Review: GTA San Andreas

Hey folks; I hope you had a great break, but for me, its back to the grindstone. I could choose not to do this, but I want to. I really do. Its nice reviewing all the games of my past.

So, yes. I pulled out my old copy and started the game all over again and relived the moments of my childhood. Arguably one of the greatest games of the decade, Grand Theft Auto San Andreas.


So while playing the game, the first thing I must immediately comment on is the soundtrack. A marvelous account of music from the sixties onwards to the beginning of the game in 1992.
(Side fact; same year I was born)
One song of mention would be "A Horse With No Name" by America. This song actually got me onto the band. And they say games don't stimulate children to the outside world!
Not only was the soundtrack amazing, but the gameplay was very smooth. GTA was known for their smooth AI's and also how easily the game ran. But what this game really runs off is the fantastic gameplay. Rich, full, enticing and brilliant. Samuel L Jackson as Officer Tenpenny was a fantastic addition to the game and made the most fantastic bad guy to face your Protagonist, Carl "CJ" Johnston.
The storyline, the brilliant acting and even the Sound FX everywhere you went, was utterly brilliant. There's really not any more words in the English language to describe this game. 


Now, sadly, onto the bad points.
The game, while utterly brilliant, lacked just that small spark and that small spark was the graphics. While perfectly fine for its time, they were not as perfect as they possibly could have been. While looking back of its previous title, Grand Theft Auto Vice City, the graphics looked as though they were only slightly enhanced and changed, when barely a year later came the release of Mass Effect.
Sure the game was over a year later after the release, and a lot can change in a year, so I would agree with your statement.
While the large majority of the voice acting was just brilliant, some of the voices were on the borderline for racism and stereotypical. But one (other) could argue that if one could not be made fun of, no one can be. So in fairness, I am only disgruntled by some voices of characters such as Sean "Sweet" Johnson (The Protagonist's brother), Ryder and OC Log.


These simple annoyances can be overlooked and GTA San Andreas is a fantastic addiction to any player's list and is best to divulge into your love for gameplay, carnage, or the use of cheats for weird and wacky moments, such as parachuting off the modeled mountain of Mount Diablo. 


Out of 10, I gave Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas an 8.5/10