GTA: San Andreas – The Hills & Fog Of San Fierro Preview

With exactly two weeks to go until the hugely anticipated release of GTA: San Andreas, TVG was invited to RockStarâ??s office to check out the game for one last time before we finally get our hands upon it.

Those who have been following our coverage will have read extensively about Los Santos, the countryside and various other facets of living in San Andreas; however this time around we were taken on a tour of the second city, namely San Fierro.

Unmistakably based around San Francisco, San Fierro marks a diverse change from the orange drenched streets of Los Santos. Replicating the lofty hills and accompanying tram-tracks within San Francisco, the various architecture, a cross between 1920â??s and modern, represents a stark contrast to the ghettos and such that weâ??ve seen in the past. This harks back to the decision of creating an entire state, but not going BIG just for the sake of it, as RockStar North want to ensure that every location is as diverse and unique as possible.

Itâ??s all together a nicer looking place, with a light and breezy atmosphere, and is home to some of the more stranger inhabitants of San Andreas, with plenty of dope-smoking hippies, hilarious homeless people (complete with cardboard boxes on their heads), filo-fax wielding yuppies and a quirky little gay community â?“ all in all one of the most diverse range of people youâ??re likely to meet in your adventures of San Andreas.

Naturally replicating the â??variableâ? weather conditions of San Francisco is key to RockStar North, and as such thatâ??s one of the first things that strike you when you visit San Fierro. Fog rolls into the bay, and weâ??re talking real fog here that changes depending on lighting and can completely engulf you; however drive a few moments and you can find yourself in the clear with the sunshine pelting down. The sheer unpredictability of the weather within San Fierro lends the game a nice level of variety; say for example you find yourself on a chase mission that starts off nicely, but soon find your vision impaired by heavy rain and dense fog and having to drive more carefully as a result. As with so much in San Andreas, itâ??s a little touch that many will overlook, but one that certainly ensures the game feels real and more importantly creates a different experience every time you play it.

Our demonstration kicked off in the â??Hashbury Districtâ? inspired by the Haight Street hippie area in San Francisco made famous in the 1960â??s, with a slightly more â??well-endowedâ? CJ then the last time we saw him, complete with a RockStar hoodie, afro haircut, handlebar moustache and muscles. â??Hashbury-Garcia Joint Festivalâ? banners adorn the street in what promises to be a laid-back time of the year that everybody looks forward to!

Open-air markets, Hot-Dog stands and Tobacconists adorn the streets of San Fierro, creating a very colourful and vibrant feel to the centre of town along with the Garcia park â?“ a popular destination for sun bathers. However itâ??s the recreation of the Golden Gate Bridge that provided the biggest surprise. Unfortunately we only got to see it at a distance, however it was nonetheless astounding and certainly a landmark on the San Andreas map.

Despite being a nice place to just chill and drive around, we soon found ourselves heading towards the Dojo to discover how the different fighting styles work within the game.

â??Maritalâ? Arts allows CJ to train in San Fierro having escaped from a spot of trouble in Los Santos. CJ begins with basic streetfighting skills; however he can train in new fighting styles with the assistance of various senseiâ??s throughout San Andreas. The demonstration gave us an extensive look at the new combat system featured within GTA: San Andreas, which allows players to lock-on with R1 and strafe around opponents in a similar manner to Manhunt. Players are free to perform two different attacks with the triangle and circle buttons, whilst the square button is used to block. In Los Santos style streetfighting the attacks were intense and brutal; what particularly impressed us was just how fluid the hand-to-hand attacks now are and the wider range of moves available to the player, whilst the scope for combos is certainly welcome.

Those who wish to fight with a little more finesse however can enlist the assistance of a sensei to train him in the ways of martial arts. The hilariously stereotypical sensei challenges CJ to fight him and earn his respect before he will bestow the knowledge upon CJ.

Whilst RockStar wouldnâ??t reveal too many details on how many different styles are within the game, we did learn that players have â??oneâ? slot in which they can add a new fighting style. This sits alongside your streetfighting style which CJ always has access to, however any new styles will simply replace the one you had previously, giving a maximum of two different styles at any particular time. When you have learnt two styles, your normal streetfighting moves are carried out with the circle button, whilst your new style is mapped to the triangle button â?“ allowing players to mix-and-match between the different styles.

During the various fights that CJ picked during our demonstration we caught glimpse of such moves as running attacks, combos, ground attacks amongst the normal punch/kick manoeuvres. Thatâ??s not to say GTA is now becoming a fighting game, but just adding yet another feather to its already impressive bow.

