E-Mail This Article to a Friend The Grand deception San Andreas pushes the envelope, barely BY JIM MURRAY
	Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Published by Rockstar Games. Developed by Rockstar North. For PlayStation 2. Rated M for Mature.
	Counterpoint He's crazy. Really, he's crazy. I agree that Vice City didn't add much to the original beyond neon lights and Ray Liotta. But San Andreas brings so much more to the table that it's left me floored. Grand Theft Auto 3 was a defining moment in video-game history. That was the first time the medium's potential to immerse players in a complete, organic world was realized. We'd seen its parts before – the living worlds of games like SimCity; the character interaction in the best of Square's RPGs; the "you are there" immediacy of combat in games like Doom – but never had we seen all of these brought together in one incredible package. How does one innovate that much again? Nothing will ever be as huge a leap as that of a blank screen to Pong, but every few years you can point to the game that marked the end of an old era and the beginning of a new one. Pac-Man. Super Mario Bros. Sonic the Hedgehog. Metal Gear Solid. And Grand Theft Auto 3. It's to Rockstar Games' credit that they haven't rested on their laurels with the latest installment of the GTA franchise. To watch a character get fat if he eats too much fast food, to escape a car submerged in the bay, and to have almost unlimited options to accomplish every task set before you. . . . It's almost more than I can stand. Obviously, no game is going to please everyone. But, seriously, you'd have to be crazy not to be head over heels for Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. – Mitch Krpata

Before I get into my review of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, I feel that it’s important for you to know that I never really saw the proverbial "big deal" about the GTA series. When GTA3 was released in late 2001, I’ll admit I was floored by it much like everyone else. However, in the long run I thought it became a chore to do all of the missions, especially the "race against time" campaigns. Frankly, I thought they were a big pain in the ass, and for the most part that they were too difficult.

Despite my problems with GTA3, I still bought Vice City two years ago if only because I got caught up in the hype machine and I expected it to be a different, more diverse game. Well, needless to say, I wasn’t a big fan of Vice City, either. Believe me, I know I’m in the minority, but I felt that it was exactly the same game, only with prettier graphics and that kitschy '80s feel. Honestly? In retrospect, I think Vice City was the most overrated game of the PS2 era, if not all time.

Well, now it’s two years later, and Rockstar Games brings us the next installment of the GTA series, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. This time the setting is early-'90s Los Angeles (in the game it’s called Los Santos. Cute.) with all its stereotypical gang-bangin’ glory. Do you remember movies like Boyz N the Hood and Menace II Society? San Andreas is pretty much like "playing" those movies. You play as C.J., a thugged-out gangsta who’s just returned to da hood to bury his moms (Hey, I’m just trying to re-create a feel here) and to find out who killed her.

So, does San Andreas play just like the other two? Yes and no. Yes, because within the first five hours of play I noticed that not much had changed other than the better-looking graphics, the better music (dude, Guns n’ Roses? Danzig? And N.W.A.? RAWK!!), and the free-roaming camera (a much-needed addition). Other than those changes, I was noticing that the missions felt the same, and you always had the now-stale option of "jacking" a car or beating up a ho. Yeah, it was innovative three years ago, but now? Eh.

It’s the new RPG style of play that makes San Andreas so different from the other two previous games. Now you have the option of literally "beefing up" your character by taking him to the gym to work out (y’know, for that nice chiseled look) or by stuffing his face at all the fast-food joints littered around the cities (for that Fat Albert look). You can also take your character to the barber, the tattoo parlor, clothing shops, dance clubs (where you’ll try to impress the ladies by dancing like Parappa the Rapper), and so on. Truthfully, I don’t know whether or not I even really like doing all of this stuff; it’s very Sims-like – and I hate the Sims. Doing these things doesn’t really have much effect on San Andreas’s story, so to me it’s sort of a waste of time. That’s just me, though. I play most video games to really get into the story, and things like going on virtual dates just don’t do it for me.

Look, it comes down to this: If you loved the previous two Grand Theft Auto games, go out now and buy this game. San Andreas is three times bigger than Vice City. There’s a virtual LA, San Francisco, and Las Vegas for you to shoot up and wreak havoc on. It’s better-looking than the previous entries, there’s more to do, and the control of the vehicles and weaponry has been much improved.

However, if you are like me and you think that the whole series is just tired and no longer innovative? Well, I’d say it’s a solid rental. It’s really not that much different from Vice City, and it just really feels like a chore to me to press on in the game. I guess I’m just sick of these types of games and all the awful clones that have been drowning the industry for the past two years. Sorry, Rockstar, it just isn’t for me.

Score for fans of GTA: 10.0 (out of 10)

Score for snobs like me: 6.0 (out of 10)