GTA: San Andreas - is it just me?

[JoyMonkey]

Is it just me, is it the hype, did I build this game up too much in my own mind?
GTA:SA doesn't seem nearly as enjoyable or addictive as GTA3 and Vice City. I'll still play the shizz out of it, but I put the controller down to clean my apartment after about half an hour of playing it.
Granted, my apartment was a filthy hole; but I wouldn't have stopped playing Vice City so soon just to tidy the place up.
The graphics and sound are pretty dissappointing too - but then I guess it is a 4 year old engine after all. I don't understand why they dumped the DTS audio though, Pro-Logic sucks ass in comparison.

Maybe I just need to spend more time with it. Or maybe I've out-grown this type of game (though I doubt it).

Anyone else know what I mean? Or does this mean I'm turning gay?  

[Chemixtry]

Anyone else know what I mean? Or does this mean I'm turning gay?

You stopped playing a violent video game to clean your apartment...of course your gay. Better turn on TBS quick and catch that rerun of Will & Grace

I tried to rent it on my gamepass at blockbuster but they didnt get their shipment. Stupid DHL!  

[DYNAGOD]

i gotta agree..id didnt hit me the way vice city did..nothing to be really excited about, nothing really new..
id label this noting more than an expansion pack..
its more polished, but at its core, its just more of the same..
definetly too much hype for too little in return.
im sure Halo will turn about about the same.a nice well polished follow up,but nothing groundbreaking and certainly not able to live up to the incredible hype machine surrounding it...

[Rahzel]

Man I love this game, I've been playing it since Oct. 20 and its kept me from getting a decent amount of sleep. I love California and this game captures the scene. It's got a tight soundtrack (can't go wrong with tupac, snoop, dre., eazy-e, NWA and cypris hill all on the same radio station) And after you get into it there's so much to keep you busy. I just took over all the Ballas territories and about to finish off with Los Santos Boys, then I think i move on to Las Venturas and gamble all my money! Back to GTA:SA i go

BTW I'm only 22 so it doesn't feel too stupid to jack cars and shoot innocent people on a video game just yet, but when I'm in my early 30's like some of you might be I'll probably hate games like this.

[JoyMonkey]

I really like the way they've closed off portions of the map- like the two previous games; bridges and highways are blocked off. But - you can swim in this game, so if you swim to one of the 'forbidden areas' you can surprisingly walk around (I thought there might be an invisible wall or something). Then cops start showing up and you realize that you've got a 4-star wanted rating!
 
I went on a mad getaway/carnage-spree for about 15 minutes! Great stuff! The highways might just be this game's saving grace for me, if they weren't blocked off right now, I'd try doing a low-speed OJ style Bronco getaway!

[DYNAGOD]

i was just hoping for more..not more of the same..
its a nice poish job, but it doesnt bring anything really groudbreaking to the table.and even then,the graphics are no "real" improvement.

the whole stat sytem is something i think we could have done without.I have no doubt it was always there in some incarnation, but it was hidden ,and there was no emphasis on it. this is GTA not morrowind.

im going to sit down with the book tonite and try and do it by the numbers, but i gotta say,maybe im gettin old, but i got more of a rush playing my new Zinc 1.0.1 games last nite than i did playing San andreas.


