Unlike Vice City and GTA III, which needed loading screens when traveling between different districts of the city, San Andreas has no load times when the player is in transit (which is notable, given how much larger the in-game map is than in the previous games). The only loading screens in the game are for cut-scenes and interiors. Other differences between San Andreas and its predecessors include the switch from single-player to multiplayer Rampage missions (albeit not in the PC version), and the replacement of the 'hidden packages' with spray paint tags, hidden camera shots, horseshoes, and oysters to discover.
The camera, fighting, and targeting controls were reworked to incorporate concepts from another Rockstar game, Manhunt, including various stealth elements, as well as improved target crosshairs and a target health indicator which changes colors from green to red to black depending on the target's health. Car physics and features are similar to the Midnight Club series of street racing games, allowing for much more midair vehicle control as well as nitrous oxide upgrades and aesthetic modification.
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Las Venturas
Las Venturas is the second-largest city in San Andreas. Like its real-life counterpart of Las Vegas, Las Venturas is home to legalized gambling and several casinos. In these casinos, the player can partake in blackjack, poker, roulette, or play slot machines. 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), Treasure Island (Pirates In Men's Pants), The Mirage (The Visage), Circus Circus (The Clown's Pocket), Hard Rock Hotel and Casino (V-Rock Hotel and Casino), and Imperial Palace (Four Dragons Casino). Other landmarks include a replica of the Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign and interpretations of Vegas Vic and Vicki[8] as Vice City characters Avery Carrington and Candy Suxxx. Suites in several of the hotels are available for purchase. Additionally, Las Venturas features a large surrounding desert region, low-density residential areas, and strip malls, as well as a seedy area (Old Venturas) with several strip clubs and gambling parlors based on the Old Vegas Strip.
San Fierro
San Fierro is the smallest city in San Andreas. Like its real-life counterpart of San Francisco, San Fierro is characterized by a prominent cable car system and hilly terrain. San Fierro features several interpretations of many of San Francisco's districts and landmarks, including the Haight-Ashbury district (Hashbury), the Castro district (Queens), Chinatown, and the Golden Gate Bridge (Gant Bridge). Several other familiar landmarks have been recreated, from the Embarcadero clock tower and the Transamerica Pyramid (Big Pointy Building) to Lombard Street (Windy Windy Windy Windy Street), and the San Francisco Bay Bridge (Garver Bridge). There is a district known as 'Garcia', a tribute to Grateful Dead frontman and San Francisco native Jerry Garcia,[citation needed] and San Fierro's City Hall closely resembles San Francisco's ornate city hall. San Fierro also contains remains of the Cypress Street Viaduct which collapsed in 1989 during the Loma Prieta earthquake. There is also an amphibious assault ship in San Fierro, docked at the naval base.
Los Santos
Los Santos is the largest city in San Andreas. Like its real-life counterpart of Los Angeles, Los Santos is comprised of several diverse areas. This includes the gang-ridden neighborhoods of Ganton, Willow Field, Jefferson, Idlewood and East Los Santos, based on their actual counterparts of Compton, Willowbrook, Watts, Inglewood, and East Los Angeles, respectively. Also located in the city is a busy downtown section based on Downtown Los Angeles; the wealthy Rodeo and Mulholland districts (Rodeo based on Beverly Hills and named after Rodeo Drive); the beach-side districts of Santa Maria Beach and Verona Beach, representing Santa Monica and Venice Beach; and the glitzy Vinewood and the giant Vinewood Sign are based on Hollywood and its Hollywood Sign. Los Santos features landmarks reminiscent of Los Angeles, which include the Watts Towers, the Los Angeles Convention Center, the Capitol Tower, the U.S. Bank Tower, the Griffith Observatory, the Forum, the Hollywood Walk Of Fame, the Westin Bonaventure Hotel, and Grauman's Chinese Theater
Soundtrack
Just like the previous two entries in the Grand Theft Auto series, San Andreas has an extensive amount and variety of tracks taken from the time period the game is based in. Notable inclusions to the game's soundtrack include The Who, Toto, Faith No More, Depeche Mode, James Brown, Soundgarden, Rage Against the Machine, Danzig, Cream, Alice in Chains, Guns N' Roses, Snoop Dogg, N.W.A., 2Pac, Ice Cube, Dr.Dre, Eazy-E, Stone Temple Pilots, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Ozzy Osbourne.
San Andreas is serviced by eleven radio stations; WCTR (talk radio), Master Sounds 98.3 (rare groove, playing many of the old funk and soul tracks sampled by 1990s hip-hop artists), K-Jah West (dub and reggae), CSR (new jack swing), Radio X (alternative rock and grunge rock), Radio Los Santos (gangsta rap), SF-UR (house), Bounce FM (funk), K-DST (classic rock), K-Rose (country) and Playback FM (classic hip hop).
