Reviews// Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

The surprising lack of traffic and the general absence of parked cars are not the only shortcomings caused by the PS2’s technical constraints. The draw distances, for the most part, are really rather poor: with bits of landscape suddenly popping-up just in front of you (especially when the 'atmospheric' fog hangs heavy overhead), or pieces of sky occasionally mapping themselves to streets and sides of buildings. It’s easily forgiven, as the level of detail and general visual style is of a high standard; it’s just that those who have played Vice City on the Xbox, for instance, may grimace in the face of some of the rougher edges. Indeed, you can’t help but think San Andreas would have made a greater impact with an Xbox release: but that’s something we may have to wait a little while to hear about.

For those who criticised Vice City for being little more than GTA 3 in different clothes, San Andreas will appear to be the same sort of thing all over again. For the millions of people who loved GTA 3, that’s clearly a good thing; after all - if you’re favourite colour’s blue, and someone discovers an all-new shade, that’s great; but it may leave some hungry for new angles. Indeed, in a teasing manner, towards the beginning of San Andreas, it appears that the gameplay has taken on a new feature. The opening of the game sees main character CJ involved in an expansive gang turf war across a sizeable portion of the game’s first city – Los Santos. You’ll have to defend your own hood from invading rivals, whilst you can also choose to encroach on theirs – building up your gang’s territory, hood by hood.

For a minute, it appears that there’s a whole new strategic element to the game, as you juggle these priorities alongside the usual missions, the gameplay begins to feel more substantial than it has ever done. Indeed, we found these early stages to be rather compelling, and we spent a great deal of time building up territory, anticipating the vast riches such acquisitions would surely bring. Unfortunately, this section is brought to an abrupt end by the advance of the central plot: so suddenly, you may find your hard work snatched away from you as the game reverts to its more traditional form.

It would be unfair to hack down this addition as a bad thing: it’s an interesting new feature and it’s great while it lasts, but it does leave you wondering what the game would have been like if those wider strategic principles were applied to the entire game. It just seems that Rockstar are nodding in the direction of certain progressions, without ever committing to them. This leaves us with the feeling that San Andreas is, in fact, the outcome of a highly tentative and cautious approach to a proper, full sequel that has yet to be fully realised.