Throughout fights CJ will trashtalk his opponents with such gems as â??Get Up Punkâ? and â??Get Back Downâ?; weâ??re told that players will be able to make CJ shout out insults or praise people by pressing left or right on the d-pad, which should lead to some interesting and entertaining banter with the folk of San Andreas.

Continuing with our drive through San Fierro, CJ finds himself within the ruins of the 1989 earthquake. Being set in the early 90â??s the San Fierro authorities are still in the stage of rebuilding the area, and as such the rundown area provides plenty of opportunities to pull of the insane stunts that we love from GTA. In fact San Fierro is the â??trick cityâ? of San Andreas, with plenty of locations providing literally hours upon hours of car-smashing entertainment.

Our demonstration featured a couple of missions based in San Fierro, the first of which saw CJ teaming up with his sisterâ??s boyfriend, Caesar, for an elaborate import car heist on â??Ottoâ??s Autosâ? nearby. During the opening stages as youâ??re driving to the location thereâ??s lengthy dialogue between CJ and Caesar, which is a really nice touch that keeps you immersed. Having arrived at Ottoâ??s CJ and Caesar discover that the cars are on the second floor, and after a brief encounter with the diligent salesman, itâ??s a case of screeching the wheels and speeding off for a game of follow the leader. Itâ??s during this mission that Caesar introduces you to the delights of â??Nitroâ??sâ?, but more on that laterâ?¦

The mission is certainly at a faster pace and more intense then those weâ??ve seen previously, with the result being far more exciting then previous racing missions in the GTA series, and arguably creating something similar to the Midnight Club and Need for Speed titles.

It was at the point when the San Fierro cops caught wind of CJ and Caesar that the mist rolled in, and the heavens quite literally opened, perfectly capturing the random nature of the weather system and the dynamic effect this has on your experience within the game. Driving at such high speeds with 2ft visibility, thunder and lightning (a first for GTA) and driving rain is quite literally suicide, not to mention the fact youâ??ve got a bunch of cops on your tail â?“ lets just hope the weather forecast is more favourable when you get the chance to check this mission out, and donâ??t even think about flying a Dodo in such conditions, as weâ??re assured youâ??re thrown all over the place.

Having finally thrown the cops off it was time to have some fun with the cars, and introduce yet another new addition to the GTA series.

In a nod towards their other biggie, GTA: San Andreas introduces car mods, allowing players to modify virtually off the vehicles within the game via a wide range of different parts. Itâ??s quite amazing just how much is on offer with this feature, although as with every other aspect, it doesnâ??t become bogged down enough to deter from the overall game.

Modding your vehicle naturally costs money, however those flash with the cash will be able to apply various paint jobs, including flames and a swatch to choose your own colours; choose between hard-top, soft-top and open roof; front bumpers, rear bumpers, exhaust, rims; along with cranking up the in-car stereo with a boost to the bass department â?“ ideal for cruising the hood. In a similar manner to CJâ??s appearance affecting his respect with other citizens, so does the car he drives â?“ itâ??s safe to say youâ??ll have an easier job luring hookers with a pimped out mobile as opposed to a clapped-out brown sedan!!!

Certain cars can also be equipped Nitrous Oxide, ideal for when you need a quick getaway. In order to add Nitrous Oxide players need to visit a Mod Garage, where youâ??re given a choice of how much nitrous you want, with the cost dependant upon the size of the bottle/number of charges. Having equipped the Nitroâ??s, a simple press of the circle or L1 buttons engages the nitroâ??s, kicking in an excellent visual effect to blur the world around you, whilst your tailpipe glows a fiery blue.

Naturally having spent money on car modifications and created the baddest car in the whole of San Andreas, itâ??s highly likely youâ??ll want to keep it, in which case the player can store cars within safe houses throughout San Andreas. Much like previous GTA games, these allow the player to save progress, change clothes and a few other goodies.

Youâ??ll need to keep a close eye on your car and lock it away securely, as the police of San Andreas will now search for suspect vehicles and impound them; particularly nasty, however if you want the car back bad enough, you can always break into the police impound (by night advised) and steal it back.

