Huge.
User Rating: 8.7 | Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas PS2
I am not a fan of the whole "gang scene" theme to any game or movie but this game is fun in spite of that. The game world is huge. I was getting lost on the first city and that is only 1/4th of the map. The cities have their own unique look and are very well done. The country side transition between each city is neat and probably my favorite place to do missions. Considering the size of the environment the graphics are great. The little effects are what make them good. When it rains the screen gets grainy and grey or when it’s hot you can see the heat in the air, it all looks very good. There are a few problems with textures waiting to load until you are pretty close but they are not obvious unless you are flying around buildings. And there are a few frame-rate issues but it always remains playable. The game-play is still rock solid, nothing really new here in my mind. The effect that the physical shape of your character has on movement is neat and being able to change his clothes and hairstyle is a great touch. You can customize cars now but due to the disposable nature of cars in the game there is not much point to it. I like the story allot, the voice acting is great and the characters are memorable. The cut scenes are very well done and feel like you are watching a movie. The other GTA games never did draw me into the story and running around causing random destruction got old. But this game has me wanting to complete the missions. All in all it is a great game and should not be missed if you are mature enough to play it. But be warned, it is rated M for a reason. 