The music system in San Andreas is enhanced from previous titles. In earlier games in the series, each radio station was essentially a single looped sound file, playing the same songs, announcements and advertisements in the same order each time. In San Andreas, each section is held separately, and "mixed" randomly, allowing songs to be played in different orders, announcements to songs to be different each time, and plot events to be mentioned on the stations.
The Xbox and PC versions of the game include an additional radio station that supports custom soundtracks by playing user imported MP3s.
San Andreas is serviced by eleven radio stations; WCTR (talk radio), Master Sounds 98.3 (rare groove, playing many of the old funk and soul tracks sampled by 1990s hip-hop artists), K-Jah West (dub and reggae), CSR (new jack swing), Radio X (alternative rock and grunge rock), Radio Los Santos (gangsta rap), SF-UR (house), Bounce FM (funk), K-DST (classic rock), K-Rose (country) and Playback FM (classic hip hop).
The music system in San Andreas is enhanced from previous titles. In earlier games in the series, each radio station was essentially a single looped sound file, playing the same songs, announcements and advertisements in the same order each time. In San Andreas, each section is held separately, and "mixed" randomly, allowing songs to be played in different orders, announcements to songs to be different each time, and plot events to be mentioned on the stations.
The Xbox and PC versions of the game include an additional radio station that supports custom soundtracks by playing user imported MP3s.
New features
n total, there are nearly 200 types of vehicles in the game, compared to the approximately 85 in GTA III. New additions include bicycles, jet planes, a jetpack, quadbikes, tractors, trains, a combine harvester, police motorcycles, a forklift, a street sweeper, a ride-on lawnmower and many others. In addition, players can swim and climb walls for the first time in the series. The ability to swim has a great effect on the player as well, since water is no longer a viable barrier to the player and can no longer instantly kill the player (although it is possible to drown). For greater firepower, players can also wield dual firearms or perform a drive-by shooting with multiple gang members. Also, due to the immense size of San Andreas, a waypoint reticule on the HUD map can be set, aiding the player in reaching a destination.
Rockstar has emphasized the personalization of the main character. Clothing, accessories, haircuts and tattoos are now available for purchase by CJ, and have more of an effect on non-player characters' reactions than the clothing in Vice City 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. Players must also ensure CJ eats to stay healthy and also exercises properly. The balance of food and physical activity has an effect on his appearance and physical attributes.
San Andreas also tracks acquired skills in areas such as driving, firearms handling (when skills are high enough, double-wielding of certain weapons is possible), stamina, and lung capacity, which improve through use in the game, adding an RPG aspect to San Andreas. CJ may also learn three different styles of hand-to-hand combat (boxing, martial arts and street fighting) at the gyms in each of the game's three cities. CJ can also speak with a number of pedestrians in the game, responding either negatively or positively; Rockstar claims that he has a total of about 4200 lines of spoken dialogue.
The game's artificial intelligence was also improved. No longer can the player beat a pedestrian to death on a busy street in broad daylight and have bystanders not respond. While most pedestrians will flee or duck for cover, some armed civilians such as drug dealers and enemy gang members will attack CJ, and friendly gang members will shoot at and pursue his opponents. Cops will now chase other rival gang members who are committing crimes, instead of just the player.
* Car modification: Most automobiles in the game can be modified and upgraded at various garages. All car mods are strictly visual apart from a nitrous oxide system which gives the car a speed boost when activated; and hydraulics, which lowers the car's height by default and allows the player to control various aspects of the car's suspension. Other common modifications include paintjobs, rims, body kits, side skirts, bumpers and stereo system upgrades.
* Gang wars: The goal is to gain as much territory within the city as possible in order to earn money. Battles with enemy gangs are prompted whenever the player (either alone or accompanied by fellow Grove Street Families members) ventures into enemy territory and kills 3-4 gang members. If the player then survives multiple waves of enemies, the territory will be won and fellow gang members will begin wandering the streets of these areas. Occasionally, your territory will come under attack from enemy gangs and defeating them will be necessary to retain these areas.
* Robbery: Continuing the series' tradition of controversy, home invasion is included as a potential money-making activity.[11] By stealing a robbery van, CJ is able to sneak into a residence at night, and cart off valuables or shake down the occupants.
* Minigames: Numerous minigames are also available for play in San Andreas, including basketball, pool, rhythm-based challenges (dancing and 'bouncing' lowriders, with hydraulics), and video game machines that pay homage to classic arcade games. In addition, there are the aforementioned casino games and methods of gambling, such as betting on virtual horse races.
