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[sonycowboy]

http://www.gtasanandreas.net/news/index.php

BTW, don't freak out about the "possible" shortcomings. The same magazine also says this will be the best game ever made for PS2 and if you don't buy it you should never buy any video game.

The October PSM2 UK features San Andreas as a cover story once again. The 8-page article breaks down the city of San Fierro, tells us about car customisation which we've heard of briefly before, and much much more. This is one of the highlight previews of the month, so be sure to read it through when it arrives in stores on the 26th of August.

Katana-waving Triads, pimped-out rides and breaststroke at sunset under the Golden Gate bridge. PSM2 takes an exclusive look at San Fierro and discovers San Andreas' best kept secret...

I would also like to point out that the article has a very good part about criticising San Andreas, and where it could fall short of its ambitions. Look forward to another Pitfalls article from our team here, based on what PSM2 saw as San Andreas' main shortcomings.

Unfortunately there isn't a way to transport cars from city to city, unless you drive them there yourself. You can save them in your city garages though.

There are police impounds, so you car can be impounded.

Tow-trucks are completely functioning.

Alcatraz is not confirmed yet.

At the trolley station there is a garage by the name of Transfender. It's a place to customise your vehicle.

Options for car customisation:
Exhausts
Front Bumper
Rear Bumper
Roof
Spoilers
Wings
Wheels

Paint jobs

Standard front bumper costs $970.

Customisations dont affect the engine, hence performance stays the same.

Only performance ugprade is nitrous. If installed, hold O and X in a car to turn it on.

The San Fierro gym is called "Cobra Martial Arts", and focuses on martial arts, and learning new skills from asian masters. In a segment, CJ learns a new move, the drop heel kick. Apparently there are different styles of combat you can possess, ranging from martial arts to boxing. Depending on how much you train, you will have a different style of fighting.

Read more for information on new missions, confirmations on vehicles, weapons, missions, music and locations and plenty other things.

 

[Sp3eD]

Wow! Grand Theft RPG.

This sounds fantastic.

 

[BuddyC]

BTW, don't freak out about the "possible" shortcomings. The same magazine also says this will be the best game ever made for PS2 and if you don't buy it you should never buy any video game.

 

[DarienA]

I would also like to point out that the article has a very good part about criticising San Andreas, and where it could fall short of its ambitions. Look forward to another Pitfalls article from our team here, based on what PSM2 saw as San Andreas' main shortcomings.

Why are there no details of this part of the article?!?!?

 

[Mrbob]

7.9 I can feel it the forums are going to implode.

 

[Littleberu]

Why are there no details of this part of the article?!?!?

They talk about the linearity of the first few missions, and how they added scripted events to make you "wow", but it's not working everytime, and that some parts of the city feel empty. They say it's a case of "more" rather than "better".

In short, they added a lot of things, but they didn't polish all those things.

 

[evil ways]

It is on the same article, on the sideline, 2 short Con & Pro paragraphs, one where the person nitpicks and complains a lot, then another paragraph under it where he completely contradics himself and hypes San Andreas to hell saying it will be the best game ever.

 

[sonycowboy]

Why are there no details of this part of the article?!?!?

The link goes to the site that is providing the guts of the article. I know we don't show screenshots, but the entire 8 page article is there. Here's the forums:

http://www.gtaforums.com/index.php?showtopic=144322

Some of the complaints I saw were:

Signficant draw in and pop up from the air and in the countryside & other, non-specified graphical glitches.

Some of the missions seem extremely linear, and rely on scripted 'wow' moments.

Some areas of los santos and san fierro feel empty and reminiscent of GTA 3.

Who wants to worry about your weight in a video game?

New targeting system is ultra efficient, making shootouts too easy.

Stealth kills feel like an add-on feature, and there is no meter to know when you've been detected.

Car customizing options do not affect car performance, so why bother?

The game feels more like 'more' rather than 'better', and the skeleton of Vice City can be seen under the new bells and whistles.

 

[Pimpbaa]

Some areas of los santos and san fierro feel empty and reminiscent of GTA 3.

What's wrong with GTA3? People like Liberty city more than Vice.

New targeting system is ultra efficient, making shootouts too easy.

People complained that the targetting sucked in the first 2, now this mag is saying they made it too good?

The game feels more like 'more' rather than 'better', and the skeleton of Vice City can be seen under the new bells and whistles.

What the hell is this supposed to mean? All 3 games used the same engine, they all feel similar.

 

[Littleberu]

What's wrong with GTA3? People like Liberty city more than Vice.
People complained that the targetting sucked in the first 2, now this mag is saying they made it too good?
What the hell is this supposed to mean? All 3 games used the same engine, they all feel similar.

That's the point of the article. These are the weak points of the build of San Andreas they played (4 missions IIRC), it's not a review.

 

[Pimpbaa]

That's the point of the article. These are the weak points of the build of San Andreas they played (4 missions IIRC), it's not a review.

I know, I am just a little confused about the things I mentioned. Especially that "skeleton of Vice City can be seen under the new bells and whistles" bit. Probably would have made more sense if they said "it still feels like GTA3".

 

[Tellaerin]

What's wrong with GTA3? People like Liberty city more than Vice.

