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GTA: San Andreas - First Look Preview
Chris Leyton
25/08/2004
We've finally laid our eyes upon San Andreas in action; believe the hype this will be a revelation...
Theyāve said it before, and during our presentation the ensembled crew from RockStar were keen to point it out again; āGTA: San Andreas will be the biggest leap in the series since the transition from 2D to 3D,ā and having recently seen the game in action for the first time weād have to agree with them.
By the end of Vice City we were of the opinion that thereās simply nothing left for the genius at RockStar North to impress us with; there simply was no way that weād find ourselves hyping another GTA title like we had with GTA3 and Vice City, however the drip-feed of information certainly whetted our appetite, whilst seeing the game in action was enough to quite frankly make us wet ourselves
The demonstration began with a talk of the influences behind San Andreas, and whilst many have been keen to highlight the Hip-Hop, West Coast feel, the fact remains that San Andreas is so much more then this; such films as Menace 2 Society and Boys from the Hood were drawn against the likes of Deliverance and Casino with a healthy dose of the Worldās Worst Police Chases and C.O.P.S chucked into the equation - plenty of cars hopping up and down, plenty of drugs and yes you guessed it plenty of violence.
We were informed from the start that what we would see wouldnāt reveal any precious new gameplay information, whilst such important factors as voices and music tracks were replaced with place-holders for the time being ā“ yes RockStar want to keep it a surprise for us as much as you guys.
Knowing full well that they could have churned out another title in double-quick time and sit back whilst the money rolls in; the team however, spurred on by the sheer number of wannabes, are out to surprise everyone, yes GTA: San Andreas will be a revelation.
Perhaps the first thing that really grabs you by the ghoulies and refuses to let go, is the sheer scale of the game. Yes we know itās a county that encompasses three cities, but until youāve seen the map we honestly donāt think itās possible to comprehend just how big the state of San Andreas is until youāve seen it. The demonstration focussed on your home cul-de-sac and surrounding areas within East Los Santos; imagine our surprise when the man in charge of the demonstration lightly rubbed the comfortable leather couch and stated āweāre not even scratching the surface here.ā After the lengthy demonstration the map screen was once again brought up, whilst the man in charge used his fingernail to depict a tiddly few blocks, explaining that everything we saw had occurred solely in this area.
Take it from us the sheer scale of this game is quite unlike anything weāve ever seen before; sure there have been epic sized games in the past, however these often sacrifice the scale for a lack of interaction and simply things to do, whereas San Andreas is crammed full of events occurring, endless possibilities for the player. Much like previous GTA titles itās often more fun to think of what you want to do instead of following the main storyline, quite honestly the possibilities are endless.
Weāre promised that the game will be about 4-5 times the size of Vice City and having finally seen the game in action weād have to say that this is a conservative estimation. However the most amazing fact is that there will be no loadingā¦ yes you read that correctly, itās entirely possible to drive from one end of the county to the other without ever seeing a loading screen thanks to enhancements made to the streaming technology. The only time youāll ever see a loading screen is a slight one whenever you enter an interior location!
The demonstration began with CJ flying in to San Andreas from Liberty City, having learnt that his mother had been murdered. Upon his arrival in the San Andreas airport, CJ finds himself picked up by a couple of Los Santos cops who knew him from the days he spent in juvenile. Sadly for CJ itās not a welcoming party and soon he finds himself chucked onto the curb in the rival territory of the Ballarās, with the first mission simply to survive and escape to your neighbourhood ā“ the Orange Grove.
The sheer improvements being made are frankly astounding, thereās just so much more detail in San Andreas compared to previous titles in the series. Just looking around the streets and suburbs youāll immediately notice that everything is a lot more believable; whereas civilians just felt as though they were placed there to populate the streets in GTA3 and Vice City, they actually seem to have a purpose within San Andreas. Stood outside of the Pizza shop youāll notice customers drive up, park (and sometimes crash), enter the Pizza place, order some food, eat it and get on with the rest of their duties.
The term āliving breathingā is often used within videogames these days however San Andreas has certainly created the sensation like nothing weāve ever seen before; just driving through the streets of East Los Santos was enough to make a little wasp like me run for the hills. Itās not easy to decipher the level of visual detail until youāve seen the game in motion; certainly the enhancements to the animations are profound and benefiting from the use of the biggest motion-capture studio on the East Coast of America. Weāre assured that the game features a 50% increase in polygons compared to Vice City, whilst the game will offer a draw-distance approximately 2-3 times that of RockStar Northās previous title.
