San Andreas

[Erwin_Br]

Same problem here. I always confuse the yellow 'go-to icon' with the many 'restaurant' icons scattered around. Many times I ended up at Cluckin' Bell or Burger Shot, with the police still on my heels.

--Erwin

[SoccerDude28]

Exactly! At times I practically push my face against the screen to find out what an icon is. What kind of TV do you have? I thought it was my TV's fault -- it's kind of old and relatively small and some time ago it had some color patches in the corner where the map is.

Maybe I have to start wearing glasses while playing. I've never needed them to look at something that close before.

I have a 22 inch Sony Trinitron. It's a very nice TV and the colors are crisp, but it's not plasma or anything. i wonder if it looks better on a plasma TV ?

[SoccerDude28]

Same problem here. I always confuse the yellow 'go-to icon' with the many 'restaurant' icons scattered around. Many times I ended up at Cluckin' Bell or Burger Shot, with the police still on my heels.

--Erwin

I really didn't have this problem playing Vice City on a PC. Man you don't appreciate the PC version till you try something else

[MrHoatzin]

I got CJ to look as close to that as possible. Too bad beard coiffuring is not an option and there are no earings -- 'cause those things would allow for awesome™ness. Also, the game should have a pink tutu that Guybrush wore as a formal dress option or something like that...

Man, that sounds like a country song:

I was loved and left for dead;

He broke my heart and then my head,

Burned the trailer and from the cinders bore

The pink tutu that Guybrush wore...

[hermes]

I was loved and left for dead;

He broke my heart and then my head,

Burned the trailer and from the cinders bore

The pink tutu that Guybrush wore...

[Erkki]

Too bad beard coiffuring is not an option and there are no earings -- 'cause those things would allow for awesome™ness. Also, the game should have a pink tutu that Guybrush wore as a formal dress option or something like that...

Man, that sounds like a country song:

I was loved and left for dead;

He broke my heart and then my head,

Burned the trailer and from the cinders bore

The pink tutu that Guybrush wore...

Hehe... awesome. Myself, I change CJ's look all the time. Or clothes at least. I'd like to get rid of the muscles, but I guess that just takes time.

For some reason I find bicycling really fun. It's just so well done, I think. The speed is just right, even though it's not the least bit realistic as you pass cars even on hiways. I finally got out of Los Santos and drove around on the countryside a lot on the bike. My hand starts feeling strange after smashing the X button for a while, though.

Oh, and I also just had one of those great gaming moments. I was trying to ride a Sanchez up to a highway, but accidentally used an exit instead of an entry (i.e. wrong way on a one-way section) and this really big truck came speeding down and *smash* I rode straight into it. It sent me flying in the air for quite a long distance. For a nanosecond before hitting the truck, I was really scared. It was so sudden and felt so real. I think for than fraction of a second I felt something close to what I would have felt if this had been in real life.

I'd never seen that big a truck before in the game, or a random car drive that fast, so I'm sure that added to the surprise.

I also tried the billiards game. I expected a bit more precision to be honest, but given the context, it's more than good enough.

I don't really like any of those arcade games in the bars and 24-7 stores, though.

Oh, and the gambling place right under a big intersection in the middle of Los Santos -- are you supposed to do something during the race or just wait to see which horse finishes first? I only tried it twice, but on both occasions the horse I picked came last.

[MrHoatzin]

Oh, and the gambling place right under a big intersection in the middle of Los Santos -- are you supposed to do something during the race or just wait to see which horse finishes first? I only tried it twice, but on both occasions the horse I picked came last.

Catalina has a mission that involves that place. I've never been there before or since.

[Erkki]

Catalina has a mission that involves that place. I've never been there before or since.

Yeah, just did that mission. And I actually managed to win something from those machines a bit before that.

[MrChlorophyll]

I actually managed to win something from those machines

God damn you.

But those machines taught me to stop to never bet in real life, because I suck.

Horribly.

[Erkki]

My memory of GTA3 is blurry. Who was this Catalina? Was that the chick I rescued at the end? I don't remember her being that much of a control freak. Anyway, glad I got rid of her and it was cool to meet the mute hero from GTA3.

Now I'm getting to know San Fierro, which looks totally awesome. And what else was awesome was when I rode into the city for the first time and thought it would be cool if the designers had made the next mission an introductory tour of San Fierro -- and they had.

[Erkki]

There's so much I want to say about this game, I could talk for hours. It's pretty much everything I expected it to be and more, I only have a few control-related gripes and I'm sure it'll be better in the PC version:

- the damn camera angle. The from behind views are from a too low camera point. Driving up and down slopes is sometimes difficult because you can't see the road in front of you very well.

- the analog controls are actually worse than the keyboard. I was expecting to have more control thanx to the analog sticks, but this isn't the case -- the movement is too jerky and pretty much works like on/off mode buttons. This could totally be my controller's fault though, as it's not a Sony original.

