Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (GTA:SA) is a third-person action/adventure video game that was developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the third 3D game in the Grand Theft Auto franchise and fifth original game overall. It was released for the PlayStation 2 on October 26, 2004 in North America and on October 29, 2004 in Europe and Australia, and for the PC and Xbox on June 7, 2005 in North America and June 10, 2005 in Europe.

History

Speculation

Following the success of Vice City, many gamers eagerly anticipated a new Grand Theft Auto game on the PlayStation 2 in late 2003. Most theories were shot down when Rockstar had given no announcement of a new game by summer of that year. The first hint at there even being a new installment was on October 29, 2003, when Take-Two Interactive announced that an untitled "GTA5" game was set for release in the "later half of the fiscal fourth quarter 2004".Douglass C. Perry, GTA 4 Date Confirmed, IGN, October 30, 2003 By this time, pundits online had two theories about the plot of the game; it would either be based in the city of San Andreas, California (based on San Francisco) in the modern day, or in Sin City, Nevada (based on Las Vegas) in the 1970s.

Release information

On December 17, and December 21, 2003, Take-Two registered 10 GTA-related trademarks (GTA5, GTA6, GTA: San Andreas, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, GTA: Sin City, Grand Theft Auto: Sin City, GTA: Bogota, Grand Theft Auto: Bogota, GTA: Tokyo, and Grand Theft Auto: Tokyo).Ed Lewis, Take-Two Registers GTA: Bogota, IGN, January 12, 2004 After the information was divulged on January 12, 2004, it seemed likely that most of the titles were either red herrings or possible future incarnations of the franchise.

On March 1, 2004, Take-Two announced in a press conference that Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas would be released Tuesday, October 19, 2004 in the US, and three days later, October 22, in EuropeStephen Coleman, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, IGN, March 1, 2004 and October 29 for Australia. The first news of the game's content would be revealed on March 11, as it was divulged that San Andreas would not be a city, but rather an entire state consisting of Los Santos (Los Angeles), San Fierro (San Francisco), and Las Venturas (Las Vegas).

The release date was pushed back by a week on September 9, 2004 in Take-Two's third quarter financial results for 2004. The PlayStation 2 version would not be released until October 26, 2004 in North America and October 29, 2004 for Europe, and November 15, 2004 in Australia to allow Rockstar to remove questionable content that would gotten the game banned there. Nonetheless, the Australian version went on sale on October 29 and proved to be the multilanguage European PAL (UK) version. In the same release, Take-Two announced a PC and Xbox version would be released on June 7, 2005.

The Xbox and PC ports of San Andreas were released on June 7, 2005 in the U.S. In Europe, the release date was June 10, 2005. Similar to past iterations of the GTA games, both versions have higher-resolution textures, the ability to have custom soundtracks from MP3s, and a 30 second instant replay feature. Both the PS2 and Xbox versions also have a 2-player option for certain missions; however, this feature was removed from the PC version.

In the headlines

The Calaveras Enterprise newspaper reported on November 3, 2004 that the Merchants' Association in the real-life town of San Andreas, California has become alarmed about the popularity of the video game, but has conceded that there is little it can do. Also, it turns out there is a retired pastor named Carl Johnson in the real San Andreas (Carl Johnson, the protagonist of GTA: San Andreas, shares the same name).

On July 20, 2005 production of the game was suspended and the game received a revised ESRB Rating of Adults Only, making San Andreas the only mass-released AO console game in the U.S. This was the result of the release of a modification allowing access to the hidden " San Andreas#Leaks and the "Hot Coffee" scandal" portion of the game. Rockstar has given distributors the option of applying an Adults Only ESRB rating sticker to copies of the game, or returning them to be replaced by versions without the Hot Coffee content. Many retailers pulled the game off their shelves in compliance with their own store regulations that kept them from selling AO games. Rockstar North released a "Cold Coffee" patchNo More Hot Coffee, Rockstar Games, 2005 for the PC version and re-released San Andreas with a Mature rating. The PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions have also been re-released in a "GTA Trilogy Pack"Tim Surette, GTA gets trilogized, San Andreas special edition, Gamespot, September 23, 2005 for Xbox, and a Special Edition for PlayStation 2 that includes the documentary film Sunday Driver.

