GTA San Andreas: Highlights, Perms and Moody Goods

There’s nothing better on a quiet news day than a deluge of GTA: San Andreas details. There aren’t any other games that warrant quite the same amount of incredibly specific press releases. Who would have imagined, for instance, that a crime adventure would deserve so much chatter about the coiffing of quiffs and the trimming of elaborate sideburns?

However, even if you couldn’t care less about your own hair, close attention will have to be paid to such matters if you are to succeed in the world of San Andreas. There are several barbershops to choose from, and after settling the lead character CJ in front of the mirror, a selection of hairstyles will become available. Depending on the final cut, other characters will react to CJ accordingly. Should CJ opt for an unkempt, nappy-headed bouffant, he won’t be getting those sassy glances from the ladies. Conversely, if he goes for some natty corn-rows, fellow gangsters will gaze on in absolute admiration.

San Andreas’ concessions to fashion don’t stop there either. CJ’s threads will also play an important part in defining how other characters see him. There’s a selection of shops offering a variety of clothing: Binco discount stores represent the Asda end of the market, with fairly unremarkable garments intended to conceal CJ’s modesty and little more. Binco does stock a good range of clothes in Orange Grove gang colours though, so CJ will need to get involved in those. SubUrban is one step up in the fashion world, stocking brands like Mercury and Base 5. ProLaps, at the very height of haute-couture, offers the premium clothing range. It also stocks some more functional items such as motorcycle helmets, boxing head-gear and hockey masks.

If the superficialities of the fashion world are too much to bear, then details of CJ’s burglarising skills will surely hold more appeal. To supplement his mission-funded earnings, he can opt to rob houses in the dead of night. First up, CJ needs to steal himself a getaway van. Then, identity concealed by a ski-mask, he must creep through houses stealing VCRs, TVs and the like. If he happens to wake any residents in the process, there’ll be no choice remaining other than to batter their skulls into a crunchy pulp before they raise the alarm. Once all the goodies are stashed in the back of the van, CJ must make a speedy escape, visiting a fence to cash-in his ill-gotten gains.

There’s no denying that GTA: San Andreas is shaping up to be an incredibly detailed and equally entertaining uber-hit. The only concern now is that all these ancillary concerns like getting dressed, eating and visiting the barbers might actually detract from the task at hand – being a no good son-of-a free-roaming gangster.