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Platform: Playstation
2
Related Links: Review: Grand Theft Auto III (PS2) Review: Grand Theft Auto - Vice City (PS2) Review: Max Payne 2 - The Fall of Max Payne (PS2)
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Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
The Grand Theft Auto franchise will soon make its third and final appearance on this generation of consoles. With the first two titles ranking among the most acclaimed and best selling games of all time, all eyes are focused on Rockstar Games as it slowly rolls out information about this final work in the new trilogy.
Exit Coppola and Scorsese, enter the Hughes Brothers The Biggest change in San Andreas is the change in setting. Gone are the gangster film inspired looks of the first two games replaced by “gangsta” stylings straight out of early 90's hip-hop. Los Santos, San Andreas, is modeled after Los Angeles in the same, playfully loose |
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way Vice City was based on Miami—with broad strokes and borderline offensive stereotypes. But, San Andreas is a big state and the game features a half-dozen other areas to explore, each based on California communities like Beverly Hills and Compton. These areas are as detailed as anything we saw in GTA3 or Vice City and the game actually features the areas between the neighborhoods, so there will be less bustling, more laid back moments to reflect on life in the cruel world of GTA. Well, maybe not, but at least you can guarantee there will be lots of new things to do in the boonies. |
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It's
all about the Benjamins Obviously, one of GTA's major attractions has always been the vehicles. Screenshots and movies released by Rockstar give lots of clues about potential rides. Low-riders and ATV's, and monster trucks are clearly available and the trailer hints at the possibility of flying a decent-sized plane directly over the main city, which just goes to show how far we've come since GTA3 went under the scissors after September 11.
On top of the vehicles, GTA:San Andreas apparently expands the options a person has to control his own looks. Vice City had its change of clothing; San Andreas has that, plus a local barber shop. How are you going to get the money for new rags or do's? Home invasion, baby. That's right, San Andreas continues the natural evolution of player/environment interaction to its logical conclusion. Players can now rob buildings to finance their life on the mean streets. You
already know you want it Let's face it. San Andreas is a must own title the moment it is released. Just a new Vice City clone with all new settings and cars would be must own because the basic concept is just that much fun to play. But, Rockstar is definitely not playing it safe with GTA:San Andreas. The radically new environments and overall change of tone might be initially jarring, but, in the end, the chance to spend a couple of months wandering around another of Rockstar's amazingly interactive worlds is too much of a good thing to think about passing up.
And here are some official snippets of information from Rockstar:
“We wanted people to be in complete control of their characters. If they didn’t like the way he dressed, they could earn enough money to buy new clothes. The tattoo feature works the same way, only the motivation is different. If you were in a gang, you’d get a gang tattoo showing that.” - Leslie Benzies
New
Camera Controls
Rockstar
North worked very hard to implement a new intelligent camera and at the
same time gave the player complete freedom over camera control if they
choose to use it. The
left analog stick controls the direction a character walks in.
The right analog stick allows for complete camera control, both
in-vehicle and on foot. In weapons mode, the right analog stick allows you to freely target all ranged weapons, if you choose to, and no longer have to stay in a fixed position. Now players can choose to aim with the R-stick while running/STRAFING with the L-stick. This also means that you can look in a different direction while running or driving. So you can look wherever you need to, to get that perfect look at something that will improve your gameplay or performance on a mission.
Dirt
on Cars
As
you drive around in your favorite ride you’ll find that the cars get
dirty— generally people in San Andreas don’t seem to wash their cars
too often and there are actually a lot of filthy cars around the
streets. If you
manage to acquire a nice, spotless car, be warned—constant use will
dirty it up a bit. Dirt
will appear in the obvious spaces—around the wheel wells, around
impact areas after a traffic accident, and on the windshield if you’ve
been going through alleys or parks.
Look out for car washes if you want to keep your car clean and
shiny. Dirty cars are one thing, but San Andreas residents also seem pretty slack when it comes to fixing bumps and scrapes. You’ll notice quite a few cars around San Andreas with varying degrees of damage - broken windows, loose bumpers, and bullet-riddled doors, presumably from previous battles!
Getting the Details Leslie Benzies commented: “We spent a lot of time getting that level of interaction right, and making it unique. We wanted to convey very clearly that the gangs had a certain way of communicating, very definite mannerisms, and yet had to create signs and language all our own that was faithful to the world we’re trying to depict. It was challenging, but it adds a startling level of detail to the game.”
Don’t
forget to eat your greens If CJ forgets to eat he will lose energy and start to get skinny, and will eventually become rather emaciated and weak. His clothes will fit him differently as he gets thinner.
But
its not all about looks, as CJ gets thinner from under-eating he becomes
weaker, he wont have the strength he needs to lift boxes, his speed and
stamina will be greatly reduced as he swims, cycles and runs. As he gets
weaker the force of his punch will dwindle and he won’t last long in a
fight! So,
to stay in shape and keep his strength up CJ will need to eat regularly.
Eating a good solid meal will also restore CJ’s health. Each
type of food has a calorific value which is used to determine how much
the energy/fat will increase. So, after a fight you may want to head over to the nearest hotdog stand to help you feel better. But anyone who thinks that just hanging out eating pizza all day will make you indestructible – you should know better.
Police
AI The police in San Andreas are pretty smart and responsive. They will try a variety of tactics to take down anyone they’ve got it in for. During high-speed pursuits, police will open fire with their weapons and will follow, not only from behind but also from all possible angles—coming at CJ head-on, down side streets, cutting him off or ramming his car in order to end the pursuit. They
are also very skilled at
following a suspect with the spotlights on their helicopters. When they
point one of these lights at you, the light is too bright to see
anything, making it much harder to take out the helicopter or aim at the
cops on the ground in the direction the light is shining from. Shining
bright lights in the eyes of the criminal to paralyze him is a
well-known tactic that is frequently used by LSPD. They also will look
out for their own safety and will seek out and
use cover during gunfights. - Tolen Dante (September 6, 2004) |
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