Storyline

Set in the early 1990s, the player controls main character San Andreas#Carl "CJ" Johnson, an African American man in his mid-to-late twenties returning to Los Santos after five years residing in Liberty City. Carl left Los Santos after being blamed for the death of his younger brother, Brian, by his older brother, Sean (nicknamed "Sweet"). The murder of his mother causes him to return for her funeral. CJ returns to find disarray in his family and in his old gang, the Grove Street Families (named for their home territory, Grove Street), which prompts him to stay.

Characters

The characters that appear in San Andreas are relatively diverse and relative to the respected cities and locales that each of them based themselves in. This allows the game to include a significantly wider array of storylines and settings than in GTA III and Vice City.

The Los Santos stages of the game, for example, revolves around the theme of factions of street gangs fighting for turf and respect; this would include Grove Street Families members San Andreas#Carl "CJ" Johnson, San Andreas#Sean "Sweet" Johnson, San Andreas#Kendl Johnson, San Andreas#Melvin "Big Smoke" Harris, San Andreas#Lance "Ryder" Wilson and San Andreas#Jeffrey "OG Loc" Cross (along with Varrios Los Aztecas leader San Andreas#Cesar Vialpando), as well as opposing gangs such as the Ballas and the Vagos. Hippie-related characters, as well as East Asian gangs (most notably the local Triads) and an additional Hispanic gang are evident in the San Fierro leg of the game, while three Mafia families, which control a casino in Las Venturas, are more prominently featured in the Las Venturas section of the game. Other characters of interest include San Andreas#Mike Toreno, a government operative whom Carl would work for, and San Andreas#Catalina, Claude's future girlfriend.

Like Vice City, San Andreas's voice actors includes notable celebrities, including Samuel L Jackson, Frank Vincent, Peter Fonda, James Woods, Wil Wheaton, the late Chris Penn, William Fichtner, Charlie Murphy, David Cross, Debi Mazar, rappers Yo-Yo, MC Eiht, Ice T, Kid Frost and The Game, as well as musicians Axl Rose and Shaun Ryder.

San Andreas is also the first game in the series to include "fuck", "cunt" and "nigga" - profanities and wordings still widely taboo in other media - in voice acting scripts. Liberty City Stories has followed San Andreas's trend by continuing to adopt these obscenities in voice acting.

San Andreas

The fictional state, San Andreas is generally based on the southern portions of California and Nevada comprising three major cities. Las Venturas (and the surrounding desert) correspond to Las Vegas and the Nevada desert; Los Santos and the badlands correspond to Los Angeles and the California badlands; and San Fierro is the equivalent of San Francisco. Players can climb Mount Chiliad (based on Mount Diablo), a half mile (800 m) tall mountain casting a vast shadow, parachute from various peaks and skyscrapers, and visit 12 rural towns and villages located in three counties: Red County, Flint County, and Bone County, a massive dam (based on the Hoover Dam), a large secret military base (called Area 69, an obvious pun on Area 51), a microwave dish, and many other geographical features. San Andreas is approximately 17 square miles (44 square kilometers), almost four times as large as Vice City, and five times as large as Liberty City.

Los Santos

Los Santos features landmarks reminiscent of the Watts Towers, the Los Angeles Convention Center, the Capitol Tower, the U.S. Bank Tower, the Great Western Forum, and Grauman's Chinese Theater. The city of Los Santos has several important areas, including the gang-ridden Ganton, Idlewood and East Los Santos based on Compton, Inglewood; and East Los Angeles, busy downtown, wealthy Rodeo and Mulholland, and glitzy Vinewood (complete with giant VINEWOOD sign in the hills) which is based on Hollywood.

