Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is beginning to weed its' corrupting roots into american society, starting last night. So I managed to snag a copy.
All in all, its mannerisms are very much like its predecessors, GTA III and GTA: Vice City. This time out, it gives you a much larger environment to play around in. Three cities to play in this time, and from what I've been told each city is larger than Vice City was.
For Los Santos, the city you start in, I find it somewhat confining. I can't quite put my finger on it. The city is much tighter than Liberty City, and certainly much tighter than Vice City. The control mechanism is similar to the other two with a few minor changes. I certainly wish I could remap the controls.
This time around, the game takes a RPG like feel with the ability to increase specific stats on CJ, the player character. Stats such as Stamina, Lung Capacity, Fat, Sex Appeal and there are skills such as Melee, Ranged, Driving, Flying, Motorcycle, etc,.
The game slowly introduces you to the joys of Riding a Bike, Running on Foot, Driving, Sprayin', Drive Bys, Eating, Getting Haircuts, Buying new threads and Going to the Gym to workout. At least that's as far as I've taken it in four hours of play. I actually haven't taken too much time to seriously take a look at the landscape but I did jack a police bike and drive out into the hills a bit.
There are games in the game, but the only thing I've tried is a Gladius(?? Tempest meets Galaga) clone which is available by walking into CJ's house and using the TV.
I don't know...not that I live much like a Gangsta but sometimes I wonder if this kind of gaming is too much of a replacement for reality. When I have to worry about how much money I make so I can pay the bills (ALA Sims/Sims2) I don't know how much I can get into it. I got enough of those worries well rooted in reality to want to fret over it in a game.
This game, however, is FUN. And so far with all the little nuances, such as eating/working out/etcm,. , it just doesn't seem like work and in my book...that's a good thing.