Unconfirmed cheats for Sand andreas


Enter these during gameplay without pausing:
Unlock Romero   Down, R2, Down, R1, L2, Left, R1, L1, Left, Right
Unlock Trashmaster   Circle, R1, Circle, R1, Left, Left, R1, L1, Circle, Right
More Gore   Square, L1, Circle, Down, L1, R1, Triangle, Right, L1, X
Change to Other People   Right, Right, Left, Up, L1, L2, Left, Up, Down, Right, Right
Ladies Love CJ   Circle, X, L1, L1, R2, X, X, Circle, Circle
Full Health   R1, R2, L1, Circle, Left, Down, Right, Up, Left, Down, Right, Up
Full Armor   R1, R2, L1, X, Left, Down, Right, Up, Left, Down, Right, Up
Weapons 1   R1, R2, L1, R2, Left, Down, Right, Up, Left, Down, Right, Up
Weapons 2   R1, R2, L1, R2, Left, Down, Right, Up, Left, Down, Down, Left
Weapons 3   R1, R2, L1, R2, Left, Down, Right, Up, Left , Down, Down, Down
$250,000   R1, R2, L1 , X, Left , Down, Right, Up, Left, Down, Right, Up
Lower Wanted Level   R1, R1, Circle, R2, Up, Down, Up, Down, Up, Down
Raise Wanted Level   R1, R1, Circle, R2, Right, Left, Right, Left, Right, Left
Respect Upgrade   R1, R2, L1, X, Left, Right, Down, Up
Pedestrians have weapons   R2, R1, X, Triangle, X, Triangle, Up, Down
Spawn A Rhino   Circle, Circle, L1, Circle, Circle, Circle, L1, L2, R1, Triangle, Circle, Triangle
Pedestrian Attack (cannot be turned off)   Down, Up, Up, Up, X, R2, R1, L2, L2
Pedestrian Riot (cannot be turned off)   Down, Left, Up, Left, X, R2, R1, L2, L1
Overcast   R2, X, L1, L1, L2, L2, L2, Square
Cars on Water   Right, R2, Circle, R1, L2, Square, R1, R2
Destroy Cars   R2, L2, R1, L1, L2, R2, Square, Triangle, Circle, Triangle, L2, L1
Black Traffic   Circle, L2, Up, R1, Left, X, R1, L1, Left, Circle
Aggressive Traffic   R2, Circle, R1, L2, Left R1, L1, R2, L2
Rainy Weather   R2, X, L1, L1, L2, L2, L2, Circle
Rainy Weather   R2, X, L1, L1, L2, L2, L2, Triangle
Sunny Weather   R2, X, L1, L1, L2, L2, L2, X
Faster Clock   O, O, L1, Square, L1, Square, Square, Square, L1, Triangle, O, Triangle
Slower Gameplay   Triangle, Up, Right, Down, Square, R2, R1
Slower Gameplay   Triangle, Up, Right, Down, L2, L1, Square
Spawn Rancher   Up, Right, Right, L1, Right, Up, Square, L2
Spawn Bloodring Banger   Down, R1, Circle, L2, L2, X, R1, L1, Left, Left
Spawn Caddy   Circle, L1, Up, R1, L2, X, R1, L1, Circle, X
Spawn a Hotring Racer #101   R1, Circle, R2, Right, L1, L2, X, X, Square, R1
Spawn Hotring Racer   R2, L1, Circle, Right, Up, Circle, R2
Spawn a Stretch   R2, Up, L2, Left, Left, R1, L1, Circle, Right
Perfect Handling   Triangle, R1, R1, Left, R1, L1, R2, L1
Faster Cars   Right, R1, Up, L2, L2, Left, R1, L1, R1, R1
Pink Traffic   Circle, L1, Down, L2, Left, X, R1, L1, Right, Circle
Flying Boats   R2, Circle, Up, L1, Right, R1, Right, Up, Square, Triangle
Commit Suicide   Right, L2, Down, R1, Left, Left, R1, L1, L2, L1

[Stingray]

Joymonkey, if you swim to one of the forbidden areas and then enter the lower wanted level cheat can you then play normally in that area?

-S

[JoyMonkey]

Joymonkey, if you swim to one of the forbidden areas and then enter the lower wanted level cheat can you then play normally in that area?

-S

I would think so, but that would be pretty pointless.

[SOAPboy]

all the ammo, weapons, life, star warning cheats are the same from vice city.. just fyi..

[Stingray]

Joymonkey, if you swim to one of the forbidden areas and then enter the lower wanted level cheat can you then play normally in that area?

-S

I would think so, but that would be pretty pointless.

Yeah, but the entire game is pretty pointless. I got it last night and spent about two hours doing nothing but exploring, and ignoring the missions entirely. I'll try swiming to a forbidden area and useing the cheat code tonight and see what happens.

-S

[DYNAGOD]

i sold mine to a kid here in work this morning..he couldnt get a copy at gamestop, so i sold him mine for 50$ with the manual..
i sat with it for a couple hours last nite and there is nothing that i havent already done or seen in VC game.
same guns, same everything..the game just doesnt have the style or the humor that VC had. the game made fun of itself ,this one takes itself seriously and makes it rather blah and uninteresting..
now i know why Rockstars stock actually declined just befre the release.seems people on the inside already knew the game was nothing more than an overglorified expansion pack..
its just a tired formula now for me..
if they threw somethingreally new and exciting into the mix maybe,but the few trivial additions that they made werent sufficient enough to keep my interest.

