10/29/2004
We Have Arrived
Long awaited, the GAME OF THE CENTURY is finally here. As you all know, I have been waiting for this game eagerly and would have been playing it a LOT sooner had Rockstar not decided to change the release date. Oh well, Bygones... Anyway, the important thing now is that I have it and am currently spending ALL my free time playing it. The only reason I have time to post right now is because I am at work. Even when I tell myself that I will take 10 minutes from the game and go post (Dust), I still cannot, I mean cannot, bring myself to put down the controller. That's how addicting this game is. I took off one day of work to play it when I should have taken a week. I anticipated being able to write an adequate review of the game after only 1 day of play. What was I thinking? I can only write what I have experienced thus far, which isn't much let me tell you. Though I have not gone far in the game, I still have a lot to say. This game is incredible, byfar the best game on the market. What I'm saying is THIS GAME IS BETTER THAN EVERY OTHER GAME OUT THERE! Yes, even Halo, sorry Sean. I love it. It has lived up to all my expectations and amazed me with gameplay that I could only dream of but didn't dream of because it was too unthinkable to think about, much less dream about. So far in the game I have: bought a wardrobe of gang colored clothes (and nice clothes also), spray painted my set with green spray paint on numerous walls, obtained a GIRLFRIEND (can you believe it), and kissed her, set myself on fire, set my house on fire, shot down a helecopter, shot down an AIRPLANE, bench pressed 350lbs, ran 347 miles, gotten 4 tattoos, 3 different hairstyles, eaten 40 salads, shot countless rival gang members, upgraded my machine pistol status to "hitman" level, taken pictures of anything and everything I could with my CAMERA, robbed a liquer store, stole a tractor, completed 2 home invasion robberies, played 2 PLAYER MODE, and MUCH MUCH MORE! Let me break it down for you:
You start out as a skinny CJ from Liberty city, coming back to Los Santos to bury your mom. After meeting all the old G's CJ decides to stay in the LS and help out his remaining family. This is the point at which the game takes off. As CJ you will complete all kinds of missions just like the other grand theft auto games but this time its more like Gang Tapes, no joke. I have heard all kinds of phrases pulled from gang movies in the game: "What up cuz", "you know where your're at, fool?" and "straight gangsta cuz" There are so many phrases thrown out on the skreet that you I haven't heard the same one twice. One of the coolest things in this game (in my opinion) is the ablility to ride a bicycle. You start the game on a bike and later on, will find many more types of this vehicle. There are BMX bikes (with pegs so you can carry another person) , mountain bikes, and racing bikes. The bikes are fun to play with, do tricks on and jump off of. You can bunny hop, stoppie, wheelie, and many other "in air" controlled tricks as well. Each bike has different controls than the others, the BMX bike is obviously better at tricks than the mountain bike, the mountian bike is great on dirt roads and in the...mountians. The racing bike can pass even PCJ if you can pedal (tapping X) fast enough.
There are so many statistics in the new game that make CJ a complex individual. There is a statistic's box you can pull up wth L1 but besides the most basic stats (fat, muscle, stamina, respect, sex appeal) there are tons more such as: Driving skill, motorcycle skill, bike skill, pistol skill, machine pistol skill, rifle skill, lung capacity, dance skill and much much more and even more after that. There are a billion mini games to play throughout the game. I bet on horses last night an won 1000 dollars, and CJ's brother has a basketball court in his yard where you can shoot hoops any time you want. CJ also has a game system in his living room that looks suspiciously like an XBOX but plays games reminicient of Atari and Calicovision. I've heard there's even a pool hall where you can shark it up somewhere in the game.
R3 missions are still here in vehicles like ambulances, firetrucks, and police crusiers but I think the best new one is in a moving van. If you press R3 while in a moving van, you can start a "home invasion" mission during the night. You must go into any home and bring out valuables to the van, you can do this by taking out any inhabitants in the home (this may be dangerous, considering most homeowners in LS are armed with a shotgun) or quietly sneak around in the new "stealth mode" which is right out of Manhunt.
You can also take over other gangs hoods by provoking a gang war and surviving (and killing) 3 waves of the rival gang. This earns you respect and cash. With enough respect, you can take members of your gang on missions or just drive bys. I am currently up to 4 memebers, which means that, at any time, I can recruit any member of my gang to go with me...wherever I choose to go. They will protect me, fight with me, and kill any rival gang members (or cops) in sight. This is nice when you don't want the wanted level from killing a cop who is shooting at you. You can command your gang to attack him and you don't receive stars for his murder.
The radio stations in SA are nothing compared to Vice City's radio, but I don't think anything could ever live up to them. There are some nice additions to the sound in GTA such as RAP. I'm so glad we finally have something to bump in the trunk of the lowriders. Speaking of lowriders, there are many more in this game than the last and, there is a Mod Garage to which you may take any car for modification. In this garage you may add, paint jobs, colors, hydrolics, a subwoofer and sound system, many different wheels, soft tops, hard tops, exhausts, fenders, and much much more. I have made a lowrider exactly like the one in Training Day.
Another great thing about SA is the voice acting. The voice acting is great so far and I have no reason to think that it will not get better as the game goes on. One of the first voices you hear in the game is the one and only Samuel L. Jackson ( I know Sean, I know). He plays the corrupt cop in this one, but I believe the voice you hear in the game is the voice of Jules in Pulp Fiction. There are other big names in the game such as Ice-T who plays, guess who...A big name rapper called Madd Dogg. I recognise many more voices that I cannot as of yet put names to but I'm sure the cast list is in the booklet somewhere or online. I just haven't had time to look for it because I've been PLAYIN THE GAME, FOR POO'S SAKE! Anyway, I leave you with that, because my thumbs are tired from playing and typing. If you buy one game in your life, let it be this one. This is byfar the best...Oh I already said that. Well you know how I feel. I give this game 27 stars out of 5. I must rest, for there lies more GTA in my future.
Currently listening to: The phone ring and ring (I won't pick it up, I'm writing my review)
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Wow man, I guess the review was worth the wait. I still can't believe that you tried to put out that fire with spray paint. Spray paint is flammable dude! Anyway, the game sounds awesome and I can't wait to play it!
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