San Fierro

San Fierro features Rockstar's interpretations of the Haight-Ashbury district ("Hashbury"), the Castro district ("Queens"), Chinatown, and the Golden Gate Bridge ("Gant Bridge"), as well as the city's prominent cable cars and hilly terrain. Several other familiar landmarks have been recreated from the Embarcadero clock tower and the Transamerica Pyramid ("Big Point Building") to Lombard Street ("Windy Windy Windy Windy Windy Street"), and Scottish landmarks such as the Forth Bridge and the Forth Road Bridge. There is a district known as "Garcia", an ode to Grateful Dead frontman and San Francisco native Jerry Garcia, and San Fierro's City Hall closely resembles San Francisco's ornate city hall.

Las Venturas

In Las Venturas, the player is able to visit and even gamble in a casino. One is able to play various casino games such as poker, roulette, and slot machines. Off-track betting parlors are also available in the game's other regions. In addition to gambling, strip clubs are also prevalent in Las Venturas. Many real Las Vegas Strip casinos are faithfully interpreted on Las Venturas' Strip, including the Excalibur Hotel and Casino ("Come-a-Lot"), the Sphinx and pyramid of the Luxor Hotel ("The Camel's Toe"), and the Pioneer Club, with Vegas Vic and VickiSuper Signage - NEVADA (page 1) replaced by Vice City characters Avery Carrington and Candy Suxxx, respectively.

Plot synopsis

Carl discovers his best friends, Big Smoke and Ryder, are working with the crooked Officer Tenpenny and Grove Street's hated rival gang, the Ballas. Smoke and Ryder help the Ballas ambush Sweet, who is then arrested by Tenpenny and thrown into jail. Tenpenny kidnaps Carl and throws him into the rural countryside. Carl, realizing Tenpenny is Sweet's only way out of jail, continues to perform the cop's crooked errands.

Carl steadily befriends new allies, among them, blind Chinese gang leader/businessman, Wu Zi Mu, the seemingly aloof but extremely knowledgable hippie, The Truth, and Cesar, a former Hispanic gang member who, like Carl, has been betrayed by his old friends. Carl, along with Cesar, Kendl (Carl's sister and Cesar's girlfriend), and The Truth's friendly technicians, opens a thriving Auto Mod-Shop. After killing Ryder, he is immersed into the affairs of shady government agent, Mike Toreno, who claims the eventual release of Sweet. At Toreno's assertion, Carl avoids Los Santos and, instead, works alongside Wu Zi Mu, to promote the growth of a new casino in a mafia-run town. Carl also returns Madd Dogg, a distraught rapper whose career Carl unintentionally destroyed, to popular status, as an acting manager. Carl enjoys new-found wealth but returns to Los Santos, where Sweet has been freed. To his surprise, Sweet is disgusted with Carl's aversion of Los Santos, lack of identity, incontribution to his 'hood, and generally not communicating.

Tenpenny, who is taken to court for clear corruption, is acquitted, sending the citizens of Los Santos into mass frenzy. Fueled by Sweet's resolve to enact revenge upon Tenpenny and all his dealings, Carl reacquires lost gang territory and hunts down the traitors responsible for aiding in the drug business. He kills, now drug tycoon, Smoke, prompting Tenpenny to flee with Smoke's fortune. Sweet and Carl pursue Tenpenny through the streets of Los Santos, finally forcing him off a bridge. Tenpenny survives, but dies shortly after. The final scene shows the Johnson family reunited, with Carl walking out the door, uttering the following: "Fittin' to hit the block, see what's happening."

Gameplay

San Andreas is structured similarly to the previous two games in the series. The core gameplay consists of elements of a third-person shooter and a driving game, affording the player a large, open environment to move around in. On foot, the player's character is capable of walking, running, and jumping, as well as utilizing weapons and basic hand to hand combat. Players can steal and drive a variety of vehicles, including automobiles, boats, airplanes, helicopters, and motorcycles.

