Okay, To just jump right into it, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is one of the best damn games I’ve ever played. The Gameplay has been revamped. First person mode in the sniper rifle and the Rocket Launcher has been re-coded and control has been re-written to provide you with the New L1 Button to fire weapons. This is made for those who prefer to reach for that with the left index finger rather than hunt for the O button. Car control has been re-written as well. Unlike in GTA Vice City, you can no longer just hop in the car and be one of the best drivers. You must now bring up a little meter called the Driving Skill Meter – or Bike skill, or Cycling skill, etc depending on the vehicle you are in – which basically ticks up the longer you drive. Driving school also helps out as well… ALOT.
The entire San Andreas map is huge as well. 6 times the size of Vice City. From Los Santos, to the Badlands, to the Desert, to the country side and all the towns with in, to San Fierro and Las Venturas. Hell, even to Saint Marc’s Bistro (Thats right, Liberty City!) for a brief moment during 1 mission. Several recognizeable Los Angeles landmarks can be found in this game, such as The Watt’s Towers, The Great Western Forum of Los Angeles, The Hollywood Walk of Fame, The Golden Gate Bridge, and even The Vegas Strip. Most people who live in the Los Angeles area can really appreciate this game. Unlike the game, “True Crime, Streets of L.A.”, areas are actually recognizable. For example, someone could easily recognize whether they were in Inglewood, Compton, City of Commerce, or other areas. And most of the things that go on in these areas can be found in this game as well, for example, the gunshots in the night of a drive-by taking place somewhere nearby, gang tags slapped around various places, low-riders, street racing, riots, and more. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas frankly can appeal to anyone.
The Storyline is intense. From the moment Carl (you) arrives in Los Santos, back from Liberty City, to bury his mom, He is pulled over and tossed out of the back seat of the cab he is in and picked up by two corrupt police officers who after a long talk drop you off in rival gang “Ballas” territory where you must hop on the newest addition to the Grand Theft Auto series, the BMX, and peddle your way back to Grove St. where the action really begins. You must lead your failing gang and family back to power. The story has a deep feeling of intensity, rivalry, and betrayal. Even Salvatore Leone (Grand Theft Auto III) makes an appearance. Other appearances are made by Claude (Yup, hes the Grand Theft Auto II and III guy 
), Paul Rosenburg – remember the lunatic attourney from Vice City?, And a couple of members from Love Fist (Remember these guys from Vice City? The English Rock Band Guys).
Rockstar has also tossed in a new feature that people may more or less realize is very important, your eating, excercising, and stamina. If you become fat and eat lots of junk food without working it off at the gym, you can become very slow and heavy. People on the street will also recognize this and insult you for it. You can also do alot of running and walking around to build up your stamina. The Treadmill or the Bike at the gym doesn’t hurt either. The Bicycle, Mountain Bike, or BMX ain’t to bad for building up your stamina and cycling skill at the same time. Building up you stamina is also essential for another feature which is your muscle. You can lift weights to build up Carl’s muscle which I assure you is a big difference from when he is skinny. People will also recognize the fact that Carl is very muscular. The women especially will complement you.
In a welcome addition that many have been asking for since Grand Theft Auto 3, you also can now swim in this game. A catch, however, has been added in the form of Lung Capacity which limits Carl to a certain amount of time underwater depending on how much time you actually spend in and underwater. Now many people will wonder how this ties into the storyline. For a certain mission, you must have you Lung Capacity at a certain level to be able to do it. Drving Skill is essential to be at a certain point to take place in the Hotring race. Its also a very good idea to have your driving skill high if you plan on participating in the Bloodring race. Also, for a certain girlfriend you gain later in the game, her requirements tie in with these physical attributes of yours. And she is needed for you to gain access to a certain mission later in the game.
Graphics haven’t changed much visual wise, but Presentation wise, the game is awesome. The draw distance has been dramitcally increased, so more is presented at once, and a brand new graphic engine has been introduced which adds new lighting effects which brings out the car sirens and police chopper lights more. Especially the Police Chopper. The search light of the Police Chopper has been shown to be more realistic and is in all honesty, some of the best presentation I’ve ever seen of lighting in a GTA game so far. But the players faces now are no longer stationary and actually move when they talk. They can shift facial expressions. The most dynamic facial expressions I’ve seen is by the various girlfriends, especially on a bad date. Car models have also been re-designed to give a different lighting effect in different times of day. Oh, and by the way, you can actually now make out the lettering on the signs.
Sound (Audio) and Music Wise, the game is Awesome. Pedestrian commentary has increased by over an hour of recorded statements, and people actually react to the way you look. The actors are excellent and bring out their charecters attitude excellently. For example, Young Maylay voices Carl Johnson like he actually is the charecter. Samuel L. Jackson also voices the corrupt Officer Frank Tennpenny. And of course, being Samuel L. Jackson, he voices him down to the letter like the bad guy he is. Excellent work on the part of the voice actors. In terms of music, the game is excellent. Of course being Rockstar, they had to get music of the times, and being the early 90′s they got the best radio stations they could. They’ve got everything from Gangsta Rap, to The Funk, classic Oldies, all the way to classic and Modern Rock. Even house music makes an appearance. Personally, I have my favorite songs to listen to so I really don’t have a favorite station. An excellent soundtrack, all the same. The Double CD set is now available on Interscope Records.
Overall, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is an excellent game that EVERYONE should add to their collection. Note that EVERYONE excludes anyone still in Grade school… That age group should NOT be playing this game yet. The GTA series is controversial enough. But aside from that, overall, the game deserves to be in the best of our collections. Line it up right in there with GTAIII and GTA Vice City because this game is great. I give it a 9.9 out of 10.