* Multiplayer: A two-player cooperative mode has also been added for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions. Accessing this mode will launch a series of special objectives similar to 'Rampages' from previous Grand Theft Auto games. Two human players will be able to travel by car or on foot. Both players are required to remain on the same screen and within a reasonable proximity of one another.
* Money: The money system has been expanded upon, compared to previous titles. Players can spend their cash on gambling, purchasing weapons, buying meals, etc. However, excessive spending can force the player to sink into debt, which is shown in red negative numbers. When the player leaves a safehouse, CJ gets an unexpected call and a mysterious person tells him about his debts. Four gang members suddenly appear and shoot Carl on sight if he does not erase the debt when the mysterious person calls him a second time.
Rockstar has emphasized the personalization of the main character. Clothing, accessories, haircuts and tattoos are now available for purchase by CJ, and have more of an effect on non-player characters' reactions than the clothing in Vice City 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. Players must also ensure CJ eats to stay healthy and also exercises properly. The balance of food and physical activity has an effect on his appearance and physical attributes.
San Andreas also tracks acquired skills in areas such as driving, firearms handling (when skills are high enough, double-wielding of certain weapons is possible), stamina, and lung capacity, which improve through use in the game, adding an RPG aspect to San Andreas. CJ may also learn three different styles of hand-to-hand combat (boxing, martial arts and street fighting) at the gyms in each of the game's three cities. CJ can also speak with a number of pedestrians in the game, responding either negatively or positively; Rockstar claims that he has a total of about 4200 lines of spoken dialogue.
The game's artificial intelligence was also improved. No longer can the player beat a pedestrian to death on a busy street in broad daylight and have bystanders not respond. While most pedestrians will flee or duck for cover, some armed civilians such as drug dealers and enemy gang members will attack CJ, and friendly gang members will shoot at and pursue his opponents. Cops will now chase other rival gang members who are committing crimes, instead of just the player.
* Car modification: Most automobiles in the game can be modified and upgraded at various garages. All car mods are strictly visual apart from a nitrous oxide system which gives the car a speed boost when activated; and hydraulics, which lowers the car's height by default and allows the player to control various aspects of the car's suspension. Other common modifications include paintjobs, rims, body kits, side skirts, bumpers and stereo system upgrades.
* Gang wars: The goal is to gain as much territory within the city as possible in order to earn money. Battles with enemy gangs are prompted whenever the player (either alone or accompanied by fellow Grove Street Families members) ventures into enemy territory and kills 3-4 gang members. If the player then survives multiple waves of enemies, the territory will be won and fellow gang members will begin wandering the streets of these areas. Occasionally, your territory will come under attack from enemy gangs and defeating them will be necessary to retain these areas.
* Robbery: Continuing the series' tradition of controversy, home invasion is included as a potential money-making activity.[11] By stealing a robbery van, CJ is able to sneak into a residence at night, and cart off valuables or shake down the occupants.
* Minigames: Numerous minigames are also available for play in San Andreas, including basketball, pool, rhythm-based challenges (dancing and 'bouncing' lowriders, with hydraulics), and video game machines that pay homage to classic arcade games. In addition, there are the aforementioned casino games and methods of gambling, such as betting on virtual horse races.
* Multiplayer: A two-player cooperative mode has also been added for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions. Accessing this mode will launch a series of special objectives similar to 'Rampages' from previous Grand Theft Auto games. Two human players will be able to travel by car or on foot. Both players are required to remain on the same screen and within a reasonable proximity of one another.
* Money: The money system has been expanded upon, compared to previous titles. Players can spend their cash on gambling, purchasing weapons, buying meals, etc. However, excessive spending can force the player to sink into debt, which is shown in red negative numbers. When the player leaves a safehouse, CJ gets an unexpected call and a mysterious person tells him about his debts. Four gang members suddenly appear and shoot Carl on sight if he does not erase the debt when the mysterious person calls him a second time.
Locations and setting
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas takes place within the fictional state San Andreas. It is based on sections of California and Nevada, comprising three major fictional cities: Los Santos and the badlands correspond to real-life Los Angeles and the California badlands; San Fierro corresponds to real-life San Francisco; and Las Venturas and the surrounding desert corresponds to real-life Las Vegas and the Nevada desert. Players can climb the a half-mile (800 m) tall Mount Chiliad (based on Mount Diablo), parachute from various peaks and skyscrapers, and visit 12 rural towns and villages located in three counties: Red County, Flint County, and Bone County. Other notable destinations include Sherman dam (based on the Hoover Dam), a large secret military base called Area 69 (based on Area 51), a microwave dish, and many other geographical features. Previous Grand Theft Auto titles are set in a single city, whereas the events of San Andreas span the entire state. 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.
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