The open, non-linear environment allows players to explore and choose how they wish to play the game. Although storyline missions are necessary to progress through the game and unlock certain cities and content, they are not required, as players can complete them at their own leisure. When not taking on a storyline mission, players can free-roam and create havoc (ie: drive-by shootings, robberies, etc). However, doing so generally attracts unwanted and potentially fatal attention from the authorities. The more chaos caused, the stronger the response: police will handle minor infractions, whereas SWAT teams and the military respond to higher warning levels.

The player can also partake in a variety of optional side missions. The traditional side missions of the past games are included, such as dropping off taxi cab passengers, putting out fires, driving injured people to the hospital, and delivering pizzas. New additions include truck and train driving missions requiring players to make deliveries on time, and driving/flying/boating schools, which help players learn skills and techniques to use in their corresponding vehicles.

Unlike Vice City and GTA3, which had loading screens when traveling between different districts of the city, San Andreas has no load times when the player is in transit. The only loading screens in the game are for cut-scenes and interiors. This is very surprising, considering San Andreas is four times larger than Vice City and five times larger than Liberty City. Other notable differences between San Andreas and its predecessors are the removal of hidden packages (which have been replaced by spray paint tags, horseshoes, and oysters) and Rampage missions.

New features

Many new features have been included in the game. New vehicles include bicycles (which feature a new control scheme), trucks with detachable trailers, police motorcycles, operable tow trucks, combine harvesters, quad bikes, airplanes, a VTOL military jet fighter, a jet pack, and trains. In total, there are nearly 200 vehicles in the game, compared to the 85 in GTA3. In addition, players can swim and climb walls for the first time in the series. For greater firepower, players can also wield dual firearms or perform a drive-by shooting with multiple gang members. The camera, fighting, and targeting controls were reworked with concepts from another Rockstar game, Manhunt implimented, including improved target crosshairs that change colors from green to red to black depending on the target's health, as well as various stealth elements. Another inclusion in the game is a waypoint reticule on the HUD map that the player can set to aid them in reaching a destination. Considering San Andreas is much larger than other cities in the series, this minor addition was appreciated, especially in driving intensive missions.

Personalization

Rockstar has emphasized the personalization of the main character. Clothing and accessories (which players can buy at one of the game's many clothing stores), haircuts and tattoos are now available for purchase by CJ, and have more effect on NPCs' reactions than the clothing in Vice City. Players must also ensure CJ eats to stay healthy, obtaining food from fast food restaurants such as Cluckin' Bell, street vendors, diners, bars and nightclubs. The balance of food and exercise has an effect on his muscularity and appearance. If CJ eats too much in a short period, he will get sick and throw up; if he overeats periodically, he will grow fat and move more slowly while on foot. If he fails to eat, he will become less muscular and, eventually, will lose health. San Andreas also tracks acquired skills in areas such as driving, firearms handling, stamina, and lung capacity, which improve through use in the game. This adds an RPG aspect to the game. CJ may also learn three different styles of unarmed combat at the gyms in each of the game's three cities. CJ can also speak with a number of pedestrians in the game, including drug dealers, prospective girlfriends, and fellow gang members. CJ's level of respect among his fellow Grove Street gang members varies according to his appearance and actions, as do his relationships with his girlfriends. Rockstar claims that CJ has a total of about 4200 lines of spoken dialog.Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Weekend Update: Street Talking, Gamespot, October 23, 2004

Better artificial intelligence

Another improvement to the game is the AI. No longer can the player beat a pedestrian to death on a busy street in broad daylight and have bystanders not do anything. While most pedestrians will flee or duck for cover, some armed civilians and enemy gang members will attack CJ, and friendly gang members will shoot at and pursue his opponents. This makes the previously mentioned home invasions more difficult than one would expect because the occupants will resist, and in some cases, draw weapons.

