Volume 1 Issue 3 August 2005 Serious Sam II - Hardcore Gamer

Publisher : Rockstar
Developer : Rockstar North
Release Date : June 7, 2005
Genre(s) : Action
Category : Gangsta Sandbox
# of players : 1
Rating : MATURE; Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong
Language, Strong Sexual Content, Use of Drugs
Review by
Syriel
The original Grand Theft Auto may have gotten its start on
the PC, but it was the PlayStation 2 release of Grand Theft
Auto III that shot the series into the stratosphere and gave
Rockstar a license to print money. As the series progressed,
the games got more complex, and started pushing the PS2
hardware to its limits. While last fall’s release of Grand Theft
Auto: San Andreas was undoubtedly fun, no one can deny the
noticeable draw-in or the annoyingly long loading times that
plagued it. Now that Sony’s window of exclusivity is over, the
game has made its way to both the PC and Xbox, opening up
the world of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas to everyone.
Set in the early 90’s, the game tells the story of Carl Johnson. A
former gangbanger, Carl has returned home to bury his mother and
make peace with his past. Sadly, his past isn’t ready to make peace
with him. Framed for murder by corrupt cops and facing a neighborhood
torn apart by drugs and fighting, Carl is drawn back into the
gangland warfare that he hoped to avoid.
Playing as Carl, you have to navigate your way through this world of
urban conflict, dealing with unsavory characters and completing missions
that will require you to drive, fly, shoot, fight, work out, paint
and even get your hair cut. Broken down individually, each objective
is rather simplistic in nature, but layered together they form the basis
of a surprisingly rich story which is helped along by the impressive
voice work. Featuring talent such as Samuel L. Jackson and Peter
Fonda, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is one of the few games to hit
perfection in the voice acting department.
Of course, if you decide to take a break from the story, nothing’s
stopping you from running off and having a bit of fun. One moment
you might be trying to pick up a girl, the next you could be hopping
a fence at the airport and stealing a plane. Need some weapons? You
can either buy them from the crazy old man across town, or simply
run down some rival gang members and collect what you need from
their corpses. The choice is yours.
PRESENTATION
MATTERS
In the days of minimalist
manuals and electronic
documentation, it is nice
to see a developer actually
put some work into the
packaging. Detailed manuals
and maps used to be standard
fare with games, but in
recent years packaging seems
to have become a lost art. Not
so here. Though the console
versions of GTA:SA ship with
thin booklets, Rockstar went all
out for the PC release.
Rip the shrink wrap off this one and you won’t find a generic
jewel case. Instead there is a hardcover book waiting for you.
Written as a travel guide for the three cities in the game, the
manual is both visually appealing and loaded with tidbits about
the world. You can easily waste an hour just flipping though it. A
pull-out map is tucked into the front, while the game DVD-ROM
is secured just inside the back cover.
While it doesn’t directly affect gameplay, the classy packaging
is impressive and enjoyable. Kudos to Rockstar for making the
PC version of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas more than just a
commodity.
Unfortunately, neither the Xbox or PC version of the game offer a totally unlocked
world right from the start. Just like in the PS2 original, you must advance
through the story mode to enable the cities of San Fierro and Las Venturas. This
is a bit disappointing, as tooling around in an open-ended sandbox is one of the
series’ great appeals, and while the story mode is engaging, it can be a bit tiresome
to run through a second time if you’ve already played the PS2 version.
Visually, both the Xbox and PC versions feature small improvements over the
original. On the Xbox, GTA:SA supports progressive scan, and the PC version’s
resolutions go all the way up to 1600x1200. It looks good, but for some reason
Rockstar failed to take the extra step and recreate high-resolution textures for
the ports. As a result, the new versions are sharper, but
aren’t as impressive as they could be. It’s quite obvious
that the game was designed with the limitations of the PS2
in mind. The loading times have also been improved; the
Xbox’s are manageable, and the PC’s, virtually non-existent.
Oddly, control is something of a mixed bag, with the Xbox
version feeling incredibly twitchy. This was most noticeable
when driving or in the middle of a firefight. On the other
hand, the PC version was incredibly tight and responsive,
especially when using a Logitech gamepad.
While Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas isn’t perfect — it’s
a jack of all trades, and master of none — it does a fine
job integrating a number of different styles of play into
one relatively seamless experience. All of the porting flaws
combined don’t detract from what is still one of the best
gameplay experiences around. If you’ve already put in a few
hours with the PS2 version there’s
nothing new here, but if you
skipped out last fall,
now’s your chance to
see what you missed. Of
the three, the PC version
is easily the best,
proving the old adage
that yes, you can go
home again.
Rating : 4.5 of 5
2nd opinion by Roger Danish • Alternate Rating : 4 of 5
Since GTA: SA doesn’t really offer much in the way of solid new features on the Xbox or PC,
there isn’t much of a reason for to go back to San Andreas for a repeat visit.
4.25 of 5
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