Review: Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas -- Page 2
When it comes to the soundtrack, San Andreas generally lives up to its rich musical heritage. The game's radio stations cater to genres like hip-hop, country, techno, funk, soul and alternative rock, with a definite focus on gangsta rap. True to the time period, the soundtrack boasts plenty of '90's hits (standouts include Ice Cube's [Today] Was a Good Day, En Vogue's Never Gonna Get It, Boyz II Men's Motownphilly, Eddie Money's Two Tickets to Paradise, Depeche Mode's Personal Jesus, Danzig's Mother, and Bobby Brown's Don't Be Cruel).
Taken as a whole however, audiophiles may find that San Andreas's soundtrack lacks the diversity and charm of Vice City's rich 80's portfolio. Sure, there are no-brainers like Cypress Hill's How I Could Just Kill A Man, but many of the selections (such as Guns 'N Roses' Welcome to the Jungle, natch) come off as conventional and somewhat uninspired.
As for audio effects, San Andreas sounds quite a bit like Vice City and GTA3, from the convincing rumble of car engines to the somewhat muffled in-game voice-overs. The weapon effects, however, ring loud and clear with full Dolby Pro Logic II treatment. Sadly, DTS support is not included this time around.
A Living World to Explore
There's welcome news in the gameplay department, as San Andreas's new dual-analog stick controls enable for more freedom when moving and aiming. Unfortunately, there's no option to switch to the directional pad, so like it or not, you're stuck with the default control configuration. And as with Vice City, wrestling with the idiotic auto-aiming system is a constant concern; be prepared to die frequently until you get the hang of rapidly switching targets.
San Andreas also improves its melee combat by adding combos, blocking, and special attacks. And in a welcome addition, C.J. can climb over obstacles like fences and walls, which is a major time-saver when it comes time to dodge the cops. And C.J.'s new swimming ability is a long-overdue addition to the gameplay, and makes the process of piloting boats far less frustrating.
The Grand Theft Auto series is notorious for its infuriatingly difficult missions. Knowing this, many players are content to bypass them entirely in favor of blasting cops. In a nice touch, some missions require squad tactics, which frequently take the form of drive-by shootings. These high-speed drive-by battles are particularly cool; one mission (straight out of Terminator 2) is a roaring motorcycle-based shootout set in a huge network of drainage ditches.
In addition to the shooting and driving missions, players will discover some stealth-based operations, where C.J. must silently loot a house or sneak past guards to find a particular item. While these stealth forays help break up the monotony, they're not polished enough to qualify as much more than novel distractions. There are even side missions that take the form of dancing competitions, and they're good fun in the button-tapping tradition of PaRappa the Rapper. While the sheer variety of missions is certainly impressive, this jack-of-all-trades is a master of none.
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