GTA: Latest IGN Review (3 - September - 2004)

[Tom Rice]

Eyes-On the Countryside
Luckily for us, we had the opportunity to see a newer build of San Andreas a few weeks back; but up until now had been asked to keep what we saw a secret so that we could bust it out when the time was right. Believe us when we say that we really wanted to tell you about that experience too -- because based on what we saw, the countryside environments of San Andreas are just as interesting (if not more so) than the cityscapes and urban settings we've grown accustomed to.

Now one of the biggest questions that people have been asking us since the countryside was announced was how long it would take to drive across it from corner to corner. Unfortunately the answer to that question still isn't known yet; as Rockstar representatives were rather honest with us when they told us that they hadn't really timed it and still have more elements to add before they'd do so. Even still, the land area in San Andreas is huge and as an example, we witnessed our guide travel back from one of the game's several small towns to Los Santos over the span of which, seemed like nearly twenty minutes. He wasn't exactly lollygagging either -- as he used both the brand new Monster Truck vehicle, a dirty lawnmower-sounding dirt bike, and an airplane similar to that of Grand Theft Auto III to get us there. If that doesn't tell you how big the state of San Andreas really is, then get ready to be wowed when you finally play it.



Anyhow, Rockstar reps confirmed with us that there would be a dozen or so small townships scattered throughout the countryside area -- with each possessing their own unique look, theme, and citizen mentality. Unfortunately, we didn't get to experience the rural locals for ourselves in this build (it looked as though they had been added in yet), though the differences in style compared to Los Santos were immediately obvious. In the sleepy little town we visited, for example (a moderately-sized trailer park spot known as Angel Pine), there were all manner of differently structured buildings and landmarks that screamed small neighborhood.

Very reminiscent of the patchy communities I remember growing up with in the 1980s-era California cities of Lancaster and Palmdale, Angel Pine comes complete with its own mom and pop liquor store, a quaint little bakery, a single-screen theater, and a humorously-named motel known as "U-Get-In." Additionally, there were a ton of single-wide trailers on the edge of town in addition to a mix of dirt roads and pave streets that should strike an immediate chord with anyone who's ever taken a road trip and stopped for gas somewhere off the main freeway. It's pretty cool.

Powerful Visual Moments
What's more impressive, however, is the gigantic mountain that stands next to Angel Pine in the distance. Confirmed by Rockstar to be the largest single object in the history of Grand Theft Auto games, Mount Chiliad is more than half a mile tall with various roads that players can take to get to the top. For our trip upwards, though, our guide split his time between riding the aforementioned dirt bike and a little sweet quad-cycle that had a physics system almost comparable to legitimate quad racing titles.

And as we traveled upward, the mountain view further went to prove Rockstar's claim that everything in the game casts a shadow -- as the trees, rocks, and mountain itself all had a realistic effect on the areas we looked towards in relation to the position of the sun. Additionally, the draw-distance was far beyond that of the previous GTA games with a breathtaking view that allowed us to see miles in the distance (our guide even busted out a disposable camera to zoom around and get a better look), while our bike kicked up a convincing dust cloud behind us. Frankly, this whole range of visual wizardry looked pretty damned awesome.

Time For A Rural Mission
Our time on the mountain wasn't just for sightseeing, however, as our guide next took us to a safe house cabin near the landmark's peak. Once we arrived, we noticed that that cabin was occupied by a good number of armed FBI agents; and as it turns out, we had to go through them to kill a government witness. Apparently, CJ has been blackmailed into hunting this guy down as a favor to a major character that Rockstar wasn't ready to reveal yet, but needless to say, it had to be done no matter who it was that was asking. Moments later, gunfire was everywhere and CJ and FBI agents had the lead flying with reckless abandon.

After CJ had eliminated a few of the agents, the remaining group of them grabbed the witness and threw him into the back of a black sedan. From here, the mission requirement became that of a car chase, as CJ hopped on his motorcycle and followed the car down the spiraling mountain road. Once again, the impressive dust cloud kicked into high gear and there were a great number of particles and special effects as CJ fired at the car in order to get it to stop. Eventually Carl managed to stop the automobile before it could make it to safety, and after quickly disposing of the witness had to whip out his camera accessory to take a picture of the corpse as proof of his accomplishment. With the mission complete, Rockstar's reps found it the perfect time to take us back to Los Santos via the long and winding highway.

[Tom Rice]

Though we didn't get to see them for ourselves, there was still a great deal of other townships that populated the land as well. Close to our destination lied the little nook known as Dilamore, while other such places like Palomino and Blueberry were further out towards the other major cities. There were farms, lakes, forests, and gas stations too; but the area is so huge, I doubt we'll ever truly grasp how big it really is until we can finally sit down and explore it.

Countryside Firearm -- The Desert Eagle
What we saw above wasn't the only new goody to be discovered in San Andreas, however, as we also learned about one of the brand-new weapons in Grand Theft Auto -- the Desert Eagle.

Large and imposing, the massive handgun has more stopping power per round than any other weapon except for sniper rifles; and when CJ first starts to try and use it, he'll barely be able to hold onto it when firing; as he'll need to get more used to the weapon first before he can become proficient with it. It's an intriguing weapon to be sure, and one that Rockstar tells us is one of the most lethal new weapons on the game.

