When CJ(Young Maylay in his debut, enthusiastic but not always sticking around) returns to Los Santos(LA, with its huge population; Los Fierro is like San Francisco with its culturally rich streetscapes, and Las Venturas is like Las Vegas, full of bright signs and gambling – you can get into debt, and get whacked for not repaying!) for his mother's funeral(over the course of this, he'll learn who was involved), he finds his friends and family in disarray. He will have to prove himself to them, and aid them in re-establishing their old gang(fighting others for Turf, that also has to be protected; you can recruit individual ones, more as you gain more Respect, to follow you and add guns to your drive-by(!) or on-foot attack), The Grove Street Families, clashes with corrupt cops(including Jackson's aggressive Tenpenny) and gain enough power to protect him and his(thus a more personal and vast take on the usual plot of these, with the usual doublecrosses and twists along the way, as well as working against someone and then later for that same person).
As the others, this has a separate identity – still, this was the riskiest yet. Steeped in African-American ghetto flavor, with their criminal activities, slang, etc. and it's full immersion. Characters(strong ones regardless of gender, ethnicities – black, Asian, Native, etc., and mafias from several of them) are enjoyable and spot-on types. Zero(Cross, computer nerd), The Truth(Fonda, always stoned hippie), Mike(Woods, hardass high level crook), etc. Writing is inspired, whether you look at the relationships or parody/satire(hitting on every major American aspect of society – politics, view of foreigners, groups of people, etc.; other comedy includes silly company names/slogans and the like. Everyone will leave offended by something), etc.
This not only opens up the world even more(!) such as allowing vaulting and swimming(with a calm sea, fish, etc.), it greatly enhances what you can do other than the storyline(which took me no less than 33 and a half hours to complete, by itself). Sadly, a lot of it is forced upon, rather than evolving out of, the main engine, the mini-games come down to Quick-Time-Events without instant-failing for missing, and they lack refinement. On the plus side, there is a tremendous amount of customization. Clothes, tattoos, haircuts, weight and musculature(the latter two take time, like in real life!), you name it. This can be done on some cars as well, and you can even create a lowrider, and otherwise permanently alter something not merely visual on it – thus giving more of a reason to keep it in one piece, not only rare ones anymore.
Mission design is phenomenal. A lot of them are memorable, some are one-offs, there is carryover(something you do might take a long time, and you do it piecemeal over a number of them) and they feel distinct in spite of them being built around relatively few and simple parameters – the goal of killing/chasing/tailing/stealing etc., getting there with a specific set of wheels(which you may have to avoid breaking), and set in different areas. They require mastery of several skills, albeit also noting the correct path. There are frustrating ones, and the easier than usual(right up to water and, when not on foot, the occasionally passing trains and trams not killing you) difficulty remains uneven(Rockstar? Work on that. Everything else? Doing good. Keep it up).
Flying has not particularly been improved, and it is now required to do a bit(though it was also in VC, that was not the case in GTA3). You do have a School for it(along with other things), but this is merely a linear set of strict tests(newsflash: those do not teach, they merely serve to train us to complete them; they don't provide analysis of what went wrong or why, nor can you read the instructions in them outside of them, at your own pace), and you have to accomplish those before you really get to try your hand at piloting – and surprising no one, once you get to that, you pick it up much faster and improve. Some of this can be aided with a joystick, something you should not need for as low-simulation a title as this. This portion has made otherwise dedicated players quit.
Other than, in fact, in-between, the urban areas, this has mountains, rural towns and villages. This takes place in 1992, with events based partially on Bloods and Crips rivalry and crack epidemic. The cutscenes are pretty decent, with angles and cuts, and they can still nearly all be skipped. Graphics overall, however, have deteriorated in this, looking the worst this far in. They're washed out, and when it's dark and "tight"(such as an alley or tunnel), it gets downright straining. This has a 360 degree camera, albeit it moves annoyingly except when you're on foot(do not touch the mouse unless you have to when driving – it'll steer or adjust view), even requiring manual adjustment at times. The map has zoom, legend and you can place your own marker.
The 11 radio stations play rare groove, dub and reggae, New Jack Swing, Modern Soul, alternative rock, metal and grunge, gangsta rap, old school Chicago house music, funk, classic rock, country and classic hip hop. They also have different shows each with separate hosts: news, sports, gardening, travel, romance, conspiracies, and entertainment(with Lazlow!). The 12-18 tracks(per station) are held separately and mixed randomly, so it feels much more organic. Ads and announcements, such as weather and recent occurrences, will play between them. You can of course still add your own tunes. We get proper third person shooter mechanics, eliminating the remaining weakness of this franchise. Roll, crouch, strafe, aim, there's even a target health indicator. The many RPG elements are largely optional, outside of the brief tutorial segments. AI does have some issues.