- the blurry visuals (especially the automap)

Otherwise, I think this is a fucking amazing achievement in game developement, considering the scope. They must have had a few hundred people working on this, and still it all clicks together very well.

And I'm not even half-way there yet.

And I'm kind of surprised there haven't been -- or I haven't noticed -- any articles or behind the scenes stuff about this side of the thing. I hope they're coming.

[MrHoatzin]

My memory of GTA3 is blurry. Who was this Catalina? Was that the chick I rescued at the end? I don't remember her being that much of a control freak. Anyway, glad I got rid of her and it was cool to meet the mute hero from GTA3.

Catalina is the chick in GTA3 that shoots you at the beginning and leaves you for dead, the one you kill in the chopper as the very last mission proper.

[Erkki]

Heh. Just discovered (by accidentally pressing the wrong button) that you can zoom in the map in the menu, set targets that show up on the radar, and display the legend. No need for the paper map now, it was getting annoying that the in-game map was so small...

[MrHoatzin]

Heh. Just discovered (by accidentally pressing the wrong button) that you can zoom in the map in the menu, set targets that show up on the radar, and display the legend. No need for the paper map now, it was getting annoying that the in-game map was so small...

Retard.

[JimmyTheFish]

- the analog controls are actually worse than the keyboard. I was expecting to have more control thanx to the analog sticks, but this isn't the case

So let me get this straight... you were expecting more control with analog sticks then with keyboard and mouse? What world do you live on?

[lailoken]

yeah it's a crying shame that analog movement controls (say to instinctively control the speed of your movement) IMHO are still waiting for a worthy implementation. that, i think is what erkki meant.

[Erkki]

yeah it's a crying shame that analog movement controls (say to instinctively control the speed of your movement) IMHO are still waiting for a worthy implementation. that, i think is what erkki meant.

Of course. I wasn't expecting to be able to aim more easily than with the mouse or something like that.

I was expecting that I wouldn't have to tap the analog sticks like you tap keyboard buttons when you need to turn the car just a little bit, but I could push the stick just a little. But that doesn't work. And it's incredibly difficult to keep the player walking slowly, especially if you want to change direction while doing it.

[Erwin_Br]

That's true, turning your character is extremely annoying. Especially when you're running at full speed.

Sometimes the movement of my character doesn't make sense at all. One time I was aiming my gun at one asshole who was shooting at me. Next to this asshole stands another asshole, also shooting at me. I kill the first asshole, want to target the next one, and what happens? My character automatically turns his back to the asshole, I get shot in the back, I die, and I have to buy another controller because it doesn't survive my angry reaction to this extremely annoying event.

--Erwin

[MrHoatzin]

If you are sprinting and want to turn sharply, I would advise you to use the right analogue stick for turning. IE: You're holding the left one straight forward, you're tapping the X button fast, and then you stop tapping for a brief moment while you jerk the right stick. Presto! The right one is actually faster when it comes to turning than its left cousin.

[Erkki]

If you are sprinting and want to turn sharply, I would advise you to use the right analogue stick for turning. IE: You're holding the left one straight forward, you're tapping the X button fast, and then you stop tapping for a brief moment while you jerk the right stick. Presto! The right one is actually faster when it comes to turning than its left cousin.

yeah, and the left one turns the character relative to the camera, while right one moves the camera (and char)

[Erwin_Br]

Hmmm, that seems to work quite well.

I'm currently at the point in which you can take over neighbourhoods and shit. Pretty amusing stuff. I still haven't finished that fucking motorcycle mission with these bastards on the roof of the train, but it seems I can advance through the game quite far non the less. I hope I don't reach a dead end soon, because that motorcycle/train mission really makes me want to throw the console through the window. And it's not even *my* PS2.

--Erwin

[Erkki]

... these bastards on the roof of the train, but it seems I can advance through the game quite far non the less. I hope I don't reach a dead end soon ...

Sorry, but you will. The Big Smoke fork seems compulsory. And you will get a couple of harder missions than that (see the one i described). Or perhaps there is another way I didn't find -- making a certain amount of money perhaps? Not sure if they have that in the latest GTA games.

[Erwin_Br]

Sorry, but you will. The Big Smoke fork seems compulsory. And you will get a couple of harder missions than that (see the one i described). Or perhaps there is another way I didn't find -- making a certain amount of money perhaps? Not sure if they have that in the latest GTA games.

Damn. Well, of course missions get harder, no problem with that. It's just that the train mission doesn't have myself in total control. I manage to stay side-by-side for the entire trip, but that idiot Smoke doesn't kill them all. There's always one or two people left on that train when it leaves. It's frustrating, because I don't have a clue what to do about it.

--Erwin

[Erkki]

There's always one or two people left on that train when it leaves. It's frustrating, because I don't have a clue what to do about it.

Try staying a bit further from the train if you can -- Smoke will have a better shooting angle.

[baconian]

I finished that one on first try. weird that.

Try staying a little bit ahead of the front carraige. and what Errki said.