SOLD!

[BombProofPlane]

i sold mine to a kid here in work this morning..he couldnt get a copy at gamestop, so i sold him mine for 50$ with the manual..
i sat with it for a couple hours last nite and there is nothing that i havent already done or seen in VC game.
same guns, same everything..the game just doesnt have the style or the humor that VC had. the game made fun of itself ,this one takes itself seriously and makes it rather blah and uninteresting..
now i know why Rockstars stock actually declined just befre the release.seems people on the inside already knew the game was nothing more than an overglorified expansion pack..
its just a tired formula now for me..
if they threw somethingreally new and exciting into the mix maybe,but the few trivial additions that they made werent sufficient enough to keep my interest.

SOLD!

Im glad i rented it first. No way was this worth 50 bucks how the crap did it get a 9.9 from ign. They might aswell give leisure suit larry a 11 or something Their reviews have sucked ass since they gave doa:xbv a 9

[shmokes]

Joymonkey, if you swim to one of the forbidden areas and then enter the lower wanted level cheat can you then play normally in that area?

-S

I would think so, but that would be pretty pointless.

Are there still paint shops?  If you can manage to stay alive for 15 minutes I'd guess you could get your car painted and you'd be cool.

[GGKoul]

Joymonkey, if you swim to one of the forbidden areas and then enter the lower wanted level cheat can you then play normally in that area?

-S

I would think so, but that would be pretty pointless.

I did it...

I drove to to Las Ventureas.  You can't take the bridge to Las Venturea, but you can swim across the water to get to Las Ventureas.  As soon as you step on the ground, it automatically shots to 4 stars and the whole police force is after you.  I stole a motorbike when I got there and was able to evade the police for a bit.  So I was able to see the casinos before the helicopters shot me down.  

Plus the Lower cheat doesn't work. When you do it, it shoots back to 4 stars.

[wrxh8r]

I guess it depends on how much of the other gtas you played.Ive played gta3 till end of story and very little of vice city so its been quite a while (a year at least) since ive played one.Im lovn gta:sa I think its deffinitly the best of the 3 and yes its just an expansion of the others (except much better thought out mission design) but how could you think any different.I knew what id get and am enjoying it for what it is.I guess its more of a hype engine thing where you feel let down.Zone of enders didnt do well but in nz where noone had really heard of it till it appeared in store heaps of people loved it.I havnt payed any attention to san andreas till i bought it.

[eypyeash]

Eh, I've never been a big fan of Rockstar's games.  I got GTA:VC along with my PS2 as a gift two years ago and I think I played that one for maybe two hours, myself.  Then I quietly waltzed out and bought Shinobi and a memory card.  

I'm glad Rockstar tries to be "edgy".  There's gotta be someone doing it, but they're not expanding like they should.  It's a fairly untapped market, really.  I mean, when I heard about Manhunt I thought it had to potential to be one of the best games ever.  Instead it was a dumbed-down, linear Metal Gear Solid clone with more cussing.  I had expected more of the Running Man style stuff I was hearing about all along - like a Grand Theft Auto sized-city, open for your exploration, with enemies hiding in shadows trying to take you out as you hot-foot it to the grocery store for food you need to survive for another week.  Can you imagine how that would play?  An arcade-style survival game where you just try to live as long as possible that takes into account real limitations like exhaustion caused by malnutrition or lack of sleep (have to hide somewhere good and get plenty of rest or else when you do finally pass out, you won't even hear the hunters coming through your door).  A game filled with sub-plots all within its giant city, putting you in harm's way in more and more extreme situations.  THAT'S what I expect out of Rockstar.  Not this recycled crap.

San Andreas doesn't even have the same charm as Vice City.  

I never did understand why these games get so much hype.  Who likes these things so much?  Why does everyone wet their undies at the mention of Halo 2?  What's it going to offer?  Prettier graphics?  Do people want the same gameplay as the original, thereby becoming an expansion pack in the truest sense?  Or are they going to try something "innovative" and destroy the series as was the case with Red Faction?  I swear, Halo was about the slowest game I've played in my life.  Really, what's so special?  The only thing that comes to mind is the use of vehicles and the one-or-the-other gun selection style.  But detracting from it is: slow turning, very few weapons and no interesting ones, enemies that look like rejects from Shrek, and boring level design.  

