10 Things I Enjoy About Grand Theft Auto San Andreas

Grand Theft Auto IV will be hitting the shelves in a few weeks. I had me a hankering for some Grand Theft Auto action, and decided to reinstall the PC version of Grand Theft Auto San Andreas and play it once again.

I first tried the GTA-SA two years ago, just before I was hooked on World of Warcraft. I never was a huge fan of driving sims, but an hour into the game, and another couple hours, and another several hours- I was completely and totally hooked.

In fact, I may have called in sick a couple of times just to have some more game time. I've played the hell out of my XBox version of GTA-SA, as far as I could remember, and it was some of the best gaming moments of my life.

So here I am, tagging up the streets of Los Santos once again, taking a break in between runs. I decided to write a little bit on GTA-SA, just before GTA IV sucks me in by the end of the month.


10 Things I Enjoy About Grand Theft Auto San Andreas

1. Great Story.

Games are a dime a dozen. Okay, maybe not. I pay top dollar for my games, and at the very least- more than graphics, gameplay or whatever gimmicks- I expect a decent story: something to hold all the game elements in place to make sense in your head.

Grand Theft Auto San Andreas manages not only to come up with a decent story, but a great story. Anyone who's played GTASA can tell that the story is well-researched, well-written and well-executed.

It's a kind of story that truly draws you into the game. You really are Carl Johnson. You really understand the urgency of the situation. Hours go by, and you're still playing- it's that good.

2. Characters You Actually Care About.

I know it's probably part of #1 Great Story, but there's something about the characters of GTASA that makes you want to know more about them.

In the game, you play the role of CJ- Carl Johnson- who, after 5 years in Liberty City, comes home shortly after the death of his mom. Then you get to reunite with your elder brother, Sweet, and your younger sister Kendl. After a while, you roll again with your Grove Street Homies- Ryder and Big Smoke.

Every time the game introduces a new character- it's always fun. Not only because you have a new set of missions to accomplish, but you also get to know a little more about the people in CJ's life.

3. The Open Sandbox Setup.

There are only a few games with an open sandbox setup: games where you can choose to follow the main storyline right away, or just go ahead and take your time do other things- in the case of GTASA, there's just so MUCH you can do. Sure, the sidequests alone are alright, but you can do anything from collecting cars, to fighting crime as a vigilante, or making money as a petty crook, or take the 'hood by force of arms.

Alternately, you can just take a scenic tour of the city, or just do random acts of violence just because you feel like it. And that's the beauty of it- you can do anything you want, any time you want. Now that's a LOT of gameplay.

4. The Variety of Vehicles.

You got all kinds of cars, motorbikes, even choppers and planes, boats, bicycles- everything handles differently, sounds differently- the variety in itself is amazing. Even the vehicle physics- from the way they accelerate, or come to a sudden stop (read: crash!), or jump off a ramp, or skid through a tight turn- only adds so much more appeal to an already appealing game.

5. The Radio Stations.

Being a radio guy, this one particular element is really close to my heart. The game has been using made-up radio stations since the very first Grand Theft Auto, and by the time they came out with Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, they've mastered it to the point of using the radio stations to set the game nicely with music from the time period, with well-written adlibs and even radio commercials.

Cruising around San Andreas with the radio on gives you a great idea that it's the early 90s, with 'contemporary' alternative hits coming out of Radio X, New Jack Swing from CSR, and even dance from SF-UR. If you're the type who digs the oldies, there's Playback FM, The Dust and Bounce. Rounding it off, there's talk radio, country and even K-Jah.

6. Games Within Games.

It's actually hard to define Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. At it's core is a great driving game, but it has lots of action-adventure, strategy, arcade, even some role-playing elements. There's a main storyline, but has so many sidequests involving a variety of gameplay mechanics that GTA-SA comes out as a beautiful hodge-podge of small games in one massive game.

Obviously you can race for money; but you can also do some 'dancing' by keying in combinations of buttons that come out onscreen to Kool & The Gang's "Hollywood Swinging", run stealth missions at night as you break into houses for some loot, take a neighborhood by blasting away at enemy gangs, or even drop by the horse-racing shop and do some gambling for some quick cash.

7. Just A Little Bit of Role-playing.

GTA-SA considers several attributes for you character: respect, body fat, fatigue, muscle, max health, sex appeal, driving and weapon skills.

Naturally, completing quests increase respect, which allow you to handle larger crews of your homies. Picking out the right combination of clothes, tattoos, and haircut adds to (or takes away from) your overall respect and sex appeal (how you affect the ladies).

Your appearance is tied in with muscle and body fat, which you can fix by heading off to a gym, or chowing down at the local Burger Shot. Some ladies prefer the muscular types, others skinny types- you can almost just as easily go back and forth from one body type to another like any Hollywood actor.

The more you do things, the better you get at a certain attribute- whether it's a preference for using a sub-machine gun, driving a motorcycle, or even flying a helicopter- all handy skills for completing quests easier, and therefore completing the game easier.

8. A Whole Lot of Unlockables.

You are rewarded with unlockables for performing certain key tasks in the game- like by completing it, or by tagging up the entire Los Santos neighborhood with spray paint, or winning first place in all the races.

You get anything from bonus clothes that appear in your wardrobe, bonus vehicles that spawn at your house, even gear and weapons everytime you check out the kitchen.

Unlockables also give you handy boosts to your attributes, like maxing out your sex appeal or making you fireproof. But for a lot of people- just like me- it's just the joy of completing everything just to see what the game has to offer.

9. The Voice Acting.

What can I say? The voice acting is INCREDIBLE. Possibly one of the best made for any computer game. The main characters have been voiced out great, and you even have some great cameos for some of the other characters. For me, the two most memorable are Samuel L. Jackson, who brings a lot of mischief and depth to the role of Officer Tenpenny, and you have James Woods who puts in a lot of urgency and smarminess as Mike Toreno.

You also have a lot of other familiar voices in here: David Cross, the late Chris Penn, Ice-T, Peter Fonda, even Michaels Bivins of Bel Biv Devoe, Axl Rose of Guns N Roses, George Clinton, and Chuck D.

10. So Much San Andreas.

At a quick glance, you can tell that The world of Grand Theft Auto San Andreas has been inspired by the real-life neighborhoods in and around the state of California and Las Vegas. The detail is incredible, day or night, and even the weather effects are great.

Usually, it takes me a week to finish most games, and a couple weeks more until the novelty wears off and I start looking for a new game to play. GTA-SA is one of those few games that I end up playing for months- mostly due to the sheer volume of content, and just so many things to do- there's just so much game packed in a few Gigs of hard disk space (or DVD, depending on which version you're playing).

The Final Word

Grand Theft Auto San Andreas is one of those few must-have, must-play games. For me, it's up there with World of Warcraft, and the last few Elder Scrolls games.

If you haven't played it yet, you simply have to. Just in time before GTA IV comes out at the end of this month. I've played it before, and I'm playing it again just to get my GTA fix.

If the hype for Grand Theft Auto IV is huge, it's probably because the bar has already been set so high with the past few GTA games. And given Rockstar Games' track record as far as GTA is concerned, GTA IV promises to be totally kick-ass, probably even bigger (if not as big as) Grand Theft Auto San Andreas.

Cheers, everyone!