San andreas?

[ysbreker]

So who of you lucky PS2 owners got this gem of gaming goodness yet?

Give us some info! Or the fruitfucker gang will come and pop a cap at ya!

Or are you too busy to give us your thoughts about it?

[Chris]

I think if you enjoyed the previous two games, you'll enjoy this one. My signature is slightly misleading; I'm actually having a lot of fun with it. One thing about the game, though, is that it seems to me at least to be more difficult than the GTA3 and Vice City. This struck me as a bit of an odd move considering Rockstar's potential audience includes so many casual gamers. A few missions in particular are devious.

That said, the game is ENORMOUS. I kid you not when I say that it still blows my mind that you can get on the freeway and take a particular exit. That sounds stupid, but when you're navigating a friend and you tell him to get off the freeway on the third exit down, it sounds absurd that you're talking about a video game. The three cities are large, as you'd expect, but there's a sprawling mass of countryside and roads and mountains in between them that really adds a huge amount of realism to the game. We all know about this from the previews but that addition is even better than I thought it would be. Just driving around between cities is a pleasure, and I haven't even reached Las Venturas yet.

More specific bad points include getting over the game's learning curve. It doesn't really take long, but the controls feel sort of awkward at first, and I've been with the series since the first one (and when I say the "first one" I don't mean GTA3). This is mainly due to things like not being able to run and auto-target an enemy at the same time until you build up your shooting skill a bit, and not being able to run very long until you build up your stamina. Fortunately, these stats are VERY easy to build to a sufficient level without much effort. Plus, if you're the type of guy who likes to max out all his points, you'll have that extra edge if you're willing to put in a bit of time. All in all the light RPG elements are a success after the initial hump.

Basically the game is getting a lot better for me as it's going on. I started out sort of dubious, thinking the game was just another GTA3/VC. It sort of is, really, but there are enough additions, not least of which is simply the scale, that make it worth picking up if GTA is your thing. It sure won't convert any nonbelievers though.

Also, if anyone has any tips regarding how to beat Zero's fucking Supply Lines mission, let me know. I think it's optional but I pretty much have a grudge at this point. It's the one with the fucking toy plane.

EDIT: It slightly bothers me that the Penny Arcade strip uses the "heezy" language, since the game actually takes place in the early 90s, but meh.

[Ginger]

It's good, it's very good, a lot has gone into its creation and it's fun and this out shadows the few minor probs like slowdown and the turdness of the PS2 analog sticks.

But the problem for me is that it isn't a good enough ambassador for games. I reckon more casual gamers are going to play and more non-gamers are going to hear about this game than any other and they are going to come away with their narrow minded views of the gaming industry confirmed. I don't know what they could have done with the core formula to make it a better example of what games could be, but I just wish another AAA title which still has all the commercial necessities could be the one that all these non/fair-weather-gamers had as their main foundation for their opinion of the games industry. For example HL2 with its great AI, physics and slightly less mindless violence would leave a lot of people with a better taste of what games are and what they could be, rather than just getting another 60 million people to buy a PS2/3 and demanding GTA:Clone {fuck there is no number key/hash thingy whatever it is on my powerbook} 168.

But it is still a very fun game so it's hard to stay angry at it. I would agree with chris’ point that it gets much better as you progress further (as it did with GTA3/VC but more so this time)

[Erwin_Br]

It's slowly becoming a simulation, too. I mean -I have to work out to stay in shape (I could work out in the gym, but also run a few miles or take a bike and cross through the huuuge countryside). I need to eat and drink, I have to get a haircut, buy clothes, etc.. etc..

And yeah, the massive size of it all. I like it a lot. I think I'll like it even better on the PC, though. It's the first time I play a GTA game on a console, and the controls are... awkward. Long live the mouse!!!! Oh, and the graphics aren't that great either, compared to the PC (Vice City being reference material).

--Erwin

[MrHoatzin]

I was pleasantly surprised by the game - I am only afraid that they will not carry over the awesome shaders to the PC and Xbox version - though not very happy about the change of the big bouncing arrow design. I thought it was going to devolve into the ultra violence and gangsta crap, but the satirical vein is still there...

[slink.jadranko]

I was very undecided at first. It only just turned up today, thanks to UK post and all.

I put it in, and was underwhelmed at very first. It's the first GTA I've played on console properly (I played VC at my brother's on PS2, but I didn't have a PS2 and got it on PC), and so the graphics and controls felt odd. I always used a dual shock to drive with on PC at least...

That said, after half an hour driving around and seeing the sights, and the first bits of what it has to offer, I am won over. It is massive! I can't believe how long it took me to see most of Los Santos alone!

