It's a Large World, After All
I honestly could do without the language because it's over the top bad. Now staying true to the characters and environment they grew up in, the language would be an authentic perspective of the life in SA. For this reason I understand what Rockstar was trying to accomplish, but it would have been nice to have a filter. I can't play this game around anyone due to the language content. As the story moves on this becomes less of a problem. When you move from one city to the other, the environment no only changes but the type of people living in that environment. This is also another authentic touch that Rockstar paid allot of attention too.
So how about the game play. For GTA fans it's more of what you love and things you have never experienced. You can drive cars, ride motorcycles, ride boats but now you have Bicycles, Helicopters, Planes, Jets and even a jet pack. All the vehicle types are done well and are fun to use.
The missions are much more involved than before and the Story is done well. You can purchase property and run businesses just like Vice City but the options are in greater numbers.
The State you run around in is massive and you will always have plenty to do. It's one of those games you can pick up and enjoy for hours of just to kill 20 minutes.
The dating portion of the game is the only thing I did not like about the game because it forces you to do stupid things for very little reward. The last thing I want to do is run around and make my date happy by driving or dining her. This component can be left out and I would not miss it.
You can change your characters appearance by changing clothes, hair styles or body type. The body type will change based on how you eat and how much exercise you do. It's done very well because it never becomes old or too involved. I personally like to run around like Arnold. It looks cool when my character has muscles bulging out. The only draw back is that you will run slower when you’re bigger. You can also be bigger by having too much Fat. Any Fat Albert fans will be pleased to know you can also run around like a Jelly Belly.
The game involves your character CJ. You objective are to gain respect in a town you once grew up in and eventually rise to power. You have rival gangs, bad cops and other things to prevent you from rising to power. You also develop some good Allies along the way.
The weapons are bigger and better than ever, the controls are improved the aiming is done great and just about anything you could have done better from the previous too titles was implemented here. Even the option to customize your rides. Change the paint, rims, Nitrous and even lower the car and add hydraulics. It's all here.
Basically, it's a living breathing world that you can run around in and explore on your terms. This is a game that many will enjoy and makes you wonder what Rockstar will be up to next.
-Proximo