Taking our new wheels back onto the streets, our San Fierro tour took us to the top of GTA: San Andreas recreation of the famous winding Lombard Street; safe to say thereâ??s plenty of scope to perform some awesome tricks and mad action along this stretch â?“ itâ??s not referred to as â??Trick Cityâ? for nothing. The view also highlighted yet another landmark within San Fierro, the recreation of the Trans American building, the largest in the city. As the demonstration sped through day and night, we were witness to a very small and seemingly unimportant addition, which was the inclusion of light textures on windows at night, to create the illusion that the buildings are populated; itâ??s quite amazing just how such a small touch can help to heighten the overall atmosphere.

There was only so much time for sightseeing however during our demonstration, so it was off to a new mission, in which CJâ??s help is needed by Woosy Moo (people call him Woosy for short), to assist the triads and rescue some refugee hostages from a docked tanker in the San Fierro bay. The mission initially takes place on a helicopter, providing some stunning panoramic views of the city; thankfully youâ??ve got time to look, as CJ takes control of the chain gun whilst another guys flies him in.

The objective of the mission was fairly straightforward â?“ get in there, rescue the hostages and get out again; however RockStar still had one or two surprises in store.

Having taken a few of the guards out from the safety of the helicopter, CJ finds himself in the drink after an unexpected incident. Before the demonstration we questioned the things that we had yet to see, and swimming was certainly towards the top of that list; thankfully swimming is as wonderfully tight and brilliantly executed, as youâ??d expect from the GTA series. Not only can CJ perform a variety of strokes on the surface that makes Tannerâ??s recent efforts look like fish out of water, but also dive beneath the surface and discover a world nearly as enticing as that above. We didnâ??t get to see much of CJ swimming before it was time to move on with the mission; however the combination of a strong control set-up tied into the depth of the skill system that governs San Andreas, along with no frustrating flaws and one or two surprises we suspect, ensures this once risky concept should only go on to enhance the GTA experience â?“ â??If youâ??re going to do it, youâ??ve got to do it right.â?

Having already proves his physical prowess, the athletic improvements of the main character continued with the startling revelation that CJ can host himself upon ledges to access places you previously couldnâ??t. Now weâ??re not talking GTA: Tomb Raider here, as with the fighting, itâ??s not enough to become tiresome, but adds to the integrity and should be very useful; after all there are crates on the tanker, so why shouldnâ??t you be able to hoist yourself up on to them. Itâ??s not just hoisting upon ledges however, as CJ will also hop over fences with ease along with a smart little animation. The guys informed us of a scene that sounded as if it had been lifted or inspired by Point Break, in which CJ finds himself chased by the cops and decides to leg it across the back gardens in a dense housing estate, over fences and across swimming pools whilst the pursuing cops continued to lay chase â?“ and yes the bigger CJ grows, the harder heâ??ll find it to â??hopâ? over a fence.

Following on from a strong debut in Manhunt, RockStar North have incorporated silent kills within San Andreas, and no theyâ??re not just putting in a stealth mode for the sake of it. As with everything that has found its way into San Andreas, itâ??s a choice to the player; as our demonstration confirmed, going in with guns blaring works just as well provided youâ??re good with a gun. Again, it has been implemented with a degree of skill and understanding that only RockStar North and few others seem capable of; utilising an enhanced system to that featured in Manhunt, CJ can either attack his opponent with a knife or take a slight risk with a silenced pistol. Unlike its imitators, GTA: San Andreas refuses to split its brilliant sense of continuity throughout its multitude of gameplay and divide missions into specifically stealth, so the sadistic are free to execute the bums with cardboard boxes on their heads if they so â??chooseâ?.

One unexpected shotgun blast exploded the mission into mass warfare, which neatly demonstrated the continued improvements made to both the animation and AI, with guards rolling for cover and laying down fire.

The mission ends with the prospect of a sword fight with Snakehead, a katana wielding martial arts expert, who wasnâ??t quite prepared for the shotgun concealed in CJâ??s pants â?“ safe to say he was on the floor in no time at all, whilst CJ took possession of a shiny new blade.

San Fierro also plays home to an entirely new type of vehicle with the GTA series, the Brown Streak Express at Cranberry Station. Various train stages are dotted throughout San Andreas, and whilst not being the fastest transport available, CJ can enjoy a scenic ride staring out of the window and watching the countryside of San Andreas roll by.

Trains also provide one of the new mini-games to be found in GTA: San Andreas, entitled Freight Train. Players have to hijack a train (usual method) and press the right thumbstick to activate the game. There are only two controls to master, namely Stop and Go, with players having to stop correctly throughout the various stations to deliver your cargo â?“ one word of warning, stopping a huge, lumbering hulk of metal travelling at 100mph is not as easy as it seems!