Game of the generation. Simply put, nothing compares to the sheer size scale and diversity of the monster that is GTA:SA
Why? Because San Andreas is perhaps the biggest, longest game on PS2 and easily the most diverse. Name one other game in which you can ride a bike through a desert, gamble in a casino, fly a fighter jet, parachute down from a mountain top, get fat, drive an R.C helicopter, rob houses and even hi-jack a train, all in one single session of play. And that's what San Andreas is really about.
I could go on and on about how SA has over 100 missions, countless mini-games and side-missions, property to buy, items to collect and how it will last (if your planning on finishing it 100%) over 150 hours. But I won't. Instead i'll say this is a game were anything goes. If you want to stalk that old woman and beat her over the head with a golf club in a dark back alley, before running her corpse over with a lorry you are free to do so. And that is what really makes San Andreas great, that, between the excellent mix of missions that require you to rob a casino, sneak your way into Area 69, sky dive from a plane and even Return to Liberty City to rub out a particular gang there is a freedom, a freedom to do what ever you want. And that is what makes the gameplay so damn addictive. Oh, and you can play pool. Score!
San Andreas improves over Vice city in many ways, you can now swim to the depths of the ocean, for instance, but one area I feel VC has a slight edge is the music department. With its collection of 80's tunes, Vice has the best music in the GTA series, but that isn't to say San Andreas isn't a joy to listen to. The radio hosts are still witty, funny and a pleasure to listen to, the music, despite a more 'hip hop' feel features alot of variety and even a country music station.
Now, the GTA series never had the best graphics, but San Andreas performs well. There are very few problems with pop-up and nothing that will spoil the overall experiance. Any problems you do encounter, however, can be excused simply because the game world is so huge. San Andreas contains 3 cities, 12 towns, and a massive countryside and desert area, even a mountain. Its an amazing thing, especially because this is being done on a PS2, hardly cutting edge hardware now is it?
The value of the game needs no explanation. It is simply one of the biggest and the most diverse games on PS2. No game deserves £40 as much as this one does. I say again, this is the game of the generation. You'll excuse its flaws, because no game has ever provided such an experiance before. If you don't buy this game, I pity you. This is simply amazing and if you call yourself a gamer, you need this. As close to perfect as any game this gen will ever get. A must-buy.