It does seem more difficult than 3 or VC, but I don't think that's a bad thing, as the penalties for dying aren't that bad.

I think I'm enjoying it more than the previous ones, just because of the scale and scope of it. I will pick it up on PC when it comes out, seeing as until I got this I still went back and played VC as a 'pick up and play' game.

[Esseb]

I was pleasantly surprised by the game - I am only afraid that they will not carry over the awesome shaders to the PC and Xbox version.

May I ask what shaders are so awesome it would not be possible to recreate them on a modern PC with an average graphics card? Given that they'll spend half a year on the PC version, I can only assume they'll include the equivelant or better shaders on it.

[MrHoatzin]

May I ask what shaders are so awesome it would not be possible to recreate them on a modern PC with an average graphics card? Given that they'll spend half a year on the PC version, I can only assume they'll include the equivelant or better shaders on it.

Vice City didn't have the awesome glow on the PC that it had on the PS2. Also, with my ATI 9600 pro I experienced some weirdness with the bushes, the edges were anti-aliased, but through the anti-aliased transparency of the jagged edge the other bushes behind didn't appear at all -- instead you saw the buildings behind. I may take a screenshot later. Knowing how it looks on the PS2, the PC version feels like a lazy port. The cars in San Andreas look awesome and so does the orange glow of the whole city. I hope they don't just shit the port out taking away those visual dohickies.

[Jayel]

oh yeah I remember those bushes and trees with funky transparency going on.

It's possible that PS2 versions of the game don't have a problem because they only support 1bit transparency. (never played it on PS2 so I'm not sure) so they decided to make it "better" for PC with filtered alpha textures and ended up making it worse.

all they need to do is

1 make a list of half transparent polygons currently visible

2 sort them

3 don't render them until the rest of the scene is rendered

4 then render

is that so hard? stupid lazy programmers

[Chris]

I agree with Kingz about the orange glow. It adds a lot of atmosphere.

I don't really agree with Erwin about it becoming a simulation. I simply stopped eating completely after playing the game for a whille, and nothing bad has happened so far. Eating seems more a convenient way to regain health than anything else. If I've just survived a gang war and I'm almost dead, I'll go to a Cluckin' Bell and get a salad meal, and it saves a trip home to refill health there. The elements are there if you want them, but by no means an integral part of the game.

I also agree with what I think Ginger was saying in that I am concerned about the image this game is projecting as the mass appeal video game. It really is a lot more extreme than the previous games in terms of brutality and overall tone. There's a mission requiring you to sneak into a house and stealthily slit the necks of a bunch of people, just to steal a book of rhymes for a crappy rapper who can't rhyme himself. That's a mission that honestly just doesn't seem to have any purpose to it, and doesn't leave much room for any "well, this is what you have to do to get ahead" explanations, because it seems utterly gratuitous. I would have told the guy that if he can't rhyme, he can fuck off and do his fucked up killings himself.

The game does have a lot of anti-drug overtones (not counting stuff like pot which obviously isn't a hard drug), and honestly I do think it was good of Rockstar to not have your character just eventually become a crack dealer or something, but it did come off as slightly odd to me that such messages are juxtaposed with almost disturbingly and brutally violent missions.

[MrHoatzin]

I agree with Kingz about the orange glow. It adds a lot of atmosphere.

I don't really agree with Erwin about it becoming a simulation. I simply stopped eating completely after playing the game for a whille, and nothing bad has happened so far. Eating seems more a convenient way to regain health than anything else. If I've just survived a gang war and I'm almost dead, I'll go to a Cluckin' Bell and get a salad meal, and it saves a trip home to refill health there. The elements are there if you want them, but by no means an integral part of the game.

I also agree with what I think Ginger was saying in that I am concerned about the image this game is projecting as the mass appeal video game. It really is a lot more extreme than the previous games in terms of brutality and overall tone. There's a mission requiring you to sneak into a house and stealthily slit the necks of a bunch of people, just to steal a book of rhymes for a crappy rapper who can't rhyme himself. That's a mission that honestly just doesn't seem to have any purpose to it, and doesn't leave much room for any "well, this is what you have to do to get ahead" explanations, because it seems utterly gratuitous. I would have told the guy that if he can't rhyme, he can fuck off and do his fucked up killings himself.

The game does have a lot of anti-drug overtones (not counting stuff like pot which obviously isn't a hard drug), and honestly I do think it was good of Rockstar to not have your character just eventually become a crack dealer or something, but it did come off as slightly odd to me that such messages are juxtaposed with almost disturbingly and brutally violent missions.

Yes, I think that mission is there just to freak you out, you know, these people take their Respect + seriously...