Some people. Me, I'll take the 80's any day.

 

[Grubdog]

Some of the missions seem extremely linear, and rely on scripted 'wow' moments

What's wrong with linear missions? They're MISSIONS after all, if I want to do whatever I want then I won't choose to do a mission.

 

[Pimpbaa]

Some people. Me, I'll take the 80's any day.

Ha, I like the 80's too, and I definitely loved that theme in Vice. But Liberty definitely was a more varied and interesting city. Vice city was kinda flat, and didn't seem all that bigger at all (even tho they claimed it was). Still loved it regardless.

 

[border]

Yeah, I don't understand that criticism at all. What's wrong with "linear" missions? All the other games had linear missions. There's not a lot of crimes that you can pull off in a non-linear fashion. "Hey, let's drop off the loot and then go rob the bank!"

Sometimes "linearity" whining just seems to come from snots that think bitching will make them look elite.

 

[Littleberu]

What's wrong with linear missions? They're MISSIONS after all, if I want to do whatever I want then I won't choose to do a mission.

Huh, what do you want me to answer? I didn't write this.

Sometimes "linearity" whining just seems to come from snots that think bitching will make them look elite.

It was what the article wanted to do. Gosh. You people need to calm down.

 

[border]

Well, I didn't outright say that it was "elitism" this time I just hate this idea that linearity in any game is always a negative. So whenever someone is looking to put a game down just for the sake of looking like a critic, they pull out this annoying "linearity" card without really considering that much about the game...

 

[Jumpman]

Well, I didn't outright say that it was "elitism" this time I just hate this idea that linearity in any game is always a negative. So whenever someone is looking to put a game down just for the sake of looking like a critic, they pull out this annoying "linearity" card without really considering that much about the game...

You couldn't be more right Border. I hate that gripe as well.

 

[Mega Man's Electric Sheep]

I read the linearity comment as meaning the missions had to be completed in one specific way, leading to a scripted wow moment (random example: car jumps over building and main character jumps out as it slams into a truck with bad guys in and explodes). 3 and Vice's missions were very open ended in their linearity, which is why this scripted wow thing might be a valid complaint.

I'm assuming it's only done in the first few missions to set up the story though. Look at one of the first missions in Vice: Go on a boat and watch a cutscene! Oh noooooo, teh linear! I think they should play more of the game.

 

[MetatronM]

Some areas of los santos and san fierro feel empty and reminiscent of GTA 3.

Vice City felt a lot duller and emptier than Liberty City did to me.

 

[border]

How nonlinear can you really get in GTA? I think the best would be something like "Kill these 3 guys" or "Drop off packages in these 3 places", and the player gets to chose the order of the kills/dropoffs. It's nice and all, but does it really make the game that much greater? I think most people's favorite missions are the more focused and scripted ones anyway.

Vice City was pretty dull, though I think it has less to do with pedestrians and traffic and more to do with very flat and unimaginative street layout.

 

[Fowler]

What's interesting is that based on the map on Rockstar's site, the map in PSM2 is wrong. The Los Santos + Countryside parts seem accurate enough, but in that lookout point section in the east side of the countryside says it looks out over the desert to Las Venturas (there's even a screen), so that bit is surely off. There also didn't seem to be any links to San Fierro on the north side of the map, but then I could be wrong. Or they could have removed those.

 

[bishoptl]

The layout of Liberty City was far superior to Vice, imo. If San Andreas is evoking that kind of comparison, I'll be a happy camper. I'm not reading anything about the missions though - I'd like to be surprised come October 19th...

 

[Socreges]

Pimpbaa, you have a really weird problem with taking a very general interpretation of their complaints. Look:

"Some areas of los santos and san fierro feel empty and reminiscent of GTA 3."

What's wrong with GTA3? People like Liberty city more than Vice.

Reminiscent of GTA3 in that some areas feel empty. That's pretty obvious.

"New targeting system is ultra efficient, making shootouts too easy."

People complained that the targetting sucked in the first 2, now this mag is saying they made it too good?

Uh, no. The targetting wasn't difficult in the first 2, it was clunky. Now it's apparently so easy that it's not challenging.

"The game feels more like 'more' rather than 'better', and the skeleton of Vice City can be seen under the new bells and whistles."

What the hell is this supposed to mean? All 3 games used the same engine, they all feel similar.

That is supposed to mean that San Andreas didn't necessarily improve the meat of the game, but just made additions to it.

 

[ElyrionX]

Considering how huge and ambitious the game is, its not surprising that such complaints will pop up during previews. What I hope for is that the developers are able to sort these out before the game goes gold......

 

[Keio]

What worries me is that the HYPE level of the industry is nearing critical mass.

 

[Lucky Forward]

The San Fierro gym is called "Cobra Martial Arts", and focuses on martial arts, and learning new skills from asian masters.

Sounds like GTA is now ripping off True Crime.

Who wants to worry about your weight in a video game?

This business of exercising to keep in shape makes me wonder if you'll be able to pull a cheat like taping down the X button and leaving the room for an hour or two while your guy walks in place in a corner somewhere. Do this every once in a while, and your character can eat all the donuts and pizza he wants, and still be fit.