Vehicle modification

TransFender, Wheel Arch Angels, and Loco Low Co. are fictitious car modification shops in San Andreas. These shops range in a wide variety of mods for a vehicle from nitro to hydraulics. Most car mods are strictly visual, adding aesthetic appeal to the vehicles, as opposed to those which improve the performance. Many, but not all, vehicles can be modified. Common modifications include nitrous tanks, hydraulics, paintjobs, rims, body kits, and stereo system upgrades.

Gang wars

After progressing through the storyline enough, the ability to engage in gang wars on the streets of Los Santos is made available. The goal is to gain as much territory within the city as possible in order to earn money. The more territory inhabited, the more money CJ earns. Battles with enemy gangs are prompted whenever the player (either alone or accompanied by fellow Grove Street Families members) ventures into enemy territory (denoted by sections of the HUD map color coded to certain gangs) and kills 2-3 gang members. If the player survives multiple waves of enemies, the territory will be won and fellow gang members will begin wandering the streets of these areas. Occassionally, your territory will come under attack from enemy gangs and defeating them will be necessary to retain these areas.

Robbery

A new activity that continues the Grand Theft Auto series' tradition of Vice City#Controversy is home invasion.Greg Kasavin, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Weekend Update: Robbery and Home Invasion, Gamespot, August 13, 2004 By stealing a robbery van, CJ is able to sneak into a residence, and cart off valuables or shake down the occupants at night. The loot the player makes off with is exchanged for money.

Minigames

Numerous minigames are also available for play in San Andreas, including basketball, pool, rhythm-based challenges involving dancing and hydraulic vehicles, and video game machines that pay homage to classic arcade games such as Gyruss, Defender and Gradius. In addition, there are the aforementioned methods of gambling, which allow the player to play blackjack, video poker, roulette, and other casinos games.

Multiplayer

A two-player cooperative mode has also been added for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox. Two-player icons are found in several key locations in the San Andreas world. Setting foot on one of these icons and pressing any button on a second controller starts up a series of special objectives similar to a "Rampage" in previous Grand Theft Auto games. Two human players will be able to go in a car or on foot. Both the players are required to remain on the same screen and within a reasonable proximity of one another.

Weapons

The weapon selection in San Andreas is approximately the same as in Vice City, with a few additions or replacements. Just like in Vice City, weapons are categorized by type, and the player can carry only one weapon in each "slot" at a time.

Slot 1: Hand: bare fist, brass knuckles
Slot 2: Melee Weapons: baseball bat, shovel, cue stick, katana, golf club, nightstick, knife, chainsaw
Slot 3: Handguns: 9mm pistol*, silenced 9mm pistol, Desert Eagle
Slot 4: Shotguns: pump-action shotgun, sawn-off shotgun*, combat shotgun (SPAS-12)
Slot 5: Sub-Machine Guns: TEC-9*, micro-SMG (Micro-Uzi)*, SMG (H&K MP5)
Slot 6: Assault Rifles: AK-47, M4 Carbine
Slot 7: Rifles: hunting rifle, sniper rifle
Slot 8: Heavy Weapons: rocket launcher, flame thrower, heat-seeking rocket launcher, minigun
Slot 9: Explosives and Incendiaries: hand grenade, (lethal) tear gas grenade, Molotov cocktail, remote satchel charge
Slot 10: Handheld Items: fire extinguisher, spray paint, camera
Slot 11: Gifts: flowers, a cane, dildos, and vibrators which can be given to CJ's girlfriends
Slot 12: Special Items: thermal/night vision goggles, parachute
Slot 13: Etc.: detonator

* denotes weapon can be dual-wielded

The in-game model for the "9mm pistol" resembles a Colt .45, and the HUD icon for the "micro-smg" resembles a MAC-11, although the in-game model is that of a Micro-Uzi. Also, the HUD icon for the "Sniper rifle" resembles a PSG-1, however, the weapon in-game is a generic bolt action rifle lacking a pistol grip rather than the semi-automatic PSG-1. ^*

Some weapons are not actually used in the game, although they can be unlocked with mods or third-party devices.