There is constant coarse language, brutal bloody violence, and sexuality(no nudity) in this. I recommend this to any fan of the open-world genre. 8/10
As the others, this has a separate identity – still, this was the riskiest yet. Steeped in African-American ghetto flavor, with their criminal activities, slang, etc. and it's full immersion. Characters(strong ones regardless of gender, ethnicities – black, Asian, Native, etc., and mafias from several of them) are enjoyable and spot-on types. Zero(Cross, computer nerd), The Truth(Fonda, always stoned hippie), Mike(Woods, hardass high level crook), etc. Writing is inspired, whether you look at the relationships or parody/satire(hitting on every major American aspect of society – politics, view of foreigners, groups of people, etc.; other comedy includes silly company names/slogans and the like. Everyone will leave offended by something), etc.
This not only opens up the world even more(!) such as allowing vaulting and swimming(with a calm sea, fish, etc.), it greatly enhances what you can do other than the storyline(which took me no less than 33 and a half hours to complete, by itself). Sadly, a lot of it is forced upon, rather than evolving out of, the main engine, the mini-games come down to Quick-Time-Events without instant-failing for missing, and they lack refinement. On the plus side, there is a tremendous amount of customization. Clothes, tattoos, haircuts, weight and musculature(the latter two take time, like in real life!), you name it. This can be done on some cars as well, and you can even create a lowrider, and otherwise permanently alter something not merely visual on it – thus giving more of a reason to keep it in one piece, not only rare ones anymore.
Mission design is phenomenal. A lot of them are memorable, some are one-offs, there is carryover(something you do might take a long time, and you do it piecemeal over a number of them) and they feel distinct in spite of them being built around relatively few and simple parameters – the goal of killing/chasing/tailing/stealing etc., getting there with a specific set of wheels(which you may have to avoid breaking), and set in different areas. They require mastery of several skills, albeit also noting the correct path. There are frustrating ones, and the easier than usual(right up to water and, when not on foot, the occasionally passing trains and trams not killing you) difficulty remains uneven(Rockstar? Work on that. Everything else? Doing good. Keep it up).
Flying has not particularly been improved, and it is now required to do a bit(though it was also in VC, that was not the case in GTA3). You do have a School for it(along with other things), but this is merely a linear set of strict tests(newsflash: those do not teach, they merely serve to train us to complete them; they don't provide analysis of what went wrong or why, nor can you read the instructions in them outside of them, at your own pace), and you have to accomplish those before you really get to try your hand at piloting – and surprising no one, once you get to that, you pick it up much faster and improve. Some of this can be aided with a joystick, something you should not need for as low-simulation a title as this. This portion has made otherwise dedicated players quit.
Other than, in fact, in-between, the urban areas, this has mountains, rural towns and villages. This takes place in 1992, with events based partially on Bloods and Crips rivalry and crack epidemic. The cutscenes are pretty decent, with angles and cuts, and they can still nearly all be skipped. Graphics overall, however, have deteriorated in this, looking the worst this far in. They're washed out, and when it's dark and "tight"(such as an alley or tunnel), it gets downright straining. This has a 360 degree camera, albeit it moves annoyingly except when you're on foot(do not touch the mouse unless you have to when driving – it'll steer or adjust view), even requiring manual adjustment at times. The map has zoom, legend and you can place your own marker.
The 11 radio stations play rare groove, dub and reggae, New Jack Swing, Modern Soul, alternative rock, metal and grunge, gangsta rap, old school Chicago house music, funk, classic rock, country and classic hip hop. They also have different shows each with separate hosts: news, sports, gardening, travel, romance, conspiracies, and entertainment(with Lazlow!). The 12-18 tracks(per station) are held separately and mixed randomly, so it feels much more organic. Ads and announcements, such as weather and recent occurrences, will play between them. You can of course still add your own tunes. We get proper third person shooter mechanics, eliminating the remaining weakness of this franchise. Roll, crouch, strafe, aim, there's even a target health indicator. The many RPG elements are largely optional, outside of the brief tutorial segments. AI does have some issues.
There is constant coarse language, brutal bloody violence, and sexuality(no nudity) in this. I recommend this to any fan of the open-world genre. 8/10