instance, fog will reduce visability. Everything is fully detailed, from pedestrians to cars to buildings, not quite looking like something out of a film but very realistic at the least.
Voicing/Soundtrack 10/10
Once again top quality, each character is voiced by famous actors including Samuel L Jackson for officer Tenpenny, James Woods for Mike Toreno and many more including Frank Vincent, Ice T, Chris Penn and THe Game. Sountrack is widely ranged, containing music for everyones taste, rap, classic rock, soul, reggae, country, funk, house and alternative, featuring many famous songs from the early nineties, its even worth listening to songs that you wouldn't normally go near, each song seems good even if you normally hate that sort of thing. Cutscenes and vehicle rides with main characters are well thought out, none of the silent treatment while CJ reads a letter, but instead you get full blown conversations each giving the story more depth ofr making it more amusing.
Pedestrians have conversations too, and will even comment on CJ's appearance!
Controls/Gameplay 10/10
Very easy to get the hang of, strange considering the amount of activities and tricks the game has yet everything is immediately understandable. Some activities involve button combinations or analog stick moving which can prove tricky at first but are easy to get the hang of. Aiming is made easy by holding down one single button (or moving a cursor if there is no target nearby) then blowing the hell out of your target!
Gameplay 10/10
A huge selection of vehicles, all available to find (minus a select few- FBI Truck, Andromada, SWAT Tank, Phoenix) ranging from a bicycle to a Harrier Jet complete with missiles, others include sports cars, boats, tanks, a variety of planes, army helicopters and other types of helicopter. You name it San Andreas has one, even submarines and ships are present in the game although not actuallt controllable. Missions are (mostly) of the finest quality, very enjoyable to play. Even if you don't fancy the missions theres always other activities, some for building stats, some for enjoyment. The game contains not one but three complete sets of hidden packages (well technically the tags arent actually packages before you correct me) including one set that are hidden underwater (yes you can swim), so plenty to do here!
Replay Factor 10/10
Depending on how difficult or enjoyable you find playing the game the first time you will probably have the urge to complete the game 100% at least once but you will probably want to go do the game all over once you've finished once. You can even take the opportunity to just go have some fun in the Hunter, Hydra or Jetpack, cause havoc etc. I myself keep finding myself get the urge to complete San Andreas once again. it really is that good.
Overall 10/10
Widely considered to be the best game ever, no games collection is complete without this game.
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