Slot 2: Melee Weapons: skateboard. This weapon was removed from the released game. A popular mod for PC replaces the shovel with this weapon.
Slot unknown: cell phone. This "weapon" can only be seen in the phone interaction cutscenes, and is automatically wielded by CJ. Technically not a real weapon.

Crossovers from other GTA games

Many characters, locations and fictional elements from previous Grand Theft Auto games reappear in San Andreas, at times with minor modifications due to the difference in time periods. Due to the fact that Vice City occurred before the events of San Andreas, crossovers from Vice City are more prominent but there are numerous crossovers from GTA III as well.

Criticisms

Most criticisms of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas have stemmed from the PC version of the series and are a result of the difficulties encountered when porting the console version of the game. These include control issues, graphical mishaps, and awkward camera angles. Some critics also note that while a lot of new content has been added to San Andreas, little of it has been refined or implimented well.

Controversies

Hot Coffee mod

In mid-June 2005, a file modifying the game dubbed "Hot Coffee" was released. The name "Hot Coffee" refers to the way the released game alludes to the unseen sex scenes. In the unmodified game, the player takes his girlfriend to her front door and she asks him if he would like to come in for "some coffee." He agrees, and the camera stays outside, swaying back and forth a bit, while moaning sounds are heard.

After installing the patch/mod, users can enter the main character's girlfriends' houses and engage in a crudely rendered, partially clothed sexual intercourse mini-game. Patch codes that allowed the scenes to be accessed in the console versions were subsequently found. The fallout from the controversy resulted in a public response from high-ranking politicians in the United States and resulted in the game's recall and re-release.

Piracy

Six days before its release, a leaked edition of the game, along with its manual and its cover, were published illegally, DVD images of which are still available via a number of P2P networks. Similarly, around the time of release of the game in the UK, a leaked PAL version of the game was published.

Myths and easter eggs

San Andreas is distinct from the previous two games for a large amount of propagated myths. Shortly after the release of the game, several message boards sprouted claims of alleged Bigfoot and UFO sightings, and several alleged photographs were released, all of which have been proven to be faked. One easter egg put in as a joke is located at the top of the Gant Bridge as a sign reading, "There are no easter eggs up here, go away."

Bonus material

The Introduction, a machinima video, was provided in a DVD along with San Andreas soundtrack, as well as the Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Special Edition re-release for the PlayStation 2. The movie chronicles the events leading up the events in San Andreas, and provided insight on the development of the characters of the game, to the point when Carl learns of his mother's death in a phone call from Sweet and returns to Los Santos.

Notes and references

External links

Cheats Websites

San Andreas Cheats

Official pages and teaser sites

Official San Andreas site
Epsilon Program - teaser site #1 (parody of Scientology,Epsilon Team)
Maccer.net - teaser site #2
Cluckin' Bell - teaser site #3 (parody of Taco Bell, KFC)
FearItDoIt.com - teaser site #4 (parody of self-help, inversion therapy)
eXsorbeo.com - teaser site #5 (Game Boy parody)
Forgotten Legends of West Coast Rap - teaser site #6 (Madd Dogg's fictitious record label, Blastin' Fools Records)

Fan sites and wikis

GTASanAndreas.net
GTA Warehouse
GTA-Series.com
GTA-SanAndreas.com
San Andreas Multiplayer - Multiplayer Deathmatch + other Modes for San Andreas
Multi Theft Auto: San Andreas - Multiplayer Racing/Deathmatch for San Andreas
GTA Modding Wiki
GTA: San Andreas guide at StrategyWiki (previously hosted by Wikibooks)
Grand Theft Auto: SA
GTA Ireland
The GTA Place
The GTA Underground
PlanetGTA
San Andreas Heaven
GTAforums.com

Modding sites

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