The games rock solid features completely overshadows the vast amount of small yet annoying bugs.
User Rating: 8.9 | Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas PS2
Over the years, there have been spawned oh so many Grand Theft Auto games, from its subtle roots with no-brain drive n' kill action, through mafia action to urban gang wars. The game series has come along way now, and the game design feels defined at last, when playing, the old games feel like prototypes just for this game. They kept the old style, refined some key points, and put it a whole lot of new nicks and knacks. This is both a good thing as well as a bad thing, because at some points it feels like they completely copied from the old games, which by no means is a bad idea, if the stuff they copied weren’t broken. Somehow, they managed to move the same bugs from Liberty City all the way through Vice City and now to San Andreas. At times you wonder what the developers were thinking, bugs that really shouldn’t be there is there, like for instance driving at top speed on the highway, it may occur that the road completely disappears, its still there though, you just can’t see it. This is the one major bug that so far has occurred to me, but the minor bugs are the ones that really annoy you, because unlike the big ones, the small ones happen all the time, and I can name hundreds of them, but I’m just going to point out a few. Jammed garage door, this is no major bug, annoying to boot none the less, it has happened to me millions of times, and when it happens there is no way to get inside, I tried knocking, jumping and slamming my head against it, it just won’t budge. Cars disappearing, again this is no major bug, but it gets on your nerves when it happens. We’ve all tried this, driving around in a crappy assed car, and as your going the fastest the piece of junk will let you, you see the most beautiful car pass by, you jump on the breaks, turn around and starts following the car that’s just getting out of sight, and as soon as you get within a proper line of sight, you realize that your Lamborghini just turned into a pick-up truck. The graphics is acceptable, the game is built on the same engine as the 2 previous games, and its starting to age, and so is the PS2. The graphics hasn’t changed much, some small effects has added here and there, for instance when it’s hot, it looks hot, and when its night, it looks dark and grainy, and most models has better facials, and the cars has been polished a bit. Other then that, the game looks absolutely like the previous games, though they aren’t looking bad, they’re starting to suffer the terrible rage of age. The sound is as always good; the dialog is done perfect; the car engines sound like they could tear down a mountain, and the radio sounds just as great as Vice City. But what the hell happened to the gunfire? For some unknown reason, all the guns sounds like wimpy firecrackers that couldn’t blow a guys hand off, even if he wanted it to. This wasn’t a problem in the previous games, where the gunfire sounded like gunfire, but now, it doesn’t, and I just don’t get it. But in between this, is a fantastic game, with a great story, great action, LOTS of variety, and endless amounts of fun. Just like in the old games, the cities feel alive, they are huge well made and with lots of detail, a small thing I noticed that I really likes, was the fact that on one side of the railroad track, is the slums, on the other side, is the good looking neighborhood. The missions are well made; they vary much from mission, both in difficulty and objective. And with great acting to get you through the story, it feels like your playing a movie. And in this game, unlike the previous ones, is it the small features that makes the game feel whole, CJ’s ability to grow fat, train muscles, and enhance his driving, shooting, boating, flying, and his cycling skills really keeps the game running, and with tons of missions you won’t go bored for a while. But if you somehow do feel like the game is running a bit slow, or you just think its time to do something else, why no go around the back yard, shoot some hoops, or sit back in your couch and play some ol’ school gaming on your TV, or how about entering a race, a low ride competition, or whatever fits your needs, San Andreas got it. This game is a classic, no doubt one of the greatest this year, and if you like the whole Boys n’ The Hood feel, this might just be the best game in the series as well. 