If any FPS deserves a mile-long wait line and a midnight-sales party, it's Timesplitters 3.  Those guys are sticking true to roots and offering plenty of humor, a decent storyline, awesome music, and tons upon tons of unlockables with all kinds of Unreal Tournament-ish challenges when you beat the main game.  The only way I can get those Halo retards to play Timesplitters 2 with me is by saying "Hey, they're the guys who made Perfect Dark and Goldeneye".  

That was a multi-tiered rant, and I apologize for any inconsistencies within.  

[johnnysmitch]

Well, I'm kinda on the fence with this one.

So far, I'm enjoying the hell out of it.  I haven't even done more than a handful of missions yet, but I've played for several hours, and there's just so much to do - there are many who spout that Fable was wonderful because it was such a 'sandbox' kind of world where you could do anything, and I played that and like it, but I think GTA:SA does it way better than fable did ('cept fable had better graphics) - you can do damn near anything you want in GTA, except be a good guy really, which you're probably already tired of from every other game in existence.

The only thing I'm not thrilled about is how incredibly ghetto they made it.  I mean, in Vice City (and GTA3, to a slightly lesser degree) it was more based around organized crime, so it had kinda of a 'classy' scumbag vibe.  In SanAdreas, they take the senseless killing to an even greater degree than before, and I can't help but feel funny knowing that there's probably gonna be thousands of 12 year olds plaing this game, and desensitizing the crap outta them (I'm not one of those people who thinks that all video games are evil to youth or anything, I just think that youth lately has had more of a lapse in morals that any generation before it, and the blame for that doesn't lie in just videogames and tv and such...)  Anyways, just my convoluted little rant.  If you're somewhat stable, I highly recommend this game.

[SirPoonga]

The graphics and sound are pretty dissappointing too - but then I guess it is a 4 year old engine after all. I don't understand why they dumped the DTS audio though, Pro-Logic sucks ass in comparison.

It is an old console!  BTW, I think this is a limitation of the PS2, it can do 5.1 for cutscenes but not ingame like the xbox.   If I remember that comparison chart that came out twhen the xbox was released....

[Stingray]

Joymonkey, if you swim to one of the forbidden areas and then enter the lower wanted level cheat can you then play normally in that area?

-S

I would think so, but that would be pretty pointless.

Are there still paint shops?  If you can manage to stay alive for 15 minutes I'd guess you could get your car painted and you'd be cool.

There are paint shops, but that's just like entering the lower wanted level code. It just shoots back up to four stars. I found a way into the airport and flew a plane over to one of the locked out areas. I actually made it pretty far inland but was shot down by some kind of military aircraft. I ditched the plane into the water and tried to make a break for it, but the swat team cut me to ribbons. So far I have found no way into the closed off areas without getting blown to bits by the authorities, but I'm trying.  

This game is so open-ended, what's not to love? When you get frustrated with the missions there are about a zillion other things you can do to keep you entertained. Yes, the violence & language are both pretty over the top, but I'm over 21 and it is only a game after all.

-S

[wrxh8r]

Im up to the san fran style city now.The game gets better and better the more i play it.While i enjoyed it, at first it does seem like more of the same, but the further you progress the better it gets and the small things really show through.

[pointdablame]

I really need to grab a copy of this..... classes have just been getting in the way.

[Pieman2004]

I'll get to this game eventually. I played through quite a few missions, then I got distracted by The Bard's Tale. When I finish it, I might move on to GTA:SA. I hate that gta hasn't taken all my attention from the other games as I hoped. I thought this would be the best game I had ever played, it might be, but its not much different than Vice City. So the initial fun is already lost.

[johnnysmitch]

I thought this would be the best game I had ever played, it might be, but its not much different than Vice City. So the initial fun is already lost.

I was feeling somewhat the same way at first (though it's been a long time since I was into Vice City, so this had some familiar charm), but trust me, this one is far advanced from it's former.  Some of the missions I've played (just in the first city) are the most fun I've had in a GTA game, or many other games for that matter.  And once you get through the first city, the whole GTA dynamic changes drastically, and you truly feel the enormity of the game's map.  I'm about 20 hours in, less than 20% completion, and I gotta say so far this is probably the best game I've ever played (and yes, I have and love Halo). And I came into it not expecting a whole lot...

[javeryh]

When I finally finish Vice City I'll pick this up for $20 in a bargain bin or as a GH or something...