The level of freedom in the GTA franchise has always been it's biggest selling feature
Let me address the issue of San Andreas being nothing more than an upgrade which has been floating around forum boards for many weeks and months. In many ways this is true. The fundamental gameplay elements remain almost identical to what Rockstar accomplished with GTA 3 and VIce City. That being said, the sheer amount of growth, character development and freedom afforded to the player is unparalleled and when you pack your bags for San Andreas I imagine many of you won't be returning for weeks, possibly months.
You can imagine the pressure of having to review a title like this. With 107 main story missions and countless hidden items to locate such as gang tags, oysters etc not to mention simply experimenting with insanely cool extras such as base jumping, it's simply impossible to test everything out in the time given to review San Andreas. I managed to see and do quite a lot and I still don't believe I've scratched the surface as to what can be accomplished with a little devilish imagination. I suggest playing SA with a pen and paper and jotting down all the cool places you want to investigate and things you want to experiment with. After awhile you will forget because so many new ideas are popping up constantly.
There is no point rehashing the story (located below). Needless to say you're CJ who reluctantly rejoins his gang in the city of Los Santos. While the entire state appears to be opened from the beginning, you won't be able to make your way into other areas until you pass certain objectives or you'll be met with force. Don't attempt "border crossing" either as that won't work. Trust me on that one.
Again the beauty of this game is being able to decide when you do anything. If you play the game straight through, mission after mission, you'll miss out on awful lot. Some will argue and have, that the extra side missions in the series have been useless busy work artificially prolonging the game until the inevitable linear end and yes, San Andreas continues the tradition of screwing around for hours, days, weeks maybe even months of exploration without even touching a mission. But it should be noted that this time around, you'll need to progress through the storyline to actually progress CJ's character.
Much has been written about the cosmetic enhancements that you can put CJ through in the game and it works to incredible effect. Not only do the clothes make the man, but also the tattoos, food, hair and attitude. As you get further on in the game, your character will be a direct result of how you have treated him. Conversations with characters on the street can be handled nicely or not (with a directional d-pad selection) and you'll notice that if you take CJ one way or the other (call it the dark side or light side if you will) his responses will start to gravitate towards his "attitude" whatever that happens to be. You will also notice the insane amount of voicework in the game - not only through the hundreds of conversations CJ will have with scripted characters during scripted events - but the comments made by passerby who just can't help themselves and need to comment on the way CJ looks. You can also listen closely as they'll be talking to each other this time around.
One of the elements I have sorely disliked in the series is the terrible shooting and aiming. It has always been the weakest part of the franchise. I was surprised to see that Rockstar has made an attempt to change this for the better in SA, considering they didn't seem to think it was "broken" after GTA3 because Vice City was more of the same. In SA CJ will have to get a lot of experience with handling weapons before he can start using them to great effect. The more you practice, the better you will become and what I discovered was that just shooting people on the street didn't help. You'll need to fight in real situations.
Powering up and education is an underlying mechanic in SA, in some ways giving the game a pseudo RPG feel, which I really like. From driving to shooting to skydiving (and more!) you will need to educate your character before you can really dig in to the depth of control that Rockstar North has afforded you. These usually come in the way of schools where you can test your abilities. Some players won't take kindly to this dramatic addition to the series, but I welcomed it as it added challenge and depth to the foundation of the gameplay. Without it, SA might have been too much of a cakewalk for vets of the series.
Using that as segue point, I can assure you that even oldskool vets will have their asses handed to them over and over again. Even carjacking this time around isn't like taking candy from a baby. These guys fight back. But harkening back to the education system, spend some time weightlifting and CJ will be able to handle himself in physical situations. One of the best innovations in SA is the ability to not have to rewind the tapes to the beginning of a particular mission if you fail. It's a godsend and makes the game flow much smoother, while still allowing you a chance to get it right.
Everything you loved about previous GTA games is present and accounted for: the numerous vehicles (land, sea, offroad, air) with quite a few suprises that you haven't seen in screenshots, plethora of side missions, empire building, drivebys, hidden items and so much more that I literally cannot remember it all. Rockstar didn't just leave it at that though; there are a lot of new gameplay modes and minigames you've never seen before. Hint. Better bring a friend along.
Once you are able to travel freely between cities, San Andreas literally and figuratively opens up to the player. Making your way from Los Santos to San Fierro or Los Venturas is an adventure on its own. Encountering rural life is often hilarious and you can tell that Rockstar enjoys skewering the simple folk as much as they do the urban folk. That's not too say rural people are simple. I meant they lead a simpler lifestyle. Throw in CJ and you've got one fish out of water story going on in the backwoods of Flint County.
From an audio point of view San Andreas is as fresh and fantastic as ever. A great voice cast punches up a script that would have delivered a well received Hollywood movie and the soundtrack is second to none. The radio stations are back in full force and you might just find yourself taking a midnight stroll in the countryside just to listen to them.
After all this, I feel I'm not even close to finishing this review because there is just so much going in San Andreas it's like 5 games in one: part RPG, part adventure, part action, part racer and part sim. And it does it just as well as the best games in any of those genres. It's daunting simply to review a game like this, nevermind give birth to it. Rockstar has created one of the best games ever released on any system...and remember, I wasn't a fan of the last two games. As I sit here staring at this page I suddenly realize that the only possible way this review can ever be finished is if you, the reader, buys the game and experiences it for yourself. I don't remember the last time I gave a game this close to a perfect score, but I stand by this one. It is a masterpiece of gaming even with it's visual flaws.