Despite the game looking absolutely amazing at this stage weāre assured that it will only get better. The demonstration took place on a build that has already been superseded, with promises that the draw distance and overall level of detail will only be increased.
It wasnāt long before the demonstration took us on to one of the most popular new additions, the BMX. Sadly we didnāt get to see any of the tricks that have previously been described, but as you can imagine riding a bike in GTA is going to provide a lot of fun, whether it be nipping down a tight alley to avoid pursuers or hurtling down the infamous mountain range that apparently takes close to 30 minutes to cycle up. Whilst bicycles have never been implemented into videogames with any great success, San Andreas should certainly change that; itās got the physics spot on, itās got a wide range of techniques to master and heck itās the vehicle of choice when it comes to travelling throughout Los Santos.
We donāt really want to spoil any surprises and will stick away from describing mission objectives in any great detail; suffice to say once youāve found your way back to Orange Grove and re-united with fellow members of the Orange Grove Family, youāll soon find yourself on a mission of revenge and one that nicely opened up further new additions to the GTA series.
Weāve talked in the past about the ability to customise CJ through the food he eats, the clothes he wears and his choice of haircut. Firstly weād like to ease fears that some readers have expressed, this is most definitely not chores for the player; sure there are consequences if you donāt eat or eat too much, however itās more about allowing the player to become more closely attached to the character theyāre creating and controlling on-screen. Whereas GTA3 deliberately featured a relatively anonymous character in a city that pretty much didnāt give a damn about him, San Andreas make calculated changes to the formula ā“ this time itās personal.
Everything from the customisation to the fact that your mother has been murdered is designed to make the player become more attached to the game; itās about family, itās about friendships and rivalries, itās created to further blur the lines between missions and non-missions like previous GTA titles have done brilliantly in the past. As we said during the presentation and in the past, the GTA series is a monumental achievement in game design and should be studied in lecture halls across the globe ā“ simply thereās no one better at this current state of time then RockStar North.
Finally ā“ and we apologise if this is going to spoil a few surprises but rest assured thereās plenty in there ā“ we were shown a fully blown mission of epic proportions, the type of thing that RockStar North are heavily incorporating within San Andreas.
The mission entailed a representative of each of the founder members of the Orange Grove meeting up to discuss how they could win back their turf and respect from rival gangs that have invaded the area in recent times. CJ and his brother Sweet along with two other friends Ryder and Smoke, find themselves driving to a meeting place for the planned discussion. Shortly after Sweet enters the run-down hotel, itās not long before the Los Santos helicopters arrive on the scene and SWAT members leap out on ropes; scared by the situation Ryder and Smoke hot-tail out of there, leaving CJ with only a pump shotgun to fight his way through and rescue his brother.
This particular section aptly demonstrated the vast improvements made to both the camera and targeting systems. Players now have direct control over the camera with the right thumbstick (an absolute godsend), whilst youāre given the choice of manual targeting or a thankfully much improved auto-targeting option. Players can use the shoulder buttons to lock-on and select various parts of the opponentās body, whilst also now having the crucial ability to strafe.
These enhancements are absolutely crucial to the game, as missions now appear to place far more emphasis on gun fights and action; just this particular mission relatively early on in the game featured an obscene body-count as you fight your way through tight corridors, whilst Los Santos cops were literally coming from every angle, diving from side rooms, hurtling from sky windows above. Thankfully the new and improved control system is more then capable of handling such dynamic action and movement, and should eradicate all of the frustrations associated with this feature in previous GTA titles.
Eventually CJ and Sweet manage to make their way to the rooftop and just when everything is looking ok, a Los Santos helicopter arrives on the scene and requires a few well placed pumps form CJās shotgun to put down. Having successfully done this and thinking surely that must be it, Smoke and Ryder return and provide a well-timed getaway for CJ and Sweet; however thatās not itā¦ The insurmountable Los Santos soon get on your trail, and itās not long before yep you guessed it, cops on bikes. CJ finds an AK-47 thrust into his arms and asked to take the gunner position whilst Ryder does his best to get out of there.
The Los Santos police are certainly a lot less forgiving then those from Liberty City and Vice City, using any means possible to take you from the road. In a nod to Halo2 the cops on choppers will jump from their bikes onto the bonnet of your car, hanging onto the bumpers in true Terminator2 fashion. Having finally shaken the cops from your tail, the gang of four literally leap from the car just before it smashes through a billboard and into the icy waters below.
This should give an indication of the depth, variety and just epic feeling that RockStar North are building into the missions. Itās constant action executed with a level of style that only RockStar North seem capable of, and should cater for those that felt the actual missions were a little lacking in previous GTA titles.
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