Lawnmower Riding and Countryside Races
Easily one of the funniest things we saw, the ability to ride an industrial strength lawnmower has been included in GTA as well. Considered a last-ditch ride, this goofy looking automobile will likely have little practical use when running from the law, but we'll be damned if it isn't funny. Plus, it is legitimately faster than running -- so who knows? Maybe you can find a use for it after all.

But if you're looking for something to do in-between mower runs, be on the lookout for rural races that take place all over the state. Whether it's an uphill rocky road race in your 4x4 or a motocross competition with your dirt bike, there are plenty of moneymaking and adrenaline-pumping activities.

Haulin' Gas
In the rolling hills west of Los Santos, players can expect to find a cozy little truck stop known as RU Haul. Always looking for extra drivers, the owner is perfectly willing to throw CJ some cash if he can tow pull some cargo.

What makes this particular job so damn cool, though, is that hauling cargo is done with a traditional 18-wheeler -- which also happens to be the largest road vehicle in the game. Boasting fully-articulated physics, the truck supposedly behaves and reacts exactly like a real trailer should; with a loss of grip if you take corners too fast or jackknifing if you make too harsh a turn when avoiding obstacles. The trailer can disconnect too, so your truck will react and move in different ways depending on what you've got going on in the back.

Players will probably want to use the 18-wheeler as often as possible too; because they'll be able to earn thousands of dollars for completing lower-level projects or tens of thousands for delivering hot and stolen goods that the police are looking to confiscate. Players should keep in mind, however, that hauling missions are completely timed. So if they screw up and miss their window, their payoff will be cut to half of what it was supposed to be.

One final aspect of the 18-wheeler that players should take note of is that Rockstar tells us that they make unbelievable "rolling bombs." So if you ever want to take out a large group of guys in concentrated areas or just want to see a bunch of pretty lights, simply speed your tanker towards the crowd and dive out at the last minute. Follow it up with a quick blast with your rocket launcher and BOOM! Instant mass barbeque!



Foliage and the Phases of the Moon
Because of its varied landscape, San Andreas boasts quite a few different kinds of plants. To render these as realistically as possible, Rockstar North has developed a special technology that draws in foliage around the character model (known as procedural rendering). What happens is, the designers tag areas with different terrain designations that are then assigned specific kinds of plants and shrubbery. Different varieties of underbrush and grass, for example, will automatically be drawn in based on your location; while rocks, fallen logs, and other such things will also be computed into the equation should step in the right area. Players can expect dozens of different planets in all.

Another cool little feature related to nature, is the fact that the moon now goes through regular phases. Since the game has its own internal clock that keeps track of what days you've spent in the world, it knows what day of the week it is as well. And just as it does in our universe, the moon in the San Andreas universe will cycle through a 30-day phase so that it changes every evening. What's more is that the moon and the stars will even look brighter when you're away from the lights of the city and in the comforts of the countryside. Nice!

Gunplay and How it Works
Manhunt fans should be pleased to know that Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is borrowing a lot of that game's ideas when it comes to targeting and firing your gun. Completely redone, the new gunplay mechanic still retains similar controls so that veterans of the earlier games don't have to relearn everything from scratch. R1 still targets your enemies, for example, and you can still perform random fire with the circle button.

[Tom Rice]

But once you've pressed R1, you'll receive a number of new options for an expanded approach towards how you target your enemies. So at first, CJ will aim at the closest hostile enemy and skip non-hostiles altogether. If there isn't a hostile in the area, however, he'll simply auto-target the closet person to him within a range of just over 90 degrees. But if there still isn't a target that meets his requirement, CJ will then default into free aim mode. In this mode, the camera will now rest behind your character while the reticule appears in the center of the screen. Even further, the right analog stick finally allows players to move the camera up, down, left, and right, while they move (or strafe) their CJ model with the left.

This kind of approach means that the game will play more like several other mainstream third-person shooters (like the aforementioned Manhunt), while allowing players to target whomever they want without using an auto-lock. While using this kind of targeting system, L1 now acts as the firing button -- though circle can still fire when not using the new targeting system. Old school GTA veterans shouldn't worry, though, as the system will still allow them to cycle through locked targets with the L2 and R2 buttons; which will apply regardless if CJ is in auto-lock or free-aim mode.

Now as we're sure you've guessed by now, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas has also added a number of RPG-like elements to its gameplay system, and its application to the targeting system is pretty important. In fact, there are six different attributes related to how players use guns that can affect their overall performance when firing. Naturally, these skills can be improved upon over time (by using that particular weapon and it's action more frequently, ala The Elder Scrolls games). Listed below are the categories that would-be gun maniacs can look forward to:



Reload Time: The more improved CJ becomes at this skill, the fewer seconds he'll need when reloading. This is extremely important when involved in large-group firefights.

Fire Rate: This skill dictates how many bullets CJ can spray in a certain amount of time. The better the skill, the more ammo he can unload in shorter instances.

Accuracy: When players improve this skill, the circle outside of their reticule will expand and contract for better a visual representation of your target lock. As always, crouching also improves the precision of your shots.

Weapon Stance and Movement: Each weapon has a different ability relative to that weapon type that can be unlocked. This means that some weapons, for instance, can earn the ability to allow CJ to move while firing. While others improve your character's weapon stance so that he has faster strafe speeds or uninhibited backwards movement when firing.

Dual Weapons: What Rockstar is calling "The Ultimate Upgrade," this skill allows CJ to handle two weapons at a time. This effectively doubles CJ's firing rate and length of time between reloads.

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